The line between reality and dreams

So, this is difficult for me to get into
I've always been very private
But im in a place where i dont know where to go, and i lack any understanding.

I find myself going back and forth easily, though with great confusion trying to grasp to what is physical and real, but i find it to be increasingly difficult to wake from that other world.

There are dreams that have left an impression on me... and i'll start with the one that has in a way come full circle
A full decade since i had this dream, August... 10 years ago... i was 12... and this dream in all its vivid horror remained engrained in my mind... but this is the first time i will be revealing the whole dream... i dont know why... i just feel, an urge i guess.

I always left it out... because of all the people who have tried to help me... i didnt want anyone to not take seriously something that had struck me in such a way that i remember every single detail and it still draws out my emotions to this day...

Alright

So the dream started very basic... innocent even.
I was at my home in Arizona... my dog and I playing outside, running around in the grass, beside the pool, our usual thing, i was practicing with a makeshift sword, my dad had made as a gift for me. A functional sparring tool really made from pvc pipe. After a little while the sky grew dark... becoming red as blood, clouds darkening... and fire began to rain down... asteroids possibly?... in a panic i went to the back door (a sliding glass door) and i called out to my parents and sisters telling them to come outside quick... as i did so i heard a deep humming...

This is the part i left out for the last 10 years

A ship descended landing in the backyard, a boarding ramp lowering as if inviting me in...
i didnt... i didn't take the chance... i watched as one of the balls of fire crashed into my home crushing my family inside beneath burning debris. Crying out, shouting and calling out to my family, i began digging through the rubble, burning my hands until the pain became too much... in the process of doing this, the ship was struck and destroyed...

It didnt bother me... i lost the most important people in my life... thats what mattered... but they were gone and i could do nothing

when i finally gave up i picked up my practice sword, and my dog followed at my side as i headed to the back gate of the house, since i couldnt go through the house. The gate was shattered and flung apart by the impact of the fireball and as i made my way out to the street two figures ran through, as if in slow motion, a woman dressed in white, almost like a wedding dress... and a man dressed in black... a button up shirt and slacks. The man took the woman in his arms and held her, the woman seemed distraught.

I didnt look back though and as i walked through the gate it began to rain, more specifically it began to rain red (blood possibly?), i walked out into the street, to see my neighborhood burning... but one thing was out of place... a statue easily 2 or 3 stories tall stood in the street. A statue of an angel with one arm raised high to the sky, but broken at the wrist, its hand missing. As i approached the statue i found its hand laying on the ground, clutching a polished black sword, as if cut from a single immense piece of Obsidian, with strange markings along the blade. I then heard a strange noise and i looked up to see the red sky, raining red still however with a massive rip in it... like a tear in fabric to see the night sky... to see stars beyond this rip/tear. As i stood there staring i felt a weight in my hand that was holding the practice pvc sword. I looked down and the sword that had been in the angel's severed hand, had appeared in my own hand.

At that was that... i woke up crying... and have never forgotten the dream...


Several months ago i had another vivid dream... with one significant aspect that makes it worth remembering...

It was a vague dream... people were gathered, seeking shelter, seeking sanctuary from some unknown force. As they gathered together to listen to the speech of one individual i was looking around. I sensed something malevolent. And i was right... beyond the reach of the torch light i saw clouds of darkness swoop and weave in the darkness before taking the form of armored entities... constructs of metal armed with blades. I began shouting to the crowd to run, to get as far away as possible. As i did so i engaged the armored constructs. I couldnt hurt them with my weapons. Swords of steel, modern functional swords that broke against the armor. and only passed through the shadows that held the armor together

No they were not stainless steel garbage, the swords i own in real life are made of folded steel and I would settle for nothing less. Frankly I wouldnt be stupid enough.

Anywho
Even as my swords broke i continued to engage the constructs, trying to keep their attention away from the people who were running.

At some point a group of people dressed in clothing that one could define as post-apocalyptic came rushing in, some engaging the animated armor while others guided the civilians out to safety. A woman ran up as i was fighting the construct i had first engaged, and she threw me a sword. The sword she threw to me, and the reason i feel i had to remember this dream, was the sword from the dream 10 years ago. A sword that appeared to have been cut from a single piece of obsidian.

