I used to wet the bed. My pea-sized bladder was so full I'd awaken and quickly throw off the covers and clamber quickly out of bed. I'd feel the thick threads of the rug on my bare feet, and the little shock of static as I opened my bedroom door. In the moonlight, I'd pull up the porcelain toilet seat (cool on my fingers), and pee, the stream hitting the water loudly in the dead-silent house, parents and brother asleep in rooms down the hall. Finished, I'd start to fall asleep as I shuffled back to my room, but manage to get in bed and pull over my covers-- hearing little pops of static from the blanket-- before blackness. And immediately awaken to wet sheets. It was always a mystery to me, because I knew I'd just gotten up to use the bathroom. Sleep is a strange thing. I used to be so good at it; now I seem forever awake. I barely have time to achieve R.E.M. now, whereas before I would always wake up dazed with wonder at the beauty and comfort and awe and other mysterious things I'd experienced in my dreams while I slept... Like this dream, which I had when I was a teenager: It was late in the day. There were some rain clouds in the sky, but they not threatening because they were full of sideways-light from the lowering sun. Way up, from those impossibly high prairie clouds, I could see a blur of raindrops begin to fall. As they got closer, and resolved into individual drops, I noticed something: each one was a different color. Blue, red, gold, violet, turquoise, burnt sienna... all hues, tones and shades, thousands and thousands and thousands of unique colors. (And as those drops caught that late light, they would also glow, or sparkle... it was like soft ameythst and gentle emeralds and tender rubies and more, descending from heaven...)In another dream that's also stayed with me for a long time, I'm moving into deep space, silently, and passing huge swirling planets and spining twin stars and arcing dust bridges millions of miles wide. I move between massive gaseous balls (which I realized are suns composed of suns, and galaxies made of galaxies) and many more things which I had (and still have) no words to describe. I felt that I was way, way out, farther than I'd ever been before, (but I strangely didn't recall any "before"). And then I heard a voice. It simply, but strongly-- firmly isn't the correct word-- asked "Why are you here?" I answered ("To explore") and woke up sometime later. The only other thing I recall about the dream is that the voice had a face: bald, with distinct eyebrows... and maybe eyes with an epicanthic fold (but I'm not 100% sure on that last detail.) I also often used to dream of arcing tunnels as I fell sleep. The walls of these circular tunnels were of light (not solid,but like lace,) and mostly white and light purple and blue. I would travel through them at a very, very high speed, but could never see the exit (like when you're in the Space Mountain roller coaster going up a hill.) And here's the thing: after years and years of dreaming of the light tunnels, suddenly, I didn't.In a more recent dream (even still, six years ago; as I said, I don’t dream much anymore), I'm in an enclosed space. There are lots of other people and objects around, and everyone is very active and busy, I can hear them, but the only thing I see is black. Suddenly the floor disappears, and a microsend later i’m dropping, and aware that I'm falling from a great height along with the other people. There's no fear, and in a moment there's a feeling of transition, of transformation. I woke up with a particular phrase echoing in my head, which I told my wife that morning to remember because it was so unusal and clear...I'm splitting this post into 2 parts, so next week where I'll get into the above phrase and other synchronicities with the dreams... In the meantime, here's Rainbowbeau , taken from the Various Chimeras CD by Shinjuku Zulu, "at iTunes here":http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=154068465&s=143441 , and whose genesis was the multi-colored raindrop dream. (Vocals once again by Larissa Gomes, who also appears on "Mrs. Major Tom":http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=5126742&s=143441&i=5126722 and "Sweetness Likes the Reverb":http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?playlistId=7899232&s=143441&i=7898129