Wenesday 3/24/04 noon time question from Michaelskis

[michaelskis]

I started a dream journal in December. I only fill it in when I have a particularly memorable and detailed dream (had quite a few recently). You can add a few notes about what's going on in your life to help interpret what's going on in your dreams. I could write so much more about this... I think including the occasional dream will enrich your journal contents... let me know if you want to know more about this Mike

As inspired by JNL’s statement, it makes me wonder how or if our dreams do have a significant impact on our lives, if they are a glimpse into the future, if they are what we desire, or of they are just out brain throwing a party. So I ask…

What are your thoughts on your dreams, and how do they influence your life?

(and yes JNL, I would like to know more about that)

 

[Seabishop]

I think that the main answer is "your brain throwing a party." But they can definitely have an affect on you and toy with your emotions. Their randomness and shock value can lead you to question assumptions and look at things differently.

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

Sometimes I have crazy dreams that sometimes happen in the future. Had a real wicked one the other night. Should probally start writing them down. Had one where I was drinking at some cyburbanites house. Weird.

 

[mendelman]

Holy Crap, Rumpy!! I had a very similar dream recently about drinking at a cyburbian's house.


Hmmmmmm.....too much Cyburbia???

 

[Maister]

I think dreams can be both of the 'brain partying' class or can alos have meaning. Depends on the dream. I think we all can intuitively grasp which one is which.

 

[Chet]

I'm still trying to figure out why the Statler Brothers showed up angry on my doorstep inb a dream last week. And more to the point, why everything worked out okay because I had the spatula.

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

Holy Crap, Rumpy!! I had a very similar dream recently about drinking at a cyburbian's house.

So I'm not the only one. Hmmm, what does this mean?

 

[SGB]

I have strange dreams that usually involve people I haven't seen in years in ugly situations. :-\

 

[Gedunker]

When I was a kid, I used to dream of hot dogs chasing donuts throughthe Holland Tunnel 8-!

 

[Richmond Jake]

When I awaken, rarely am I able to remember my dreams....I think the alcohol plays a role.

 

[Mud Princess]

I think dreams are our brain's way of processing all the information that's been thrown at us during our waking hours. I've heard that it's the lack of REM (dream) sleep, rather than overall sleep deprivation, that has a psychological impact.

At the same time, however, I believe that there are symbols and metaphors in our dreams -- you have to learn to figure them out.

 

[pete-rock]

Just two nights ago, I had a dream that Redd Foxx was took me to his old neighborhood, reminiscing about how it used to be. What could that mean?

Reminiscing, the old neighborhood, OK. But WHY REDD FOXX!!!

 

[ludes98]

I rarely remember dreams. I don't read much into them and I never write anything down from them.

 

[hindered]

I think dreams are an indication of your current mental state.
If you're happy and free = dreams like your brain is throwing a party.
If you're worried or stressed = crazy dreams.

Also work with several people who have sugar dreams. They claim they have the really crazy off-the-wall kind of dreams when they have sugar before bed. I guess their brains are on a sugar high then?

I myself have recurring dreams about tornadoes when I'm stressed out. I'm driving alone on a rural road and see 4-5 tornados in front of me going in unpredictable directions and for some reason, I don't pull over and cover, I keep driving straight ahead. Once I was stressed about getting a remodeling project done at the house prior to hosting a party. Then I dreamt that I was standing still in the yard and the same tornaoes came and actually killed my house! :-c Makes for some real anxious sleep. That's when I know I need to reduce my stress load and I take action.

 

[Queen B]

Dreams,

Don't think I have tripped over the edge or anything, but sometimes I have dreams and then later they happen. No psychic thing, I don't think. But for example.
I remember having a dream about having an arguement with a blonde headed teen age son. I found that odd at the time because I only had a daughter and was not having more children. A few years later I was remarried, and having this arguement with this teenage blonde son. Serious dejavu.

 

[JNA]

Reminds me of what FEAR as an acronym stands for:
F = false
E = events
A = appearing
R = real

 

[Michele Zone]

When I was a kid, I used to dream of hot dogs chasing donuts throughthe Holland Tunnel 8-!

Gedunker, I am ashamed of you! I thought you were a respectable family man. That is SO Not Work Safe.

