Yes! I have a dream log. It's just a journal where I put down anything I remember during the fleeting moments of a semi-conscious state, right after I wake up from a dream. I don't know why I started logging my dreams. Mendeleev apparently did see the periodic table in a dream, my dreams haven't been close to making a discovery (yet xP). Some of the dreams are pretty relatable, but most are incredibly bizarre. They sound like something I couldn't come up with even with all the psychedelics coursing through my veins, all at once.

Dreams are incredibly hard to remember accurately, most of the time you're assured to forget the dream just minutes after waking up. This makes it almost impossible to document dreams in all their vividness and detail. Most of my logs are a few sentences long or just individual words describing events.  

I don't remember most of my dreams even after reading the logs. I don't remember writing down the logs either. All were written seconds after waking up or being woken up by the dreams.

(FYI I have changed some of the names of real people with random names wherever possible, for obvious reasons. Also, most of the logs are littered with errors.  I've tried to retain all the errors to make it as close to what I've written in my logs.)

Here's one of the logs.

"Made Bhat sir proud by completing Kannada stuff And getting better. Again <ketchup> was there"

This one is trying to soothe my pain from the school days 😂. I always had a harder time with Kannada exams and I finally made my Kannada teacher proud, at least in my dream. Actual dream.

The Science behind Dreaming

Before I get into some of my other logs, let's talk briefly about why we have dreams and what research has uncovered. Most of my knowledge about the science behind dreams comes from the book Why We Sleep ?  by Matthew Walker. I highly recommend you to read it. I'll buy you a dose if you end up reading because of this post.

We dream mostly during the REM(Rapid Eye Movement) phase of our sleep. Usually, around dawn, that is if you sleep as a normal human should.  The book says that REM sleep is a state characterised by strong activation in visual, motivational, emotional and autobiographical memory regions of the brain and a relative deactivation in the regions that control rational thought. This gives a great context to "dreams running wild".  Also "deactivation in the regions that control rational thought.."  sounds like most of my days.

The author also talks about how dreams are a form of overnight therapy and dreaming nurses our emotional and mental health. REM sleep healed emotional wounds in the studies conducted. Slowing suppressing the intensity of emotional pain over many REM sleep cycles.    

Now that we have some scientific context about dreams, let's dig into my dream logs. For the second time, I highly recommend reading the book.

If you have watched Dr Strange recently, thinking about dreams as alternate realities freaks me out!.

Dream Logs

"Heart surgery, 1.4cr, some americams, Heart problem, <mustard> appa kidnap me, says 10L heart surgery"

I have no freaking idea why I was worried so much about my(?) heart and what the Americans were doing. But it is funny being kidnapped by my friend's dad 😂. Even if I cannot recall what exactly the dream was about, it sounds like a reminder to exercise to maintain a healthy heart or save up  1.4 crores.

"Akka washing dishes Weird ass brush"

This one is super ironic since my sister absolutely hates doing the dishes.

"Japan big house stampede ajji too. Car ride with pretty girl blonde hair"

If you didn't know, I've always had a soft corner for Japan. Even spent more than a year learning to read and understand Japanese. I don't know why there was a stampede. I wish I recorded the dates of these logs to know what was going on in my life during the period of time I had the dream. I'm not going to comment on the car ride. Maybe I had watched the movie Atomic Blonde the day before. Who knows.

"Have a mental breakdown because of appa refusing thin pinapple"

ROFL, what even. What's wrong with thin pineapple. That's a very low threshold for a mental breakdown.

Mountain Himalaya climbing expedition, <mustard> <mayo> there, weird dream weird professor

Spoke to <creamcheese> near old house, <creamcheese> needs new monitor and was willing to spend 40k

Even though I've never been on a climbing expedition, I at least did it in my dream. Also looks like I was doing tech support even in my dream. <creamcheese> wanting to spend 40k on a monitor, looks like <creamcheese> sleeps on stacks of cash.

"Island train station got extended, we ventures out to walk. I say no she say yes. Amma pachhu also walk into forest into gunfight. We fight fight fight somehow survives. I lecture her, she makes chimp face and cries again"

Don't know what shit went down the day before I had this dream. I figure she in the log is probably my dear sister.    

