Dreams

[jhnbrbr]

Some very interesting thoughts there, Stephen

I think dreams are absolutely fascinating.

Agreed!

Joe tells me that he thinks dreams are merely a defense mechanism of the brain whereby it has to "let off steam" from all the data that is compiled on a constant basis.

That's an interesting way of looking at things. The amount of information going into the brain must be quite staggering. There's also the question of why do we sleep anyway? From a survival point of view, to be unconscious for several hours and unaware of an approaching predator does not seem like a good idea. Do we sleep because we need to rest our muscles, or maybe we need to sleep because we need to dream. I like the idea of the brain letting off steam (does it come out through the ears?), but maybe the brain is also processing the information - almost digesting it - and dreaming is a by-product of that. Dreams often contain juxtapositions of unlikely things, as if the subconscious is trying to make connections between things.

If you are in a certain mood, then the dream would take a certain tach. Another mood and you might go off in a totally different direction.

I'm sure that's true, and especially if you're anxious about something, that anxiety is likely to crop up in a dream.

I have had dreams in the past that I so enjoyed, that I went back to bed to get back into the dream and continue the adventure. As long as I hadn't been up too long and wasn't wide awake, then most times I have been able to do that.

I imagine your ability to do that is quite rare.

I have had a repeat dream since I was a teen, that I have had perhaps 20 times, and it is very slow in its progression.

What does it mean when a dream is repeated? Maybe your subconscious is trying to tell you something, and you're not getting the message!

Some people are more fortunate that others in how much, if any, of their dreams they can remember. I've even know a few people who jotted things down as soon as they opened their eyes so that they wouldn't forget.

Yes, I normally forget dreams unless I write them down straight away. Some people claim they never dream at all, but this is thought to be untrue, they simply forget. Sometimes I wake up and can't remember a thing, but I nevertheless have a strong feeling that something has been going on.

[drummergirlamie]

Flying dreams rule but are all too rare.

I wish I had more than I do, which from what I gather is already more than most people. I wonder why that is?

I'm often very daring in mine...I also wonder about this?

[methodistgirl]

I dreamed last night about my late husband and I was kissing and loving
on him and wouldn't let go. I know that he must be in heaven because
it looked just beautiful where he was with flowers growing, grass under
my feet, and pretty trees with full leaves, and the sky was a medium
blue just like here on earth but much prettier and the day never ends.
He looked like he did the day I met him healthy and full of life. As long
as I keep having this dream I won't miss him so much. He will still be
with me in spirit.
judy tooley

[jhnbrbr]

Hi Amie
I'm jealous now as I've never had even one flying dream. Maybe the difference is down to how much you really want to fly, or how much you think about flying when you're awake. I suppose if you believe in reincarnation (which I don't) you might say flying dreams were evidence you'd been a bird in a former life. As for being more daring, I do believe that dreams might express parts of the personality which don't get expressed in everyday life. I did once have a dream in which I killed someone, (I was being held prisoner at the time, so it was a sort of justifiable homicide). I remember when I woke and remembered the dream I thought "Where did that come from?" because it was so totally outside my real-life experiences. Other things which happen to me fairly regularly are

- A character in the dream starts of as one person I know and at some point changes into another person I know.
- I'm in a building I know, but there are additional rooms which don't exist in real life
- I meet someone new who really understands me, and we instantly form a deep friendship (and it's so disappointing to wake and find they've gone for good!)
- Some mishap or other results in me having to be naked in front of other people.
Dreams are an art form, in a way, and it's amazing just how inventive and creative the subconscious is.

[jhnbrbr]

Thanks for sharing that Judy. It sounds like a beautiful and comforting dream.

[Mat]

I've had quite a few dreams about flying, or levitating to be precise. I've never perceived them as something unusual or special. Just a dream, like 100 other dreams. But now I see that for some people it's something more. Am I right, John?

As for the *murderous dream* - wow. Never experienced that. Never been even close, regardless of that it was justifiable or not. Do you have any idea what may have caused such dream? Maybe it was something that happened earlier that day? I assume it was not a desire (where's the hide-under-the-chair icon?).

Dreams are an art form, in a way, and it's amazing just how inventive and creative the subconscious is.

Humbly agreed.



Cheers,
Mat

[Corno Dolce]

Quoting Mat: "Where's the hide-under-the-chair icon?"

I really liked that icon - Maybe GrandMaster Krummhorn can help us out - Hello, calling GrandMaster Krummhorn - Come in GrandMaster Krummhorn.......

