Another Poetry Book About Dreams: Only In My Dreams Focuses on the Deeper Issues When Dreaming

 

I don’t usually write poetry books on a topic that I have already covered in a previous poetry book, but when I saw a call for submissions on poetry chapbooks that explored dreams and the subconscious, I jumped at the opportunity to write another poetry book about dreams. But unlike the poems in Dream World, these poems explored the deeper issues about dreams.

 

Specifically, how our subconscious affects and influences the dreams we have.

 

As someone whose own subconscious has influenced my dreams, going so far as to create a dream experience that has lasted for over 30 years, I felt I was a good candidate to write such a book!

 

Since the theme was “dreams and the subconscious,” I figured that a majority of the poems featured in my own collection should be about those very dreams. My subconscious created a “dream man” based on a picture of someone I had just seen and it pretty much ran with it from there. At the time the dreams happened, however, I did not understand that they were a product of my subconscious meeting my own lingering needs for love. As someone who is a burn survivor, and also someone who is deaf, I knew rejection VERY well in my teen years. I longed to find someone who loved me unconditionally and loved me in a way that was without fear, without judgment, without any kind of negativity or the normal downsides of a relationship, such as jealousy, comparison, resentment, etc. That was all there in my dreams with this particular dream man. My subconscious created someone that gave me all that and met those needs.

 

At the time, though, I didn’t realize it was my subconscious having that kind of influence. Since the paranormal was a HUGE topic in my family, I thought those dreams were the result of some kind of paranormal influence. And one person I know had me convinced for the longest time that the dreams were the result of a past life relationship. Then I thought they were a result of precognition, like I was fated to be with this person.

 

But, no. Getting older and wiser (not to mention sober!), and having researched dreams and the subconscious further, I realized those dreams were a product of my subconscious. The person created in my dreams was based on a real person – one whose image I saw in a poster my sister hung in our bedroom. I was not into music at the time and I was not even a fan of this band (well, duh, because I couldn’t hear their music!), but my subconscious just took that ONE person from that poster and threw him into my dreams. I have had several of the dreams since then and I occasionally have them still.

 

My subconscious didn’t always exactly influence GOOD things in my dreams. Sometimes, it created nightmares resulting from bad things that happened in my life, such as when I was abused, sexually assaulted, used, taken advantage of and generally mistreated by others. These things were amplified in my nightmares.

 

I may have been able to escape from them in my real life and block those certain people in my real life, but I could not escape from them or block them n my dreams. This is covered in this new book as well. I also write about how dreams may sometimes not make much sense, how a group of people can tend to have the same dream at the same time, and how I have often had dreams where lost loved ones have visited. I have had many dreams of my parents, either alone or together, and these dreams often include my siblings, so we are all together with our late parents again. And sometimes, my late  grandparents have been in my dreams.

 

Writing this book was a fun challenge for me. I love exploring and analyzing dreams. It’s one of my favorite hobbies.

 

Unfortunately, my book was not selected for publication by the publishing company hosting the contest. However, a writing magazine I am subscribed to recently started publishing poetry chapbooks (they published my chapbook, The House That Madness Built), so I submitted my manuscript there. It was accepted for publication and the result is the new poetry chapbook, Only In My Dreams. I gave the book this title because it represents how some things can happen only in my dreams but never in reality.

 

Here is the blurb:

 

Step into the enchanting realm of 'Only In My Dreams,' a collection of 49 mesmerizing poems. These verses offer a window into the profound influence of reverie, which has played an extraordinary role in the author's life. From visions that glimpse the future to ethereal encounters with love and solace, this poetic odyssey is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. 'Only In My Dreams' invites you to close your eyes and embark on a voyage of hope, inspiration, and the limitless possibilities found within the world of slumber. Discover the enchantment within your own nocturnal journeys as you immerse yourself in this captivating exploration of the dreamscapes that shape our lives.

 

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