Bring Me a Dream: Storytelling from the Subconscious Mind

"Mr. Sandman....bring me a dream...."

...or however the song goes.

Since the dawn of humanity's existence, we've constantly been finding ways to tell the stories of our lives, our adventures, our hopes and aspirations, our beliefs---anything and everything. And we've utilized everything at our disposal, from painting on cave walls, to drawing pictures in the stars, to books, to blogs like the one you're reading now.  But there's one storytelling avenue that I don't think gets talked about enough. One that isn't even immediately considered a form of storytelling because it's the one we tell to ourselves: dreams.

To this day, we've never quite figured out WHY we dream, other than it possibly being our brain's way of processing information....but then how to you explain cases of people supposedly having visions of dead relatives they've never met and other ghostly phenomena? Or cases of reoccurring nightmares of future events that wound up coming true? Whatever your beliefs are, it's a mystery we'll probably never quite figure out, but it'll also forever remain a fascinating topic.

Personally, what I think is just SO cool is how our brains, whether we want them to or not, are constantly active, even while sleeping, to the point that our minds make up stories completely on their own. Granted, some of them can be scary to the point of driving people to insomnia. Some are so mundane that people often mistake them for actual events because they feel too real. And many others are so out there and fantastical that our waking-selves are left sitting there wondering how our cerebral cortex cooked up such a wild scenario to begin with.  Case in point, this phenomenon has bled into pop culture countless times. How many instances can you name off where a character wakes up from a plot-related nightmare, or someone's elaborate adventure turns out to all be a dream? ("Alice in Wonderland" or "Wizard of Oz" anyone?)

And of course, dreams have also inspired writers and given them ideas for their respective stories. Supposedly, James Cameron sited a strange dream he had once, which gave him the inspiration for his eventual "Avatar" franchise. Though, in my case, it's typically the reverse, where a fandom I'm into impacts my dreams in the craziest ways. I'll never forget the one where the entire "Star Trek: Next Generation" bridge crew and I were in a hospital for some reason, and kept getting hopelessly lost as we tried to find our way out of the building......and Captain Picard kept yelling and complaining to everyone that we were making him late for an important party. The mental image of him yelling "one more word out of you, ensign, and you're not getting any cake!!" to me will forever be burned in my subconscious.

.....but then there's one VERY vivid dream in particular that I'll never forget for as long as I live. Most other dreams like the above-mentioned one, I can easily laugh off....but THIS one was on another level entirely. I seriously really want to try and see if anyone out there can help me analyze this, as this dream contained subject matter I’ve almost NEVER dreamt about before or since, and certainly not to an intensity and specifically detailed degree such as this. I wouldn’t call it a nightmare, but neither was it fun. It was spooky…but more for the oddity and sheer level of “what the heck?!” -ness to it.

I also feel the need to open with a disclaimer: I was raised in a Catholic household, and though I haven’t attended a mass in quite some time, I still at least say my prayers every night. But I have friends of many different sections of faith. I totally respect other people’s religious beliefs, and I’m not trying to force mine on anyone here. I try to keep my mind open to other interpretations of “what lies beyond” and such. Why this disclaimer? Well, you’re about to find out.  Strap in, folks. This is gonna’ get lengthy….

So, the dream opened in third person view, as though I were watching a movie. Somewhere in the middle of outer space, two giant robots are just sort of hovering there, fighting with each other. (I’m talking like mecha in the style of 'Transformers' or 'Gundam' or the like.) It’s also worth mentioning that this whole opening section of the dream was presented like a cartoon. (The art style of “My Life as a Teenage Robot” is the closest I can get to describing what it looked like.) One mecha was an orange/red color, the other was blue and white. Note that I said they were fighting WITH each other, not attacking one another. That’s because the “camera” (for lack of a better word) then shifted to show this HUGE spaceship off in the distance, slowly making its way towards a space station. (But not like, a realistic NASA space station or anything—this looked all sci-fi/future-y like something out of 'Star Trek'.) The Star Destroyer from 'Star Wars' is the closest I can get to describing what this starship looked like in terms of size and scope. Although it wasn’t outright firing lasers or anything, in dream-world, my mind already knew the backstory that that Star Destroyer thing was on its way to attack the space station.

