First, let me explain that I have suffered from night terrors since birth. I can vividly remember every night terror I have had since I was two years old. Some of my early night terrors: I would often dream that I had to pee and would make my way out into the hallway. If I turned on the light, then a huge shadow man would appear on the wall and grab me. He would slowly squeeze me and I could feel all of my ribs popping. Now, if I did not turn on the light and actually made it to the bathroom, an evil SCUBA diver would come up from the toilet and try to drag me in and drown me. Then there was the oversized rabid Winnie the Pooh that would chase me around the kitchen, clawing and biting at me.

I also had a recurring dream about a witch doctor (aka the foot doctor), who would slice open the bottom of my feet and put tiny worms in the cuts. At the age of 10, I learned to control my dreams. I would no longer wake up terrified and screaming (my parents must have been thrilled that they didn't have to run into my room to shake me awake anymore).

Now, when I have an unpleasant dream, I can usually change my surroundings with a single thought if I am aware that I am in a dream state. I still have dreams that others would consider nightmares, but they do not frighten me anymore. My friends tell me that my dreams are quite disturbing. Below is one such dream:

I am standing alone on a dock looking out onto the water. I notice the body of a dead girl is floating about 30 feet away. Her body has a sick greenish hue and decomposition has already started to occur. The body springs to life and the girl starts to frantically wave her arms in the air, but no sounds come out of her rotting mouth. Then, the girl starts to get dragged under by Death. Death pulls the girl down and then sees me watching him. Death is handsome and completely nude. Death swims to the edge of the dock I am standing on and then disappears. When I turn around, Death is standing behind me. Salt water is flowing off of his perfect body. Death does not speak to me. He turns around so I can see his bare back… which is muscular… but you can see his bony spine. Then he puts his hand to the back of his neck and starts to slowly "unzip" his spine. The spine pulls apart like a zipper...each vertebrae separates, exposing his muscular and skeletal frame. I can see the muscles and nerves pulsating. A greenish black liquid starts to ooze down his back. I smile and walk away.