Sunday, July 31, 2011

What do you dream about?

Last night, I had an incredibly vibrant dream. In this dream, I walked out my front door one morning to discover that the cottage garden at the front of the Fibro had been transformed. The two graceful birches that rustle in the breeze and shield our front verandah from much of the street had been chopped down and lay, felled, across the footpath. The garden beds, full of lavender, camellias, salvia and roses, had been cleared. No flowers grew in my new garden. A new, dazzlingly white picket fence had been installed. The entire area had been carpeted in faux green grass. Two pink, concrete flamingoes had taken up residence in the very centre of the astroturf. A stout little garden gnome stood sentinel by the front gate.

I woke up in a lather. Then woke The Builder up to tell him about it. He managed a laugh.

We didn't need to look far to find a 'meaning' for my dream. I went to Sydney on Friday for Coffee with some of my editorial contacts. After many meetings, many Coffees, and dinner with friends, we all came to one conclusion: it's a time of flux for freelance writers. The old ways are gone. New ways are coming - though nobody is entirely sure yet what they will be. When you write for magazines and other publications, you are a freelancer. When you write for the internet, you are a 'content provider'. The value of the written word is yet to be decided in the shake down. There's a lot to think about, a lot of planning to do. (And, apparently, concrete flamingos to buy.)

Either that, or I simply had one too many red wines at the School Music Trivia Night.

Do you think dreams are the window to our subconscious mind, or the product of indigestion? What do you dream about? 

[image: I'll be buying my flock from www.dazzlelace.com]

20 comments:

  1. I don't always remember my dreams, but the ones I do I take notice. I dreamed I was pregnant with boy 1 before I knew I was pregnant.
    I also dreamed my MIL suddenly was very old and sick, and the next day she had a stroke. Weird? Yessum.
    I wonder if the digital revolution is undervaluing words and good writing? The word 'writer' denotes craftsmanship and skill, whereas 'content provider' sounds a lot like a database monkey.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I definitely think dreams have meaning and stem from somewhere deep or maybe not so deep in our subconscious.
    I dream in spurts. I'll dream 3-4 times a week and then nothing for a while. I love dreaming and waking up trying to analyse and find meaning.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Some days (today is one of them) my dreams are just plain boring. I was on a bus in Vienna (the excitement ends there) and a conductor came through to check tickets. Nearly my entire dream was made up of me searching through my bag for the ticket I knew I'd bought. I finally (I mean finally, it took *forever*) found it, then woke up. Woo-hoo.

    But I do think dreams are a product of your subconscious mind processing your experiences - mine are always related to stuff that has happened in the day/s previous - but fortunately they are usually a bit more interesting.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Is it possible that you could thank Gnomeo and Juliet for some of the imagery?

    I think that dreams are your unconscious mind's way of processing your life. They all make some kind of sense if you sit down and think about them long enough. Well, they could all be rationalised anyway. I've had some particularly potent and vivid dreams after counseling sessions.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I dreamt last night that George Clooney was in my kitchen making me a coffee with our new Nespresso coffee machine. (It is new in real life). That's it. George Clooney is in my house and the best my subconscious can come up with is a cup of coffee....

    Interestingly I often dream my lawn is replaced with artificial grass. No idea why. Never got to the pink flamingo stage though!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I dreamt last night that my husband and I were swept up in a tsunami - both focusing desperately on staying afloat amidst chaos and dangerous turmoil. Wow. Now that I write it out it seems like it should be symbolic. Or maybe it was the extra glass of shiraz at kinder drinks last night.

    I dream of being inside spooky houses and losing my teeth. I think I must worry too much.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a great pic! Flamingoes are fantastic birds, so pretty and tall. To be honest, I have trouble remembering my dreams lately. Maybe it means I'm not having any or maybe I'm just too darn tired by the time I collapse into bed of a night. I don't mind too much, as I have had dreams in the past that I'd really rather not have. I feel I'm more content when I'm not dreaming. Day dreaming is another story... I do ALOT of day dreaming ;o)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Maybe the fact that the Fibro is undergoing renovations too, would have had a influence on your dreams?

    I realise I cannot recall my dreams of the past few months. I am not sure if that's because I am not sleeping very well at the moment? Or becasue the sleep I do get is deep?

    Either way, your subconscious must be in overtime...

    ReplyDelete
  9. i love hearing about other peoples dreams, it really fascinates me. especially as my own tend to always be crazy!

    happy dreaming,

    saywhatyourheartwants.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. I think it is a little of both, our subconscious and from eating late.

    But on a few occasions I had dreamed of being at a place I've never been before, or taking part in a conversation with someone who I've never met.

    Then months, or years later, I would be in that moment, and I would immediately recognized I dreamt it before it happened.

    It makes me marvel at the mystery of the universe and I am humbled by the smallness of who I am.

    ReplyDelete
  11. LOL! My dreams are often the product of a full bladder. I often dream that I'm busting to go to the toilet but I can't find somewhere to go. In the dream the toilet has glass walls or the walls are too short or someone's watching me. Right when I think I can search for the perfect toilet no longer, I wake up, busting to go to the toilet. Love it...not! x

    ReplyDelete
  12. Every couple of months I'll dream that I'm at a meeting, at school, at shops etc and I'm naked. I'll be in the frozen food section, catch a glimpse of myself in the freezer door and realize I have no clothes on. No one cares and I'm mortified. I can't understand how I've left the house starkers! I wake up believing I've been out in public nude. Really weird!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Pink flamingoes? Gotta be the wine!! x

    ReplyDelete
  14. I dream so clearly, and such a vast array of things.
    But I cannot look into them more than "a story my mind is making up to entertain me while I sleep"
    Every night I dream, and I am yet to see how it morphs into my real life, my awake life.
    Although i'd love some of my dreams to come true. Especially the really good sex ones ;)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Where to start with this? I am an every night dreamer, in full and vivid technicolour, so much so that if I am feeling anrgy in a dream, then I'll wake up and be unable to shake the emotion. Same with sadm hapy, scared etc. Not many of the dreams make sense, and most of them feel as if I am starring in some wacky film. Its exhausting and I wake up more tired than I go to bed some nights!

    Interested to hear more about the changing writing world, as I am just entering the fray... (Hope to see a post on that soon)

    Til then, sweet flamingo dreams to you!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ha Ha.
    When my brother's girlfriend turned 40, he had 40 pink flamingo statues delivered to her front lawn! Thankfully they were picked up again the next day.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Fabulous dream...sounds like a real doozey! I'm inclined to think dreams are part portal, part indigestion. Didn't you mention lots of pizza and gorgonzola in today's post? Cheese always leads me to wacky dream places...Strange, I know.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I dream many crazy things, some of them terrifying and others are downright thrilling. I have never dreamt of pink flamingos though. Although I have dreamt that I wake up and leave my bedroom to find that someone has torn down the rest of our house. Lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  19. I do believe that dreams are in part the mind trying to organize all of what is on your mind into an easy format for memory. It presents you with a scenario ( dream) for consideration. Some times it's a great screen writer and sometimes not . But it definitely gets the attention. Do you think the 'renovations' are worrying you? It seems the spread to a part of your house that you cherish.

    I guess your brain wants to know where to file all the the new info/ . I expect it will throw a few more scenarios your way until things calm down a bit.

    ReplyDelete
  20. My dreams involve my name displayed in printed pixels, not digital ones... which is why I find the interpretation of your dream slightly unsettling.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for popping by the Fibro. I love to hear from you!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...