Dream Structure

[Quirk]

I don't dream very often -- at least I don't remember having dreamed -- but lately, it seems that when I have them, the dynamics are more complex than I used to experience in my dreams.

For example, last night I had a dream where I was in a store with a friend, and the saleswoman makes a joking comment to my friend (I can't remember what); in response, my friend responds with a joke that I can't quite hear, but I notice the saleswoman is offended by it. Later in the dream, I find out what my friend has said, and in retrospect the saleswoman's reaction makes sense.

That's interesting to me -- how did my mind know how to make the saleswoman react if I don't actually know what was said until later? Does anyone know about any good research about how dreams are created?

 

[whodini]

Peyote. Lots and lots of peyote.

No one really know how specifically or why we dream, but I've often thought of it as a free flow of thoughts experienced and interpreted by the mind much like how the the brain interprets what it sees in a movie. The only difference is that your mind is also controlling the projector so that you're allowed to fill in the gaps as things drift along.

My guess is your brain had the choice between a favorable or negative reaction from the salesperson but couldn't create coherent dialogue instantaneously. Your subconscious then filled the gap for you later as it normally does during dreams.

 

[Rome]

You actually have multiple dreams a night and dont remember them afterwards. You are every one in your dreams, its like playing the SIMs in your head.

 

[Tck13]

From what I understand about dreams:

Dreams can be symbolic of what is going on in our current, past, or even future lives. The events, people, places, and whatever are symbols of parts of ourselves that need to be expressed or are choosing to be expressed to us through our unconscious. Dreams usually can be intrepreted on many different levels (similar to hologram).

Dreaming, as previously mentioned, happens during certain times of sleep and happen whether we remember them or not. To figure out the meaning of dreams, it is good to write them down soon after the dream happens or at least asap after getting up to recall as many details as possible. Then, when awake, take some time to sit down and think about what the events may mean or what the events may be symbolic of in the dream and some connections can usually be made as far as what the dream may mean or be a symbol of.

What part of you might your friend / woman and what they did in the dream symbolize? Or, maybe you're afraid of your friends behaviour and that he/she will offend people? Maybe he / she does things you're not comfortable with and aren't consciously acknowledging (sp)?

 

[MrRogers]

I don't place much emphasis on dreams in my work, however, even the most odd dreams can usually be understood to some extent. Analysts believe that dreams are usually comprised of "day residue"- a collection of unfulfilled wishes or fantasy's from that particular day or a succession of days before the dream. An example that most have experienced is going to bed hungry and dreaming of cake, steak or whatever you like to eat. Gross themes such as flying, falling, transportation are highly interpretable and can usually be linked to whats going on in your life.

As someone said above, you remember only a small amout of the dreams you actually have. Some say that deja Vu is a result of being in a situation that you have dreamed before but forgotten. Being in that situation in real life jogs the memory of the dream from the unconscious and makes you feel as though you have been there before in real life, even though you've only been there in your dreams.

Interesting stuff but virtually none of it is substantiated in the research.

MrR