“There is a relational world where silent languages are spoken, humming along both within and beside our own…To be in the world is to be in conversation with the world—but where nature speaks in subtle exchanges, we have all but forgotten our mother tongue.” - Chloe Hope
Sleep has always been a necessary nuisance - a time out imposed by my body that takes precious hours away from my various projects. Back in college, I thought I’d found a practical alternative when I took a marine biology course and learned that only half of a dolphin’s brain sleeps at one time. The other half remains awake, presumably to keep watch and carry on with the business of swimming, breathing, and eating. “Now that,” I thought, “is the perfect solution. The two sides of my brain can take turns sleeping and compare notes in the morning.” You can imagine my disappointment and annoyance when my professor informed me that homo sapiens do not have the ability to sleep with only half their brains.
Naturally, I took my grievances to D who listened for as long as he could keep a straight face before bursting into laughter. “That’s not how the human brain works, Maddy,” he said. “But I like the way you think.” He encouraged me to take a psychology class on dream interpretation so I could learn to appreciate the symbols employed by the subconscious during sleep. I took the class but was not impressed. “If my subconscious has something to say to me, why doesn’t it just spit it out while I’m awake?” I asked.
“I don’t have an answer,” D replied, “but I can tell you what Richard would say. He claims the subconscious has many levels and layers. But most of us aren’t trained to access or enjoy them.”
“Enjoy them?” I said. “I find that hard to believe.”
“Appreciate might be a better word,” D amended. “Richard claims to have learned all kinds of things while traveling and visiting with friends in sleep. Then again, you have to consider the source. He is Anitsisqua.”
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Whales in My Backyard to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.