“I dreamed I was a butterfly, flitting around in the sky; then I awoke. Now I wonder: Am I a man who dreamt of being a butterfly, or am I a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?”— Zhuangzi (4th century BCE)
To understand dreams, understand that your rational mind is not in control of your thoughts. Yes, you use words, but you don’t know what you’re saying until your words are spoken. Words are like roads, they are pathways. The territory of your mind, the geography of your thoughts, is not determined by the roads you have built. These roads may determine where you can travel most easily, but not all that can be seen, and certainly not what’s most important.