Dreamer

I awoke late last night to the phone and immediately recalled dreaming of milling a new finger ring design. This is the design I'm working on this morning, one that had not yet been drawn, yet was on my list the night before. I remember many of my dreams and they are often related to my personal life and work. Since I do not "go to" work, but rather live my work much like a musician, there are no boundaries between personal life and work when it comes to my hands creating something new. I often gain insight into my designs, find new methods of machining or solve physics-related problems through the dreaming process. We think while we sleep so why not tap into this resource to reach our goals more efficiently? It is as close as I can come to cloning myself.

This morning I awoke remembering another vivid dream. One where I had the honor of playing one simple tune on a set with Marlon Jordan. Marlon sounded amazing playing intricate melodic lines weaving in and out of the changes as if his voice were a barn swallow swooping acrobatics effortlessly through the air. His concert was truly inspiring and his last solo of the night had me so entranced I even remember most of it now that I am awake. Keep in mind, this was all a dream. After the set, he was kind enough to sit down with me and chat. I apparently surprised him with my knowledge of his music after asking about the changes on Resolution. So we got to talking about playing melodic lines. He gave me great advice and I remember his words, "Jason, listen to the bass line...always know where the bass is going...sometimes incorporate the bass into your lines...". Sounds like great advice to me, from the Marlon Jordan concert in my overly-vivid dreams!

It makes me wonder about dreams. Are they more than the previous day's mental processing? Could they be a connection to our world around us that has yet to (and may never) be explained? Either way, I draw a tremendous amount of inspiration from memories of my dreams.

Does this happen with you?