Hey, can we get a moderator to step in and yank his pornographic....oh, wait. Maybe it's just me. When I did a battery of psych. tests, I was informed that I interpretted most things sexually. (Well, that is not actually what I was told but, close enough.) :-D

 

[Michele Zone]

Also work with several people who have sugar dreams. They claim they have the really crazy off-the-wall kind of dreams when they have sugar before bed. I guess their brains are on a sugar high then?

Hypoglycemia is a somatopsychic condition: a physical condition with psychological consequences. When the blood sugar drops too low, the brain begins to starve, and that interferes with clear thinking. Then the adrenals release epinephrine (adrenaline) in order to release stored sugars in the liver and raise your blood sugar out of crisis levels. If you are asleep when this happens, well, it is psychologically screwy to be hyped up on adrenaline in a resting state AND adrenaline has the psychological effect of making you feel "afraid" (fight or flight reaction). If you do not know what is 'causing' your fear reaction, you can become increasingly paranoid. Having adrenaline released into your system while asleep tend to influence your dreams towards things like runnning from something and bring up any fears you might have while your brain kind wonders about what you are "afraid" of etc

Simply knowing it is an adrenalin-based, physiological reaction can reduce the degree to which such dreams are "nightmares". ....

I could go on. I wrote a research paper on hypoglycemia when I was 17, in an attempt to begin wrestling with my own severe hypoglycemia which made my life hell. My hypoglycemia is less severe since they began treating my medical handicap. But I am a wealth of knowledge about sh*t like that. :-D

 

[Michele Zone]

Dreams are the "random" mental processes of the brain when the conscious mind is not directing the show. This allows the mind to obsess about deep dark fears, dirty thoughts, and other stuff that you might prefer to push away when awake. It also allows the mind maneuvering room to "think outside the box" and the mind can be at its most creative when one is asleep. Problem solving via dreams is really not that uncommon (something someone mentioned in some thread not that long ago) but many people do not make the connection between the mental processing in their sleep and the "aha" moment the next day or whatever.

It can be "nothing" if you are sick or something -- just random thoughts running around. It can be deeply meaningful, especially if you are actively working on introspection, personal growth, yatta yatta.

Oh, heck: go get a grad degree in it. I don't have time to write my thesis on dream analysis. :-D

 

[JNL]

And more to the point, why everything worked out okay because I had the spatula.

LMAO! Oh Chet, you know it's bad when the spatula turns up in your dreams! 8-! Seek help immediately!

I've heard that it's the lack of REM.

I know, I missed him too

I agree with Maister, I think some dreams are a glimpse of our subconscious struggling with issues in our lives, while others are just random brain parties that shouldn't be taken too seriously. And that we can usually tell which is which. I am interested in dream interpretation and it can be fun to play around with, but I always take it with a BIG grain of salt. You need training to be good at dream interpretation.

Recurring dreams on a repeated theme are likely to have some significance about something that's on your mind.

michaelskis - the book that inspired me to start the dream journal was Love's executioner and other psychotherapist's tales by Irvin D. Yalom. A fantastic read. One of his patients (all real cases) was not progressing in therapy, and Dr Yalom was about to give up working with him, when the patient mentioned his dreams and Dr Yalom was like, wow! There's all this stuff going on in there! And they used dream interpretation as a very effective tool to get this guy back on track. I would love to hear your opinion on the book if you read it Mike. In general I'm not a big reader of non-fiction, but this is one of my fav books

 

[otterpop]

I had a dream last night where one of the County Commissioners chewed me out in a public meeting, then assigned me several tasks not related to my job as punishment.

On dreams in general.

I really enjoy the sex dreams, because it is my only opportunity to date outside of marriage without consequences.

I also really enjoy when I dream about someone I haven't seen in a long time. It is nice to see them again. Sometimes I dream about a long-dead pet and that is the second best thing to having him still here.

I hate it when I dream about work. I feel in those cases I should be allowed to put it down as comp time.

I love the farcical dreams that make no sense and have no structure. They are the most liberating.

The older I get the more trouble I have remembering what I dreamt.

The "flying" dream is a common one. In mine, I don't so much fly as float. I wonder what significance that has?

 

[JNL]

I like this guide to dream interpretation: www.dreammoods.com

Ooh it has a discussion forum with a whole subforum on dreams about cheating 8-!

michaelskis I liked their tips for keeping a dream journal

 

[Rumpy Tunanator]

The "flying" dream is a common one. In mine, I don't so much fly as float. I wonder what significance that has?

