Dreams

[feral chile]

Do you think dreams mean anything? Current scientific theory is that they're completely random, but mine have been unpleasant lately.

i keep dreaming that my house is overrun with insects and spiders, and they're infesting everything and are out of control.

Another common one at the moment, which I've often had, is flooding. the latest one was that my kitchen was flooding, and I found a leaking water pipe in the middle of the wall, and as I watched, it completely burst, and there were spiders everywhere, and my kitchen had morphed into a creepy basement or shed, and I knew things had been left to get out of hand and I should have cleaned things up before the spiders could breed..

I know what I think it means, if it means anything, but I wondered what other people think, and what dreams you've had that you'd like to share.

[Essex_George]

I very rarely remember my dreams. When I do they are completely random and never follow any sort of theme. What do you think your dreams mean?

[feral chile]

I very rarely remember my dreams. When I do they are completely random and never follow any sort of theme. What do you think your dreams mean?

I've got a situation that could escalate if i don't nip it in the bud. So it's a warning that if I don't take action, I'm about to get flooded with the most powerful symbol of unpleasantness to me, spiders.

So, feeling at risk of an out of control situation that could have been prevented.

The only thing is, I don't kill creepy crawlies, so I'll have to provide them with a safe place to hide instead.

Edited April 20, 2013 by feral chile

[Katster]

It makes sense for dreams to be your mind trying to figure stuff out. I have very strange dreams all the time but no matter how strange can usually link them to what's on my mind.

I had a weird one the other night though, the night before the police chasing/cornering the the Boston bombers.... There was something going on outside my flat so my mum went out to have a look but while she was outside the police helicopter came round ordering everyone to stay indoors because there was a terrorist on the loose. My mum was shot but we couldn't get outside to her.

Quite weird considering the news the next day really.

My most common recurring dream is of water filled rooms, and being able to breathe in them. Never figured out what that one is linked to though!

[feral chile]

It makes sense for dreams to be your mind trying to figure stuff out. I have very strange dreams all the time but no matter how strange can usually link them to what's on my mind.

I had a weird one the other night though, the night before the police chasing/cornering the the Boston bombers.... There was something going on outside my flat so my mum went out to have a look but while she was outside the police helicopter came round ordering everyone to stay indoors because there was a terrorist on the loose. My mum was shot but we couldn't get outside to her.

Quite weird considering the news the next day really.

My most common recurring dream is of water filled rooms, and being able to breathe in them. Never figured out what that one is linked to though!

They say it's the emotion that's present that's the most important aspect. I think current thinking is that the dream itself is random data, then our brain presents us with a narrative when we try to remember it.

[Katster]

Mine don't feel like random data, I rarely need to try to remember them either, I just remember. My dreams are often quite negative in content but I enjoy dreaming and I am glad I have them and remember them. Loads of people I know say they never dream, for someone who dreams vividly every night, I find that really strange.

[Jackmypie]

I normally dream about fake tan and puppets with pointy noises. I don't know why.

[feral chile]

I normally dream about fake tan and puppets with pointy noises. I don't know why.

oo just look at the words you've used - fake and puppets. Got a lot of insincere people around you, or pressure to look good while other people are pulling your strings? Pointy noses - interfering? Nosy?

depends on the context and the emotion connected with it.

That's if you're serious and not pulling my strings, of course

Edited April 21, 2013 by feral chile

[feral chile]

Mine don't feel like random data, I rarely need to try to remember them either, I just remember. My dreams are often quite negative in content but I enjoy dreaming and I am glad I have them and remember them. Loads of people I know say they never dream, for someone who dreams vividly every night, I find that really strange.

Yeah, I doubt they don't dream, they just don't remember whatever they've dreamt. I often have lucid dreams, they can be quite scary, because you still have limited control. I 'dreamt' once that I'd become conscious of myself sleeping. So no visual content, just me trapped in a paralysed body, unable to wake up, knowing I was asleep but unable to do anything to close off my consciousness. That was horrible.

