You close your eyes, reflecting on your day’s activities as your mind slowly enters into a trance; with a few flutters of your eyelids, you let your mind spiral as you immerse into a deep slumber.
Unfamiliar faces, unrealistic scenarios, yet you genuinely believe everything you see. The vividness of this “vision” is uncanny.
Dreams have the power to make you experience a different reality in a matter of minutes. Sometimes it forces you to confront an underlying trauma you have been dismissing, or sometimes, it may inspire you to write…
A memoir.
“Why Perry, you’re already dead; you just haven’t finished the book yet,” said a man to author Perry Muse in a dream. A dialogue that would shift the course of his life entirely from there on out.
But what did that dream mean? Are dreams a reflection of past experiences or something more significant? Let’s discuss.
In cold sweat
The mind has an affinity for manifesting dark thoughts and dreams when facing adversity or threats. Morbid thoughts to cinematic night terrors can wake you up in a cold sweat. Your anxiety can manifest itself in dreams as your brain’s response to coping with discomfort and fear. Your mind jumbles itself in a web of visions to regulate emotions.
In some cases, the susceptibility to experience nightmares can also be hereditary. Perry Muse, in his memoir, mentions how he has dealt with demons his whole life alongside his sister and daughter.
One can conclude that dreams are an amalgamation of your past experiences in the form of firing synapses. But is there more to them?
Do dreams have experience and meaning behind them?
Dreaming between the lines
Dreams can also be a positive indicator for you to approach your life differently. The type of dream you may experience can say a lot about you as a person. Perry Muse has described one of his dreams as struggling to breathe underwater, unable to reach the surface. This dream could suggest that you feel trapped in life, whether in a job, family, or relationship. Struggling with cancer, contemplating the possibility that your fate is sealed, it is only fair to experience such an emotion.
Dreams have an affinity for getting wacky too. Have you ever pulled hair out of your mouth in your dream? It can indicate that you are afraid of public exposing your feelings and thoughts. Something Perry Muse can relate to (Ironically).
A Mindful Musing
The influence of dreams on your life is quite powerful. Some fade into thin air, whereas some resonate with you, leaving you with a feeling of liberation and a purpose. The inception of dreams is still shrouded in ambiguity, something science itself is yet to decipher fully.
What we do know is your perception of dreams matters. What you might denote as a mere figment of imagination can be an inspiration to end your story… to finish your book, for only you hold the pen, for only you drive the narrative in writing it.
All in all, you can either dismiss dreams – hiding from what your conscious is trying to tell you – or simply let them be your “muse.”
For more on the influence of dreams and how to cope with morbid thoughts in the face of adversity, pick up Perry Muse’s memoir, Morbid Thoughts, and the Domino Effect.
