The Man Who Walks Through Dreams

Yesterday, upon the stair,
I met a man that wasn’t there
He wasn’t there again today
I wish, I wish he’d go away. – Hughes Mearns, “Antigonish”

Call him Peter.

He won’t mind – he’s been called worse.

He’s been the most influential force in my life, my best lover and my favorite puzzle. He knows me better than I know myself. Yet he’s not exclusively mine, for hearing about other’s dreams, it sounds as if he walks into other dreamers’ dreams, too.

I’ve dreamt about Peter for over 25 years – and I still don’t know exactly what he is. In a lucid dream, I once dared to ask him, “What are you? Spirit? Incubus? Phantom?”

Peter grimaced, shook himself off and intoned, “That’s a rude question.”

Every dreamer that I talk to about dream people have different theories as to what they are, and Peter in particular. They range from God to British singer-songwriter Peter Gabriel. I doubt the dream people know, if Peter is any indication. One day, he’d describe himself as my totem and then a few months later insist he never said that and that he really is a nightmare.

No matter what they call themselves, they are unforgettable. These are the people you meet in dreams that may or may not be based on people in your waking life. They could be dead family members, characters from movies or your favorite celebrity. They may take on non-human shapes. One night in your dreams, you may even be visited by Peter.

Dream people like Peter act differently than other human dream figures. They move differently. They seem more vibrant than anything else in the dream. You can’t predict what they’ll say. You can’t predict what they’ll do. But they’ll teach you how to live your waking life to its best – if you can remember your dreams.

As you’ve probably guessed, this isn’t the usual self-help blog. It’s part autobiography and part biography of Peter. It’s part science and part conjecture. It’ll be a bit like a coloring book – full of dark outlines so you can fill in your own colors. It’s a bit like the language of dreams. You’ll get what you need to get out of it.

Sweet dreams.