Most nights I have very strange and realistic dreams. Sometimes, when I wake up, I’m not really sure if what I dreamed really happened or not. But I think the weirdest thing about my dreams is that I seem to have somehow developed a whole dream city. In the middle of a dream I will often find myself in some area of a city, on a bus or walking, that I know very well because I have dreamed of being there before. The city seems to be mostly based on Hamilton, where I grew up, bit it has elements of other cities where I have lived a visited. And then there are things that exist nowhere, like a thin bridge high above the city that leads out to a beach of some sort.
I dreamed I was in this city again last night. I knew exactly where I was and what was around the next corner. It seems to me that I almost know this city better then I know Hamilton. And sometimes I am well aware that I am dreaming, yet the dream continues. I often wonder if this is normal.
Is not an aware dream the first step towards lucid dreaming, dreams which you’re more or less in control of? I’ve had dreams where I realize I’m dreaming, and in some ways I can then manipulate the dream itself.
I think of it as a form of lucid dreaming. When I was young and stressed out by college dorms and lack of privacy, I had two very different style dream rooms, hidden away from everyone else. I never planned going there beforehand, but was always delighted to find myself outside one of the rooms. I could go inside and have quiet time to read, write letters. Being there brought a deep sense of peace and renewal.
In those types of dreams, one brings into the dreamstate an awareness far closer to the awakened state (which is what makes it a form of lucid dreaming)but I also think it is a personal way of taking inner control of emotional stability, a way of coming home to the familiar.
Is dreaming like this normal? I’d say yes and it’s healthy. Is it a common experience? Probably not, but that’s where you’re lucky. You go girl!! Explore your city to find its treasures. Keep us informed what you discover.