It always gets me when I read about how scientists specializing in sleep studies invariably say that one only dreams during REM sleep. When I drove production truck in the mines, I would always doze off on midnight shifts while my truck was being loaded. Under the biggest shovels, it would take three scoops, or about one minute before the shovelrunner would blow his horn, telling me I was loaded; under smaller ones, it could take as long as fifteen. I slowly began to realize that to sleep is to dream–always.

Once I got the technique down on how to remember my dreams upon waking, it was very plain to see that we dream all the time, but have a built in eraser-head when we wake.

I started experimenting with sleep-paralysis which is the perfect state of mind for dream control–the ultimate high. I even told these guys in a dream once that I wasn’t really there, and if they didn’t believe me, just watch–and then I forced myself awake.

What baffles me more than anything is how is it that I can be totally surprised in a dream; Am I not the one making it all up? Also, there have been times when I was just drifting off, thinking about one thing when suddenly I jerk, and realize I was dreaming about falling off a bike. Two dreams at once? Anyway, the world inside our heads is just as rich as the one outside, and since we’re going to spend one-third of our lives there, we should try to learn its language of symbolism and enjoy its mysteries. This is truly a world without consequences.