Dreams

jhnbrbr

New member
I would be interested to know what opinions/experiences you have regarding dreams. I think dreams are utterly fascinating, and it surprises me we don't talk about them more, since we all probably spend as much time dreaming as we do working (maybe considerably more in some cases!). Does anyone really understand the mechanism of dreaming? For example, does the brain improvise the dream narrative as it goes along, or is the dream created in advance like a DVD, and stored ready to be played later? Does time in a dream proceed at the same rate as real time, or is it speeded up or slowed down? I'm sure i've sometime woken after quite a complicated dream, to find the clock has only moved 10 minutes since the last time I looked at it.

Probably the most interesting question of all is whether dreams can predict the future. I am a sceptical agnostic, and all my instincts say no they can't, but I recently experienced a couple of strange coincidences which made me not quite so sure. About ten years ago I bought an interesting old book called "An experiment with time" at a fete. The author claimed that dreams contain past and future events, all mixed up together, rather like people and places can get mixed together in dreams. He claimed that anyone who kept a journal of dreams would sooner or later find evidence that supported this view. I didn't really believe him, but I decided to put it to the test, and I kept a dream journal for a few weeks during January and February 2000. Nothing particularly remarkable cropped up, and I soon lost interest and forgot all about it.

Then, at the end of last year three things happened which related to two things I had dreamed, both on the night of 28th January, 2000. The first was when I was searching Ebay for organ-related items and I came across a CD of organ music recorded by Martin Kemp, an organist I'm sure I hadn't heard of before. This reminded me of one of my recorded dreams which featured another Martin Kemp, the famous actor and former pop singer. I dug out my dream notebook where I had written

Later I was watching television and there was something on in London - a dutch exhibition. The centre-piece was a three manual organ which was being played (not expertly but with enthusiasm) by the actor Martin Kemp...

Not particularly impressive, but two days later, I found myself watching a TV drama based on the true story of the "Brides in the Bath" murders. The murderer was played by (you've guessed it) Martin Kemp, and after drowning one of his victims, he sat down at a pedal harmonium and played "Nearer my God to Thee."

A week or two later, I was meeting a friend from a bus at the nearby town of Shirley when I noticed that there were branches of the "Floors to Go" store on both sides of the road (one was opening, and the other closing). This reminded me of another dream from earlier the same night:

I was talking to someone at Shirley and we were discussing how some shops had opened branches on both sides of the main road, for fear that they would lose customers to other shops, because customers were unwilling to cross the road.....

I still can't decide whether this was really a case of dreams predicting the future, or not. Neither of the dreams came true in every detail, and I suppose you could argue that if you wait nine years you're sure to find a match with something or other. On the other hand, it was rather a lot of coincidences in a short space of time. Anyway, if any else has had interesting dream experiences I would love to hear about them .... now I'm off to bed, perchance to ...:sleep:
 

rojo

(Ret)
^^ :grin: Nice post. Interesting too.

I tend not to remember very many of my dreams, so perhaps I'm not a good candidate for this thread. Oh well. I do remember having a lot of dreams when I was young where I was flying, but haven't had one of those in many years.

I have to say, I'm rather skeptical about dreams in general. I don't think they have any real significance. I think it's just that as humans, we tend to want to have some sort of explanation for everything, so we look for some meaning behind them. There probably is none, but I could be completely wrong; who knows? Also, they tend to trigger emotions, so of course we have to know why our dreams are provoking these reactions...

They definitely can be fascinating, as well as hilarious, strange, scary, exciting, silly, or even tedious and mundane. They're certainly entertaining on occasion too.

Can dreams predict the future? Well, perhaps some have dreamed of things that later transpired (such as yourself, apparently,) but I wouldn't count on my dreams to get the winning lottery numbers or anything. :crazy: Although perhaps there is a lottery winner out there who had the numbers appear to him/her in a dream; I guess it's possible.

I'm willing to give it a try though; tonight I'll try my hardest to dream of Michael Jackson coming to Montreal to do a few shows. :grin:

Life is full of coincidences. I have no idea what they mean, if anything. But one sure wonders. Reminds me of an episode of Seinfeld: are there big coincidences and small coincidences, or just coincidences? :p
 

jhnbrbr

New member
Hi Rojo :). Interesting that you had flying dreams - something a lot of people would like to have but don't. I seem to remember a book being written about this subject some time back. I never actually read it, but I think the secret was to keep repeating "Tonight I fly! Tonight I fly!" before you fall asleep. Oh well, I suppose it might work ...

Yes, life is full fo co-incidences, and I expect that is all my events really were. On the other hand, if we did dream the future it would provide a neat explanation for the feeling of deja vu which many people (including me) seem to experience from time to time. ie when a situation feels familiar, it is because we have previously dreamed it.

Hope you get your wish re Michael Jackson.
John.
 

rojo

(Ret)
Thanks John. :)

Deja vu is a most bizarre experience. I had one the other day while teaching. But then when you've taught the same thing numerous times.. well, chances are I've actually really had the same exact experience before, so...

It was cool, anyway. :grin:

Funny, I watch my cat sleep, and he twitches like crazy. Wonder what he dreams about... Tuna? :lol: I actually have seen him making eating gestures and noises while dreaming, so his dreams could be food-related, one never knows...
 

Mat

Sr. Regulator
Staff member
Sr. Regulator
Regulator
Usually, I can't remember many of my dreams either. But I remember one of the weirder dreams I've had. Well, I was being chased by the devil himself and he was throwing shurikens at me. Quite unplesant experience, I'd say.

... but I think the secret was to keep repeating "Tonight I fly! Tonight I fly!" before you fall asleep. Oh well, I suppose it might work ...