We all float down here,Otterpop, would you like a ballon....

 

[JNL]

Lucid dreaming?

The "flying" dream is a common one. In mine, I don't so much fly as float. I wonder what significance that has?

From http://www.dreammoods.com/commondreams/flying.htm

Flying dreams fall under a category of dreams where you become aware that you are dreaming, known as lucid dreaming. Many dreamers have described the ability to fly in their dreams as an exhilarating, joyful, and liberating experience.

Flying with ease and looking down toward the landscape below, suggests that you are on top of a situation or that you have risen above something. It may also mean that you have gained a different perspective on things. Flying dreams and the ability to control your flight is representative of your own personal sense of power.

Having difficulties staying in flight signifies your lack of power in controlling your own circumstances. You may be struggling to stay aloft and stay on course. Power lines, trees, or mountains are obstructions you may run into while in flight. These barriers represent a particular obstacle or person who is standing in your way in your waking life. You need to identify who or what is hindering your from moving forward.

If you are feeling fear when you are flying or that you feel that you are flying too high, then it suggests that you are afraid of challenges and of success.

We do not really have the ability to fly and so such dreams may represent that which is beyond our physical limitations. In your mind, you can be anybody and do anything. Thus these dreams are symbolic of your strong mind and will. You feel undefeatable and nobody can tell you what you cannot do and accomplish. Such dreams provide a great sense of freedom.

 

[Chet]

I don't so much "fly" as I do "drop". Ever have that gfeeling as you're falling asleep that your falling, and it wakes you the hell up? Ever hear as a kid that if you die in a dream you die for real?

And otterpop - you obviously dont talk in your sleep. 8-!

 

[Zoning Goddess]

I have the standard recurring dreams: can't find the classroom for a test, the ex- is chasing me, etc.

There's the one I've had a few times since childhood, where my siblings and I are following our mom up a mountain, and we're carrying lawn chairs, and mom jumps into an auditorium filled with water, like Weeki Wachee, if you've ever been there, the place with the mermaids (but no-one is in the audience) and swims thru a regular door on the back wall, and then I wake up.

Then I have the ones which involve "intimate" relationships with guys I would never even look at twice when I'm awake. But when I'm asleep, they're really goooood...

Is there an age when people don't dream so much, other than being dead, I mean? I know that elderly people don't sleep as much at night, do their dreams decrease, too?

 

[Michele Zone]

Is there an age when people don't dream so much, other than being dead, I mean? I know that elderly people don't sleep as much at night, do their dreams decrease, too?

Yup, that's the way I heard it.

 

[The Irish One]

Well I think dreams are very important. Sometimes a dream can take a lot of stress away, other times the dreams are giving valuable information in emotional, thought provoking, spritual forms. I have a very strong dream memory and often dream lucid. I usually wake up from dreams at 3 or 4 in the morning and take a minute to absorb the imagery, etc.. I record often

 

[Maister]

OK dream analysts, I'm opening myself up on this one... I have this recurrent dream where I discover I have telekinetic ability (can move objects with the mind) if I concentrate in a certain way. When I demonstrate it, other people seem impressed but quickly seem to want to take advantage and 'use' this ability to benefit themselves (say, I've got this junk car up on blocks in the back yard - can you move it?).
I am certain this dream falls into the lucid dream class. Seemed so real that one morning when I woke up I just had to 'try' to move some objects while concentrating just to make sure it wasn't true :-$

 

[NHPlanner]

OK dream analysts, I'm opening myself up on this one... I have this recurrent dream where I discover I have telekinetic ability (can move objects with the mind) if I concentrate in a certain way. When I demonstrate it, other people seem impressed but quickly seem to want to take advantage and 'use' this ability to benefit themselves (say, I've got this junk car up on blocks in the back yard - can you move it?).
I am certain this dream falls into the lucid dream class. Seemed so real that one morning when I woke up I just had to 'try' to move some objects while concentrating just to make sure it wasn't true :-$

That's just a Jedi mind trick!

I don't usually remember my dreams.....

 

[Jen]

lucid dreaming, my brain does that too, this a.m. my daughter climbed in bed with us after a bad dream. Hairless cats from space hypnotizing her and her sister in their room! :-c She related a national Enquirer headline about it and some other nonsense about GdubB. She's an avid reader at 8 yo. I hate to let her read the comics(not really) but when the provocative headlines of dear abby are in the column next to the funnies I silently rehearse a teaching moment, in case she asks, to talk about cheating spouses and gay marrieds in the closet!

