Our
Dreams
in COVID-19
O
ne significant indicator that the pandemic crisis affected us all was the increase and the intensity of our dreams, known as ‘quarandreams’. Weird and disturbing dreams during the height of the pandemic included death, apocalyptic dreams, drowning, natural disasters, children missing or hurt, clusters of bugs and insects, wild animals, violence, intruders, being lost, riots and abandoned theme parks and stadiums. “I am at Disneyland. It’s empty. I run around trying to get on the rides, but nothing is functioning.” The loss of fun and social interactions gained from attending concerts and sports and enjoying fun rides is a strong emotion that the conscious mind retains and files into the subconscious dreaming mind. This adds to the overall collective feelings of loneliness, isolation, and the seriousness of the pandemic. When nothing is functioning, it suggests that things have changed – what used to work, no longer does. It’s not safe like it used to be. The subconscious mind is coming to terms with a
ART GALA
Not even in our worst nightmare could we imagined that a pandemic in the 21st century would bring about so much devastation in the world. Is this just a collective bad dream? new situation and finds it challenging to make the new pandemic lifestyle ‘work’. “I had a weird dream where I was dangerous and wanted by the police, but I wanted to get a book from the library and the librarian recognised me and panicked and ran screaming from the library!” The police and librarian represent the law. Pandemic law breaking is part of daily media news reporting and the anxiety of being caught not following the rules is very real in the psyche. “I dream I am facing a bull; it’s coming to attack me and there’s nowhere for me to go.” Wild animals or monsters are the dreaming mind’s way of making sense of the concept of ‘uncontrollable forces’ experienced or faced in waking life. Collective dreams can bring about healing to our psyche once we bring them to our conscious mind, making us feel less alone when we share them with others. From Inside Your Dreams – an Advanced Guide to Your Night Visions by Rose Inserra, best-selling author and avid dream researcher. Available now at Gnostic Forest. G
23
