Tuesday 22 March 2016

Dream 591

'She'd Rather Eat a Casserole'
Dream date: 21 March 2016

This is Day 22 of my Dream Incubation Experiment. You can read the details and methodology of my latest Dream Incubation Experiment by clicking HERE

This was a bizarre dream, which took place during a 12 hour sleep. The first section of the dream was experienced as if I was a passive observer, watching a movie, although I was in the same location as the dream characters. They did not react to me as if I was really there and I did not communicate with them either. This dream was linked to my Dream Incubation Experiment because it involved a serial killer, who I did not actually see in the dream. The dream was recalled extremely vividly. 

Scene 1: Sheringham High Street - Day
I saw a dream character beside the arcades in Sheringham High Street. It was a bright, sunny day. She was a petite white female (about 5 foot tall and very slim) with long, straight black hair - almost as long as my own. he was a teenager or a young adult. She was running around and generally 'messing about', having fun (I don't know how to describe what she was doing, because she was just 'playing' like a child might, jumping, skipping etc). I knew she was 'rebellious' and she made me think that she was 'similar to myself', although I am not sure what I was basing this assumption on, other than she was around the arcades, where I spent most of my own childhood, trying to 'hang out' with the older boys and playing arcade machines. Not much else happened in this scene. I have included 2 images which show the amusement arcade and where the female dream character was in this scene. 

Scene 2: A Family Home (Location Unknown - I do not know where he lived as a child) - Night
I was then in a big family home with a group of dream characters, one of which was the petite black-haired female from the earlier scene. I counted that there were 4 dream characters, but in fact there were 5 - I saw 5 individuals, but kept thinking '4'. These dream characters were: 
  1. the 'petite brunette' (already described)
  2. the 'petite brunette's' elder brother, a young adult male with dark hair 
  3. 'petite brunette's boyfriend' (a mixed-race young adult male)
  4. a 'blonde male' (a smartly-dressed young adult who seemed 'posh')
  5. a 'blonde female' (the 'blonde male's sister - tall, slim with short hair)
We were in the home of one set of siblings (either the blondes or the brunettes) - it was unclear. All of the dream characters were wealthy and posh and knew each other, although the brunette female and her boyfriend was 'rebelling' against their conservative upbringings, and were 'naughty', whereas the blondes were very upper-class and 'nasty' (I clearly got the impression that they were judgemental and materialistic). All the dream characters were of proximate age, and were part of the same social circle. We were in the kitchen of the home, which was large and posh. The brunette female was drinking from a bottle of alcohol. I was just a passive observer - there was no interaction with the dream characters at all, as if I was invisible. The dream characters were planning to break into a large, mansion which was currently empty. It was close to the house we were currently in, which seemed to be in a very fancy neighbourhood. The brunette female's brother said he had to study and could not go with them. 

Scene 3: The Mansion (Location Unknown) - Night
I was then walking through the huge, dark mansion with the 4 dream characters who had decided to break in and explore. The mansion was much like the interior of the Palace of Versailles, Paris, although in my dream, it was simply a residential home somewhere (I am not sure where) in the UK. It may have been in Sheringham (as the first dream scene with the brunette female had been located there), but Sheringham does not have such hugely affluent areas, with massive mansions - it is a small seaside tourist town. The 4 dream characters were wandering around the mansion - the blonde male (who was taking lead it seemed) was saying; 'The owners are on holiday for the rest of their lives' - the indication was that they would not be returning to the mansion. 

The blonde male and the mixed-race male walked down a huge spiral staircase, which led down into a ballroom, which was empty. The floor was shiny and there was a lot of gold decoration in the fittings and fixtures. It was dark - no lights were turned on. The only piece of furniture I saw was a large double-doored wardrobe which was against the wall, opposite the stairs (which ended in the middle of the floor). The blonde male said: 'There will be lots of costumes in here' and went over to the wardrobe. I could see the wardrobe was white, with gold decoration. I wondered: 'Is the gold just lines, or is it a [then I used the wrong word for what I wanted to describe] trompe-l'œil?' (trompe-l'œil is an artistic technique, translating as 'deceive the eye' - hyper-realistic optical illusions, which I learned about when I studied History of Art at university). What I meant in the dream - because I saw the shape in the dream - was 'fleur-de-lis' (I still could not recall the word when I woke up, but DL informed me of what I meant, after I likened the shape to the Adidas logo and described it as 'French'). It makes sense that I saw a French heraldic symbol, associated with the French monarchy, in a mansion which appeared to be modelled on the Palace of Versaille! I thought (as I looked at the wardrobe, which had it's doors open, so I could no longer see the gold design on the exterior): 'It would be better for literature if it was trompe-l'œil' (I still meant fleur-de-lis, of course - I only realised I used the wrong word when I woke up, because I know what trompe-l'œil means). I have no idea what the reference to 'better for literature' means. 