My birthday time, too many people at home, <mustard><radish> also in the dream, <ketchup> asks if I want to eat at <ketchup> home lemon rice and raita.

First of all who eats lemon rice with raita. <ketchup> has some wrong culinary combinations going on 😂😂. Plus this dream reeks of my inclination toward being an introvert.

"Everyone making starters again. <person> was there again in <person's> lavish room with lesbo friend maybe. Chennai cricket stadium. <doughnut> and lost baggage in Canada."

I don't even want to.

"On an island doing stuff, Chris Martin dies. Idk how. I'm somehow captain of my team and even have to give permission to urinate wtf. Suddenly we are shifted to a big boat. Boat comes to us. The last room in the boat suddenly has a window with a market"

Why, why why?!. If you don't know, Chris Martin is the lead singer of my favourite band, Coldplay. I saw Coldplay a couple weeks ago, they put on a show beyond my expectations. I don't know how to describe the experience other than the fact that I'm sure I'll remember the experience even on my deathbed. Chris Martin is very much alive, phew.

Also looks like I didn't enjoy being the captain of my boat lol.

"<mustard> bs pew pew slims darvar"

???.

"<lisa> mam confronts me about getting her fired 9 years ago"

FYI I've not gotten anyone fired.

"Csor I told blah blah. Appa coming to Denver with gang."

When did my appa join a gang 😂.  

"Csor I told blah blah".  I don't know how I ended up writing the logs with such finesse.

"Gone to Korea alone, one of the most fun dreams I've had ins while. <kombucha> family was there. I roamed around alone"

I honestly would have preferred the place to be Japan.

"More <yogurt> crap, married to <yogurt>. I'm a high court judge"

"<custard> was at home with family. Bedsheet debacle. Cat marriage proposal. End"

"Ran naked into a washroom. Met a new lovver, but turns out I was playing Dwight. Dwight trying to shoot jim"

How the turntables. sigh.

"Was recording fancy youtube video with a big ass DJI camera like the ronin 4D. It had inbuilt green screen. Someone got kidnapped he had video called me 😑. The camera was cool though."

I was annoyed that a kidnapped guy video called me. Wow. Also a camera with inbuilt green screen. Sounds like a nice feature to have in a camera.

"What an elaborate labyrinth of stories. <ketchup> was there. Apparently I was feeling guilty."

At some point in the process of dream logging, I stopped describing the actual dream and instead wrote vague summaries.

"Boulder,alone,mountain climb, litter bus in Scandinavia, water, fast and furious, shot,"

Looks like I had a series of dreams and decied to describe each of them in a word. I keep dreaming about climbing mountains even though I don't do that frequently.

"Mangalore train jump, water jelly, 3:40, au bua, au bi guy k art pictures, unexplained stuff"

I definitely came up with some new phrases this time, haha.

"Space battle, DBZ lipo missile"

Dragon Ball Z is a great show. Definitely deserves dream time.

"Religious , jusicious systems at cmellopn, uta spoil students, I swam in a pool and drowned in a dream inside a dream. tawa pulav."

Have you ever drowned in a dream inside of a dream? I don't remember how it feels. Dreamception.

"Rescuing second tractor with amma seat belt fine near hodkere halli"

I remember this one to some extent. I got fined by police for not wearing seat belt while going on a tractor to rescue a second tractor with my amma. Probably in a world where tractors are held captive. lol.

"<funyuns> heart rate off te charts, I finally told <funyuns>, <oreo> was being an ass"

Why <oreo> why were you being an ass? 😂

"<oreo's> house sleeping, noble business, went to same school"

Noble business eh, probably going out to eat dose.

That's about all my dream logs. I should probably start logging my dreams again. It's funny and interesting to read my own logs. I don't think microanalysing dreams is a worthwhile endevour. I like to see them as an entitiy created from me not trying to contain the chaos of my mind.

Hope you had a chuckle or two. If you have any questions or comments about what you read, please keep it to yourself :))