A week had passed and the next session was about to start. I sat in the chair opposite of Dr. McDowell as he got his clipboard ready for the session. The room smelled differently than the last time I was there. It smelled like pine needles and cinnamon, maybe because winter was right around the corner. I was rubbing my shoes together in anticipation for the session to start to ask him all my questions. Dr. McDowell finally set his clipboard and pen down on his lap and the session began.
"So Damien, care to tell me about your week?"
I hesitated, just for the sake of hiding my eagerness, "Well...nothing truly interesting happened. Besides the constant nightmares, everything else is completely normal."
He picked up his clipboard, "Well progress may take time. I asure you, I'll try to help with the nightmares."
As he writes down some notes, I start to speak, "Speaking of the nightmares, last week I told you about the dream that I had the night of my parent's murder. I can't fully remember the dream, but it seems like it's much more important. I have no idea what the significance could be, but if there's any way to go through that dream and see what would have happened next, maybe through hypnosis, I really would like to give it a try."
Dr. McDowell continues to write on his clipboard. Once he stops, he places it back on his lap, "Hmm..." He seemed like he was interested in the very thought of it, "Hypnosis? That could be quite interesting. We'll give it a try, but we have to do it next session, I don't fully know the steps to put you in the hypnotic state."
I smiled, the fact that I knew my idea was a go made me start to see Dr. McDowell in a new light, "Also, Doctor." I said, "I also read up on lucid dreaming, you know anything about it?"
"Ah, yes. Having complete awareness of being in a dream," He picked up his clipboard, "Or sometimes even having control of ones own dream," He paused, "Actually Damien, that's what I want you to do. When you have a nightmare, try to gain control of it, make it happy. Then write about it in a notebook, kind of a dream journal."
I thought about it for a minute, 'That's a good idea...Why didn't I ever think of that?' I nodded my head, "Okay."
"Good, I'm excited to hear your findings in next weeks session," He smiles
After I got home, I researched more information on lucid dreams. The very thought amazed me that I could control my nightmares and make them whatever I want. I made a plan to try it that night. I dug up an old notebook with only a few math problems lying in the first few pages of it. I ripped them out and wrote 'DREAM JOURNAL' at the top of the first page.
My door opened slowly and Gram walked in, "Hey Damien, dinner's almost ready, are you hungry?"
"Very," I smile.
"Okay, well come down when you're ready," She glanced at the notebook, "I see Dr. McDowell's making you keep a dream journal, huh?"
I closed the notebook, "Yeah, it might be useful, I can write down my nightmares and who knows, maybe it'll answer some questions about my parent's..." I paused, stopping myself because I knew Gram didn't like hearing that word.
"Damien...how can dreams answer questions about things you're not even sure of?" She was right, but I've taken the lucid dreaming into consideration, maybe through the hypnotherapy, I can travel through that dream freely, and find what I was looking for.
By the next week, my dream journal was almost completely filled with my nightmares, dreams, and lucid dreaming experiences. I successfully controlled a nightmare and turned it into my own fantasy. Since I had the weeks worth of practice, I was sure I could revisit the dream, and successfully control the outcome and hopefully find some answers. Gram and Grump drop me off in front of Dr. McDowell's office building. I walked up the stairs and opened the door into the main hall of the building.
