I have a dream... or three.

Tagged by Shruthi, one of my most favourite bloggers (not the least because I learnt a new word when I first came across her blog - nychthemeron). :)

So, these are the three dreams that I dream most often:

1. I’m in a runaway car whose doors and windows are locked. People see me but don’t notice anything wrong, and although I’m calling out, nobody can hear me. I’ve had this dream off and on over the years. (I also dont remember ever dreaming of how I finally stopped the car and got out... hmmm...). The classic explanation for this dream is lack of control over one's real life reflected in the dream, but I dont remember having consciously been stressed about the way my life was going. Actually the last time I had this dream was when I was learning to drive - no difficulty in explaining it in THAT context! :)

2. I trip over something and wake up with a jerk just as I'm falling. Nothing as dramatic as falling off a cliff for me, my subconscious works more on the mundane level! I do really dislike heights, though, and given that fear, it's sorta strange that I've never had any nightmares about falling from great heights. On the reality plane, I'm ok if there's a railing or something as a barrier between me and an abyss, but if there isnt, it gives me vertigo which manifests itself as a horrible prickly feeling in the soles of my feet and an urge to lean further and further out to see if I can see the bottom, till I reach the point of no return. I havent reached that point yet. Obviously. Heh.

Just to let y'all know that I'm not a total wimp when it comes to heights, I've been up in a hot air balloon... prickly feet and all!

3. This used to happen a lot in school, and fairly often when I was by myself (like when I was waiting for a bus). It's not so frequent nowadays. I'd be deep in thought about some person or event, holding an imaginary conversation in my daydream. The hum of ceiling fans and the background of classmates chattering in the bright, hot classroom would become a distant buzz. Suddenly I'd be brought back to reality by the sound of my own voice - usually saying "illai?" (no?/isnt that so?) as an interrogatory finish to my imaginary conversation. I think I've puzzled a few of my classmates this way.

Just to make this post a little bit more interesting, here are a couple of things about dreams that you might not have known. What I’D like to know is how these “facts” were substantiated. Anyways...

- If you are snoring then you cannot be dreaming.

- Toddlers do not dream about themselves. They don’t appear in their own dreams until the age of three or four. (Really? And how did the researchers discover that fact about toddlers, exactly? They're hardly likely to be able to explain their dreams.)

If you're one of those people who has an "internal alarm clock", here's some news that can be somewhat disgruntling or disappointing. (The news is in the next paragraph, actually, but dont skip this one!) I'm one of those people who can wake up without an alarm clock at exactly the same time every workday (and every weekend as well and when I’m on holiday too, but that’s not relevant because I just go right back to sleep). I DO set the alarm anyway, just in case, but I usually wake up a few seconds before it starts. Again, that’s irrelevant. Yes, I delight in stating the irrelevant and belabouring the obvious (thereby making this statement irrelevant, obvious AND redundant)! Never say I dont have any talents.

The point (got there finally) is, I was kinda proud of this “ability” (the waking-up thing, not the irrelevant thing) - until I discovered that the reason I can do it is a burst of the stress hormone adrenocorticotropin. (I bet that word would be a dyslexic’s nightmare!). Researchers say this reflects an unconscious anticipation of the stress of waking up. Bah. That's coming off my resume, then. "Can wake up at will" very nearly is something to show off about, but "Can wake up stressed at will" doesn’t quite cut it, nor is it likely to impress potential employers...

I'm not going to tag anybody, but if any of you want to take this dream tag on, please do. And dont forget to let me know!