nightmare

When I was about 9-10, I used to have this recurring dream. I would be lying in a partially darkened room because I usually had a nightlight on somewhere or my blinds open. But at the time it seemed dark.

I would dream that I had fallen asleep (which I had) with my left arm hanging off the bed. I would wake and realize something was watching me. I knew it was behind the cracked door. So, I would stare at this space behind the door.

Out from behind this door, walked a black cat, with huge green eyes. I didn't have such a cat at the time. He would seem friendly and casually walk towards. When he was just beneath my arm, he would lunge and attack my arm.

I would wake up.

This dream occurred for months. It happened the same way, every time.

1983/82
Non-lucid/partial lucidness Dream
Memorable
Vivid
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After my Grandma passed away, I was very disturbed by her leaving this world. One night, I lay in bed and tried to imagine what she might be feeling - how would it feel to be 'dead'. With these thoughts in my mind, I fell asleep. As the dream began, I found myself swimming. It was probably a typical swimming pool. I tried to come up for air and found a see-through barrier preventing me from getting to the surface. I swam left and right to no avail.

The dream shifted. I believe I became conscious. I wondered how would one feel if they were dead? I began shutting down each of my senses. I figured one wouldn't be able to hear and then I could not hear. One would not be able to see and then I could not see anything but black. One would not be able to feel....and this is where it changed again. I felt cut off and isolated. I was floating (seemingly) in this blackness - all alone - without sight, without hearing, without feeling. I did not exist. No one worried about me. I had no worries but I had no joys either. And then...I became terrified. I wanted to mean something to someone. I wanted to be remembered. I wanted to feel and see and hear. I woke up.

*Afterthought: Looking back on this dream, I often wonder if I had not just gone to the void that I found after years of meditating? To a child, the void might seem terrifying especially if you don't know what it is. But when I found the void as an adult, it was peaceful. And because you are meditating and your focus is internal - not external - I don't hear anything, or feel anything, or think anything. I could have, if I'd wanted to. But the goal was to focus and clear the mind - clear them mind of all that is. Only after clearing the mind can one be able to hear other things and see other things. Before that you only hear what is yours to hear. ... your own noise. And if someone/something else was talking to you, you would never hear them above your own chatter. So, as a child, the void, if that is what I entered, was a nightmare. The unknown can be terrifying...

Old Dream from childhood....1980's (yeah, I'm OLD)

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My mother was driving my twin brothers and me somewhere at night. It was a dark two lane road and late. I felt really scared. All of a sudden the car breaks down and she tells us to stay in the car - she's going for help. She gets out of the car. Houses line the left side of the road. These houses are on a slight hill, but nothing that my mom can't climb. It's an easy grade. She heads toward the only house with a porch light on.

From the corner of my eye, I see dark figures sneaking up to her. I know they are after and stalking her. She starts to run and they chase her. I scream (and it comes out IRL). I open up the door and burst out of the car. I run toward my mother but she is already on the ground and the men are on top of her. They are holding her down and she is screaming. I am calling to her and trying to run. As I run, I pump my arms, willing myself faster. IRL I must have swung my arms too because I scraped my knuckles on my stucco wall and this woke me up. My knuckles were bleeding slightly and my dad was in my room. He apparently heard me scream.

2010 (approx)

I fell asleep without doing my affirmations in my journal.

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My husband was flirting with me, and he touched my left side, below my ribcage. I cringed and pulled away because it hurt there. It felt like a really bad bruise. He placed his hand on my ribcage again, I said, no, don't that really hurts. He grabbed me by the arm and held me in place then forcefully began rubbing the tender spot beneath my ribs. As he rubbed harder his face contorted into this demonic face and he smiled an evil, malicious smile. I couldn't pull away and he continued rubbing, knowing it was causing me terrible pain.

I woke abruptly IRL and noticed my left side, below my ribcage was very sore. When I felt there, I noticed a lump - for real. I ended up seeing the doctor and found it was a Lipoma. Six months later, I had it removed.
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Afterthought: I am thinking that the activation of my chakras either sensitized the nerves here so that I felt it or it simply brought my attention to that area. Because during meditation my chakras (base, sacral, solar plexus, heart) were all throbbing away. I actually checked my pulse rate several times believing that my heart rate had increased, but it had not. My pulse was steady even though the beating inside me was very strong and insistent. The solar plexus centered chakra and the heart chakra are the ones that thundered away. Did this have an effect on my side? I don't know. Perhaps just coincidence.

August 14, 2006
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My husband is not a believer in anything. But that night, as I had on other nights, would visualize each member of my family cocooned in white light.

I woke sometime in the night to Russ's bad dream sounds. He got up and left, went to the back room to sleep. I fell back to sleep and recall that I had strange dreams but not nightmares.

In the morning, I told him that I heard him moaning because he must have had a bad dream. I asked if he remembered what he was dreaming about. He said, he woke up because he felt a hand on his head. When he opened his eyes, a dark shadow figure stood in front of him and then faded out. He thought it was real, but realized his mind must have played tricks on him. I asked if he dreamt that . Said he was awake when he felt and saw the dark shadow. He said it had a hat, like a fedora and it stood near the doorway. He thought it was going to hurt us or him.