Dream Journal Project: Prompt 2
March 29th, 2011For some background on The Dream Journal Project, read here.
Dear Dreamers,
I woke up this morning in a peculiar quandary. I could only remember parts of my dream. It was as though I had experienced what, in a recent panel discussion at the Pulitzer, artist William Kentridge called the “dreamer’s dilemma”, which he defined as having feeble insights into one’s dream upon awakening. I lay there, remembering what Kentridge had said, wondering what had just happened. Where had I been on this journey through my subconscious?
If you have been to Dreamscapes already, you may know all about the dreamer’s dilemma. Two black telephones hold place for Janet Cardiff’s own dream processing. She tells you fragments of her dreams in a breathy haze after awakening from her sleep. I feel as though, like Cardiff, we have all experienced this dilemma of fragmented remembering.
According to Kentridge, the mind remembers only fragments by necessity. It is protecting and guarding us from memories that may be too painful, too scary or too joyful. If we remember every detail in perfect moment-by-moment playback we would refuse to ever wake up. Conversely, if a nightmare could never be forgotten we would refuse to ever sleep, fearing its return. At the Pulitzer, Kentridge said, “We rely on being able to hold onto some [dreams], but have others fade away.” Having recently experienced Kentridge’s dreamer’s dilemma, and having tried to write down the dream fragments in my dream journal, I began to wonder if this is a common experience. Have you, dear dreamer, also experienced the dreamer’s dilemma? If so, what did you do? When you were journaling your dream or dream fragments, what did your dream look like? How did it sound?
Pleasant dreaming,
Megan Johnson
(MSW expected 2012)
Dream Journal Project Coordinator
Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts
