Mapping Landscapes: Real and Imagined

Dreams have fascinated me since childhood. In one of my favorite early dreams, Mickey Mouse lifted me to ride with him and the Lone Ranger. I shrieked with joy when the powerful white stallion, Silver, whinnied, reared its fore legs, and raced off.

Many people share my fascination. I highly recommend they check out a clear, thought-provoking book on the subject—This Is Why You Dream: What Your Sleeping Brain Reveals About Your Waking Life. It was written by brain surgeon and neuroscientist, Rahul Jandial. 

If you can’t get it at your library, purchase it here: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735627/this-is-why-you-dream-by-rahul-jandial-md-phd/

Dr. Jandial set my brain synapses firing. How? By describing the three steps to falling asleep. First, our body becomes paralyzed. Next, our logical brain switches off. Finally, magically, marvelously, our brain’s “Imagination Network” takes over.

The Imagination Network! Dr. Jandial’s non-jargony term for the creative spark that links all our memories and emotions. He notes that the Imagination Network, “has been dubbed the brain’s dark energy “[because it] creates something from nothing, fashioning stories from thin air.”

Stories from thin air? Did I hear Lily Scott’s voice berating me from a distant new place? Is she, like in an earlier post, still balking at her author’s sadism?  https://nancygardnerauthor.com/lily-scott-spouts-off/

Unsurprisingly, the answer is yes! In book 2, Dream Stalker: The Prisoner, I pull Lily into an even more dangerous region of Shadow Land—the Dark Realm!

Before you go, check out Dr. Jandial discussing the dream content of iconic scenes from Inception, Friends, Alice in Wonderland, etc. here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smRnJLhjBU4&t=31s