My favorite part of dreaming is that intermezzo between sleep and wake. It’s sort of that last moment you possess control to end a dream in a way that seems to satisfy your rational, waking mind.

I’ve had a reoccurring dream for several years where I am being chased by different Borg-like things through a series of mazes and obstacles. It’s sort of like a frightening video game where I am put through various tests and am trying to hide from, defeat and eventually escape the bad guys. For example, during last nights dream, one phase involved my gouging out one eyeball of each of the two monsters I encountered. After I had killed these two beasts, another test awaited.

Though I inevitably win the challenges, throughout all the variations of this dream I remember feeling utterly exhausted and that I can’t defeat any more murders or monsters. But, the maze is very cluttered and essentially endless. The next phase, the next life threatening situation, is always right around the corner.

During the intermezzo between my dream and wake this morning, I was able to exhibit some control over the outcome. This time, I didn’t simply force myself to wake up as I have habitually in the past. This time I manipulated my dream to let me walk onto a path that lead to an open, green field with small, colorful cartoon-like flowers scattered about. My mind then seemed to speak out loud and say, “Instead of the never ending maze, why don’t you just let yourself go to this open field and be at peace?” And that’s where my dream ended and I woke up next to R.