|
Chapter 2
Meet the Survey Dreamers by Day
By the Light of the Sun
Compare your waking life with the survey dreamers
Now that you’ve completed your
questionnaire, discover how you compare with the survey dreamers.
By the end of this book you will have come to
know many of these people through sharing their dreams, but before taking that moonlight
walk it is enlightening to glimpse their days. What kind of lives do they lead? To
understand how their situations influence their dreams, and how their dreams feed back
into their waking days, we first need to meet them in sunlight.
Ms Survey Dreamer (the Composite Dreamer)
Let me introduce Ms Survey Dreamer (for the
larger proportion were women, as you will see.) This composite woman was created from the most
common answers to each section of the questionnaire. Percentages in brackets give the
proportion of dreamers who fell into each category*. Occasionally average figures
have been given when these carry additional enlightenment. Ms Survey Dreamer appears here
in italics. To meet the other survey participants – see Appendix A.
Age, Education and Occupation
Ms Survey Dreamer is aged 41-50
years (24.4%) although her average age is 39. She (81.9%) finished her formal education
during high school (50%), is not presently enrolled in any formal study course (73.1%),
but does read or research areas of personal interest (76.9%). She has recently attended a
workshop or lecture series of her choice (50%). She is married (40.6%) and is involved in
the workforce (50.6%).
Spiritual Beliefs and Source of Dreams
Ms Survey Dreamer was raised as
a Catholic* (17.5%), and believes in life after death (80%) and in reincarnation (65.6%).
She believes her dreams come mostly from her subconscious (46.3%) although does believe
that other factors may be operational too.
*24.4% claimed the traditional Western
non-Catholic religions of: Anglican, Presbyterian and Protestant.
Diet and Health Supplements
Ms Survey Dreamer eats the
following foods at least every other day: vegetables (84.4%), bread (78.8%), dairy
products (72.5%), fruit (70.6%), cereals (48.8%) and sugar (43.1%). Equally as frequently
she drinks tea (50.6%) and coffee (53.1%).
Less frequently, about once a week, she eats
white meat (47.5%), red meat (36.9%), junk food (15%) and eggs (13.8%). She never eats
fish (47.5%) and she takes vitamins occasionally (42.5%).
Physical Exercise, Alcohol and Cigarettes
Ms Survey Dreamer takes part in
some exercise activity (81.3%) and most commonly exercises 3 times per week (16.9%)*. She
mostly walks (55%), although she may include aerobics (16.3%) or swimming (14.4%). Her
health is ‘good’ (55%). She doesn’t smoke cigarettes (76.3%) but she does
drink alcohol (53.8%), taking an average of 4 alcoholic drinks per week (20% drink 3-7
alcoholic drinks per week).
*31.8% exercise 5 or more times per week.
Stress and Meditative Exercise
Ms Survey Dreamer is
‘stressed from time to time’ (56.3%) and has practised some kind of meditative
exercise in the last 3 months (70.6%). She prefers meditations (55.6%), but includes a
second practise (31.9% of total survey), usually massage (27.5% of total survey). For
general relaxation, she likes to read (43.1%), listen to music (24.4%) and be outside
enjoying nature (15%).
Problem Solving
Ms Survey Dreamer copes with her
problems by either thinking them through (35%) or by talking about them (35.6%), but
rarely does both. She exhibits a split personality when it comes to solving her problems!
Television Habits
Ms Survey Dreamer watches an
average 13 hours of television per week, though 28.7% watch 6-10 hours and 28.1% view for
11-20 hours each week.
Sleeping and Waking Routines
Ms Survey Dreamer commonly falls
asleep in less than 5 minutes (17.5%) and sleeps 8 hours a night (43.8%). She commonly
wakes once during the night (28.1%) and is somewhere between a deep and a light sleeper
(46.3%). She wakes up naturally, before the alarm (78.1%), lies in bed (67.5%) and thinks
about her dreams (68.1%) before getting up.
Importance Given to Dreams
Ms Survey Dreamer has studied
dreams either through books or magazines (54.4%) and most of her dreams make some sense to
her (24.4%). She doesn’t keep a dream journal (71.3%), but she talks about her dreams
to her close friends (67.5%) and her partner (61.3%). She takes guidance from some of her
dreams (61.9%) and has carried the guidance through to making a decision (50.6%). She has
not made any major lifestyle changes based on her dreams though (71.3%). She obviously
gives some importance to this area of her life since she offered to join the dream survey,
and found that by focussing on her dreams when filling out the questionnaire (which took
an average of 1.7 hours), she learned more about them (73.8%). She completed a short End
of Dream Survey Questionnaire (51.9%).
Reliving a Dream?
Ms Survey Dreamer experiences deja vu (88.1%) frequently
(40.6%)
Moving into the Night
As daylight fades it is time to
take your knowledge of the survey dreamers’ waking lives, and your own, into the
world of dreams where all will become much clearer in the darkness of the night. The
following chapters which complete Part One of this book enable you to compare your dream
experiences (questionnaire answers) to those of Ms Survey Dreamer. These research findings
then reveal ‘The Guide to Good Dreaming’: what you can do, based on the dream
survey results, to open your awareness of your dream world.
|
