Epic

I don't dream visually.

 

It's not that I don't dream, because I do. I just dream, for lack of an adequate description, in words. It's not like reading a book. I'm fully present inside the dream and words aren't flying in front of my face to read (because, you know, that would be visual). Instead, it's more like the dream is narrated...I hear the story being told and I experience the emotions and physical sensations of the story without visual aid.

 

It's weird. I know.

 

But then I don't seem to have the ability to visualize consciously - no seriously - so it may be a mis-wiring in my brain.

 

However, on very rare occasions, I will have a dream in which I do see, hear, taste, touch and smell everything.

 

Last night, I had such a dream. Visually stunning with bright flashes of vivid color. When I awoke, I immediately texted the main character (aside from me) in the dream to tell him about it...or, at least, mention it, as a reminder. It felt...important as these dreams, when I have them, do.

After a little research, I discovered this is called an epic dream.

An epic dream is summarized as this:

"Epic dreams (also referred to as Great Dreams, Cosmic Dreams or Numinous Dreams) are so huge, so compelling, and so vivid that you cannot ignore them. The details of such dreams remain with you for years, as if you just dreamt it last night. These dreams possess much beauty and contain many archetypal symbology.  When you wake up from such a dream, you feel that you have discovered something profound or amazing about yourself or about the world. It feels like a life-changing experience."

- From Dream Moods

This dream was so compelling, so vivid, so beautiful, I awoke with tears streaming down my face and was, again, compelled to tell the other person about it...at least a little.

This morning, I began to write down everything I could recall about the dream. I was surprised at just how much I remembered.

When I re-read what I'd written though, I realized just how laid out raw I felt, how vulnerable I felt, how afraid I felt in what that dream revealed to me. So I'm not willing to share it here. Perhaps I'll not ever share more than just a minor detail here or there.

But I was struck at how much my subconscious processes and how much it can offer the conscious me...if I choose to listen...about those things with which I struggle. Obstacles, PATIENCE, desire, sadness, hope, frustration, love, EGO, loss, charity.

It truly was, in a word, epic. Perhaps. Life changing.