Monday, March 03, 2025, I was listening to the Bob and Sheri show. In their segment,” Can You Believe This?” Sheri was asking the crew if they remembered their dreams. I was raising my hand saying. “All the time.” Since childhood, I have been a dreamer. I have very real, lucid, vivid dreams. Like Sheri, I have had to ask, “is this real or something that was in a dream?” I have said for years when it comes to my memories, I have found it difficult to separate the two. Can you relate?
At a young age, my father taught me to keep a journal next to my bed to record my dreams. We are big fans of Stephen King whom my father said, “would use his dreams for story ideas.” I began the practice and have received valuable information as a result.
In hearing Sheri’s words, I was reminded of dreams that created the blurred lines between reality and dream. Here is an entry from one of my dream journals that left me questioning, “Was that real or just a dream?”
01-15-12
I tossed and turned trying to get comfortable, burying my head into the pillow, thinking of someone I had not heard from in a long time and really missed. I opened my eyes and realized I was in a strange room, not my own. Light was filling the room unlike the one I was just in. One wall baby blue, another faded orange. All the walls were completely empty like a work in progress. I was in a bed different from my own with no head or footboard but covered in my blankets I went to sleep with. I closed my eyes again with the same thought about the person I was missing.
With my eyes closed I could see images and hear sounds trying to come in and out like a bad or unavailable station on a television. Images were beginning to appear, black and white at first then turning to color. There were grey faces with gleaming blue eyes. I could hear wolves howling and then they appeared, first one then many. I woke up to the largest of them standing next to the bed but I was not scared. The wolf was becoming a man and he was beautiful. Something must have happened, do not know what, because when I woke I was lying next to him with my head on his chest, my arm over his stomach, my knee on top of his knee, his arm holding me close. I did not know who he was but it was comfortable, familiar somehow. I wondered if he was real or if I was dreaming. I thought to myself, “If I am dreaming I must look funny in the position I am in, holding someone that is not here.” My thought was confirmed when people came walking in the room, looked in my direction and said nothing to me. I appeared to be sleeping. I thought, “Do they not see him?” I smiled, closed my eyes, and pulled him closer.
I woke up, still in the blue and orange room this time alone. I lay on my back staring at the ceiling with that, now, old thought of the one I have been missing. I closed my eyes to sleep and dream. I began to feel myself being lifted and I could see I was heading towards the window and knew I was beginning a dream journey. The more I thought of him the higher I was being lifted and getting closer to the window. I suddenly stopped. I realized I got distracted. I closed my eyes then began moving again up and out of the window. I was being pulled for what felt like miles. I left in daylight, before I knew it the night had come, it was dark. I could see the neighborhood lights beneath me. In my mind I asked, “Where am I going?” Could I have been going to the one I had been thinking of? The more I thought about him the faster I flew, almost too fast. I had been attached to a brown belt and had to tighten it, thinking I was going to slip away.
I do not know how long I sailed or how far I went. I did not see him but woke in the dark realizing I had been dreaming and had gone in one large circle. I sat up and said to myself, “How strange was that? I need to write all that down.” I got out of bed, walked to the bathroom, stared at the mirror, and turned on the water. I splashed some water on my face and could not stop thinking about my dream. Was I going to remember all the details when I wrote them down? Why was I having the thoughts I was? Why did I have that dream? I was searching for meaning as I began brushing my teeth.
I then heard a voice saying, “bye babe,” and felt my body jump. I woke suddenly to the words “sorry” in my ear trying to see in the dark room. I received a kiss on my lips and said, “You tore me from a dream,” then turned over. I realized I had been dreaming. I had not woken up like I thought. I had been dreaming the whole time. My body jumping was me returning from my journey. I lay there pondering it all, trying to recall every detail. I closed my eyes again and began a new dream.
When I woke up again, looking at the clock, I realized a couple of hours had passed. I tried to recall the details of the last dream without success. I was only seeing the prior, it was much stronger. I got out of bed, took a shower, did my hair, sat down at the computer, and began to write what you have just read.
Have you experienced a dream like this?
Throughout my life I have written down or talked about many of these experiences. I was so intrigued when I researched this type of dream state. According to Brandon Peters, MD, and his article, “False Awakening and Trying to Wake Up from a Dream – Ever “Wake up” and Realize You’re Still Dreaming?” this is a sleep disorder known as False Awakening – believing the sleeper is awake when they are still sleeping. I have read the science about the types of false awakenings and the symptoms/activities that one may experience, but I do believe that every person’s dream experiences are unique to them. It is up to us to determine whether it is good or bad, a non-nightmare vs a nightmare. In another dream journal entry, I wrote about a dream where I felt scared and fearful, did not want it to continue, then pulled myself out. After researching the meaning, I discovered it was a positive experience and there was nothing to fear.
In writing this episode, I realized there is so much more to this topic. Tune in next week when I share some tips to distinguish if a dream is real or not. Also, I will be continuing the conversation for those that either don’t remember their dreams or don’t dream at all.
Thank you!
Theresa Martinez-Shapiro
Flexible Being
Website: www.flexiblebeing.com
Socials:
Facebook: @flexiblebeingonline
Instagram: @theresamartinezshapiro
Instagram: @flexiblebeing
Theresa Martinez-Shapiro
Hello! I am Theresa Martinez-Shapiro; Wife to Robert. Founder of Flexible Being. A Master Reiki Therapist, Certified Oracle Guide, Spiritual Mentor/Guide, Intuitive Empath, Coach, and Educator. I am a fur mom to 3 cats and 1 dog – Sonny, Patches, Ryelee, and Winnie. We currently live and practice in Stockton, California. We operate three businesses – Shapiro Holistic Health and Chiropractic, Fusion Health APC, and Synergy Health MSO, where we seek to improve and change the lives of our patients and those we have the privilege of crossing paths with. My healing and mentoring journey began around 5 years old when I discovered that I was put on this planet to help others. I knew I was different, unique, and gifted. I did not see the world the same way everyone else did, and recognized I was meant to do so much more. I began to research, spending a lot of time reading & asking a lot of questions to anyone that wanted to share stories about their life experiences. I am a dreamer and had a unique relationship with the dream world. My very real, vivid & lucid dreams began turning into out-of-body experiences and unexplained occurrences. I began doing my own dream interpretations to look for patterns & a new way of deciphering life. Family members were part of many different religions, so I was educated in Catholicism, Buddhism, Metaphysics, and Native American culture & beliefs. Along the way, I took up multiple mentors that cultivated my growth and expansion of my gifts, allowing me to focus on my potential and purpose. As an adult, coworkers were unloading their life stories, internal secrets, and things that had not been shared or even spoken out loud. I began to share those experiences with my aunt & Reiki Master/Teacher, Carmen. In 2012, Carmen told me, “I think you are ready to walk the path I always knew you were meant to walk”. That saying began my obsessive journey into Reiki, Spirituality, Psychology, Intuition and Psychic gifts, Meditation and Mindfulness, Past Lives, Consciousness, Energy Medicine, Mysteries of the Universe, Moon and Sun cycles, Astrology, Numerology, Oracle Cards, Shamanism, & so much more. My journey has helped me to assist patients, clients, families, and friends discover who they have been, who they are, and who they want to become. I am expanding my reach and educating others by authoring Musings of a Flexible Being, and I look forward to sharing my journey with you. Thank you! Theresa Martinez-Shapiro Flexible Being Website: www.flexiblebeing.com Socials: Facebook: @flexiblebeingonline Instagram:@theresamartinezshapiro Instagram: @flexiblebeing
