For the past 3 years I have had a closet obsession: online solitaire. It started with the generic prototype solitaire that your computer comes with (just go to your task bar, click start and go to games and you'll discover the wonderment) and slowly branched to more complex types (spider solitaire, casino solitaire, multi-decked, pyramid, Klondike). I am not sure what it is that drives me. There's some strange gear in my mind that connects to my 'happy node' that can only be stimulated by such things. I bet that if you ran a CT scan while I was playing solitaire, you'd see an abnormal amount of dopamine being secreted by my hypothalamus. Why? Something about the order and structure of solitaire pleases the logic-oriented half of my brain. I get a rush for placing things into a systematic order. Red here, then black followed by a 3 of hearts to the top, touch pile, sift, locate needed card, place accordingly....I just love it.
The downside to all of this (besides the amount of valuable time it wastes)? I have begun to dream in solitaire. I'll close my eyes and see that green screen and I'll fall asleep trying to arrange all of the cards. I dream that I am the cards. I dream that I'm a tiny pixel in the computer, having to lift each giant card and move them until I win. Cards shuffle constantly through my brain, like a computer scrolling through thousands of pages of binary code.
Now, seeing as this isn't an entirely normal situation, I decided to do what I love best: research online. I found a great site called Dream Moods that gives insights into all sorts of things having to do with dreams: the importance of dreams, what dreams are, dreams according to age and sex, popular dreams, reoccurring images or sequences of actions in dreams...lots of things. One of the things that struck me was what the site used when offering explanations of what dreams are:
"In our dreams, we can go anywhere, we can be anybody, and we can do anything. When we dream, we are like passengers on a moving train, unable to control our actions and choose surroundings. We let our mind take over. Sometimes, dreams can be understood in the the context of repressed thoughts. Dreaming serves as an outlet for those thoughts and impulses we repress during the day. When we go to sleep at night and slip into our dream state, we feel liberated and behave and act in a manner that we do not allow ourselves in our waking life. "
- Dream Info: Dream Moods Website (Copyright 2000-2009, Dream Moods Inc.)
So my dream liberation is solitaire? This had me extremely concerned for my overall sanity until, however, I read this:
Cards
To dream that you are playing a game of cards, represents your ability to strategize in various areas of your life. In particular, diamonds indicate wealth and materialism, clubs indicate work and industry, hearts indicate happiness in love, and spades indicate troubling times and disappointments. To dream that you are shuffling cards, signifies indecision. You need to reevaluate your choices.
-Dream Bank: Dream Moods Website (Copyright 2000-2009, Dream Moods Inc.)
So perhaps the solitaire dreams are symbolic? Am I indecisive? Should I reevaluate my choices? Am I able to strategize well? Or am I just severely unhinged?
Who knows. I may not have found the answer to my solitaire visions, but I did find lots of interesting information on dreams. I encourage you to check the site out. If you have dreams of falling, chasing or lots of symbols that appear in your dreams, it's a great place to understand the psychology behind everything.
And if you want a taste of the Solitaire insanity, here's some of my favorite online solitaire websites below.
http://worldofsolitaire.com/
http://www.freeplaysolitaire.com/
http://www.solitairecraving.com/
http://www.solitairenetwork.com/
Oh and those Bill Nye playing cards? How many of us had those when we were a kid? I still have mine.
I play solitaire with them while learning about magnetics and other properties of physical science.
-M
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