Welcome to the story behind your thoughts,
What your dreams show about stress,
Safety and the self you're becoming.
I'm Sansan Fabry.
Today we'll name the hidden narrative,
Meet the image that reveals it and take one grounded step that matches the truth.
I'm going to start by asking you a question and I want you to think real hard before you answer.
Do you control your thoughts?
Think again.
Actually,
Don't,
I'm just teasing.
You can't.
Because for the most part,
Thoughts aren't something you do,
They're something that happens to you.
Like digestion,
Like a heartbeat.
But if thoughts are automatic,
What is running them?
Well,
It's a program.
And sure,
We'd all like to believe that we're controlling the narrative up in here.
But part of you already knows better.
Beneath this surface,
Another program runs the show.
It's a story the subconscious has stitched together from imaginary fears,
Unprocessed emotions and unchecked beliefs.
And you've been telling yourself this story for so long,
You just began mistaking it for who you are.
Look,
The point isn't to battle the story,
It's to see it.
This isn't about fixing or forcing,
It's about seeing and being willing to be surprised by what you find.
It is said,
Don't believe everything people tell you.
I like to say,
Don't believe everything your own mind tells you.
Much of what feels like me is a rehearsal of old identities,
Patterns we learned early,
Assumptions we didn't realize we were making.
The brain saves effort by predicting.
And thoughts often follow those predictions.
During sleep,
Especially in REM,
The analytical voice quiets and the systems for emotion and imagery grow louder.
That shift lets the brain surface the themes driving your predictions.
It isn't shutting down,
It's showing you what has been steering you.
What happens in the dream is not random decoration,
It's a condensed report of the understory.
The beliefs that your nervous system is using to forecast danger,
Love,
Belonging,
Control.
The standout scene and its feeling are a snapshot of that model in action.
You don't need a dream dictionary.
Most mornings,
One moment stands out,
One scene,
One feeling.
Note it and name it.
That feeling is feedback from the story behind the story.
It tells you which assumption is running the show right now.
Big dreams usually carry one central image that holds the core emotion.
That image is the headline or the title.
When you wake,
Don't chase every detail.
Just ask yourself,
What was that one strongest moment?
Freeze that frame,
Name the feeling it delivered.
That feeling points to the message.
Keep it personal.
A flooded room might mean overwhelm for you.
For someone else,
It might mean release.
Context matters.
The image is valuable because it is yours.
Turn that image into one clear sentence.
When I can't unlock the door,
I feel shut out.
Or when I'm late for the flight,
I fear I'll be left out.
Short,
Honest,
Specific.
Now you're looking at the story behind the story.
While you're awake,
Enough to work with it.
Now,
If the dream scares you or puts you at unease,
There's a simple and very powerful technique.
Choose the hot scene.
Change one element to restore safety or agency.
Add light.
Find the key.
Speak up.
See yourself exit.
Write this version and then rehearse this new version for a minute or two at bedtime.
If the dream returns,
Let the revised scene play.
Your subconscious is going to surface it.
You're training the system to expect a new outcome.
So tonight,
I hope you sleep calmly.