The 2 males were being loud and silly, jumping around in enjoyment of finding the wardrobe full of clothes. There was a lot of general horseplay. I did not know where in the mansion the 2 females were - other than express references to them, I never physically saw them again in this dream.

The blonde male opened the wardrobe doors even wider, to reveal that the wardrobe was full to capacity with children's clothing - ornate and decorative gold and white dresses. He said: 'The building is surrounded by a child-killer, so we have to stay with the dresses'. The indication was that the perimetre of the mansion was being stalked by a serial child-killer, who was trying to find and murder the children of the family who lived in the mansion. The dream characters wanted to stay inside the mansion until he was gone. I seemed to be able to access their internal, unspoken intentions and motives. I thought: 'Why don't they call the police and get him arrested so we [note: I included myself in 'we' rather than thinking 'they'] can leave?' At this point, I was aware I must be watching this scene from within the mansion, as I felt annoyed we were stuck inside due to the child-killer waiting outside. 

I then found myself in a lift/elevator, going downwards, to the ground floor. I was with someone I know from real-life, but I cannot recall who (I have the notion that it was my Mum), as I was facing the back of the lift, where the buttons for each floor were. I was telling this person: 'Both the girls (the dream characters) are going to university - the brunette [I probably used a name to refer to her, but I cannot recall it] is an Art student, and the blonde one [again, I probably used a forgotten name] is a bit older, and wanted to do Art, but ended up doing English' (note: my first degree was in English Literature & History of Art). I then left the lift/elevator and stepped out into the ground-floor hallway of the mansion, which was still dark. The hallway was so large, it was more like a room in itself. There were many doors, leading to reception rooms and suchlike, along the walls. The hallway gave the impression of being circular. I saw the blond male in the back of the room, having just walked down a flight of stairs which were directly in front of me. He walked towards an open doorway, leading to another room. I was standing in front of the door, which was the entrance to the mansion. I was waiting to leave and was hoping someone would drive over and collect me. 

I then had a 'realisation' - it was if a number of years had passed in a moment and I was accounting for what happened to the dream characters in the intervening years between being young adults breaking into the mansion, and the present thoughts I was having (although, still in the mansion, having not left)

I 'knew' in this moment that the blonde female had joined the army and been stationed in a warzone. While she was serving in the army, the police (or someone else in authority, it wasn't clear) had 'investigated' the mansion following reports/suspicions of a 'haunting by a ghost'. During the investigation into the haunting, the police (or whoever) found forensic evidence (fingerprints) from the blonde female, which resulted in her being arrested for and convicted of burglary, meaning she lost her job in the army and 'become a failure'. I wondered why the others had not been arrested for burglary and thought: 'It wasn't a ghost, it was a serial killer!' I did not become aware of the absurd dream time logic, which meant I was still at the 'scene' of the historic 'burglary' and aware the dream characters - still youthful - were also in the mansion (because I could still see the blonde male in the background, standing in a doorway between the dark hall and another room, where the light was now on - I think it was a kitchen).

Scene 4: 'London' - Day
I then found myself in the back seat of a car. My Mum and a couple of other (non-recalled) persons with in the car. I could not recognise where we were - there were some buildings and a hill, beyond which was an expanse of water. My Mum said: 'We're in London now' and then the car - she was not driving - reversed and I saw a big roadsign on the pavement, which stated we were indeed in London. This was a dream conceptualisation of London - not a part of it I have seen in real-life, and not particularly reminiscent or similar to what I know London to be like, although of course, it is a very diverse city, with urban and suburban areas. We were there on a short holiday it seemed. We drove to a large place - it seemed to be a massive building - the size of a department store, but not as commercial-looking. It seemed like an older buildings, and I was sure (in the dream) that I had been there before, it looked so familiar (it doesn't feel familiar to my waking mind however). 

