A Shocking Waking Dream About Dripping Water

image courtesy of homeguides.sfgates.com

I’ve examined several traditional dreams in a row, so I think it’s time to remind my readers that the dreaming process doesn’t stop when we wake up from sleep. Dreaming continues 24 hours a day. Whatever it is that causes dreams to take the forms they do, continues its work as we go about the normal business of our lives. We may have a startling encounter—say—with an animal while we are wide awake. That is no different than if we bring an equally unsettling image from sleep. The trick is to remain calm and collected enough to examine either type of experience, understanding that the images are metaphors. These metaphors are trying to communicate important messages to us. If we make the effort to understand this, then we will benefit from an insightful dialogue that the “universe”—for lack of a better term—is trying desperately to engage us in. But if we are not paying attention to this constant attempt at communication, then the universe resorts to more and more outlandish, attention-grabbing imagery. This can become upsetting.

That is the case with the dream I will look at this week. I am going to share the interpretation of an event that the dreamer witnessed and was involved with while he was awake. This is a “waking dream,” and we will treat this event exactly like a traditional dream: isolating the symbols, understanding them as metaphors, and then reassembling the dream in its metaphoric form. And as with some dreams we have during sleep, this waking dream involves imagery that is truly shocking. Please be forewarned! If the universe wants to get a message across and we are not paying attention, it tends to ignore our comfort level.

A dreamer tells his shocking waking dream

Oh my God! I’m still shaking about this: I live in an apartment building in the city. One night, I was settling into bed to go to sleep, and I started my normal bedtime meditation ritual. I usually spend a little bit of time collecting my thoughts and trying to get rid of any tension from the day. I had the lights turned off and was just drifting into the mental space I like to be in, when I started hearing, and then feeling, water dripping onto my bed. I turned on the light and realized that the water was coming from the ceiling. I had to move out of my bed and sleep in another part of my apartment. I called the landlord, but I didn’t get the full story until the next day. It turned out that the guy in the apartment directly above me had committed suicide in his bathtub, and had left the water running as he was dying. It was all dripping onto my bed! I am completely freaked out!

Reassurance

I will foreshadow where this is going just to put my readers’ minds at ease: Believe it or not, this is a really positive dream. Stay tuned!