...but I'm not the only one. Some people say they never dream when they sleep, and I've read that isn't true: Everyone dreams many times every night (the average dream lasting only 3-5 seconds) but we remember so few (or none) of our dreams because they're sent straight to our short-term memories. Unless you do something like write the dream down or share it with a friend to transfer the information to your long-term memory, that dream is gone and you may never remember having it at all.
I've done a lot of thinking and even a little writing about dreams over the years--what dreams mean, why I always have the same ones, how to avoid really scary ones...I wonder if this is a topic that is interesting to you? I've heard that it's really fun for us to talk about our own dreams but it isn't all that fun for everyone else listening? I'm not sure anyone really wants to know about my recent dream regarding my neighbor in the buff drinking coffee in his backyard or the one where I'm sorting through tornado rubble in only a towel. :)
I have a couple of recurring dreams, meaning dreams I have had several times throughout my lifetime, and I have to say they are mostly bad, or at least very uncomfortable. I often dream that I am still in high school and I have a volleyball game or track meet to go to and I'm not ready. I've either forgotten my uniform or shoes or I can't remember going to any practices beforehand to train. I haven't played high school sports for 25+ years...why would this keep showing up in my subconscious? Another dream I've had a lot (although not in quite a while, now that I think of it) is that my teeth are really chalky and they're crumbling out of my mouth, or they're all loose and if you tapped one they'd all fall out in a sort of domino effect. I've also dreamed that I was supposed to pick up my son but I can't make the car go or my feet move and I can't get a phone to work--it makes me panic every time.
I've read that you're likely to have nightmares if the room you are sleeping in is very warm and if you sleep with your arms above your head...I wonder what conditions make for more pleasant dreams? Do you think that what you have in your head right before you fall asleep will come out in your dreams, or do the littlest things from earlier in the day somehow pop up? Do you think you can control your dreams? I have a friend who is into "astral travel," which is, very simply, being able to will yourself to go places in your dreams. She said she could think about checking in on her cousin before she fell asleep and then she'd dream something about her cousin that would let her know how she was doing. She also told me that if you ever see yourself in your dreams, like you're looking down at yourself from above (in video games isn't that the third-person view?) instead of seeing the dream through your own eyes (like first-person in video games?) that you have astral traveled without even trying. Interesting...
There are various books and websites that offer interpretations of dreams and the elements involved. You may or may not find these valid, but you considering dreams and what they might be saying could probably spark numerous writing ideas. Take a look at some of these and see what you think: Dream Dictionary Dream Bible Psychologists World
I hope you've also done some thinking about how dreaming can play into the writing process.
Please post a thoughtful comment (a few sentences or so) on this post answering one or more of the following:
Please post a thoughtful comment (a few sentences or so) on this post answering one or more of the following:
...a recurring dream you have
...the worst dream you've ever had
...the best dream you've ever had (PG-13 or tamer :) )
...what you think causes dreams
...books you've read about dreams or dreaming
...if you think dreams are symbolic or have deeper meaning
...what you found in the dream interpretation books/sites
...if you think astral travel or lucid dreaming is possible
...your daydreams or your dream day chart
...your dreams for your future
...if you think dreams could inspire writing for you
...something else connected to dreams?
P.S. Your journal is due tomorrow with 25 full pages for our Mid-3rd Quarter Check.
the worst dream you've ever had
ReplyDeletewhen I was really little I had a dream that it was the fourth of July and a fire cracker hit the sun and the sun fell down.
I don't feel like dreams could be writing inspiration. I don't dream. Heck, I don't know what it's like to have a nightmare. On top of it all, I have insomnia so just getting sleep is a challenge. This chapter might be a challenge for me and not as creative as everyone else...
ReplyDeleteI don't use dreams as an inspiration because I can't remember a single one.
ReplyDeleteI have read before that dreams about losing teeth, which is a dream I have often, is symbolic of anxiety and stress.
ReplyDeleteI think that there is definitely a correlation between our current reality and the things that we dream about. While doing some research about dream theory over the past two days I've heard multiple theories but so far I agree most with the idea that dreams are the manifestation of a suppressed desire or aspiration (either that or a reflection of tensions in a person's life situation).
