These days I seldom dream. There have been periods of my life when dreams came often, sometimes with such intensity that when waking, the dream was so vivid, to be as persuasive as my mentally aware life. I remember when my mother died many years ago, sadness descended to ebb and flow for months. Then I dreamed. At the time I could not describe what the absence of my mother meant. Perhaps my body learned the meaning of her leave taking, a terrain which was explored in dreams. Life entails loss, a reciprocity of love, and not just between other people. Places, objects, and practices become cherished and lost, with the passage of time. So we dream.

I read an essay yesterday, What Are Dreams For by Amanda Geftner. She wrote that dreams are similar to a visit to the gym to become more adept at a skill which one must master. A fetus dreams, and so do newborn mice. Muscle twitches are recorded during REM (deep) sleep. Research shows the cerebral cortex is testing the sensory motor connections, during the inordinate amount of time that a young mammal sleeps.

I recalled the proposal made by Anaxagoras (500 BCE) that nous (mind) is the primal motive force in relation to matter. The idea makes sense. Mind and body without a sharp-edged boundary. In the dream the mind stimulates the body to sync up, practicing connection after connection to get better.  Yoga?

Back to the opening sentences on loss and dreaming. Loss is alien country to us, a strange, mysterious environment which we must master. To learn the landscape of loss we go back to the gymnasium. Again.

I have thought about this tune for several days. Stevie Nicks thought this one of her best tunes. Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac.

Silver Springs

You could be my silver springs
Blue-green colors flashin’
I would be your only dream
Your shining autumn, ocean crashing
And did you say she was pretty?
And did you say that she loves you?
Baby, I don’t wanna know

I’ll begin not to love you
Turn around, see me runnin’
I said I loved you years ago
Tell myself you never loved me, no
And did you say she was pretty?
And did you say that she loves you?
Baby, I don’t wanna know
Oh, no
And can you tell me was it worth it?
Really, I don’t wanna know

Time cast its spell on you, but you won’t forget me
I know I could have loved you, but you would not let me

Time cast its spell on you, but you won’t forget me
I know I could have loved you, but you would not let me
I’ll follow you down ’til the sound of my voice will haunt you
You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loved you

I’ll follow you down ’til the sound of my voice will haunt you
(Was I just a fool?)
You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loved you
(Was I just a fool?)

I’ll follow you down ’til the sound of my voice will haunt you
(Give me just a chance)
You’ll never get away from the sound of the woman that loved you

You could be my silver springs
My blue-green colors flashing