I had a disturbing dream last night.  Disturbing mostly because of one moment in it that really shook me up.  And since I've woken up, I haven't quite been the same. I just feel "off," and I think that dream has everything to do with it.

Which makes me wonder what are dreams, really?  I mean, there's science written about dreams, and medical studies, and pop mythology and even science fiction written about dreams.  We've heard/read all of that.  It's your inner sub-conscious; it's the manifestations metaphorically of your feelings; it's a memory of a different life you're living simultaneously through your mind.  Blah, blah, blah.  This is one of those times when I wish there was no mystery to it and someone just had the actual, factual answer.  I want the definition of dreams to be as clear as two plus two equals four.

Otherwise, it just allows me to come up with stuff.  Like, what if dreams are actually a form of dormant (pardon the pun) ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) abilities?  Where you have picked up the mental "transmissions" of other people during the course of the day, but you don't process it because of everything else that happens while you are conscious. Then when you fall asleep, your mind sifts through those transmissions. And it plays them back.  Through the filter of your own thoughts and memories.  Which is why dreams seem real, because they are based on the real thought patterns of other people.  Hey, some may be the residual thought patterns of people that have recently died, too. 

I know, I know - some of you are saying, what are you smoking?  But, is it any more crazy than the theories we saw in "Inception?"  Or "Altered States?" 

I've been told I should keep a running log of my dreams.  Because you best remember them right when you wake up, it's writing them down the moment you wake up.  That can get annoying, but it might make for an interesting exercise in storytelling.  It's possible that reading the account of dreams as they unravel back-to-back, could make for a fascinating tale.  The question will be, how mired in true facts will it actually be?  And if they are what I just said they are, then my dream last night is even that much more disturbing. 

Off to the clarity of day...