ReplyDelete...if you think astral travel or lucid dreaming is possible
ReplyDeletePersonally, I do believe that lucid dreaming is possible - I've done it myself twice - but astral travel isn't possible. It's certainly possible for someone to dream of an environment that they know, and that might be what people are doing when they 'astrally project' to a certain location. In addition, it is possible for people to pretend they have knowledge they don't by cold reading the other person. Happens all the time with fortune tellers, and I think is quite possibly the case for astral projectors.
i have double dreams very often. it always starts with a nightmare or situation that stresses me out. i know that these things are not real and i know they cannot hurt me, but they remain present in my mind. afterwards, i can feel myself wake up. i can even hear the alarms and see my phone. i have different songs for different alarms and they always correlate in my double dreams. i can feel the shower, and i can feel myself brush my teeth, but i wake up and i can still feel the mint in my mouth. it can be scary, depending on the previous nightmare.
ReplyDeleteI once had a dream where no one else existed in the world. It was just me and I was able to just snap my finger and get whatever I wanted or be wherever I wanted to be. That by far was one of the best/saddest dreams I have ever had. I'm sure I enjoyed it at the time however, I could not imagine living a life completely I wanted.
ReplyDeletei remember one time that i was fake sleeping then i actually fell asleep and i woe up in my dream thinking it was real and that may day started .
ReplyDelete...what you think causes dreams
ReplyDeleteI think what causes dreams the most are the environmental factors around you, and the experiences you go through all through life. The good memories in my mind cause the better dreams and cause a person to reminisce the good times in their life. Any traumatic experiences can cause some of the worst times to be relived or to go through again. But overall the things that influence dreams the most is life itself.
I have this recurring dream where I'm alone but I'm not sad or afraid instead I'm calm. Every time I'm about to wake up I hear a noise from the far, but every time that dream happen. I only hear the noise before I wake up, and I can never find out why.
ReplyDeleteI once had a dream about meeting my sports idol Lionel Messi and I ended up playing soccer with him and ended up scoring the winning goal for his team.
ReplyDeleteI'm a waitress, and at least once a night I have a dream about messing up and having to deal with a table that hates me. I often wake up wanting to quit my job.
ReplyDeletei often have a recurring dream that i am swinging on a swing set and then i jump off and then i wake up
ReplyDeletea reoccuring dream that i have is that i'm falling of this really huge staircase and before i hit the bottom i wake up, or i'll be sitting in my room, my door will fly open, and i'll feel pressure on the back of my head and it gets pushed to the ground and i'll wake up a split secon before it hits
ReplyDeleteI think your deep thoughts cause dreams. With something that has taken over your mind completely or a thought you ignored but was actually a big deal in your brain. I think sometimes little insignificant things show up in our dreams because our brain needs to analyze them/get closure. Thy may be the only dream we remember when we wake causing confusion, but we also have many dreams a night so it is probably not as significant as we think.
ReplyDeleteI used to have dreams where something would happen, and it would just repeat and I couldn't get it to stop. One thing that would happen a lot was where I would go to step somewhere and before I could even set my foot down the ground would fall away where my foot would have landed, so I would try and step somewhere else, but the ground would crumble everytime. I basically couldn't move because the floor wouldn't support me. Or I'd be on a suspended bridge and when I tried to move forward the wood would disappear.
ReplyDeleteI often have reoccuring dreams where I am driving in my car with drew about to cross campbell on to weaver and I look down at my phone to change the song and then I rear end the person in front of me
ReplyDeleteI do think astral projection is possible, but I've never been able to do it. I've done a lot of reading and watched a bunch of videos about it and methods of preforming it, but I've never been successful. Some people have told me that they've astral projected before, and I have no reason not to trust them, so I still believe it can be done. I just need to practice more.
ReplyDeleteI had a reoccurring dream for a few months when I was younger. I had to go through horrible nightmares repeatedly, in an attempt to save my family from their inevitable death. As soon as I saved one family member I had to move on to the next.
ReplyDeleteI do think lucid dreaming is possible because I lucid dream every night. At first lucid dreaming can seem fun and interesting, but it really takes a toll on your mind. When you are aware you're dreaming, it means that your brain is still active and you are able to take in the stimuli in your dream. It can leave you exhausted in the morning, at least for me.
ReplyDelete