Sometimes dreams or nightmares are more than adventures of the imagination. Sometimes they are more real than not… reality being fluid and all.

The other night, I had a sleep paralysis “dream”. I’ve had them often in life, especially when younger, and I generally understand that these dreams are trying to teach me a spiritual lesson, usually one where the better I feel the better things go, and the worse I feel the worse things go. The correlation is typically apparent. It may also indicate that I’m going through some period of not feeling in control in some way.

In this particular dream, I dreamt (more like a nightmare) of a large ape, as big as a silverback. It came onto our bed and, facing me, leaned on his left arm, placing his hand between my husband and I, on a pillow. That is when I became aware of it. It was translucent and I could only see the shimmering outline and of course, the depression in the pillow beside me, and felt the shift in the level of the bed from its weight. It crossed over me to the outside edge of the bed and over onto a couple of night stands beside the bed. These were different night stands from the one I have beside me in real life, sturdier (and indicates this happened in another reality). I was experiencing paralysis during this dream, the sort where I am yelling and wiggling and trying to move and wake up or wake up my guy, but nothing was working. Then this stray cat jumps up atop me, facing the monkey to check it out, looking directly at it. I started cheering on the cat, “get him! get him kitty!” The cat did not get him, but sure was interested. I did not recognize the cat as one of ours in real waking life. Next thing I know the ape climbed back on the bed, back across me, then reached out, hesitantly, to my stomach to attempt to tickle me. Yes, tickle me!! At that point I was shocked that he was doing something so benign and silly, but still feeling afraid and untrusting. And it was then that my husband awoke to the commotion and he cast the entity away and helped bring me fully awake.

What the heck was that?!? An ape as big as a silverback and translucent? Scary and yet gentle enough to just tickle me??? I’m all shades of confused.

At this point, I am not entirely sure if this was just a dream or something more. But regardless, I take dream interpretation serious when the dream warrants it. This one does. I have a couple ideas, but the symbolism in here is new to me… a translucent, tickling monkey.

Anyone have experiences with dream interpretation of apes and/or translucent beings?

While I was scared in my dream, experiencing sleep paralysis and fear, I woke up with both the relief that it was over and also feeling confused at the turn of events, that this entity wasn’t actually being threatening, as if perhaps I had misinterpreted it while it was happening. Even the cat was more curious than on alert.