Blurring the dreamlines

What was a recent waking-life experience that seemed very dreamlike?  And what recent dream seemed all too realistic?

People and animals (2)

What real-world animals have turned up in your dreams?

Tell us a story: cinematic dream

Have you ever had a dream that seemed to tell a cogent, lengthy narrative, almost like a movie, in which you were the lead character?

Tell us a story: dream guidance

Has a dream ever warned you to steer clear of possible danger?  Have you ever had a dream that showed you the solution to a problem?  Tell us about a time when you changed your plans or did something different based on what a dream seemed to be telling you.

A dream like no other

What is one dream that sticks in your memory because it's so distinctive and unusual?  Which dream of yours stands out as different from all your other dreams?

This week's theme is dreams.

Good dream karma

Do you sometimes dream of helping out someone else?  Do you dream of rescuing, protecting, advising, teaching, encouraging, or assisting other people? 

What kinds of people do you help in your dreams, and what kinds of problems do those people face?  Do you see any similarities to the problems you yourself face in your waking life?

This week's theme is dreams.

Dream allies

Who shows up in your dreams as your ally, friend, supporter, or rescuer?  Do your dayworld friends show up in your dreams, or do you have dream allies who don't play any role in your waking life? 

What's an example of a recent dream in which you relied on someone else's help or guidance?  

This week's theme is dreams.

What dreams are made of

Dreams sometimes seem to improvise with the details of our current lives.  What is one relatively new item in your daily life that has already made an appearance in your dreams?

This week's theme is dreams.

Dreams

Do you keep a dream journal?  When you wake up, how often do you remember at least part of a dream?

What is one theme or story line that seems to come up frequently in your dreams?

This week's theme is dreams.

Dream trends

What's the big recurring theme in your recent dreams? What setting or situation has shown up repeatedly?

Do you dream in color?

Musicians' dreams have great musical soundtracks. Graphic designers' dreams offer interesting colors, shapes, and lines. What is one dayworld fascination of yours that influences the content and style of your dreams?

This week's theme is your dreamworld.

This must be a dream!

According to one theory, dreams are vivid experiences constructed by your imagination in its best attempt to forge a cohesive narrative from current patterns of neural stimulation. The funny thing is, that same description applies equally well to waking life!

What are some actual differences between your dream experience and your waking life? Do your dreams have more monsters? More final exams? What are some things that happen repeatedly in your dreams, but almost never in waking life — things that should be a clear tipoff that you're having a dream?

This week's theme is your dreamworld.

Dream police

In your dreams, what kinds of rules do you break? And what kinds of interactions do you have with enforcers and authority figures?

Are there parallels with the way authority figures show up in your waking life?

This week's theme is your dreamworld.

Dream adventures

Does your dreamlife sometimes seem better, more meaningful, or more exciting than your waking life? What are some things in your dreams that outdo your waking life? In your dreams, are you more wealthy or more successful than in waking life? Do you get to go to grander and more interesting places? Do your dream challenges seem more important and more satisfying than your dayworld chores?

In what particular ways would you like your life to be more like your dreamlife?

This week's theme is your dreamworld.

Your dreamworld

All of us have dreams that defy ordinary logic, where places, people, and things have fluid identities, and cause and effect can be hard to untangle. But we don't all have the same dreams; each dreamworld has its unique personality.

What is one unusual situation, place, or thing that has appeared in your dreams more than once, but that — as far as you know — hasn't occurred in anyone else's dreams? What is one thing you've dreamed up that just might be unique to your dreamworld?

This week's theme is your dreamworld.

Dreaming of deadly dangers

Do you sometimes dream about your own death, or about facing life-threatening situations? What deadly perils turn up most often in your dreams? Do these dream perils overlap with your daytime worries, or do your dreams have their own special dangers that don't occur in the dayworld?

This week's theme is death.

Enemy headquarters

Think of a dream in which people or forces seemed lined up against you: fighting you, blocking your progress, opposing your goals, or perhaps just making fun of you. What dream location seemed to be the central point of your opposition, your foes' stronghold?

What dayworld place resembles this place from your dream?

This week's theme is dream places.

Only in my dreams

What location turns up repeatedly in your dreams, even though you have never been to that place in your waking life?

This week's theme is dream places.

Destination

Think of a dream in which you are traveling from one place to another, or planning to take a trip. Where are you headed? What is the destination of your dream trip?

Is the trip easy, or do you encounter difficulties and obstacles along the way?

Do you arrive at your destination in your dream, or does the dream end while you are still traveling?

This week's theme is dream places.

What part of the (dream) home

Is the home in your dreams usually a happy and enlivening place, or is it more often a place of problems and conflicts?

Think of a recent dream in which your home itself had a particular problem (such as water flowing, or a big hole in a wall) or unexpected potential (such as finding a treasure, or discovering a room that you never knew was there). What happened in the dream?

What part of your home was the focal point of the dream's events? In the comparable part of your dayworld home, is there anything noteworthy or significant? What might that part of a home mean as a metaphor?

This week's theme is dream places.