I'm often aware I'm dreaming in a dream, though, especially if something in a dream is in the wrong place etc. Or at least, I dream I'm aware I'm dreaming.

If we only make sense of dreams when we're conscious, though, anything's possible. Dreams would definitely be meaningful and not random, because we're organising the data with the purpose of giving it meaning.

I don't believe in those dream interpretation books, because while they may have a point that some cultural symbols are shared, it's each individual who's imposing meaning onto their dream, so only they can interpret it.

I do love trying to analyse dreams, though, mine and other people's. probably because my subconscious is helping me to deal with my own issues more than helping the other person to suss out what their dreams are actually telling them.

Edited April 21, 2013 by feral chile

[Essex_George]

Why do some people remember dreams and others don't? Is it the state of sleep they are in when they wake? I seem to remember my dreams if I wake while I'm still dreaming.

[feral chile]

Why do some people remember dreams and others don't? Is it the state of sleep they are in when they wake? I seem to remember my dreams if I wake while I'm still dreaming.

You remember more dreams when you wake up closer to your last period of REM sleep.

Edited April 21, 2013 by feral chile

[Jackmypie]

oo just look at the words you've used - fake and puppets. Got a lot of insincere people around you, or pressure to look good while other people are pulling your strings? Pointy noses - interfering? Nosy?

depends on the context and the emotion connected with it.

That's if you're serious and not pulling my strings, of course

It could be... or it could be the fact I'm scared of puppets with pointy noises (yes serious!)

Also as a kid I used to dream that I was jumping down my stairs.. for some reason the light from up stairs was off and the light at the bottom of the stairs was on, so it was like I was jumping to the light.. and then I would wake up before I hit the floor.

I also heard that if you play video games just before you go to sleep you are more likely to have lucid dreams.

[Spindles]

In answer to the op, I would say that you are correct in your assessment that this represents an unacknowledged subconscious fear of something running out of control in your life that needs to be faced and dealt with before it overwhelms you with crisis.

Many believe that dreams are the subconscious sorting out the events of the day from one area of memory (local storage) to another area (deep storage) and that this is simply a visualisation of where things are being fitted in deep storage which is why allegory and strange associations are so common.

I lost someone some years back, I have a regular dream where that person is not dead and I randomly run into them in different locations from my current life and am chasing after them, angrily questioning them as to where they have been and why. When I wake I feel certain they are alive and then have to come to terms with this not being the case again. These dreams make for a very bad day.

@Jackmypie, I used to have identical dreams, also running headlong down long flights of stairs, then coming across missing stairs and not being able to stop and not making the jump and falling til I wake up, hitting the bed.

[feral chile]

In answer to the op, I would say that you are correct in your assessment that this represents an unacknowledged subconscious fear of something running out of control in your life that needs to be faced and dealt with before it overwhelms you with crisis.

Many believe that dreams are the subconscious sorting out the events of the day from one area of memory (local storage) to another area (deep storage) and that this is simply a visualisation of where things are being fitted in deep storage which is why allegory and strange associations are so common.

I lost someone some years back, I have a regular dream where that person is not dead and I randomly run into them in different locations from my current life and am chasing after them, angrily questioning them as to where they have been and why. When I wake I feel certain they are alive and then have to come to terms with this not being the case again. These dreams make for a very bad day.

@Jackmypie, I used to have identical dreams, also running headlong down long flights of stairs, then coming across missing stairs and not being able to stop and not making the jump and falling til I wake up, hitting the bed.

Oh, I'm so sorry you dream about people you've lost in that way.

Mine take me a different way. My family were very undemonstrative, believing it a sign of weakness that a child would take advantage of. So when i dream of them, my dreams are fairly lucid. we're usually doing something mundane together, and I dream that I know they're dead but they think they're still alive, so I take the opportunity to give them all the hugs and say all the things that I couldn't say when they were alive.

it's very therapeutic in an extremely emotional sort of way. I always wake up with tears streaming down my face.

