Lauri’s Blog

I’ve been researching and analyzing dreams for 14 years now and in that time Brad Pitt has remained a constant figure in our collective dreaming mind. In fact, he has remained the most commonly dreamt of male celebrity, other than the president. But what is more interesting is that his meaning has changed!

Up until a couple of years ago, when Brad made a cameo in our dreams, he usually was standing in for what we perceive as the ideal man. For a woman, he represented everything she wanted in her intimate relationships and would find herself dreaming of Brad when her relationship wasn’t going so well OR when she was was looking for a relationship. For a guy, Brad often stood in for what he wanted to be. When a guy was feeling really good about himself and his accomplishments, Brad would be a common symbol in his dreams.

But NOW, 6 kids later, Brad seems to represent fatherhood in our dreams. I know for me personally, Brad and Angelina would grace my dreams whenever hubby and I discussed the idea of having more kids. And in the audio clip below, you’ll hear another great example of how Brad = Dad. This is from the other day when I was on Hot 96 in Evansville, IN with host Atom Smasher. The first dream in the clip is a pretty interesting one about an execution. If you want to hear the Brad dream, forward to right to the middle of the slide. It’s really interesting how it all pieces together!

Every now and then I’ll post something that has nothing to do with dreams simply because… it’s my blog and I can if I want!! Naw, because sometimes there are things out there that even I can’t explain! So now it’s your turn. Please… PLEASE! Someone tell me what this dog is saying!!! But beware, watching this video may cause side effects such as side splitting, milk spewing from the nose and bizarre dreams. Leave your translations below.

By now you may have heard or seen Joe Scarborough drop the F Bomb on MSNBC this morning.
What I found most interesting was that he blamed it on the sleep aid Ambien!  Ambien is responsible for causing all kinds of odd sleep behavior, otherwise known as Parasomnias, such as sleep eating, sleep driving, sleep painting and sleep sex!  There is even a case of sleep eating on Ambien where the person made themselves a butter and cigarette shake!!   The thing is Joe, it only causes such behaviors while the person is actually ASLEEP! A for effort. 

Why does Ambien cause Parasomnias while other sleep aids such as Rozerum and Lunesta do not?  Because Ambien is a Zolpidem, which is a sedative hypnotic – hypnotic being the key word here.  That means it activates the subconscious mind and therefore can cause one to do very strange things while in an hypnotic trance. 

Frighteningly, a lot of people, namely teens, are getting a hold of this drug and using it recreationally.  If you want to creep yourself out, just search youtube and you’ll find an endless supply of people tripping out on Ambien.  I discovered this – unfortunately – when I was searching for some good video of the guy that sleep paints on Ambien!

One of the most common dreams I am asked about when on the air is the one where you are in your bed and a dark, sinister presence enters the room.  It is so terrifying that you’re unable to move, speak out or scream.  Very often it is difficult to breathe because the creature is on you, suffocating you!  Some folks shake or feel like they are leaving their bodies.

People are horrified by this experience and , understandably, believe they have been haunted because it is very real and some swear they are awake.

The truth is, this is not a dream… nor is it a haunting.  It is actually a fascinating physiological experience called Sleep Paralysis, or The Old Hag Syndrome! And there is not a thing one should worry about when it happens.

Here’s the deal, when we sleep and enter the REM state, which is when dreaming takes place, our brain releases a chemical that literally paralyzes our skeletal muscles so that we don’t act out our dreams.  When we’ve had a fitful night of sleep or haven’t slept long enough, we will start to wakeup before our brain can re-activate our muscle control, which causes us to get “stuck” in that inbetween state of sleep and wakefulness.  This is called Hypnogogia.  Cool name, huh?  In this state you are asleep and awake at the same time, which is why you are aware that you are in your room and in your bed.  This is also why you can’t move, speak or scream… because you are still paralyzed!

Now, about that dark, frightening creature in the room.  That is still a mystery to many researchers but I have a theory.  We tend to have fitful nights of sleep because something is “weighing heavy” on us - hence the pressure on the chest.  There is some negative force in our life that is keeping us from sleeping peacefully.  It can be anything from debt, to relationship troubles.  And in Dream Psychology, negative elements in our life often show up in our dreams in the form of a dark shadow, a monster or some other villainouscharacter.  So when we are temporarily stuck in that Hypnogogic state, which is a hallucinatory state btw, it is no wonder that the very thing that is causing disrupted sleep would still be present in our mind.  I have spoken to numurous people who have experienced this and when asked if was something heavy on their minds that night the answer has always been yes.

If this happens to you… fear not!  It is mostly physiological and will subside in a moment or two.  It is not harmful in any way and does not mean there is anything wrong with you.  No need to call your priest or the ghost hunters!  The cure is to try to get your negative issues off your mind before bedtime.  Try writing out what is bothering you at bedtime.  Get it out of your mind and onto paper.  Very often, writing it down can also help you sort out your thoughts and even come up with ideas on how to handle it.  Plus, this will ensure your dreams that night will work hard on your issue for you.  After all, that is the purpose of dreaming.

On Halloween Day I had the pleasure of appearing on Oprah and Friends radio to discuss the dark side of dreaming with Rodney and Holly Robinson Peete.  Rodney told me about recurring nightmares he has about being kidnapped, blind-folded and dropped out of a helicopter. Yikes!

Go ahead and click on the link below to listen.  A lot of your nightmare questions will be answered!!

http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahandfriends/peetes/20081031_oaf_peetes

Don’t let your dreams frighten you!  Let them enlighten you!!  Grab yourself a copy of one of my books and you’ll easily understand your dreams every morning and get a HUGE edge in life. Put “facebook” in the coupon code at checkout and save
40%!!

“All my friends come to me now when they want to understand their dreams.  Your books have made me very popular!!”   – Gina, Syracuse, NY