[somnambulism]

I have just been rescued from energetically attempting to close the high kitchen windows and knocking various recyclable items, washing up liquid, and a kettle from the counter top. Apparently I've been downstairs for almost half an hour - unbeknownst to me. Sleep does work in mysterious ways. I had been dreaming that someone was trying to break in through the kitchen window so I guess my more astute unconscious self decided to take matters into her own hands, while the other, sleepier Jess, continued dreaming. The only problem, in the dream, is I'm never EVER quick enough to close the window on the thief; he is always able to get his hand in. As I see it creep over the metal window frame I scream and the dream ends...

Apparently, sleepwalking "runs in families and is likely genetically based. Contrary to the common belief that sleepwalkers are acting out their dreams, sleepwalking does not occur during REM sleep, which is when we typically dream. It actually occurs when we are in the deepest stages of sleep, stages 3 and 4. The behavior occurs in a state between deep sleep and wakefulness and the disorder has been classified as a 'disorder of arousal.' The subject seems to have been aroused and then stuck in an in-between state."

Well, I guess trying to close kitchen windows isn't too bad (helpful even?) but something like last night's dream does make me wonder if I inhaled too much second-hand smoke (if you know what I mean...). In my dream I had been recruited by an army marine biology research unit (they even had an acronymn: a.m.b.r.u. - officers and other important people in my dream said "ambru"). I didn't know why I had been recruited (seeing as my academic background is in new media, English lit., psych.) but apparently I had something to offer the team. And so I was briefed. I was told that there was a new but dangerous sea monster which I would have to pursue and then tranqualize. At the time of the briefing this seemed to be no problem. I remember holding a special rifle-shaped machine that upon shooting would put the sea being to sleep (not permanent, just a nap). I readily signed documents (and even noted the small print - I used a magnifying glass to read it - that absolved the army of blame in the case of my death). Most of the rest of the dream involved me swimming around underwater with no mask or oxygen tank but deep enough so it hurt to breathe. I finally caught up with this "sea monster" who was actually awfully cute. It told me its name; Zoe. I couldn't tranquilize it at the point and realised this had all been some crafty army plot to capture a wild and new species. Of course I couldn't do that to Zoe (we'd bonded over Second Cup white hot chocolate in her underwater cafe...). I proceeded to help her to escape, escorting her through the murky waters. Now, in real life I was sitting in bed pretending to swim. As I, in dream land, found the edge of the sea (like a pool, there was a great big silver ladder and blue steps) and clambered out, I stood up in bed and fell off it! That woke me up.

Shrinks and psych. students alike may suggest that remembering the dream is a way of showing ourselves that we can cope with seemingly insoluable personal dilemmas...hrm, should I be a marine biologist for the army or not....perhaps that will be tomorrow's dream?

Want to interpret your dreams? Here are some ideas:
Bird: an image of the soul, that part of man that is free.
Climbing: encouragement to persevere and solve a problem.
Crossing a river: a fundamental change of attitude.
Death: fundamentally, death is a transformation; the wish to be born again; to start over clean. Old things are dying, new things are being born. An urge to make a change in life.
Exams: fear of failure; fear of being tested.
Exhibitionism: a need to find psychological balance.
Falling: as an archetype falling represents primal fear. It can also be an experience from early childhood; or it can symbolize loosing self-worth; or a moral depression; or falling back to an earlier situation.
Flying: freedom and the escaping the common and worldly life.
House: a house is usually the self. The rooms can be different aspects of the personality. The basement is the unconscious or the lower energies in the personality; the attic is the higher part of the self.
Missing a bus, train, ship or airplane connection: the fear of missing a change; or a sign that the dreamer has to change his attitude if he wants to make progress.
Sexual dreams: Erotic dreams are not always expressions of sexual desires. They can point to problems with the partner, or they liberate certain inhibitions in our contact with other people. Sexual dreams can mirror the fear of the loss of something, or point to a falling apart of something.
Snake: from a traditional point the snake can mean evil things, or conflicts between instincts and conscious choices. The snake as an archetype is about transformation and a big change in one’s life, especially when a snake has bitten.
Spider: the psychic world which is not easily accessible to the conscious. In the east Maya, the veil of illusion, is called the spinner.
Stairs: as stairs are used to go from one level to another, they symbolize the passing from one phase of life to another.
Teeth, losing: growing up.
Water: can be prenatal memories of floating in the amniotic fluid, the desire to go back to this state of protection, or the desire to be born again. Water also relates to the unconscious. Clear water is like clear life energy. Water often symbolizes emotions that one is going through.