Nightmare Fuel

~Gamebuster804 Have you ever seen a dog shuffle and whimper in its sleep? Maybe you went to a friend’s house and you saw their dog kicking and whimpering in its little doggy bed. Maybe you let your dog in your room and noticed that they fell asleep on your bed. You want to wake them up but they're so cute! You laugh and “aww” at their whine and get your phone out to record the whole thing. You’ll show it to your friends later and you’ll all laugh at how adorable your little pooch is when they do that.

You seem to be discarding the reason they do that in the first place.

It’s already been proven that other animals dream in their sleep much like we do. We joke that they’re dreaming about treats, playing, or even about us, and in some cases we are probably right, but there’s something about an animal’s dream that I find fascinating.

Why are they not always good?

Humanity’s come a long way in the food chain. A species that used to live in huts and had to hunt for food now lives in comfortable houses or apartments. There's medicine that can cure and technology that can entertain. Humans… are quite creative. Some draw, some create, and some do. With such powerful minds it only makes sense that they explore the subconscious whenever things finally calm down and you get to spend hours in silence with no one but yourself.

Humans are the most creative and intelligent creatures on the planet… we're pretty sure. With a mind like yours of course some dreams are going to go south, right? You watch scary movies and read scary stories on the internet. You’re bound to have a couple… nightmares.

But wait, dogs don’t watch scary movies yet they still whimper and shuffle in their sleep. Cats aren’t afraid of monsters hiding in the dark yet they still wake with a hiss and an alert stare. If nightmares truly are the result of mankind’s creativity and intelligence…

...then why do your pets experience them as well? How does something so innocent and sheltered still get frightened by their own mind?

Maybe dreams are not thought of. I mean, you remember experiencing them, don’t you? But actions require thought… they require making a choice. How is it possible for a thought to be physically experienced?

Think about your most vivid dream. It could be a nightmare or it could be when you were in your own personal heaven. Do you remember walking? Do you remember experiencing an emotion? In a dream… how is that possible? You’re in your own mind, how is it possible to think inside of a thought?

It isn’t.

We enjoy giving you the steering wheel sometimes. You create a world of seemingly random events, accept it as the way things are, then wake up feeling refreshed.

But my favorite part is when you realize you’re asleep. You put yourself on a pedestal. “It’s my mind! I’m in my own world!” you lie to yourself. You’re finally away from that pesky reality with all those limitations and worries.

“Lucid dreaming.” That’s funny, you think you make the rules. You don’t.

So go ahead, take that nap you’re dying to have.

We enjoy your visits.