Theater of the Mind

A few nights ago the strangest thing happened to me. As far back as I can remember I have always experienced very vivid dreams that I remember long after I have awakened. For example, there was a time in high school when I was Magnum P.I. protecting a house from some bad guys and a time when I was riding a friend's motorcycle but I had to push it along like Fred Flintstone and the list goes on. Dreams of old that I remember to this day. But this one a few nights ago was quite different.

The dream went like this: I was aboard a military submarine and a giant metalic worm (very sci-fi) was eating the sub from the inside out. At one point it breached the hull and we started to take on water. At first I was able to see everything the worm was doing, as if I was a ghost following it around. Then the dream shifted to me standing in an office looking out the window of the sub at the air bubbles escaping and rushing to the surface. I know most large submarines don't have windows, but this is my dream. Up to this point it is the standard dream full of improbable events and impossible settings.

This is when it started to get weird. While standing in the office gazing at a scene of doom I began to think of my pending demise. The thoughts of being crushed alive or drowning frightened me. The strange thing was I knew I was dreaming. I began to fear what would happen if I died in my dream. Would I die in real life, would I feel everything as real, and so on. My thoughts, as far as dreams go, were very lucid. I began to think since this is a dream can I just wake myself up. I had pondered the repercussions of taking this course of action then my sense of mortality took over and I wanted to ensure my future in my real world. So I willed myself awake. The next thing I knew I found myself in my room, awake and unharmed.

As far back as I can remember I don't recall having a dream where I knew that I was in a dream with the ability to leave the dream.