Welcome to Somnium Realm, the place where I discuss everything dream related! There are a few things I have planned for this site:

• General discussions about dreams, sleep, and everything in between.
• Posting recordings from my own dream journals for you to read, enjoy, and maybe compare to your own dreams.
• Perhaps some random things that may be on my mind (this is a blog after all), but that is unlikely.

Before all of that – “Somnium.” What is that? Somnum is Latin for “sleep.” We derive words like “somnambulate” (walking while sleeping) and “insomnia” (the inability to sleep) from it. Well, Somnium is Latin for “dream,” referring specifically to what happens after we fall asleep. Hence, Somnium Realm – the Dream Realm.

Anyone who has had a dream before (virtually everyone) can tell you that dreams can be… interesting. Nonsensical in some cases, and strangely prophetic or meaningful in others. Some cultures believed dreams were a sacred way of communicating with the gods, ancestral spirits, and the like. Modern sensibilities tell us that dreams are simply the mind’s way of sifting through the information it’s acquired or needs to “sort.” Carl Jung has written extensively on how dreams can serve as a bridge to the unconscious, and in that sense, most dreams may contain some message from the unconscious.

What do I believe? All of the above – but it depends. Dreams are, of course, deeply personal and catered to the dreamer. The context of the dream itself matters as well! Of course the unconscious is able to say its peace when you fall asleep – the conscious mind has turned itself off and allowed the unconscious to enter. That one woman you didn’t recognize that suddenly appeared in your dream and gave you advice for waking life? That very well could have been a spirit visiting you in your dream, even if we can’t prove or disprove it. Ever fallen asleep with the television on, had a dream that you were in a specific show, then woken up to find that exact show airing? That wasn’t a spirit. That was the television.

What I mean to say is that there are many explanations to what our dreams are and why we have them. Dreams – consciousness as well – is something that leaves modern science baffled. They have no idea what our dreams are or where they come from! Sure, they can point to the brain on a map of the body, but where is the mind? Even so, dreams are an essential part of the human experience, and understanding them may help you understand the parts of your mind that can’t speak during waking life.

I personally lean towards the spiritual and alchemical explanations for dreams, but scientific explanations shouldn’t be ignored either. Again, it depends on the dreamer and the context of the dream. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to decide what a dream means to them. Like life advice, you can say the same thing to two different people, and they’ll both walk away with a different message!

I should also clarify that I am by no means an expert on the subject. I don’t study oneirology, and I am not a dream interpreter. I’m just a man who has had vivid dreams his entire life, and even a few somewhat prophetic ones, but I can detail what I mean by that another time. I’ve been interested in dreams and their meanings for a long time, but only recently have I decided to take journaling them seriously. That’s part of the reason I wanted to start this blog – like having a gym partner, I can be held accountable for slacking. Oneirologists and dream interpreters are more than welcome here!

Regarding the records of my own dreams that I will be posting, I should mention that they will not all be family friendly. This is natural of course, since dreams can tap into the more primal sides of our psyche when we fall asleep. Everyone sometimes has violent, sexual, or controversial dreams from time to time. That’s just how they operate – there’s no accusing the dreamer when the mind has been allowed to run free without restrictions. I will provide tags or something similar to any dreams that might fall under this category in case you are sensitive to that kind of material. Regarding the sexual specifically, you won’t have to worry about me writing about it in detail – I have no interest in writing smut. My dreams can be wild, but they aren’t that wild.

With all of that being said… Welcome to Somnium Realm!