The building had exposed reddish-orange stone walls. As we walked through, I saw 2 pubs/bars...one was entered via a doorway (so was a separate room from the part of the building we were in), while the other one - which was opposite this, about 2 meters away, with only a small wall with archway, in between - was recessed into an alcove of a red-orange stone wall - the bar was literally carved into a hollow section of the wall and therefore I could see the server - a female - working behind the bar. There were no beer pumps/taps. only a large selection of spirits and wines behind the server. In front of the alcove-bar was a free-standing wall, with an archway cut out of it. It seemed to be part of the design of this bar, but was not a structural-support, more like a decorative aspect. There were some seats/bar stools. I said to my Mum and the other dream characters: 'That's my favourite pub to visit'. I  had the feeling that I had visited this pub one Christmas, as it made me think of Christmas. We turned left, and then sat down in a bay window, which was some kind of waiting area. The sun was shining in through the window. Very shortly, we left this area, to go and eat a meal from one of the establishments within this big building. I wanted to go to the bar/pub which was opposite the one in the alcove (the one in the alcove only served drinks, not food). However, my Mum wanted to go to a restaurant which was on the other side of the building (although not far away, as everything was visible wherever you were in this section of the building). I have produced a diagram (below) to illustrate what this dream scene location looked like). Annoyed, I had no choice but to go along with what my Mum and the rest of our group wanted.

Once we were in the restaurant, which was more like a brightly lit canteen, decorated in white and pale blue, with large floor-to ceiling windows (looking out at the sea - there is no coastline in London), I noticed that our group comprised of my Mum, my Nan, my cousin HM, and 2 random male dream characters - both white adults. We sat at a formica table, one table away from the window. There was a family of diners sat between us and the window. I was seated with my back to this family. I could see that most of the tables were occupied with customers. I wondered what type of food would be served in this place. Before I could ever look at a menu, my Mum returned with a platter of food which we would all be eating from. 

It was a large roast pork, bright pink with a weird, gelatinous texture, making it look unappetising (I hate roast pork, and my Mum knows this!) The pork was sitting on a large platter of boiled potatoes, peas and a sea of gravy. As my Mum set the platter on the table, the gravy (there was so much) splashed onto the table. I was so angry that my Mum had ordered this food for all of us. I said: 'I don't want to fucking eat this shit!' and then wondered if I was upsetting or offending the other diners, as I had shouted it loudly (note: my family swear openly, so I have always sworn - and spoken my honest, unfiltered mind - in front of my family, there is no censorship in the way I speak with them, so the way I expressed myself in the dream was not odd or bizarre - what was odd was my Mum ordering the pork dish, without consultation, ignoring my dietary preferences). 

My Mum said (mockingly): 'She'd rather eat a casserole!' She said this as if a casserole was boring - even though my Mum likes casserole. I wondered why she thought I wanted casserole, so I asked: 'Who mentioned casserole?' My Mum (still mocking me) said again: 'She wants to eat casserole in that pub over there!' and gestured to the direction the 2 pubs I had wanted to go to/referred to as my favourite were. I could see these pubs (because the wall of the restaurant we were in had a large glass window, like a store front. My Mum started to serve the meal into white bowls for each of us. My Nan, cousin and the male dream characters were laughing at me. I was so enraged, I stood up. I screamed: 'No! I'd prefer a steak, cooked blue, with all the blood dripping out or a Nandos. And I would eat THE WHOLE FUCKING CHICKEN!' (in fact, both these meal options are favourites of mine, so I would prefer to eat them over a roast pork meal). I then looked around again, because I heard some chairs scraping, indicating someone was getting up from their seat. I wanted to check that my shouting/swearing/description of blue steak dripping with blood, had not caused them to be disturbed. It was clear that they were not paying attention to me anyway. I then noticed a large, obese male standing beside our table. The table was against the wall on one side, so this man was standing next to my Mum, who was standing carving and serving the pork. He looked like he was in his 30s or 40s and had glasses and thinning black hair. I thought he looked like he had a learning difficulty or mental health condition. His white shirt was partially unbuttoned - he was so fat, his shirt and grey trousers were badly fitting. He had a confused look on his face. I saw he had a hearing aid for his left ear. I then realised he was part of my group - and was waiting for my Mum to sit down (between me and him) before he took his own seat. I wondered how he knew my family.

