tapped like a maple

Do you ever dream that you're reading text, or listening to a song you've never heard in real life before? I do a lot, and I'm fascinated by the fact that, in my dream, I'm reading or listening to words that my brain is coming up with on its own. Often times it's "scientific" information that I'm reading. I'm sure in reality its nonsense, but sometimes I wonder if my brain knows more than I think it does and it's all this untapped knowledge that I didn't even know I had. I had a dream when I was 10 that I woke up to find a book on my lap. It had one old-fashioned pen and ink illustration. I read the whole story, and I remember it entirely to this day. I have a friend who dreams that she's speaking fluently in another language. It makes me wonder if while we're dreaming, we're delving into that large percentage of brain we humans supposedly aren't even using. I've gotten so many ideas for paintings from my dreams, usually because I dream an image I already "painted," wake up and really want to paint it. I believe so much in dreams. There's so much we can learn about ourselves from them, and I do believe they hold the keys to parts of our mind that we aren't really in touch with during our waking lives. I love dreams very much. They're like little adventures that play out in your head. I look forward to them at night. (painting by Romaine Brooks)