On to dreaming, and relaxation, who knows any thing about Yoga Nidra?

 

[JNL]

I have this recurrent dream where I discover I have telekinetic ability (can move objects with the mind) if I concentrate in a certain way. $

Take what you want from this...I'm just pasting bits from the dream dictionary on dream moods. It can be fun to take the bits you like, mix them up and create a really positive interpretation!

Telekinesis

To dream that you are telekinetic, represents a higher level of awareness and consciousness. You are not utilizing your full potential and need to start putting your stored energy levels and mental abilities to use. In other words, your dream may imply that you need to put your thoughts into action. For some, dreams of telekinetic powers may indicate your latent paranormal abilities.

Car

To see a parked car in your dream, suggests that you need to turn your efforts and energies elsewhere. You may be needlessly spending your energy in a fruitless endeavor. Alternatively, a parked car my symbolize your need to stop and enjoy life.

Junk

To see junk in your dream, symbolizes your need to get rid of and discard old ways of thinking and old habits.

Ooo - "latent paranormal abilities"!? 8-!

 

[Michele Zone]

What I have found is that a car or other vehicle is often a symbol of a metaphorical "vehicle" -- you know, the whole "path in life" and how are you going to get there? kind of symbology.

I don't really know what your (Maister) dream means but I have discussed certain movies and books with friends and I think "psychic power" is, at times, kind of a metaphor for high intelligence. People of very high intelligence can, in fact, do things with the power of their minds that amaze and scare other people. Society generally does all it can to simultaneously hamstring someone who is "too smart" for the comfort of others AND take advantage of them for the benefit of others (while making the person in question feel guilty if they want to personally benefit -- they are told they are being selfish, etc).

If the dream is "lucid" then I suspect this power is very real for you but the telekinesis is undoubtedly metaphorical for something else. Things in dreams are rarely literal and are usually symbolic. There are exceptions, that is just a 'rule of thumb'. You might want to read a book called (I think) "Creative Dreaming", which addresses the fairly rare phenomenon of lucid dreams and such and the fact that one can increase one's ability to be aware (lucid) within a dream and to control or direct the dream. (I think you mean the dream is very vivid -- lucid means a certain kind of awareness within the dream that it is a dream and, therefore, you can control the world around you -- a realization which causes some people to awaken, lol.)

 

[Maister]

If the dream is "lucid" then I suspect this power is very real for you but the telekinesis is undoubtedly metaphorical for something else. Things in dreams are rarely literal and are usually symbolic. There are exceptions, that is just a 'rule of thumb'. You might want to read a book called (I think) "Creative Dreaming", which addresses the fairly rare phenomenon of lucid dreams and such and the fact that one can increase one's ability to be aware (lucid) within a dream and to control or direct the dream. (I think you mean the dream is very vivid -- lucid means a certain kind of awareness within the dream that it is a dream and, therefore, you can control the world around you -- a realization which causes some people to awaken, lol.)

I meant the dream was lucid in the sense that I was aware in the dream that I was dreaming. I experienced this at least one other time - a very similar themed dream except instead of telekinesis it was the ability to levitate. Because there was that element of being self-aware in the dream when I opened my eyes I was quite hopeful that the 'ability' would extend to a waking state as well - I was a little disappointed to find out that was not the case. I have no idea what meaning, if any to attribute to the dream. I just know it 'felt significant' somehow.

 

[Michele Zone]

I meant the dream was lucid in the sense that I was aware in the dream that I was dreaming. I experienced this at least one other time - a very similar themed dream except instead of telekinesis it was the ability to levitate. Because there was that element of being self-aware in the dream when I opened my eyes I was quite hopeful that the 'ability' would extend to a waking state as well - I was a little disappointed to find out that was not the case. I have no idea what meaning, if any to attribute to the dream. I just know it 'felt significant' somehow.

Okay, I stand corrected. That awareness is of being in a dream state is kind of rare. It has been a really long time since I read it, but "Creative Dreaming" is an excellent book and it does talk about lucid dreams -- but I think I said that already. There is one other "must have" dream book but I simply cannot recall the name of it right now. If I do, I will let you know.