Playa Dreams & Nightmares

[Finxiekins]

I had a dream just recently that I took a HUGE trampoline to the playa with me. I brought a whole bunch of things to tie it down with and secure it, then invited everyone to sleep on the trampoline under the stars. The dream took a really interesting turn when there were all 56,000 of us trying to cram on the trampoline at once. It was awesome, yet terrifying. I was in the middle and kept getting squished.

[organizedchaos]

I had a dream that the temple was floating in the middle of a giant lake. In order to get to it, we had to use floaties and drift out there.

Then the wind kicked up and sent massive waves spiraling out from the center, and we boogie boarded in just as the sun began to set.

[tummler]

I have several times dreamed of the playa. I've never been, but have dreamed deeply about it. (Note to self: stop reading the eplaya boards before bed!)

[catinthefunnyhat]

I've been spending too much time on these boards. One of the major symptoms, in addition to not getting anything done, is that I dream of the playa and/or ePlayans fairly regularly. Mostly, I don't remember much of these dreams, but...

The other night I dreamed that BM was on an island in a remote lake. No powerboats were allowed. Getting to the edge of the lake was itself a challenge, but you knew you were there because suddenly you'd be at "gate" -- this weird kind of tunnel full of crazy lighting, EDM, and huggy greeters. From there, you went through this long, twisty, downward passage until you reached the shore. You and your travelling companions would then be put into a large rowboat or canoe with all of your supplies, and sent off to find the BM island.

The catch: There lake was huge and had many islands in it, and you weren't told which was the "right" one. You had to get to know the locals on one of the other islands and convince them to give your directions. I arrived at night and was canoeing in the dark with a friend. It was beautiful, too cold, and very peaceful. The lake was huge; we paddled for a long time before meeting anyone. At some point, though, we convinced a local to get in our boat and guide us. That was great, until I said something stupid and offensive, and he refused to give me any more directions. I remember trying to explain myself... then apologizing... then begging for forgiveness...

I'm pretty sure I never even got to BM before I woke up. There's a lesson in there somewhere. Can't imagine what it is, though.

Oh, well, off to go snark at some peeps...

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What?

[48_love]

Dreamt I opened an envelope containing BM tickets ... there was a moment of glee coupled with dread. Weird

[Straightveg]

I've had two so far. The first took place in a really big grassy hilly area. I got there early in the morning and was trying to kludge together a shade structure with no plan and failing horribly. Then I saw one of my coworkers (who isn't a burner) had an awesome easy to build shade structure. I remember thinking "Oh, that's perfect, why didn't I think of that?" Of course now I can't remember the design
The only things I remember about the second are being in the desert and the thought "Oh, so this is what playa dust smells like."

[Ugly Dougly]

It's spooky to have fairly accurate dreams of the playa before you even go there.
The sad thing is, my playa dreams aren't more accurate as time goes on.

[Sunny D]

I've had several dreams of BM before and after my first burn. Some are similar to the ones mentioned (forgetting something, setting up camp). One dream that sticks out in my mind is coming across random people on the playa and having a beautiful but brief experience with them. On the actual playa last year, I ran into some of those people in my dream. THAT tripped me out. Or maybe I was already tripped out on something...

[incubus_pantomime]

Glad to hear that the "forgotten supplies" dream is a common one. I just woke up from a playa dream that revolved around items I had forgotten to bring. Needless to say, I am now going to my packing list and highlighting all of the things that I had accidentally left at home in my dream. Something tells me that my subconscious was trying to remind me to remember the little things, because all of the things I had forgotten were things that weren't necessarily vital to survival of the week, but they were things that would make me much less self-reliant, and that was enough to make me wake up with a pounding heart.

[FeetOfClay]

Lately, even if my dreams have not been overtly "about" the Playa, they have featured Playa-imagery:
large expanses of sky, dust and dirt, box trucks, tents, etc.
I've even had dreams about "moving to Nevada" (I'm from NY) and other things that would never have entered my subconscious before starting this quest to get to BRC.

[TomServo]

Mentioned somewhere in here before...all my bm dreams were never on the playa..but in a quarry looking place with stepped hillsides..and people camped on the steps. Last week, at the Los Gatos Precompression...I saw people camped...on steps...on a hillside.....like it was straight out of my dream, except with trees.

[Ugly Dougly]

I often forget to add trees in my dreams as well.

[FeetOfClay]

Mentioned somewhere in here before...all my bm dreams were never on the playa..but in a quarry looking place with stepped hillsides..and people camped on the steps. Last week, at the Los Gatos Precompression...I saw people camped...on steps...on a hillside.....like it was straight out of my dream, except with trees.

my god--i had an eerily similar dreams some months back (the first BMan dream I ever had, and the most vivid);

My mother and I were driving some underage girls to Burning Man, and I had no ticket. When we arrive at the event, there was this large hilly expanse filled with white stones and boulders, like a quarry, and people were climbing up it with Sherpa-like daypacks on their backs. I did not think of it as a "quarry" at the time, but it certainly was.

