When I don't have an alarm set for work, I always awaken in the morning out of a dream. The one I was having this morning involved pushing a car along a brutally rutted road in the dark. But that wasn't of much interest. Far more interesting to me is that, as I lay there for a moment, words suddenly appeared floating in the air right in front of my face. Closing my eyes allowed me to see them better, because, of course, they weren't really there.
Sometimes when I awaken I'm very briefly caught in what is called a hypnopompic state. From what I've read, the state is produced by being largely awake but with the brain activity in the frontal lobes still suppressed. Frontal lobe activity is key to what we call rational consciousness. Most people will occasionally experience such states, though most don't recognize them and just refer to them as dreaming.
Hypnopomic states are driven by emotion, and, in my case, probably because I'm such a huge reader as well as a writer, the imagery that appears in that state often consists of words floating in the air before my eyes. Most of the time I can read a few of the words but the meaning is usually jumbled. This morning, however, a whole phrase appeared to me. I've copied it below. Only the word indicated here as "throat" was smeared. I couldn't read what was actually there but "throat" seems like the most logical choice to my fully awakened frontal lobe. Perhaps you have a better word to replace it.
"There are those who smile and talk to your face with the tongues of angels, and all the while their black gaze is fixed on your throat, and their teeth click, click, click as they whisper evil behind your back."
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It fits and nice imagery. Methinks you may develop a story out of that.
ReplyDeleteYou are now an oracle? Delphic!
ReplyDeleteAloha
Randy, tis all grist for the mill.
ReplyDeleteCloudia, I think that one is pretty easy to predict, but being an oracle is kind of cool. :)
"Closing my eyes allowed me to see them better, because, of course, they weren't really there."
ReplyDeleteThis stood out for me because, atheist that I am, I wouldn't have said that they weren't really there. Surely, they weren't there as objects of wood or paper, yet to imply that they weren't at all there narrows the content of what is real versus what is not real further than I would be comfortable doing. I know that you didn't mean to say that they weren't there in your mind, yet the way we speak frames out world, and I can see sense in leaving it as open as possible.
Interesting post, Charles. I didn't know about hypnopompic state until now. Is it also something like daydreaming?
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great intro to a tale.
ReplyDeleteSnowbrush, well, not there in the actual air but inside my mind for sure. I see your point.
ReplyDeletePrashant, during daydreaming there can be similar brain patterns so I'd say it could be. At least sometimes.
David J., it will probably get used some time or another.
Nice phrase! And I think "throat" was smeared because as a horror writer that would work visually - smeared with blood.
ReplyDeleteVivid. Throat works for me.
ReplyDeleteRachel, hum, hadn't thought of that. Perhaps so.
ReplyDeleteBernard, yeah, I kind of like it.
oh dang....a vivid last thought in the waking...watching a little walking dead before sleep? ha. there is a truth in this though...a scary one...about who people really are....or what their motives may be...
ReplyDeleteBrian, I was playing a western video game before sleep last night. Not sure if that had any impact.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is really neat, seeing an actual word. I have very graphic, vivid dreams, and if they're sex dreams, it's always someone I have to see in some kind of social situation that I'd never want to hook up with.
ReplyDeleteMy poor knowledge of Frnch, but,
ReplyDeletegorge. Garrot. :)
Get out the garlic... :)
ReplyDeleteThis has never happened to me. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteCool, man ~!
ReplyDeleteRiot Kitty, they say that women dream more about people they know, and men dream more about strangers. It seems true for me.
ReplyDeleteSage, I like me some garlic.
Patti, I read a lot in my actual dreams. Most of the time I can't remember the words but sometimes I do.
Erik, it was very neat.
Charles-Wow. Do you awaken feeling rested? That's some pretty wild stuff!
ReplyDeleteI find myself since brain surgery doing a lot more reading and writing in my sleep. I may wake several times in the night working and reworking the opening sentence of a blog post. Much fewer actual dreams about people and places.
ReplyDeleteJodi, it depends on how long I sleep. If I get 7 or so hours I'm usually not very rested in the morning, but if I then get a nap of an hour or two later I feel good.
ReplyDeleteRon, very interesting. I wonder why that is.