What We Desire

Dreams may be especially adept at revealing what we desire. 

— Why We Dream by Alice Robb

A Sign

The cessation of a recurrent dream is a sign that the underlying issue or source of stress has been resolved. 

Why We Dream by Alice Robb

Painting by the fabulous Shannon Cartier Lucy

Brains Are Trying

A useful side effect of the therapeutic function of dreams is that, if we pay attention, we can see what our brains are trying to process.

Why We Dream by Alice Robb

Coloring Her

“A bad dream can set the tone for the entire day, determining the dreamer’s mood and coloring her perceptions of colleagues and friends.”

From the book Why We Dream by Alice Robb

Photo by Berenice Abbot Wave Interference Pattern 1958

Harness The Creative

Graham Greene: He would structure his entire workday to harness the creative power of his dreams. He would draft new sections of a novel in the morning – tapping away until he had met his self-imposed daily quote of five hundred words – and then read them over before bed, leaving his subconscious to work during the night.

– Why We Dream by Alice Robb

I believe in thinking about a big problem before falling asleep, and seeing where my dreams take me, if I have any dreams at all!

Confined To REM

Dreaming isn’t confined to REM sleep; it’s also possible to dream as we fall asleep and right before we wake up.

– Why We Dream by Alice Robb

This happens to me a lot – I have fallen asleep at 9:30pm and wake up at 10:30am, having had a full, deep dream. Or I wake up at 4:30am to use the restroom, fall back asleep, wake up at 5:30am and have had a full-on dream.

How about you?