When I was 5 years old I started having hypnagogic dreams. I'd wake up in the wee hours of the morning and see my mother, plain as day, offering me a glass of water.

As I'd reach out to take it from her, though, my mom would disappear, slowly fading away into the darkness of my room.

Needless to say, it was a very odd experience for a 5-year-old. It wasn't until I was in my 30s, studying dreamwork with Jeremy Taylor, that I discovered what had been happening.