Dreamtime is Lifetime

Since time immemorial, the world of dreams has fascinated us. Every night, our subconscious produces images and stories that are jumbled together by our perceptual apparatus.

To this end, stimuli from the sleeper’s environment—such as sounds or light—memories from past experiences, impressions from the previous day, and archetypal fears (e.g., the fear of large insects) are drawn upon to form the manifest content of the dream. Every person spends a total of about four years of their life dreaming. This is a long time during which we play out extraordinary situations in our subconscious. If I were to decide in real life to lead an adventurous life for four years, it would be obvious to everyone that this would be a formative experience for the rest of my life.

Yet all dream situations are seemingly experienced with the same senses we use to perceive our daily lives. What we experience in our minds seems just as real: we hear, feel, smell, taste, and see our dreams. A major difference from real life is usually the memory of the dream’s content. Shortly after waking, the dream vanishes into the depths of our subconscious.

Allow your dreams to come closer to your consciousness by sharing them at the breakfast table or writing them down immediately after waking up. Treat yourself to the memory of the most extraordinary four years of your life!