From that point on we were able to drive the constructs back, this black sword cutting through their armor easily and efficiently
It came to a point where we were lined up together (the group of strangers and myself) as the constructs continued to approach us unrelenting in their pursuit
And then i woke up

Recently... approximately 2 weeks ago... i experienced a dream where i could not move, not in the sense of paralysis... rather my body felt relaxed... i didn't want to move... shrouded figures, that being figures who's features i could not see as they were completely shrouded in shadow. A disembodied voice spoke to me

"You are being activated for your intended purpose", the dream that followed is utterly meaningless to me and i feel no need to share it, however i do remember it entirely.

3-4 weeks prior to that i had an experience in my room, where i lay in bed. I felt awake for sure as i had just woken from a dream. As i lay there thinking i saw unusual light illuminating the wall i was facing. From my position the window was behind me so it made sense. At first the light was white and then it became brighter and i became curious, I started to lift myself to sit up and look but as i lifted my head the light suddenly turned green and i felt my body lock up on me. I strained and struggled and i was able to clench a fist even forcing myself to be able to move little by little when suddenly everything went dark, as if i was knocked out. The next thing i knew i woke up landing in my bed. And i do mean landing. I felt myself bounce off the bed in a position where i was laying down.

Ever since dreams and reality have been more and more blurred, and its harder to wake up.. and even more difficult to tell when im awake and when im still asleep

Ive had no answers, and nobody seems capable of giving me sound advice...
but i felt that i needed to put these out there

That first one was disturbing.

It had elements in it I recognize. Simple put, it reminds me of the Day of the Lord. Were you being inundated with that type of imagery at that time?

originally posted by: ketsuko
That first one was disturbing.

It had elements in it I recognize. Simple put, it reminds me of the Day of the Lord. Were you being inundated with that type of imagery at that time?

I cant say that I was
I was baptized Catholic as an infant but my faith is almost non existent

But your comment is not the first one that suggests religious meaning

Around 20, I told my mom about the statue of the angel
Although I left the rest out
She mentioned that once when she was young in a bible study class, there was mention of an Angel who tried to challenge god
As punishment his hand was severed at the wrist

Other impressions people got were references to the end of days, and one person even referenced the four horsemen

On another note, no one has any thoughts in regards to the sword or its appearance in my hand.
I did not pick it up, it simply appeared in my grip

a reply to: Elysian

The bride and groom are common symbols for the rapture.

originally posted by: ketsuko
a reply to: Elysian

The bride and groom are common symbols for the rapture.

That's news to me
Haven't heard that

Reality can be weird sometimes. I am not good at interpreting dreams however with my background in philosophy I can give you some ideas on reality that ive written in papers.

I've always felt that when you can experience reality with the sense of touch or smell then you can better deternine if what you are experiencing is real or not. However, there are people that lack these senses. You mentioned that its getting harder to wake from your dreams. Sometines, dreams can seem so real it will make you question your reality. Maybe, when we dream thats the real reality. Maybe, in your case your soul is being pulled into dream world it sounds far fetched but its something I've being playing with in my mind.

Things like this can drive you crazy when you have dreams that seem so real that you start to think thats reality. Be careful and try not to let this consume you.

originally posted by: Rocketgirl
Reality can be weird sometimes. I am not good at interpreting dreams however with my background in philosophy I can give you some ideas on reality that ive written in papers.

I've always felt that when you can experience reality with the sense of touch or smell then you can better deternine if what you are experiencing is real or not. However, there are people that lack these senses. You mentioned that its getting harder to wake from your dreams. Sometines, dreams can seem so real it will make you question your reality. Maybe, when we dream thats the real reality. Maybe, in your case your soul is being pulled into dream world it sounds far fetched but its something I've being playing with in my mind.

Things like this can drive you crazy when you have dreams that seem so real that you start to think thats reality. Be careful and try not to let this consume you.

Ill keep that in mind, thank you.
And no im not dismissing your thoughts. When I say I will do something I do it.

a reply to: ketsuko Yea, this is very interesting; first time hearing this too. I wonder why the bride and groom is a common symbol for the rapture?

