Dream Log: December 13, 2002

Freakiest Dream (?) I have ever had.

This has happened to me while taking a nap between school and work. I was sleeping on my back, my arms above my head, behind my pillow. I was in between dreams; my arms have fallen asleep and required my attention. My brain has pulled me from my deep slumber, and told me about the problem, by letting me know of the tingling feeing in my arms. I was in the process of taking care of it. The initial feeling that I received was like that of an electric shock. Like being grounded after accumulating charge from a Van de Graff generator, by touching a water faucet. It was as if I was moving my arms, and they fell sort of into a 3-dimentional mold, out of which there was no way out. It felt as if someone had turned on the current, which I felt, thusly actuating the mold.

After an attempt to move my arms, I noticed that the rest of my body was in this peculiar state as well. At first, the feeling was not all that alien. I have felt similarly before, when I am just waking up, it takes a certain amount of will to move any part of my body. Only this time, the regular amount of will was not enough. Something wasn’t right. After straining for some time I have became frightened, I couldn’t move!

I was straining with my mind to move any part of my body, but all my efforts went unnoticed, I couldn’t move anything! The only thing I could do is breathe, thank God! This had lasted for about 5 minutes. By this point in time I was beginning to get really scared. After a number of failed attempts to move, I noticed slight movement in my toes, I concentrated on that, and just as suddenly as I have become paralyzed, I regained all control of my limbs, and I sat straight up. This has been the most peculiar dream, I have ever had. Or maybe it wasn’t a dream at all? My explanation is that a part of my brain that responsible for keeping me unconscious while asleep got thrown out of the loop, and I was awake while sleeping.

Has this ever happened to anybody before? Maybe you have a clearer explanation of this occurrence? I sure would like to hear it, I’m still afraid to go to sleep without someone waking me up.

I have recieved numerous replies, and after doing a little research, this experience is actually a documented thing. See hypnagogic hallucination,hypnagogic state,sleep paralysis. Weird...

"No," she said.

It was an abrupt change - from black pre-REM sleep to this. She was sitting on a large bay windowsill, looking gloomily out the melting glass. It was raining outside; this was my old apartment on 2nd Ave., New York City. The streets below (I saw through her eyes) were empty of people. The parking spots on the street were all taken - on the far side, since tomorrow morning was street cleaning for 2nd Ave.

I'm not sure if she even knew I was there - maybe I wasn't. Maybe I was a tagalong in her mind, her miserable dream.

"No," she said again, softer than before. She turned, looked at me - through me no, at me. She heaved a heavy sigh, and brought her knees to her chin, wrapping her delicate arms around those slender knees.

I tried to go to her, she was so miserable. I wanted to help, to hug her, comfort her. But I was frozen, locked in place. I was not there. Where was I? Why wasn't I there when she was so sad? I became frantic, calling her name (what was her name?). I could hear the sound of my own voice - or was that just in my head? But she didn't react, she heard nothing.

"No, this isn't right," I thought. Is that what she meant? Was this wrong for her too?

A rumble of distant thunder rolled over the City. I hadn't seen the lightning, perhaps the storm was just coming in off the water. I looked around I seemed to be able to move that much, at least. The narrow living room was mostly bare. All of my things were gone. Her ratty couch had been brought in from the guest bedroom, and a low table that I didn't recognize. They were covered with takeout boxes, half full, decaying.

Thunder, again, closer this time. The huge window rattled slightly in its old wooden frame. A car alarm somewhere close began to go off.

Have you ever had a dream with a soundtrack? I could faintly hear the soundtrack, slow and sad, a haunting female voice singing something vague and troubling. I listened closer - yes, that was Heather Mere. Then, Slowing Room? Now Serpentine? Man, that'll really fuck you up.

A soft sob caught my ear, I turned back. She was crying now, looking out over the street. Tears silently slid down her face, accompanied by the occasional heaving sob. A small picture fell from her hand and floated slowly to the floor.

Have you ever had a dream that ended with credits?

Have you ever had a dream that ended with a dedication to your memory?

...

I was resting on the tan stairs of my house after I'd taken some ecstasy. There were dim lights on in my house. They were eerie, and not at all warming.

I had not actually done anything, but somehow I knew that I had taken it. My dream simply started here. I never took drugs before in real life.

I felt as if I was drowning in my mind. I no longer had a train of thought; my thoughts were a million jets zooming around inside, with no pattern. Neurons were making connections for no reason. My brain was moving at the speed of a computer. I saw red light patterns drifting, like the LEDs on a Cray supercomputer. Maybe my mind was simply a neural net. There was so much action, and nothing was accomplished. It might have even been a seizure.

I did not see out of my eyes. I saw myself from about a meter to my front-left. My body simply sat there, in a state of sensory overload. My head rested in my hands for a timeless interval.

-WARP-

I was at some sort of plaza. It was circular, with concentric rings of colored brick; red, blue, green, yellow, and lavender. At the center was an elegant fountain, but I don't recall its design. The whole brick circle was about 20 meters in diameter. Outside of it was perfectly green grass with small, red-and-white striped circus tents all around. There were people everywhere, and the were definitely talking, but I couldn't understand any of it. (Also, I was now not on any drugs.) There was no sky. Not blackness, not white. Just Nothing.

*pop*

I found myself on the back of what I knew was a camel. (I am still in the plaza.) I nervously tried out the reins, seeing what it could do. At first, it trotted, and I presently became able to steer it. I went counterclockwise around the fountain several times. Once, the camel began to speed up, and I almost fell off, but I regained control.

*pop*

I became the camel. I moved my limbs, the camel moved his. I saw through his eyes.

...

---

In retrospect, I know it was not a camel. It had a camel's head and fur, but it only had two legs.

It was not a lucid dream, it was not a frightening dream. But it was the strangest dream I ever had.

And I'll never try ecstasy.