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39. All's Fair In Nightmare Repair

When a nightmare occurs (I get mine from strange & exotic foods) the thing to do is remember it. Remember it and repair it. Don't brush it off as just a bad dream. It is a road sign to unconscious stress areas and you can fix it all up nicely.

While you are still thrashing around in your nightmare any particular horror can be addressed and repaired with your imaginative tools. It's theoretically possible to repel a dream attacker with a dream flame-thrower, a dream water hose or escape through a dream escape hatch. It is possible to do that (as it's happening) in your dream but I have never been able to because I'm too busy thrashing around.

However, once you are awake you can go back. Then you can stop yourself from drowning, being mired in gooey stuff or unable to move. How? With a rocket pulling you upwards to air, an air-blast changing the goo to hard ground enabling you to run, your guardian angel touching you with his magic wand so you can flow gracefully, etc., etc. All's fair in nightmare repair. Your vivid imagination has created these nightmarish scenarios and your vivid imagination can vanquish them. Not only do you get instant calm from taking action but you also get a huge bonus. What you get is a lessening or total elimination of those particular disturbing thoughts.

Coming off an overdose of delicious Brazilian food topped off with a large glass of Metamucil followed by an ice-cream sandwich did it last night for me. There I was, lost far, far away from my safe home (Security), being beat up by human ogres (Approval) and threatened with sure death (Control). The cold sweat woke me up; I deliberately recalled my wacky dream and promptly demanded a SWAT team helicopter to get me home, a 9mm. Beretta (with a silencer!) to slow down my attackers and an oxygen mask in the chopper to revive me. I was surprised at how quickly I could do this. It actually felt good and, very pleased with myself, about twenty minutes later I was able to resume my snoring.

Daytime nightmares are not as dramatic and it's a little harder to spot vague uneasiness or bits of fright but they can be handled a number of ways. Your imagination is powerful enough to handle daytime nightmares too.

The process is to use your imagination to disperse the fearful thoughts. This works because your imagination created them and your imagination can eliminate them. It's not difficult. Can you imagine yourself underneath the Eiffel Tower in Paris? Bingo, you just did it. Can you imagine yourself kissing your honey? Shazzam, done! There is nothing difficult about imagining almost anything. It's a snap.

You can imagine something (or someone) that will strip fearful thoughts off your daytime desires. You can imagine a paint-stripper that removes old paint/thoughts. Try asking a wizard with a magic incantation. Try your own magic wand that you keep in your back pocket. You can imagine a high-pressure steam hose to strip off almost anything. You can imagine yourself blowing a puff of purifying air to strip off the fearful stuff. How about a vacuum cleaner to suck up those nasty cobwebs or an autoclave to sterilize your desire clean? Imagine, imagine, imagine.

Try it on something small to begin with. Try it on those thoughts that inhibit you from walking the dog, washing your hands, doing your checkbook or taking a shower. Imagine yourself doing those things and simply strip off the inhibiting thoughts. Then graduate to more complicated thoughts like ennui, boredom, and apathy. Make the effort to see yourself savoring your life. Then go for the magic wand, the flame-thrower, vacuum cleaner, high-pressure steam hose, autoclave or angel shower and strip off the thoughts that are fogging up that picture.

A much simpler way to handle daytime nightmares is to immediately substitute a pleasant thought whenever you are struck with an unpleasant one. This technique is simple, you can always imagine something better in any situation, and doesn't take much imagination. Changing the subject has a very long history ("Have some candy darling.") and it is so simple it's hardly worth mentioning except, that it works almost every time. When it doesn't work (rarely) then take the least troublesome path to a pleasanter place.

Using these processes takes you to a much better frame of mind. The more you use them the quicker you get and stay there. And they are logically correct, thank you and have a good night.

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