2004-03-06 - Dream Analyses:

Age 8:

I dream I am swimming in a friend's pool. I like to sit on the bottom of it and look up at the surface, shimmering and surreal, inside out. I do it a few times, and slowly swim to the top to savour the experience. The last time, the surface doesn't get any closer, although I swim farther and farther from the pool's floor. The light from the sun on the surface gets brighter, and the water below me gets darker and darker. I regret swimming up slowly, rather than pushing off the bottom with my legs to propel myself up faster. My lungs start getting tighter, and I start panicking, my swimming turning into thrashing as my air runs out. I wake up holding my breath, my lungs crying for air.

Ages 12-17

I have a recurring dream where I miss the school bus. My bus stop is right outside my house, and in the dreams, it drives by while I do the slow-motion run thing across the front yard. The dreams recurrences average three or four times a month.

Age 15

I dream I am feeling sick, and hurry to the bathroom to take care of things. I begin vomiting, but it soon becomes apparent that I am actually vomiting up my intestines. The pink, tubular organ gushes like snake out of my throat, and I can't breathe, nor can I stop rejecting my own organs. My body starts crying out for air, but I can't do anything about it. My intestines continue spewing from my mouth, piling up on the bathroom floor. I wake up sweating and shivering.

Age 20

I dream I fall into a swimming pool that is closed for the season but not yet covered and still has water in it. The water is murky and algae grows in patches on the water's surface and along the sides of the pool. I start swimming around, and feel my body changing into a crocodile. I can feel my body lengthening, legs and arms shortening. A tail and muzzle develop. I experiment with the double, transparent eyelids and practice opening and closing my nostrils for dives. The pool lengthens and transforms into a long, meandering, boggy river. I smell the swampy air and move silently amongst clumps of reeds and vegetation growing in the water. I feel the current move against my body. My tail flicks and steers me as I swim. The transformation seems completely natural and pleasant.

Age 22

I've been having dreams where my body is failing me. I dream that my liver stops working, and I have to tell everyone that I am dying. The process is drawn-out and emotionally exhausting. I dream I have flesh-eating disease, and nobody will treat me because they are afraid of catching the infection, too. I dream that I take a shower, and my hair starts coming out in clumps when I try to wash it. I save the clumps of hair, hoping to be able to do something with them, to solve the problem. I dream I am severely constipated, and when I finally go to the bathroom, I shit a whole, frozen chicken.