Packing list: some good novels, swimming trunks, mugwort dream pillow, dream journal

I was only seventeen, and had only been occupied with my life-long dreamwork obsession for less than a year when I made a big discovery while on a Christmas visit with my father to my grandparents in Kentucky: dream activity goes into overdrive when you're on a vacation trip.

When you get away from the daily grind of your usual life, get exposed to new scenery, and -- in this case -- revisit scenes from your past, the subconscious becomes very vocal.

On that trip I recorded several very long, vivid dreams in my journal. Subsequent vacation trips corroborated this theory. At this point I assume it to be a proven fact, at least for how my dream life works.

Tomorrow I leave for a ten-day vacation trip. Tonight I'm making myself a new dream pillow using the mugwort I harvested from my mother-in-law's garden two weeks ago, and have had hanging to dry in my study ever since.

I look forward to adding many pages of rich and vivid dreams to my journal.

So, if you're going on a vacation trip anytime soon, don't forget to pack a notebook and pen.