So naturally, red and blue robot have been sent out to stop the thing. Except the two of them were bickering amongst each other, arguing over the best course of action. Blue Robot keeps insisting they have to work together; Red Robot won’t listen to reason and thinks his plans are better. Finally, Blue Robot gives up trying to argue and flies off to fight the Star Destroyer thing alone. A voice over the radio (probably someone back at the station) pleads with the two to work together and that Blue Robot doesn’t stand a chance and can’t do it alone. Blue Robot responds with, “Well I’m gonna’ have to try.” And disappears into the distance.

Considering my love for movies and comics and stuff, so far, this is par the course for dreams I’ve had in the past. But THIS is where things take a turn for the truly bizarre.

The “movie” then cut to inside the space station (very futuristic and high tech looking. All white walls, furniture and equipment. Very slick and clean looking.). Everything’s now in first person view, so obviously from my viewpoint now. There’s a guy frantically typing at a control panel (I’m assuming he’s the one communicating with the robots.) All sorts of alarms are blaring and going off. The entire station is shaking and vibrating as it starts coming under attack. I think to myself, “I gotta’ get out of here!” So, I race to the nearest automatic doors and have to pry them open with both my hands just to get them to slide open.

The second I crossed the doorway, everything stopped being an animated cartoon, and from here on out, for the rest of the dream, everything is now normal/live action/real world. I started running all through the station trying to find help, until eventually, I hit upon an idea.  I kid you not, the only thought that came to me at that point was, “….I have to find God.”

Yes. You heard me. “I have to find God.” Hang in there. It only gets freakier.

So, I head off, trying to find anyone who can help me look for God, as by this point, He’s the only one who can get us out of this mess. Couple important things to note here:

1.) Despite being on a space station, none of the people aboard are in any sort of discernible uniform. Everyone I encounter is wearing normal clothes like jeans and T-shirts and stuff (save for one person, but we’ll get to HER in a second….)

2.) The deeper I go into the station, and the farther I get away from that docking bay area I started off in, the less the station shakes, and the alarms gradually get quieter, until eventually, the attacks stop completely.

And 3.) A large portion of the crew (or passengers?) I initially come across are all Chinese (or of some Asian descent thereof). Whether this station was built or funded by China, I don’t know.

In any case, no one seems to be able to speak English, and no one seems to be scared or bothered, or even aware of what’s going on outside. But they can tell I need help, so they point in the direction of this lady that I’m assuming is the leader or figurehead of some sort.  I assume so, because she’s the only one dressed differently from everyone else…..and she’s dressed like something out of the Feudal Era. A geisha, I think they call it. A red robe with gold flower patterns. Hair done up in a bun. Face painted white. Red lipstick. The works. Queen Amidala look, ya’ know?

Of course, dream-me doesn’t question this at all, and I plead with her to take me to where God is. I then started repeating the phrase, “you know?! Heart, mind, soul?!” to her, over and over again. During which, I’d point to my heart, then my head, then trace a circle in the air with both index fingers for emphasis, hoping she’d get what I was asking her. Please note that in real life, I have NO clue what Chinese religion or mythology entails, nor have I ever studied it, and I’m 100% sure what I just described is completely wrong and total BS. But apparently, this is how it worked in dream world, and apparently, I knew just the right sign language to make, because Geisha Lady finally got a look of understanding on her face, smiled and nodded, and said something in her own language that gave off the message of “oh, okay. I’ll take you to Him.”