I've heard that if you think about something very hard right before you fall asleep, you might dream of it later. I tried that and it didn't work. Well, maybe once...

Have any of you ever woken up screaming?
 
Last edited:

rojo

(Ret)
Hmm, screaming? No.

But scared out of my wits with my heart racing, yes. Also, sometimes intense sadness, feeling that my heart would break. Luckily those emotions seldom get provoked though. Usually it's general confusion and/or nuttiness. :grin:
 

jhnbrbr

New member
I don't think I've ever woken up screaming, (and never been pelted with shurikens which don't look nice at all!) but occasionally very scared, and even after waking it may take a littel time to realise it was only a dream - and than, what a relief! Other times, after a wonderful dream I feel bitterly disappointed, even resentful, when I wake up, and want to go back again. Dreams are a great adventure, and can even be dangerous apparently, because I remember reading once that someone with a heart condition can actually be killed by a nightmare.

Another interesting fact is that sometimes it all seems utterly real, but other times you can be aware that you are dreaming even while the dream is taking place. Another is the way things happening in the real world can be cleverly incorporated into the dream. It seems like are senses are still working to some extent, even when we are asleep. I once had a vivid demonstration of this when i had a horrible dream in which someone was repeatedly stabbing me in the stomach with a knife - and it really hurt :cry:. When I woke up, I discovered one of the springs in my mattress had pushed its way through the surface, and the sharp pointed end was sticking in my stomach, and had actually drawn blood. My brain had somehow created a fictional story which explained the real-world discomfort I was feeling.
 

Mat

Sr. Regulator
Staff member
Sr. Regulator
Regulator
I've woken up screaming only once. It was a nightmare:rolleyes:.

There were also a lot of situations where something nice was about to happen in my dream, but I kept waking up seconds before it actually did.

There are books that can (supposedly) tell you the meanig of your dream. I have on of those books. But from what I remember, it never seemed to work for me.

Wouldn't that be nice to be able to control your dreams? For example, today I want to dream of a classical concert and tomorrow of lottery numbers... We should invent some kind of machine:grin:
 

rojo

(Ret)
I once had a vivid demonstration of this when i had a horrible dream in which someone was repeatedly stabbing me in the stomach with a knife - and it really hurt :cry:. When I woke up, I discovered one of the springs in my mattress had pushed its way through the surface, and the sharp pointed end was sticking in my stomach, and had actually drawn blood. My brain had somehow created a fictional story which explained the real-world discomfort I was feeling.
:eek: Ew! And ouch!

There were also a lot of situations where something nice was about to happen in my dream, but I kept waking up seconds before it actually did.
That is so annoying...


Wouldn't that be nice to be able to control your dreams? For example, today I want to dream of a classical concert and tomorrow of lottery numbers... We should invent some kind of machine:grin:
If you invent it, I'll certainly use it. :grin:
 

methodistgirl

New member
Have any of you dreamed of your loved ones? I used to dream about
my parents and my husband a lot after they were gone.
judy tooley
 

marval

New member
Hi Judy,

I haven't dreamed of my loved ones, but some people do say it happens. As long as it didn't upset you, I have a friend who used to dream of her husband after he died.


Margaret
 

jhnbrbr

New member
Yes, I quite often dream of my father who died in '96, and occasionally my grandparents. I don't remember it ever being upsetting - more the opposite as it's nice to be reminded of them and to spend time with them. And another thing which amazes me about dreams is that when there are people you know in them (whether alive or dead) they act and speak very true to character, so that when you remember it on waking you think Yes, that's exactly what they would have said or done! and you're surprised at how accurately your sleeping imagination has recreated them. That's sometimes been my experience, anyway.
 

greatcyber

New member
I think dreams are absolutely fascinating. I have to take a particular medication that has a side-effect of making one's dreams quite vivid and/or scary. To me, it's a cheap thrill like going to the movies every night. I have some dreams that seem to be continuations of a dream that started about a dozen years ago. Every now and then it'll just pop back into my head and it picks up seemingly where it left off.

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. So, for example, if you are in a bizarre dream sequence and then all of the sudden from your immediate past works it's way into there, that would just be how your mind is choosing to interpret that data for you. 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 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. Other times if I would keep thinking about a certain dream or memory then I have been quite successful in influencing what I would dream about, even repeating a previous dream.

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. That is the one that I had started to write a novel about 10 years ago and just sort of dropped the idea. The one that takes place in a pyramid in Egypt a long time ago...with a mummy and a ring on a finger that gets chopped off, which makes the mummy come to life, which leads to me trying to "reason" with him about the ring...and there's Cleopatra...and Marc Antony...all in the same pyramid. Marc Antony wears a gold signet ring with an A superimposed over an M.

But I have this dream, like I said earlier, repeatedly, albeit over a few decades. I think it all boils down to stuff that you are interested in. People probably fantasize a lot more than they realize. Whether you choose to consider things in a spiritual way or an occult or new-age manner would probably be dependent on which type of personality you have, that only makes sense.

It sounds rational to me then that your brain's output of a dream would be a natural reaction to all the stimuli that it is bombarded with every moment. 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. But I suspect they had their own motives for doing that. Mostly "research" if you care to call it that.

But every other organ/muscle/cell within the body has biolical functions that include nutrition, some sort of function, excretion of waste.

I don't want to take the fun out of it, or the wonder of the thoughtfulness it implies, because I happen to think dreams are a combination of "everything" that we want them to be. Maybe they stem from the most basic elements of life, but then, that would be a mystery, wouldn't it?

(geez! talk about rambling
417_spinning_hat.gif
 

jhnbrbr

New member
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

New member
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

New member
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

New member
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.
 
Top