Kirk’s Blog

After reading Steve Pavlina’s Polyphasic Sleep Logs all weekend, I’ve decided unambiguously that this is something that I want to do. In preparation, and in following Steve’s advice, I’ve started adapting to an early riser sleep pattern first. Last night during the New Moon as I began this pre-adjustment period, I set my alarm for the first time to wake up everyday at 6am. I was in such eager anticipation for the alarm to go off that I woke up a couple times during the night to see what time it was. In any case, my eyes popped open at 5:50 am, and I could remember my dream vividly:

My sister and I were going about our business in my room, and we were both practicing polyphasic sleep; I was using the dresser drawers as my working surface, and for some reason she was using the sink as her surface. Everytime I needed to dump something in the sink, I had to go around her. Eventually she had enough of the back and forth and picked up her stuff and moved. While looking for a new surface, she stepped out onto the balcony for some fresh air I suppose; I followed shortly after. The strange thing about this balcony was that it had no railing to prevent us from falling off, and therefore it was a bit scary to be out there. As she looked over the edge in curiosity, I meanwhile lifted myself into the air so I could practice keeping my balance, and I almost knocked her off the edge! In sheer panic, I grabbed her arm to stop her from falling. Then I took a deep breathe. As I continued to levitate, I told her to go back inside! Instead, she wondered over to another side of the balcony and took a peak down. I started to lose my balance and accidentally pushed her over the edge. This time I couldn’t rescue her in time. I got back down onto the balcony and crawled to the edge to watch in horror as my sister fell to her death through my own fault. As I watched her spiral downward, I couldn’t believe that she was laughing in the middle of all that! I thought to myself, “Dammit, why is that girl not taking this seriously?! I told her to go back inside! Why didn’t she listen?”

For me the meaning of the dream is clear. You see, the thing about my sister is that she has an amazing life philosophy that allows her bounce back from failure quite easily. I think part of the reason is that she doesn’t take life too seriously. The dream indicates that I have two opposing attitudes about this whole polyphasic sleep experiment. On the one hand I want very much to succeed, yet on the other hand, I know it’s not the end of the world if I don’t.