So, she takes me by the arm, motions for me to follow her, and I let her lead me through the rest of the space station. All the alarms and chaos from earlier have totally stopped by this point. Her dress/kimono thing is so tightly wrapped around her that she had to take fast little baby steps, and you’d think with her penguin-walking it would’ve taken forever, but it actually took no time at all to get where we were going.  During which, I look around, and notice that, at that point, the hallways of the station started looking more and more like the isles of a department store. She weaves me through rows and rows of shelves stacked with all sorts of stuff. Some shelves are full, others have some stuff but were clearly picked through, and some shelves are completely empty.

At long last, Geisha Lady shows me into a large waiting room of sorts, bowing and sweeping her arm out as if saying, “well, here we are.” I look around, and there’s a long line of people all waiting to get into an adjoining room where God is. Only then do I finally start seeing other races of people besides the Chinese from earlier. Black, Hispanic, Japanese, White—a mixture of all sorts from seemingly all over the world are in line. And every single person has some kind of item in hand. Books, potted plants, a wooden spoon and whisk (guess that person liked cooking?); any kind of knick-knacks you can think of. (Which I guess sort of explains the department store place from earlier and why stuff was missing.) I then walked past the line and peeked into the adjoining room to see what everyone was waiting for, and…..

Well…..um…..I found God.

The room was a very plain looking bedroom, with beige-colored walls, a queen-sized bed, and a single nightstand, but nothing else, not even a lamp, which would explain why the room was so dimly lit, with the only available light coming in from the doorway. I took a step closer to try and better see the….well….‘being’ occupying the bed. Or pair of beings I guess I should say (more on that in a second). At the foot of the bed was, what appeared to be, a Hispanic man in his 20s or 30s, with short scruffy black hair and tanned skin, and wearing nothing but a plain, white T-shirt….because he had no legs. His body ended at the torso, and he was propped up with a ton of pillows so he could see the visitors better. More pillows were situated on the floor for the people to kneel on, and at that moment, a lady and her kid were kneeling in front of Him, and everyone was speaking in super hushed tones, so I couldn’t really hear what they were talking about. Though, every so often, I’d hear the amputee guy (that I’m assuming was God) speaking in a calm, reassuring tone, saying things like, “Don’t worry. You’re going to be okay. Everything’ll be fine.” And so on. No stereotypical big booming voice or anything like that.

But I probably wasn’t paying much attention to what they were saying because I was more focused on the OTHER being occupying the rest of the bed. Lying at the top of the bed, directly behind the Hispanic guy, was another humanoid shape cut off at the torso. I say humanoid because this….thing….was more hidden in the shadows due to its position in the room. I could make out a head, neck, arms, hands, and chest….but no discernible clothes. It was more like….a dark blob that took the rough shape of a human….and it had no face. Or maybe it did, but….anytime I tried to look directly at it, its head seemed to be encased in a kind of fog, with the face area constantly shifting and blurring. If you’ve ever watched police or crime shows where they interview someone who wants to remain anonymous, and they blur their face out, that’s basically what it looked like. And seeing this half-a-humanoid lying above the Hispanic guy, making it look like they were stacked on top of each other, almost kind of reminded me of Vishnu a bit. (The being from Hindu mythology who looks like a human with multiple arms.)

Anyway, so I’m just standing there, taking this all in, when someone who was waiting in line (can’t remember if it was a guy or lady) came up next to me, and they must’ve saw my confusion, because they leaned in and whispered, “Every couple of years, they pick a new person to represent Him.” This is the only wording I SPECIFICALLY remember, EXACTLY. Whoever the “they” is that this person was referring to, I have no clue. The robots? The Chinese? The people waiting in line? Who knows.

The person then explained a little more, and unfortunately, I can’t remember the exact wording, but they basically said something like, “It’s strongly recommended that you bring Him a present.” Guess that would explain why everyone in line was holding stuff. Finally, this person whispered to me, “I hear that books are His favorite.” And I remember thinking to myself, 'Considering this dude’s got no legs and is probably stuck in bed all day, yeah, he probably needs something to do.’ And though I can’t remember whether I thought it, or said it out loud, my last thought was, “Damn. I should’ve brought my books with me.”