I woke up.

TIME: 15:00 - 03:00 hours (I went to sleep very tired and decided not to set an alarm, so that I could just sleep as long as I needed to)
LUCIDITY: NO
SPECIAL NOTES: I took my Vitamin B6 (100 mg) - which I take every day that I remember, as part of this Dream Incubation Experiment, just moments before I went to sleep, rather than an hour or 2 before, as I usually do. I had not eaten a single thing for approximately 36 hours (I only eat when I am hungry and had not been hungry enough to eat the curry I prepared) - it is now 05:45 as I write this, and I am still not hungry! (I am not on a diet and I do not ever restrict what I eat - I eat whatever I want, whenever I want, and work out periodically through the day, using a system of body-weight resistance/strength-building exercises, like press-ups/squats etc. I had worked out just before I went to sleep and had this dream and had felt very healthy and strong from the exercises)

Dream Information:

  • None of note

Dreamsigns:
  • In the dream, 5 was counted at '4'
  • I was a passive observer in my dream - it was as if I was invisible, just watching the dream happen in front of me. I could also access their unspoken thoughts, intentions and motivations
  • The long passage of time which occurred in a moment within the dream, even though I remained in the same location as the earlier scene, as if only seconds had passed
  • London was on the coast

Recurrent Dream Themes:

  • Reference to a child-killing psychopathic stalker
  • My cousin HM as a dream scene character

Potential Day/Dream Residue:

  • I used to play Mortal Kombat 3 in the arcades in Sheringham - the day before this dream I had been playing Mortal Kombat X on android, which is the best mobile game I have ever played and has convinced me to buy this for PS4, so I can have the full console experience. I cannot say how much I love the Mortal Kombat franchise - it was part of my childhood!
  • A short period (more than a week, less than a month) before this dream I had watched The Supersizers Eat the French Revolution (S02E03), which was largely set in the Palace or Versailles, as Giles Coren and Sue Perkins (who I both LOVE) were experiencing the daily lives and eating habits of King Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. Slightly off the topic of dreaming, but an interesting fact - the programme highlighted how hygiene was such an issue in the Palace of Versailles - there were no effective methods of regular sanitation in the 18th century and the costumes were so elaborate and decorative that they were rarely changed or cleaned - women wore their huge powdered wigs for days on end, resulting in rodent infestation. Due to the restrictive nature of the clothing (wealthy men and women would often be dressed by others - especially women who had to be squeezed into tight corsets) and the lack of toilet facilities, courtiers at Versaille would urinate in the corner of the rooms. The Palace would only be cleansed of the accumulated filth twice a year, at huge expense - it would take up to 2 weeks each time to do this huge task. To mask the constant smell of body odour, urine and general dirt, the scent of oranges would be used liberally. Below I have uploaded some images of the exterior/gardens at Versaille, and also some of the interior, including the famous Hall of Mirrors
  • In relation to the erroneous use of trompe-l'œil, bear in mind it translates as 'deceive the eye', which I knew in my conscious waking mind. A few days before this dream, I wrote an article on the possibility that dreams create false memories - see: 'Dreaming & False Memory Syndrome'. To illustrate, I used my own example of a 'false memory' created within the dream itself - in the dream, I falsely remembered watching the scene where the woman's eyeball is sliced with a razor blade in Un Chien Andalou - see Dream 585 - 'I've Seen This Before'. This is a way in which the concepts of eyes and deceit were linked in my mind, hence the reference to trompe-l'œil, a French word (note how the film Un Chien Andalou also has a French title despite being made by  Luis Buñuel and artist Salvador Dalí, who are both Spanish), which I thought of in a location which reminded me of being inside a French palace, observing a symbolic design associated with French royalty and heraldty
  • A couple of days before this dream, I had a dream about my cousin HM - Dream 587 - 'My Nan Takes my Side', in which I was doing my cousin's homework and thinking it was odd that she had such a difficult assignment when she was not academic or interested in higher education, whereas I am academic and find intellectual challenges stimulating. To expound upon this in relation to the current dream and its meaning - I (as noted above) did my first of 2 undergraduate degrees in English Literature & History of Art (both subjects being referred to in the dream), whereas my HM, whose mum (my aunt VF) re-married a soldier in the army, was brought up in a military environment (on an army barracks) and later married her husband, who is also in the army. The day before this dream, I watched a documentary about Pete Doherty, in which he described his youth growing up in an army barracks (so similar to the experience of HM). I then read about Pete Doherty - who was famously arrested for the burglary of his bandmate and best friend, Carl Barât, leading the break-up of The Libertines. I then read about Amy Winehouse's friendship with Doherty. You will probably be aware of my love of Amy - I recently posted a series of pictures and a Youtube video where my hair and makeup was styled like hers. I constantly get told I resemble her. Note, that when I was then looking up the Wikipedia entry on Carl Barât, who later formed the band, Dirty Pretty Things (so, much like the Palace of Versaille in the 18th century), I noted that he is of partly French origin and his father worked in armaments (his mother was an anti-armaments protestor). In 2005, he had a tumour removed from behind his ear, leaving him partially deaf - this is an interesting fact to learn, based on another aspect of this dream, which I recount both above and below. I was not conscious of any of these facts about Barât until writing up this dream and I am still not entirely convinced that they were hugely influential on the dream content, even though there are a number of strikingly coincidental references and allusions
  • The day of this dream I had watched a documentary about a gang of paedophile child-killers, including Sidney Cooke - there was a discussion about DNA evidence in the documentary. The forensic expert mentioned that some people shed/leave more DNA than others, simply by touching an item
  • My Mum told me that she, my Nan and I would be going for a meal to celebrate my Nan's birthday in April. My Mum said we would go somewhere in Norwich, so asked for recommendations because I live in the city, whereas she lives in Sheringham and only knows a few of the pubs. I recommended 'The Reindeer' because it serves very good roasts (we are meeting on a Sunday). This may be the reason why I associated being with my Mum and Nan, getting a roast dinner, and seeing a pub, which in the dream I said was 'my favourite', which I also linked to 'Christmas' (reindeers being a popular symbol of Santa Claus and Christmas generally). Note that my actual favourite pub in Norwich - and one I have taken my Nan to on many occasions when we are together in the city - is actually called: 'THE MURDERERS'!!! It is a city-centre pub, so although my Nan and I have eaten here many lunchtimes, it mainly serves bar snacks and fried foods, whereas 'The Reindeer' is known as a gastro-pub. When I described 'The Reindeer' to my Mum on the phone, I had said: 'It serves suckling pig' (because I know my Mum likes pork, even if I hate it!) and my Mum had been pleased to hear that, hence why roast pork may have also shown up in this dream
  • A couple of days before this dream, I had watched a TV show featuring Stewart Lee, a postmodern comedian, who does very 'meta', self-aware stand-up which almost antagonises his audiences. He is brilliant and very under-rated in my opinion. On the TV show, Stewart Lee's Comedy Vehicle, which also features my comedy icon, Chris Morris, the camera panned and I noticed - for the first time - that Stewart Lee has a (very discreet) hearing aid in his left ear (I just Googled this, and note that the hearing aid was only recently acquired by Lee, who has suffered hearing problems for a while)
Waking Thoughts & Emotions:
This dream was clearly related to my Dream Incubation Experiment - there was a clear reference to a child-killing serial killer! However, I was not myself a serial killer, and I did not see this dream character in the dream. It is interesting to note that in al of my dreams, the 'serial killer' or 'psychopath character' is always described/depicted/experienced as a 'stalker'. I found this dream to be hugely significant and fascinating. I am unable to stop thinking about it. It was so vivid and easy to recall in great detail. Also, after beginning to write up my report and analyse the contents of my dream, I was able to see that the references within it were multi-layered and incredibly complex. This is one of my all-time favourite dreams!

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