11th Floor Dream

Yesterday I was telling my tutoring student how I used to sleepwalk. Even though I don't seem to do it anymore, I was concerned because I have stairs in my apartment, plus a window that opens on the 11th floor. I could see myself waking up as the wind roared past me and I plunged to the Korean sidewalk below SPLAT. The end of Ninja-tek.

Now it's the next day and I took a nap this afternoon. I had a dream as a napped. I was in my parents' house in southern California, and there were stairs that led down into the basement. I started walking down them, when I remembered my conversation with my student . . . and I wondered if I was dreaming . . . ? If I was, I didn't want to go near the stairs. The world mutated as I examined the stairs, and I decided not to go down in case I was sleepwalking.

I've had many lucid dreams over the years, but this is the first time I've shown concern that I might be sleepwalking. My waking mind might be more rational about it and say: Dreams and sleepwalking occur in different stages of sleep. You don't dream and sleepwalk at the same time.

But when I had the dream that was too much to remember (dream research is very murky anyway).

And besides, I'd rather be safe and not fall down the stairs or jump out the window.