And Elysian, your dreams sound Amazing! Albeit the first one was rather disturbing. In each of your dreams do you remember what the main emotion that you were feeling was? In the second dream did it feel natural to fight and defend the people against these constructs? And did it feel natural to have this sword in your hand and fight with it?

Also, if you don't mind sharing, what has your emotional state been like recently?

Thank you for sharing!

originally posted by: MidNight sun
a reply to: ketsuko Yea, this is very interesting; first time hearing this too. I wonder why the bride and groom is a common symbol for the rapture?

And Elysian, your dreams sound Amazing! Albeit the first one was rather disturbing. In each of your dreams do you remember what the main emotion that you were feeling was? In the second dream did it feel natural to fight and defend the people against these constructs? And did it feel natural to have this sword in your hand and fight with it?

Also, if you don't mind sharing, what has your emotional state been like recently?

Thank you for sharing!

The first Grief
I woke up soaked in tears

The second , natural is an understatement
Ive always had a longing to protect human life
My heart and soul ache when I fail to stand up for even a complete stranger

The sword is natural always
I consider myself "gifted" to some extent
Im no master but I am self taught and ive fought and defeated people who have trained formally

As for my emotional state
Its turbulent
Constantly shifting, extreme mood swings from one end of the spectrum to the other multiple times a day

Edit: sorry I misread and skipped out on an answer
My emotions in the others were in general a sense of nervous uncertainty

a reply to: MidNight sun

Basically, the parable of the 10 Foolish Virgins who are waiting for their wedding feast is generally thought to be about being spiritually prepared to meet Christ who is thought to the bridegroom while the church (body of believers, not any particular denomination) are represented by the Virgins waiting their groom to come take them to the wedding.

In Jewish tradition, the bridegroom could come for his bride at any time, so she had to be prepared.

The oil in their lamps is about being spiritually prepared. Five are and five are not.

There is also a parable about a man who is holding a wedding feast and invited many guests, but when the time came, not enough were there because they were not ready, so he sent out his servants to bring in guests, any who were worthy. And later some who were invited did come, but the doors were shut against them, and they were not let in.

Again, this is taken to be another reference to being spiritually unprepared with the wedding feast being for believers who were ready and Christ being the man giving the supper.

The wedding ceremony itself is often thought to be symbolic of the wedding of Christ to his church. So, the bride and bridegroom in a dream that has potential religious undertones can be a symbol of a rapture. Christ the bridegroom coming for His bride.

Understand that's not to say every bride/bridergroom in a dream is symbolic of this. It's just that the OP's dream had so many of the standard apocalyptic events in it like the sky rolling back like a scroll, etc., that it was just a natural interpretation to make.

a reply to: ketsuko

Want to clarify because I dont like misinformation
General rule of mine


The sky didnt roll back
It ripped
Imagine taking a silk cloth and tearing it

originally posted by: Elysian
a reply to: ketsuko

Want to clarify because I dont like misinformation
General rule of mine


The sky didnt roll back
It ripped
Imagine taking a silk cloth and tearing it

No, I understand, but that was more or less the same effect. Again, it's the symbolism. You didn't actually have a literal rapture either, just the symbol. There was a lot more that was like a textbook apocalypse dream which is why I asked if you were being inundated with that kind of thing at the time.

a reply to: ketsuko

Ah
Okay

Welcome Aboard Elysian,
I see you don't have an introduction so this would be your intro.
I rarely interpret dreams, but as a word of consolation, when I was younger ,from my teens in to my mid thirties I had vivid and at times horrific dreams.
I found great comfort in reading the works of Carlos Castaneda, he expresses how to unite the two realities. They are intricate and as far as I am concerned can not be taken out of context. One book supports the other.

Don't ignore them, the dreams, they are speaking to you, but don't let them take control.
Take Care

a reply to: WalkInSilence

Thank you for the welcome
And thank you for the advice, I will look into the books

a reply to: Elysian Thank you for answering my questions. I unfortunately have nothing on what your dream could mean; Super interesting though.

And thank you for explaining Ketsuko! That is a viable theory.

a reply to: MidNight sun

Its alright
I find that trying to apply my own explanation will be inherently biased
I want to have an open mind
Therefore I cant let what I want, influence what I believe