Fever dreams. Is there such a thing as a fever dream? Are the dreams we have during a fever significantly different from our usual dreams? While many people report no change in their dreams during a fever, others have noticed specific patterns, and research tends to support some common themes. Let’s explore: A common fever dream theme is spatial distortion. A common fever dream theme is spatial distortion: spaces changing size, walls moving, solid objects …
Why are dreams weird? We dream to process our waking life experiences, so why are so many of our dreams completely weird, apparently nothing like waking life? You might think that processing a relationship breakup while you sleep might manifest as a dream about your ex, or some recognisable scenarios from the final days. Instead, you have a dream that seems totally unrelated, a dog with wings jumping off a cliff, or finding a rare …
What’s your dream-flying style? How do you fly in your dreams? Do you flap your arms like a bird taking off, stretch your arms to each side like a gliding eagle, do a kind of swimming breaststroke, point a determined finger skyward and launch like Superman, hover just above the treeline, get trapped in the powerlines, or do little run-hop-skip-jumps with the occasional airborne balletic Grand Plié? What’s your flying style? And how often do …
Sleeping with strangers. Last November we flew to England to visit my family. The trip from Australia to the UK is tediously long, and especially arduous when you travel economy class, as we do, with very little room to move, snoozing shoulder-to-shoulder with complete strangers. The last leg of our journey was from Doha, Qatar, a mere 7.5 hours following the 14.5 hour flight from Melbourne to Doha and a quick run from one end …
Are dreams about what you watch on TV meaningful? It’s easy to dismiss a dream as ‘just’ being about the TV show you watched before bed, nothing too meaningful, but wait! These dreams can provide deep insight into your mindset and your life. The same applies to dreams featuring bits and pieces from the film you saw at the cinema, the play you attended at the theatre, or the book you were reading that evening. …
Finding answers in your dreams. Every dream poses a question about your life, and gifts you the opportunity to discover the meaningful answers you seek. The dream question is usually somewhere near the beginning of your dream (if you have remembered the whole dream), and it probably looks nothing like any question you’re asking yourself in life. For example, your dream might be about searching for a lost cat, in which case the dream question …
Can you interpret my dream? It’s probably fair to say that until they learn a little about the nature of dreams, most people have absolutely no idea what their dreams mean. Yet they’re fascinated; they want to know! Who can they ask? Somewhere in this big and beautiful world, a dream group is in progress. Nine people sit in a circle, perhaps around a soothing candle in the fading evening light. One has just shared …
A Story of Parts. “Part of me wants to stay, part of me wants to go. I’m stuck! How can I resolve this predicament?” It’s in our everyday language: “There’s a part of me that doubts my ability,” “I’m equal parts creative and intellectual,” “The scientific part of me wants more proof, the intuitive part of me feels this is the right path to take,” “I’m partly extrovert, partly introvert – it depends on the …
How to get back to sleep. How can you get back to sleep when you find yourself wide awake in the middle of the night? There’s a very simple method that I use, either to get back to sleep or to fall asleep in the first place if I haven’t drifted off within a few minutes. Whenever I’ve recommended it to people, they’re always surprised that something so simple is so effective. Perhaps you’ve woken …
Fossil Cove. I heard about Fossil Cove on the grapevine. A place known to some locals, shh don’t tell! It’s a conservation area, a short drive from Hobart, where I live, and a steep climb down well-managed tracks and steps that lead to a magical feast for the senses. Etched abundantly across the rock shelves are snapshots of marine life some 250 million years ago. The closer you look, the more your eye adjusts, and …