Humbly,

CD

[jhnbrbr]

No need to hide under any chairs, chaps. It was only a dream after all. and in real life I'm very non-violent, never even been in a fight! What happened in the dream was that I was being held captive in a cottage by a gang of men, and I was sure they were going to kill me if I didnt escape. Following one of them up the stairs I found I had a small sharp object in my hand, and I plunged it into the back of his neck. He dropped dead instantly, there was no blood, it was all very clean and clinical. The dream did make quite an impression on me, because it wasn't the usual remix of things actually experienced, but (thank goodness) something completely outside my experience, though obviously the sort of thing I might have seen in a film many times.

I was hoping someone might have come forwards with more evidence that dreams predict the future by now - perhaps we shall have to conclude that they don't. But don't forget there are a number of instances in the Bible of dreams having predictive powers...

Yours murderously
John .

[methodistgirl]

I dreamed the other night that I was in a room full of pianos and I was
playing everyone of them. Some were upright pianos the old time ones,
Some were baby grands or concert grands, and some of them were really
decorated up with gold or mirrors. Some were so old the keys were yellow
and I still remember it as if I dreamed it last night and I can't understand
this dream. I guess I would be doing that in real life if I was there but
in a dream it could mean something else. Maybe someone here can help
explain it.
judy tooley

[Mat]

Hello again,

I've been browsing the Internet and I've come across Lucid dream. Apparently, you can control your dreams.

Any experiences anyone?

[methodistgirl]

Can you explain what it means when you dream that someone is with you
on the back of a truck with motion sickness and it was bad! This dream
was like I was really there with the wind blowing in my hair and hearing
that person gag. Could it mean that there could be a chemical change
going on after I stopped smoking by trading a bad habit for another?
That nicotine gum is also addictive even though the package says a
bit different.
judy tooley

[drummergirlamie]

I've found that quite often I can slip back into the same dream after a break in sleep; such as a trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

I've discovered that if I keep the events of that dream in my head until I hit the pillow again I can often become reinvolved.

Anyone else here do this?

[jhnbrbr]

I would love to be able to do that, Amy, but I don't think I've ever managed it. Stephen (Greatcyber) also mentions it earlier in this thread.

Since this thread isn't quite dead yet, here are a couple more extracts from the dream diary i kept for a few weeks in the year 2000. It shows me getting confused about the boundary between dream and reality.

...Outside I could hear a police siren and a police vehicle came down the road at speed, in pursuiit of robbers who had stolen something from the building site at the top of the road. The police vehicle seemed unstable, and finally ploughed into the verge and spun around. I saw my late father crossing the road to help them, and was afraid he might get run over by another vehicle.

Later I was sitting at a table with three other people in Pearsons shop [in real life Pearsons is a hardware shop, but in my dream it had become a sort of cafe] and telling them about the police chase when it suddenly dawned on me that I might have dreamt it, and it hadn't really happened (though I had no suspicion whatsoever that I was still dreaming!). I confessed my doubts to my companions and they obviously thought I was an idiot and not worth listening to.

The second one (a different night) was much more scary:

I was using a machine which was an "integration" [ie a mixture] of a lawnmower and my reed organ. When I came to a patch of long grass I had to pull out more stops to make the machine more powerful! I drove the machine into a large barn then became aware of the sound of a lorry entering behind me. For reasons I did not understand I was afraid to be seen by whoever was in the lorry, so I tried to get myself into an inconspicuous position at the side of the building. As the vehicle drew nearer, it sounded like a motorbike, not a lorry. I felt like I had woken, but then I felt a tremor as the vehicle came to rest which frightened me because it must mean I was not dreaming but genuinely in danger. Then I felt the bedclothes being pulled off me, and a hand grasping my hair. I was wide awake then, and quite scared, because there was no clear boundary between dream and reality.

[Mat]

I've found that quite often I can slip back into the same dream after a break in sleep; such as a trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

I've discovered that if I keep the events of that dream in my head until I hit the pillow again I can often become reinvolved.

Anyone else here do this?

Well, I do this. I've read about it, too. Apparently, the shorter the sleep-break is, the more likely it is to continue it after you get back to bed.

I'm still interested in lucid dream. The concept seems very nice. It must be weird to be able to take control over your dreams.

Oh, and John - this reed organ-lawnmower of yours. This actually might turn out to be quite interesting invention

[drummergirlamie]

Well, I do this. I've read about it, too. Apparently, the shorter the sleep-break is, the more likely it is to continue it after you get back to bed.

I'm still interested in lucid dream. The concept seems very nice. It must be weird to be able to take control over your dreams.

Oh, and John - this reed organ-lawnmower of yours. This actually might turn out to be quite interesting invention

I've only been able to do this to an extent, which can be somewhat tantalizing, I'll mention.