Edited April 21, 2013 by feral chile

[zero000]

Did anyone see this article recently: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22031074

It's about a paper published in the journal Science recently where they used an MRI machine to detect the neural patterns of the images people were dreaming about. It's rough but very interesting nonetheless.

[Katster]

I was very 'aware' in my dream last night (probably due to this thread) of how it did seem to swap and change subject wise but then as I was waking I was piecing things together in my mind. So, they are probably right about it being more random than we remember.

Part of my dream last night was uncle liam from the boards cooking some gorgeous apple pie but there wasn't any left for me lol.

[feral chile]

I was very 'aware' in my dream last night (probably due to this thread) of how it did seem to swap and change subject wise but then as I was waking I was piecing things together in my mind. So, they are probably right about it being more random than we remember.

Part of my dream last night was uncle liam from the boards cooking some gorgeous apple pie but there wasn't any left for me lol.

oh I've had food dreams and it's quite upsetting sometimes when youwake up and realise you can't eat it.

[kaosmark2]

I tend to dream about stuff I've been thinking about lately. The emotions and narratives are weird though. One recurring minor theme in most of my dreams is that they almost always have friends from different social circles interacting.

Some get seriously random though. I once dreamed I was trapped in a plate, I could see things from the perspective of looking out of it, and was taken around places, once used as a bowling ball... Bizarre.

[feral chile]

I tend to dream about stuff I've been thinking about lately. The emotions and narratives are weird though. One recurring minor theme in most of my dreams is that they almost always have friends from different social circles interacting.

Some get seriously random though. I once dreamed I was trapped in a plate, I could see things from the perspective of looking out of it, and was taken around places, once used as a bowling ball... Bizarre.

I suppose if it really is the brain data processing. your friends interacting would be your brain consolidating disparate pieces of information.

The plate one though...no idea...maybe the opposite, looking at different places with a limited perspective....don't know.

plates mean anything specific to you?

[kaosmark2]

I suppose if it really is the brain data processing. your friends interacting would be your brain consolidating disparate pieces of information.

The plate one though...no idea...maybe the opposite, looking at different places with a limited perspective....don't know.

plates mean anything specific to you?

Could be. Might just be a coincidence.

Nah, plates don't mean anything. I think it's probably just something fairly random.

[Katster]

I once dreamt I was a dolphin and my friends were throwing fish to me off the back of a boat. Ha.

[feral chile]

I once dreamt I was a dolphin and my friends were throwing fish to me off the back of a boat. Ha.

That's a really cool dream

[feral chile]

Dreams are weird. Even when we are supposed to be repairing ourselves mentally and physically for a new day it still produces dreams. Sometimes they feel so real it messes with your head when you wake. Common themes I have had over the years are my teeth falling out and trying to meet deadlines for things but obstacles trying to stop me along the way. I also dreamt recently I was pregnant and was so pleased when I woke up and realised it was a dream!

i dream about my teeth falling out, that's always a really horrible feeling. And falling. of course.

I used to have a recurring dream that I'd killed someone and buried the body, and I was terrified it would be discovered. And I've dreamt I was stabbed. And deliberately burnt with a lit cigarette.

And when I was young, constant dreams about people not being what they seemed, taken over by aliens etc.

I don't really have many dreams now. i did have a fantastic one a few months back, I was on a beach, paddling in the sea, and a huge tidal wave came in, but instead of crashing down on top of me it buoyed me up and I was kind of surfing along the top of it. I was wearing a watch and it was 8.20 in the morning, and I remember thinking how amazing it was that I was relaxing on a beach first thing in the morning.

I often dream of water.

[Spindles]

I've had the crumbling teeth dream, then woken up and been sure that my teeth had the consistency of chalk.

[windy_miller]

The one recurring dream I have is being able to jump really long distances. Its almost like flying, but I'm never very far off the ground. More like hovering.

I have had a couple of extremely vivid dreams in my life, which I remember to this day. One involved a clockwork owl, and another involved the end of the human race.