I've had moments like that, where I realize it's a dream and begin to try to manipulate. But it quickly goes from dream-like to boring play acting to jarring me back into awakeness.

I can do that when I'm dreaming in the mornings...I can wake up slightly, and go back into my dream exactly where and how I want to. It's awesome. I've always been able to do that! I remember doing it on weekend mornings back in high school....I'd do it from like 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., so I never understood those studies that say that dreams actually only last a few seconds. I know that I can go in and out of dreams over a period of a few hours!

Yeah, I tend to do that in the mornings, too. I guess that for the most part, I don't try to control my dreaming too much. I'd much rather see what produces untouched, but I suppose, sometimes I can't help it. Mostly, it will be me, partially awake in the morning, wanting to fast forward though a dream. This part's chugging along, and isn't so pleasant, so I've moved on to something else in my dream, something else starts... That sort of thing.

I don't have that kind of control in my middle of the night dreams, though. But also, I don't tend to remember my middle of the night dreams.

This kinda happens to me. On lazy days I'll fall back asleep and into the dream again, but since I'm then aware it's a dream, it usually just replays the same moments over and over like a stuck record. Or it'll instantly morph into some less related scenario and I won't be able to control it. It's weird.

Some notes on my dreams:

My dreams all ultimately end the way I want them to. Like the tidal wave dream Chris had. The outcome is what I want it to be.

I have repetitive dreams. Most of my dreams take place in theme parks and lots of times I've had the actor's nightmare of walking onstage and not knowing any of my lines.

Ralphie has animal attack dreams where he's being chased by a bear or bitten by scorpions or something.

"Scorpions!" ~ Kuzco

But a couple of weeks ago, I had a dream where a wild dog attacked me and I killed it. When I shared that with Ralphie he had told me that none of his dreams have ever ended like that. So, to each his own. I rarely have dreams that have bad endings.

A few things I've heard about dreams, flying is meant to represent happiness and water is sexual in nature. I don't know if that's true or not.

I have dreams about things that happen the day before. Ralphie has dreams about things that he thinks of before he goes to bed.

This is a regular feature in my "action movie" dreams. If my get-a-way isn't spectaular enough, it's like I yell "re-write!" and I do that part over again. But like I said -- those dreams almost always have me watching myself in the third person. I'm aware that I'm watching non-reality. I used to have lots of "people trying to get/kill me" dreams that were quite terrifying, so perhaps this is a healthy adaptation.

The other night I had a very vivid dream, not in third person. It's not as clear now. I can't remember if I was helping my grandmother pick out what she was going to be buried in -- and her death was imminent, or if she had already died and I was picking out her outfit for her. But something like that. Very involved and lots of detail that now I can't recall. But I remembered it because it was so vivid -- and because my grandmother died in December 2003.

I have flying dreams and I always like them. But I don't always remember how to fly - or am not very good at it. I run and jump and end up landing on the ground. Then I remember I have to pump my legs and arms and I'm good to go... but I get to high and freak out and have to land. I usually fly to get someplace quickly - but find I end up getting lost because I can't see what street I'm on sort of thing.

Lately I've been having disturbing dreams. Can't think of one right now but I wake up thinking - Oh my! Hope *that* never happens!

My favorite dreams are ones where I dream of my dead friend Leif. They used to always revolve around me telling him: I thought you were dead. And he'd respond. Finally he said - we've been through this before you know. Then I stopped having those dreams. Recently, I dreamed of my dead Grandpa and that was nice because I was able to say things to him I'd wanted to say but didn't.

To me - dreams seem to have a way of reflecting something inside somehow.

It seems I can never speak in any of my dreams. Or perhaps I can in most dreams, but every so often I have a dream where I'm trying to tell someone something and I'm just unable. I try to speak, it takes great effort, and comes out breathless and barely audible. I usually then wake up shortly after, and wonder if, in my valiant attempt to speak in the dream, I've been mumbling incoherently in my sleep. I actually think that that's what it is, that I'm half way to consciousness, so my brain is trying to make me actually speak while my body is still in that REM-induced paralysis.

It certainly can be - in our cultural history water is often a symbol for either (sometimes both) sexuality as well as spirituality.

But usually, if you do dream interpretation for someone, the first part is to find out what all these dream symbols might be to the individual. Our subconsciousness has it's own language shaped by culture, but always unique.

Chris, I completely agree with you. Somtimes I think they're woven complexities - stories, symbols, etc., that simply help us to some answers about ourselves, or allow us to solve certain problems while our conscious minds are stalled and no longer in control.

Sometimes I think they're the other half of my life.

I love, love, love dreaming. And more often then not they clue me into certain mysteries about myself I've been unable or unwilling to solve on my own when I'm awake. I really rely on them.

Sometimes I can tell when they're just escapist entertainment, though. Like a daydream I've lost control of. I love those, as well.