The morning after Halloween I awoke from a night of dreams that bordered on the stark disquiet that is nightmare. I felt as though my spirit journeyed along the thinning veil between the worlds that separates the here and now from possible futures and pasts lived by all who came before us.
I started on this journey in a an apparently symbolic borrowed home of my two grand-twins, girls aged almost 4, but who slipped between baby, toddler and child status in the first part of the dream that was at a vacation home of their parents. My husband was knocked down by cattle who had pushed into a ramshackle, un-renovated part of the home. We spent a very long time attempting to get the cattle out of our house and taken away.
Animal rights activists were trying to get us to not turn them back to their owners. Livestock was everywhere, climbing stairs, and asking for attention and kindness as though they were companion animals. They were mindlessly, unknowingly trampling people and possessions in their attempts to masquerade as pets.
We, who had blossomed into a small community, had to protect our kids and grandkids. But we watched in horror as the room we were in changed to a train car traveling along an elevated rail over cattle cars destined for the slaughterhouse being loaded with the cattle we had evicted. I spoke to someone in the car saying that the area south of Amarillo was nothing but fields of death, slaughterhouses.
The next several scenes all took place in the freight car. More and more people including activists who had symbolic street theater gags in their mouths along with anonymous others crowded the car until there was a press of people standing. The car doors would open but there was no way out. At the doors was a press of more people being shoved into the cars. Guards took boxes and planks and squeezed us back until we were stacked on each other, knowing the people below were smothering. At one stop the people who were to enter the car were concentration camp internees, it was at this point that all individuality was lost and no one knew anyone else. Even the relationships that I cherished at the house, before the train, were dissolved into nothingness with neither memory, recognition, or concern.
At times guards entered and walked over the tops of us with packs of dogs trained to sniff out the remnants of the street theater protest props such as pink fabric gags or specific individuals for whom they were still searching.
I woke before any destination was reached, although one of the last stops I remember was the train station of a city known for producing beautiful hand blown glassware. and boxes of this beautiful product filled every in of the platform.
I had thought that my dreams from where Halloween Night bumped into All Souls Day and Dia de los Muertos might bring visits with departed family and friends, but instead I found metaphor and allegory.
Obviously, at least I think it is obvious, I am concerned about the future of the world and the un-sustainability of our consumption practices. I hear the activists and scientists telling us what will come to be, but I am on that train car along with everyone else and out future could be as bad as the Holocaust was to those in concentration camps. But the ray of hope I see in the dream is that we haven’t arrived, and that wonders like the City of Dresden, represented by the glassware, still exist.
There is still time. But we have to get off the tracks we are on and begin sustainable living right now. 
After writing this post to record my dream I found out that yesterday, the day I awoke from the dream, was International Vegan Day. The coincidence, synchronicity, message from the ancestors, call it what you will, was quite powerful and I am now convinced that it signaled a need for turning away from meat-eating in order to keep us from sending ourselves into the mass extinction occurring on earth at this moment.
An amazing dream and how lucky you are to remember them in such detail. Mine float away instantly…
I enjoy dreaming so I do try to remember the better ones.
What incredible detail! I always think I should be able to remember my dreams, but the visceral emotion of them fades each time I reach for a pen to attempt to record them.
I woke up and immediately wrote the post or it would have dissipated.
Wow, Nancy, your dreams are a lot more vivid than mine. I just talk in my sleep but can’t remember what I’ve said.
My daughter talks in her sleep. I used to try to get her to answer questions, but no go.
I have vivid dreams too Nancy. I really like your interpretation of the presence of the glassware…hope for the future is so important. Also I love the images you incorporated into your post.
Vivid dreams can be both blessing and curse, as you know, but I no longer let them freak me out.
That was deep and beautifully symbolic.. I love the connection you made to International Vegan Day.
Thank you Toni. I was amazed to find out it was IVD.
Yes, the thinning veil brings much in the way of metaphor and allegory. My NaBloPoMo entry today was on a similar topic.
What an amazing dream and your recall was incredible.
I’m gonna go check out your post!
I am envious, I can’t ever remember my dreams or even those hazy times between sleep and being fully awake. You post is awesome.
Aw thanks Gerry, I forget most of them, but there are some dreams I actually remember from childhood.
Wow, I just got goosebumps reading this. My dreams are never quite as vivid as that, and I could never describe them as beautifully. I absolutely adore the title of this post.
I love descriptions of the veil being thinnest at this time of year and I felt like I was in its folds during that dream.
I am in awe of not only how well you remembered the details but how beautifully you conveyed them. At the risk of being totally annoying and completely killing a really cool dark and ominous sign, Nancy, Hindu lore says that cattle in a vision or dream is sign of good fortune to come and hope on the horizon. Although, I have to admit that when the cows first appeared in the story, I too thought of World Vegan Day :)!
Rarely do I remember a dream with such detail. But when I do I always believe there is great significance to it. Yours had a powerful message.
I must have wanted a memorable dream and message, at least I managed to do that! I will have to think seriously about becoming a vegetarian again.
I used to have vivid dreams and in the past few years I don’t have any. Perhaps it’s a change in hormones? Medications? Who knows. But I rather enjoyed having them.
Your dreams are so clear to you, and you are so obviously a gifted and cerebral woman some of your thoughts come alive at night! Loved this.
Cathy you are sweet to frame these rather bizarre night images as signs of intelligence. But it does keep life interesting.
I have crazy dreams…but yours make sense, and are very lyrical…..just think if you have a cool dream every night for 30 days your writing problems are over.
This dream had sort of a storyline. Usually they are jumbles. I am not sure I could survive a month of such dreams, but it would provide writing fodder.
Wow! What details you remembered. I dream a lot and remember most of them, too.
Do you ever post about them? I think this may be the first time I went into detail about one for an entire post.
crickey that is a really scarey dream and wow i am amazed that you can remember so much and so much detail. I would say I am jealous but not really of a scary dream only the fact that I used to remember mine but for the last couple of years they evade me now which is quite a shame, thank you for sharing that. I am another nano challenge person, nice to meet you x
Nice to meet you too Justine! Isn’t Nablopomo wonderful? We get to meet the most wonderful writers and readers!