August 08, 2024, Snickerdoodle
Cover image generated on DeepAI.org
My dreams are my memories.
I visit nonexistent places in my dreams. Lands of fantasy mixed with the real world. I visit them often. I remember the landmarks, roads, houses, buildings, and people. If I remember and visit these places, does that bring them into existence?
An endless road surrounded by thick forest. My parents backyard with a tree whose top you cannot perceive or comprehend. The horrible back door that leads into darkness, something is always trying to get in.
I know these places aren't real but they are real to me because I remember visiting them. I remember seeing everything around me, touching the ground, feeling the sunlight and wind, smelling odors around me, hearing people talk to me, and feeling myself talking back to them. I remember happiness, wonder, fear, and terror in these places. I remember the sensations so, doesn't that make them real?
What is the difference between dreams and memories anyway? Memories are records of experiences. If something happens in a dream and I remember it, that makes it an experience, therefore it's a memory… right? How can I tell what is a dream or memory?
What if my dreams are the real memories and memories from the waking world are just dreams? What if my dreams are the unfiltered reality being brought back to the surface while my consciousness sleeps, and the waking memories are just the things I perceive with my limited senses on top of my subconscious filtering out things the conscious cannot handle.
Which are the real memories, the sleeping or awake ones? What's real, the dream or the memory or the memory of the dream or the dream of the memory or the dream of the dream or the memory of the memory or the dream of the memory of the memory or the memory of the dream of the dream of the memory?