WalkingInWinter

This is my first entry and I plan to post daily. These entries will be edited versions of my personal copy, for privacy reasons. I'm posting to share my experiences and experiments, to contribute to the community and to create a back-up for all my dreams in case my computer ever crashes, .

After reading this sticky, my recall improved dramatically. I woke up and before I started writing, I just lied in bed and thought about my dreams, in an attempt to clarify them. After about 30-60 seconds of that, I started typing on my laptop next to my bed. All I wrote were tags; single words or short phrases. I went back to sleep and repeated these steps when I woke again. I 'fleshed out' the tags periodically throughout the day; between classes and so on. The tags I jotted down when I first woke up allowed me to recall entire dreams later on in the day.

Also! An exciting thing to add regarding Dream Cartography/Mapping. When I first woke up, I seemed to be able to trigger more detailed memories of the dream during times of recall-struggle, by focusing on an environmental detail, such as lighting or room dimensions. I remember trying to focus on how the room was designed, and it immediately brought forth memories of events, emotions and so on.

Note: I don't particularly subscribe to the notion of literally mapping out a 'dreamworld'. I'm not taking a stance one way or the other, but I want to emphasize that in my DJ, when I speak of Dream Cartography/Dream Mapping, I am not using the premise that static dream 'worlds' exist, in our minds or external to our minds. When I speak of Dream Cartography/Dream Mapping, I am merely using it as a different modality of dream description, in addition to the emphasized description of events and social interactions.

Locations: old childhood apartment. old friend's house, drove down a rainy street, old friend of parents' house.

3 scene changes Tags: old apmt with mom. Night. Sneaking sammiches from kitchen. Went into old room. Ex. Slept over? Just friends;not even that. REASON we're seeing each other. Money? Not in love anymore. Woke up, my room but old friend's house. Ex's mom wanted the room. Ex showered. Missed her or missed relationship. She had to go. She left. Old friend's living room. Talking with ex's parents. Teasing about getting in trouble about school money? Overall, nice. I left, drove. Street was rainy, sorta busy. In kitchen, old friend of parents' house. Dad and M there. Explaining experience of old aparment, old friend's house. Had little keychain revolver. Dad and i talking bout how many chambers it had. 5 or 6? M talkin about writing papers back in the day?

Full written: I was in old apartment. It was night outside and the only other person in the apartment was my mother. I went into the kitchen and noticed there was plenty of food in the cupboards ad fridge. I snuck two sandwhiches out of the fridge that I knew were my mom's. I went into my old room. My ex-girlfriend was there. I think she slept over and we slept all night. We woke up the next morning. We weren't in a relationship in the dream. We didn't love each other anymore. I forget the reason we were sleeping over together. She was getting ready to leave for work or school.
Even though the room we were in was still my old room, I sensed that we were in my old friend's house now. Ex was rushing because her mom wanted us out of the room, I think because her mom wanted to sleep in it. I think, in the dream, I kind of missed her and wished we were back together but I also acted like I didn't care that we weren't together anymore. Eventually she left. I went into the living room, which was my old friend's living room. Ex's parents were there. I think we were handling some sort of business but I forget what it was. They were sort of teasing me (in a midly mean way) about having money troubles with the organization that funds my education. Eventually I think they were nice though, then I eventually left. I went into a 3rd-person perspective, while watching a car (I think I was driving) turn onto a grey, rainy street and drive away.
Suddenly, I was in the kitchen of an old friend of my parents', that they or I don't see anymore. I was sitting at the table, with my father next to me and with Mike, the old friend, next to him. I think I was describing all that happened while I was with my ex. While I was telling the story, I was playing with a small keychain toy, which was a silver revolver gun. It was small and metal. It had 5 or 6 chambers and we my father and I were debating whether it was 5 or 6. It was confusing because there was a screw near one of the chambers.
Really vague memory of the friend, M, talking about writing papers a long time ago.

Tags: At work, conference room, going under overpass.

FW: Vague memory of being in a conference room at a workplace. Then another memory of driving under an overpass on a highway.

Tags: In dorm room. Composition of many rooms or new room? Inconsiderate roommate. Crowds my space. Takes pillow. Wears diapers. Smells bad. Uses bathroom constatly. Wasnt old enough to be in college. Dorm room was big and had many room. Was dark and had wood walls. He invited 2 friends over. Were jerks. One looked like my cousin D? Tried being friends with roommate. Kept being jerk. I followed one into other room. Asked him if he was old enough to be in college he said no. Told him leave. He said no. Took a knife to his throat and threatned to kill him if he didnt leave. Told his brother that id kill him if he didnt leave too. He played on my laptop.

FW: I was in a dorm room, but it had 2 rooms and a bathroom. I've never been in this place in RL. I was trying to go to sleep on this bed but my roommate (don't have a roommate in RL) lied down next to me in the same bed and was crowding me (didn't find it strange we were sharing the same bed). I was annoyed so I got up to use the bathroom. While I was up, he took my pillow and was using both pillows. I think he was going to and from the bathroom and was wearing diapers, and he also smelled bad. He didn't seem old enough to be in college. He invited two friends over, even though it was the middle of the night. They looked like kids too. One of them looked like my cousin, D. His friends were inconsiderate aswell. One of them was using my laptop without permission. One got up to go into the kitchen so I followed him. I asked him if he was old enough to be in college and he said no. I started yelling at him to get out. He wouldn't so I pulled a knife out, threw him to the floor and held the knife to his throat. I kept threatening to slit his throat. I remember knowing that I didn't have the courage to actually kill him. I remember seeing the veins on his neck pulse blue and red. I think his brother (the other friend who my roommate invited over) and my roommate came into the kitchen, and I kept threatening them that I'll kill him.

Tags: Parents wake me up in my room. Ask to drive brother to school soon. Coffeetable in my room. Kept trying to look into my room.said illl drive him there but i cant pick him up cause ill still be at school.

FW: I was in my room and parents knock on door. They ask me to drive my brother to school soon. They kept trying to look into my room so I kept slightly closed the door so they couldn't see, just to bug them. I said I could drive them there but that I couldn't pick him up after school, because I'll still be in class.

Tags: I was a child at our old house. In living room. Had that old huge pillow. I was in trouble,did something wrong, but was somehow morally justified. Mom trying to 'apologize', by offering ice cream and treats. Dad was mad. Mom went to go get a diff treat and gave it to my dad. Room was current living room now, dad dropped plate of food on the floor. I was startled awake.

FW: I was a child in our old house. I was in the living room. There was this huge brown pillow we used to have and it was there. I think I was trouble or that I did something wrong, but I think I was somehow morally justified in whatever I did. My mom was trying to 'apologize' or make things better by giving me ice cream and different sugary treats. My dad, however, was mad about whatever happened. When my mom went to go get another treat for me, she gave it to my dad to give to me. I was sitting on the living room floor. My dad walked up to me and deliberately dropped the plate on the floor. This startled me awake.