There was even a scene where bodies were being carried out on stretchers, covered in white sheets. when i asked what happened to the bodies, i was told "these are the ones who didn't drink their water". it sounds funny now, but was really scary at the time

[goathead]

If I wasn't here, would I dream of here?
hmmmmm

it's all dusty

[David M]

My dream last night was involved me showing my wife's cousin around the event. In my dream, the man was set up in the city amongst the people camping, there was a vending zone with people selling overpriced clothes and food, and there were large Jumbo Jets landing on the playa.

My wife's cousin thought the planes were cool, wasn't impressed with anything else. I was pissed about the vending.

[theCryptofishist]

What I hate is having eplaya dreams and nightmares when I'm at the event...

[jkisha]

What I hate is having eplaya dreams and nightmares when I'm at the event...

Now that's one I hadn't heard before. Seems like great fodder for a psychoanalyst.

[Timezone LaFontaine]

I was arriving back at Black Rock City. But I could only be there for two days, as I was going to meet up with my Mom and we would travel elsewhere from there. It felt great to be back -- it was dusk and balmy, with a nice warm breeze. As soon as I saw the temple from afar, I knew that two days wasn't going to be enough. I immediately headed out to get in touch with my Mom and either have her delay our trip, or find a ticket for her. As I was walking along thinking about how to do this, I came to the realization that I wanted to return to Chicago to go to grad school. In my dream, I felt this as the fulfillment of a goal I'd set long ago, and I had a joyful emotional release. I began to envision myself living in Chicago in the autumn and winter, thinking about how it would feel. I came to a place with a big staircase, like something you'd see in a train station perhaps -- big enough for hundreds of people to climb up and down. I sat down and was approached by a woman selling some tickets. I looked at the price on them and was pleasantly surprised to see they were very inexpensive. Soon after this, I was somehow out of BRC, but driving towards it. I got caught in a speed trap and felt really bad when I got pulled over by a cop. I was right behind a couple of other cars, going the same speed, but I was the one who got stopped. As he was giving me a ticket, his commanding officer intervened and ordered him to lighten up and feed me some grapes. He reluctantly obeyed the order. I ate a couple of grapes off the bunch he was holding out for me as quickly as possible, said thanks, and got back on my way on the road.

[FeetOfClay]

I ate a couple of grapes off the bunch he was holding out for me

You know what your subconscious is telling you: it's time to go to grad school, Caligula.

cool dream imagery!

[Timezone LaFontaine]

rofl!

[catinthefunnyhat]

You know what your subconscious is telling you: it's time to go to grad school, Caligula.

NO NO NO NO NO!!!
It's a traaaap!

Sigh. Don't listen to me. I'm projecting again.

[AntiM]

I was having one of my generic journey dreams, in a building, looking for someone or something, trying to go somewhere, when I had the very lucid thought, "I could be dreaming about Burning Man instead". Woke me right up.

[FeetOfClay]

NO NO NO NO NO!!!
It's a traaaap!

believe me, i know it! just dropped out of early admission to a grad program, and finished my BA instead, because the veil was lifted and i saw what a rigged game the whole system of academia is.

[Timezone LaFontaine]

Unfortunately I tend to agree... But as far as dream symbolism goes, I'm just glad to have moved beyond years of recurring "oh shit, I'm back in high school" dreams.

[FeetOfClay]

Had a weird Playa nightmare last night--should have posted it here when i'd just woken up, and it was fresher.
all i remember now is a fragment:

-I was unsure what day my train was leaving to take me to NV, either thursday or sunday. i was packing last minute, somehow made it to the train on the right day, but instead of the train taking me from NY all the way to NV, it dumped me of in some state (unknown) that was still a-ways-away from NV. so i was trying to figure out how to rent a car and drive the rest of the way to BRC

[H.G.Crosby]

i had a vision of the future.

[VultureChow]

I'm spending too much time in the ticket threads. I dreamt I had two extra tickets and sold them (at face value) to two burners. We then bought a Jeep and drove together to the burn. When we got there, the playa was barren as always, but oddly hilly. As we drove looking for our camp, all I could find was Disorient. Seriously. Just a sea of pornj everywhere. Then I woke up.

When I fell back asleep I had a sex dream about my boss. I'm glad he's out on vacation this week.

[tummler]

I dreamed about Why The Nose.

[International Incident]

I dreamed that I was late for my shift at GPE and I couldn't get through a massive crowd of people dancing (?) to doof. I couldn't get through, or around, and I was really frustrated. In my dream I sat down and cried
Then I woke up because the cat was licking me.

[Straightveg]

Last night I had a ticket. This morning I damn near cried when I realized it was just a dream.