Dreams are funny things, and apparently quite flexible. For most of my life - those that I can recall anyhow - my dreams have been defined by a couple of constant characteristics. They were peopled by strangers and took place in anonymous locals - usually large structures with many hallways in which I was often lost and late for something.
Exceptions to those parameters appear to be creeping in. Most recently I dreamt I was back in the house in which I was raised in Springfield, Ohio. I was in the kitchen, clearly defined by the large cut out of Peter Pan (from the Disney movie, circa 1953) affixed to the door that led to the backyard or the basement. I was discussing something, maybe arguing?, with my parents. We were all represented as age appropriate for the era - so probably when I was in junior high or somewhere around there. I have no recollection as to what was discussed. But it was fairly calm, no raised voices or confrontation.
Not long before that I had a dream in which my daughters were present. K-12 ages in Raleigh. Again, no recollection as to specific content. Just a rather bland interaction. But I was confused as to why these seemingly "real world" venues were making their way into my previously uniquely "fictional" nocturnal dramas. I have worked out an explanation that makes sense - well, sort of anyhow - to me. Let me attempt an explanation.
First, a quick refresher of "Chord theory." Building on the framework of quantum mechanics in which we find string theory, my extension, "chord theory" asserts that since everything in the universe is built - on its most fundamental level - on tiny vibrating strings, then we too are made of tiny vibrating strings. And since vibrating strings, no matter how tiny, make music - we too are made of music. Furthermore, as our DNA (made of music) is unique to us, we continually vibrate to our own unique chord. Chord theory asserts that our relationship to existence - friends, family, lovers, enemies, jobs, music, art, food, locale, everything - depends upon the degree of harmony or discord between the chord of those individuals or entities and our own unique chord. We seek association with harmonic chords and we avoid those that are discordant. OK. Hold on to that idea.
Now, let's move on to circles. You may remember that when I posted the image "Painted Ponies," (https://schragwall.blogspot.com/2025/04/the-painted-ponies.html) I drew the title from Joni Mitchel's 1966 song Circle Game. Well, that tune is but one small element in a staggering number of assertions that life can be seen as a circular experience. The Lion King: Circle of Life. The circular representation of the universe in Hindu and Buddhist symbolism. The old gospel tune, Will the Circle Be Unbroken. Circle dances in the Judaic world. The Medical Circle in some Native American traditions. It's enough to make your head spin.
Well, let me put a bit of a twist on the dominance of the circle, and assert instead that life is a spiral. Where a circle eventually closes where it began and becomes a static entity, a spiral, on the other hand, moves. Seen from above a spiral does appear to be a circle, but viewed from the side, in three dimensions, it reveals itself to be a spring. Which, as an existential model, implies progress, growth, perhaps an increase in harmony. Which doesn't really contradict some circle-based ontologies which often propose movement to a "higher" plane of existence or spiritual awareness. So maybe one can think of a spiral as a bunch of circles with ramps. But I digress. What does this have to do with somewhat realistic dreams from another era?
I'm glad you asked. OK. Get an image of a spiral in your mind:
Like this:
Now image a line dropping down the edge of the spiral, like this:
The line represents when you were at similar points of the spiral segment (analogous to a circle) at some earlier stages of your life. It is my contention that the various intersections between the spiral and the line, share, if not unique, then powerful, harmonics. Meaning that at some point in your past you found yourself in a situation very similar to your current point in time. And it is those shared moments, shared harmonics, that propel images from those disparate eras into our dreamscape.
So why are these particular moments from days gone-bye just now entering my dreams? Why not moments from everywhere the line - or any line for that matter - that intersects with any part of the the spiral? Obviously, I do not know. But to further hypothesize, I would assume, as implied above, that there were harmonics associated with those intersecting moments that are somehow uniquely in sync with those moments dominating my current life.
But the dreams, as in their wont, decline to clearly reveal those connections.
I will continue to cogitate.
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PS. As some of you know, we currently reside on the outskirts of the failed city of Chicago where we regularly dine and attend a variety of cultural events. It is our fervent desire that the President will act so National Guard troops will - over the misguided objections of all our elected officials - be sent to our city to address the current threat to national security here in the Windy City - a criminal scarcity of on-street parking. A situation obviously attributable to flagrant criminal parking abuses of shadowy Albanian gang members driving large SUVs.
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