People in your dreams. “You say that everything and everyone in a dream represents a part of the dreamer. I can see how the unicorn in my dream represents my magical thinking, and how the dark, brooding thundercloud portrays my pent-up anger. But I’m having difficulty seeing my partner, Neil, who is also in this dream, as a part of myself. I didn’t realise how angry I was with Neil until I had this dream. …
AI and dream therapy. I heard someone recently talking about their clever phone. I wasn’t sure if they meant to say smart phone and got the word wrong, or whether they were joking. Smart, clever, what’s the difference? A quick Google gives one definition of smart as “Having or showing a quick-witted intelligence”, whereas clever is defined as “Quick to understand, learn, and devise or apply ideas”. I can’t think of a single example of …
The break in. I was terrified, heart pounding, bones frozen, as my front door creaked open, and the intruder’s face came into view. “You can’t come in! Go away! Help!” I shouted, each word so hard to squeeze through my tight throat that it came out as a slow ghostly drawl: “Go-awaaaay! Heeeelp!” I may have been shouting in my dream, but it was a woeful, high-pitched, strangled wail that woke me up. I lay …
A pleasure to catch up with The Today Show (Channel Nine, Australia) this week to talk about dreams, and how parents can help their children when they have nightmares. We also chat about Karl and Sarah’s dreams, and always have a bit of fun along with the serious stuff: The Today Show (Channel Nine), 25 September 2024 Video opens in a new window
How long is a piece of string? Or how long is a roll of toilet paper in a dream? And why couldn’t I break off a single sheet? I used to have a recurring dream where I tried to detach a single piece of TP from a roll. It held fast. I’d roll out a few more sheets, try to gently tear along a different perforation line. No give. I’d pull harder. The soft paper …
The cat. I finally let the muse into my heart. Or did I let the cat out of the bag? I had noticed my non-fiction writing growing more lyrical with each passing year until eventually, in early 2023, I acknowledged the call. After writing seven non-fiction books on dreams, it was time to write a novel. The urge was there, in my nightly dreams, and many a media interview concluded with the question, ‘If you …
Perspective. In a long-ago dream, I was a passenger in an open carriage train, sunshiny blue skies lightly kissing my skin as we journeyed peacefully alongside an ocean. The sense of the journey was liberation, an unblocking, a throughway to the future. As I watched the ocean, I noticed churning dark waves, tsunamis that rose quite majestically before subsiding into silvery sparkles and luminescent pearls. How would you interpret such a dream? You might wonder …
Dream declutter. What began as a wardrobe declutter on a quiet Saturday afternoon continued in a dream in the early hours of Sunday morning. I love a good declutter: the opportunity to let go of clothes that no longer serve me, whether it’s because they’re old and worn and need to be replaced by fresher pieces with more life to offer, or because they no longer fit me or my lifestyle, or they’re items I’ve …
Dream storytelling. “Yeah! We’re back to dream storytelling hour!” I had just announced the release of episode 276, The Dream Show, and Jane S’s super-enthusiastic response to my Instagram post made me smile. I must admit, I felt much the same. After a ten month break from having guests on the show, it was an absolute delight to don the headphones, switch on the podcasting mic, and jump into a mystery dream with a mystery …
Does perimenopause cause more vivid dreams? As if night sweats, broken sleep, middle-of-the-night anxiety, or insomnia aren’t enough to deal with during perimenopause, many women report having more worrying vivid dreams throughout these tumultuous years. Let’s get the definitions out of the way first: Perimenopause refers to the period (pardon the pun) of time when a woman’s levels of oestrogen and progesterone fluctuate wildly in the lead up to menopause. It usually lasts for several …