And that’s when, quite suddenly, I woke up.

No, I’m NOT on drugs.  I have NEVER taken any drugs; recreational or otherwise,  nor do I drink. Thanks for asking. So…..what in the name of all that is holy does this all mean???

Like I said in the intro, this is something that is SO far out of my wheelhouse when it comes to what I normally dream about that I felt that I HAD to put it out there somewhere. I mean, I’ve gotten a bare-bones taste of other religions and cultures, mostly via movies and stuff, but it’s not like I’m actively studying Feudal Era China or Hindu legends all the time, nor was I reading up on any sort of material right before bed or anything. I guess what I’m getting at is that the whole religious aspect of it is what really threw me, to the point of almost feeling prophetic in a way. I had goosebumps upon waking up, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about what I experienced for the rest of the day. I’ve managed to come up with just a few theories, though this could totally be off base, so bear with me.

The only part I’m really sure on is the beginning part with the robots, since one was red and the other blue. And that whole part was in the style of a cartoon (while the rest of the space station was in “live action/real world”). My guess is that the robots represented the U.S. political parties, and how both of them have been reduced to blathering, cartoon caricatures who can’t work together at all to fight something that’s threatening everyone. (The world was in the middle of the Covid crisis at the time this dream happened, so maybe the star destroyer was a stand in for the virus?)

Then, what’s with the people lining up with gifts and the section that looks like Wal-Mart? Is this supposed to mean that society’s become super greedy and materialistic, to the point of thinking we can buy favor with someone? Or bribe our way into Heaven?   Then again, at least in the dream, I had little doubt that the beings in the bedroom WAS God, since He seemed like a pretty chill dude who spoke kindly and was being comforting.  So maybe the gifts people were bringing were like….representations of their hobbies or something? Maybe the vibe was supposed to be more like, “Hey! Thanks for creating me, God! Here’s something I made with the talents you gave me!” Like a kid showing off their macaroni art to their parent or something like that. OR, maybe it was supposed to mean something like, “In order to follow Him, you have to give up your love for material things?” I don’t know.

And then there’s that weirdly specific line that still haunts me. “Every couple of years, they pick a new person to represent Him.”   I have a feeling the humanoid blurry shape that I wasn’t able to clearly see the face of was the real God, while the Hispanic guy was His avatar of sorts.  Still don’t know who the “they” is, though.   Or was this meant to mean something along the lines of, “Society has become so focused and desperate for a savior that they’re starting to see celebrities and politicians as false gods? Thinking that one guy can fix everything, when really we should be bettering our inner selves?”

I’m just going to end it here before I start opening up a whole other can of worms. Thanks to anyone and everyone who stuck with this all the way to the end.  The whole dream actually felt like it lasted all of ten minutes—it just took me a bit to explain all the details is all. I haven’t had any similar dreams since. But still…..if anyone out there can help me interpret this thing, I’d love to hear from you, as I have the biggest gut feeling this all means SOMETHING important. I just don’t know quite what. But if this IS a premonition of some kind, I just hope to God it’s a good one. Suffice it to say, this was one dream that will haunt me forever.

Do YOU have any strange dreams, good or bad, that you'd like to share? Feel free to leave a comment, as I'm ALWAYS curious to hear about what stories people's sleeping minds cook up.

Things I Got Done This Week

--continued drawing the next "Jamie Jupiter" episode

--continued writing the next "Rini Boe" book

--uploaded a new reaction video to a fan project I was commissioned to take part in, which you can watch HERE

--and finished all prep work for the upcoming "Monster Bash Conference" (see the "upcoming events" tab for more details)

Do you want to see behind-the-scenes photos and commentary on all these projects? All of this is available in my totally free newsletter! The next one comes out September 16th!