A deeper look at dreams

I keep on getting these recurring dreams of people I absolutely do not recognize in real life, but know so well in my dreams. I find this subject fascinating because base on Freud's theory, dreams should be latent, meaning the recollections are on experiences we have in real life, but dreams seem to take on a whole new dimension: I see people I think are close to me (including a house that I thought was my old house), but I have never encountered these places or people (yes including seeing them in the media, magazines, TV, or whatever).

Anyone else experience the same thing?

No, but I don't think Freud's theory is true. Your subconscious mind takes control during your dreams, and produces whatever it can imagine. The other night I was purposefully trying to retain consciousness as my body fell asleep, and it's amazing the images that pop up in your head just before you enter sleep. I seen a wall made of faces, strung together by colorful plastic, all singing together. Some worm-like creature with black spines but a smiling white face. Many other things I probably forgot by now! So I don't think dreams have to reflect you real life experience at all.

Well the only thing you can dream about is things you've seen before... there's no way that your brain can make up people or anything else that you have not already seen at some point in your life.

I did a school report for a Psych class a few semesters ago on dreams and was interested to find out that all the studies over the years done on it, has only come back with theories of what dreams could be. What seems to happen when we sleep is that the rest of our body rests, but the brain does not. The brain never rests. Thus, while our body is asleep, it needs to keep itself busy somehow, and it creates some jumbled up thoughts that come across as dreams. We scantily remember them because we are not focused on these images as they are part of our subconscious.

[QUOTE=eriX]Well the only thing you can dream about is things you've seen before... there's no way that your brain can make up people or anything else that you have not already seen at some point in your life.[/QUOTE]
Pretty much. OP might be dreaming about random strangers he had seen on the street or a in movie.

[QUOTE=Patrick Chewing]I did a school report for a Psych class a few semesters ago on dreams and was interested to find out that all the studies over the years done on it, has only come back with theories of what dreams could be. What seems to happen when we sleep is that the rest of our body rests, but the brain does not. The brain never rests. Thus, while our body is asleep, it needs to keep itself busy somehow, and it creates some jumbled up thoughts that come across as dreams. We scantily remember them because we are not focused on these images as they are part of our subconscious.[/QUOTE]
DMT baby. I remember reading somewhere that our brain is a little bit more inactive compared to awaken state something like 20%.

[QUOTE=eriX]Well the only thing you can dream about is things you've seen before... there's no way that your brain can make up people or anything else that you have not already seen at some point in your life.[/QUOTE]

You can close your eyes right now and imagine something you've never seen in your life. It's not hard. And when you dream the logical part of your brain is turned off, so it's even more imaginative.

[QUOTE=Patrick Chewing]I did a school report for a Psych class a few semesters ago on dreams and was interested to find out that all the studies over the years done on it, has only come back with theories of what dreams could be. What seems to happen when we sleep is that the rest of our body rests, but the brain does not. The brain never rests. Thus, while our body is asleep, it needs to keep itself busy somehow, and it creates some jumbled up thoughts that come across as dreams. We scantily remember them because we are not focused on these images as they are part of our subconscious.[/QUOTE]

You can remember your dreams in full detail and even be completely conscious while you dream. If you write down your dreams every night, within a week you'll start remembering more of your dreams. I write down 2-3 pages worth of dreams a night when I'm really into it. If I stop writing them down I go right back to not remembering.

Lucid dreaming is one of the most amazing experiences that everyone should have at least once. That moment when you're in a dream, and suddenly you realize that you're dreaming. Endless possibilities, no limits, it's just insane. I've shot a laser beam at a gigantic dragon and watched it explode into billions of pieces and rain down all over me in a dream, fully conscious, and I remember it just like I remember doing anything in real life. haha. The only problem is I can't do it every night :/

[QUOTE=joe][B]You can close your eyes right now and imagine something you've never seen in your life.[/B] It's not hard. And when you dream the logical part of your brain is turned off, so it's even more imaginative.[/QUOTE]
Then you've technically seen it before.

Like if you read a book and it's describing a unicorn with shark tooth.

[QUOTE=iamgine]Then you've technically seen it before.

Like if you read a book and it's describing a unicorn with shark tooth.[/QUOTE]

Technically is another word for misrepresenting the point ;)

[QUOTE=joe]You can close your eyes right now and imagine something you've never seen in your life. It's not hard. And when you dream the logical part of your brain is turned off, so it's even more imaginative.[/QUOTE]

its not possible... just like its not possible to describe to someone blind what colour is. Your creativity is limited by your knowledge, hence why knowledge is often considered to be "power" because it expands your creativity and other stuff. Being imaginative does not equal to actually making stuff up.

[QUOTE=eriX]its not possible... just like its not possible to describe to someone blind what colour is. Your creativity is limited by your knowledge, hence why knowledge is often considered to be "power" because it expands your creativity and other stuff. Being imaginative does not equal to actually making stuff up.[/QUOTE]

I've always wondered if there are colors in the rest of the universe that our brains can't imagine. Or shapes that we've never seen of before. It makes my brain hurt sometimes :lol

[QUOTE=chosen_one6]I've always wondered if there are colors in the rest of the universe that our brains can't imagine. Or shapes that we've never seen of before. It makes my brain hurt sometimes :lol[/QUOTE]
[url]http://www.reddit.com/r/askscience/comments/1c14fj/is_it_true_that_animals_with_more_types_of_color/[/url]

I don't think Freud was all that. he was just doing a lot of coke. Some of his shit was interesting, though. It's more of something you learn FROM opposed to study.

Dreams and imagination are similar, I think. It's weird when your memory mixes with them. I've had moments in my life where I suddenly remembered something didn't happen, that it was a dream. Or moments in dreams that I know were dreams, but I remember them in detail as if it happened.

I think there is more to dreams than just what our mind is doing while we sleep. I don't want to say it's another world, but it's at least a different plane. Can people meet in dreams? Have the same dream? That's some crazy shit, so I dunno.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated with dreams and the subconscious. I already have a lot of lucid dreams, but I wanted to actually project myself, and I did it... but it was freaky. I got up and walked out of my house, but the world was empty and dark. It's strange that empty, foggy, darkness is all over my subconscious. Basically, to do that, you have to focus enough to fall half asleep but not let yourself go all the way to sleep because you'll lose control, per se. So, it's a balance between that and waking up.

Long story short: we may never understand dreams because they are so different from person to person. Still, no time is wasted when you try to decipher your dreams. You can learn a lot about yourself.

-Smak

[QUOTE=joe]You can close your eyes right now and imagine something you've never seen in your life. It's not hard. And when you dream the logical part of your brain is turned off, so it's even more imaginative.[/QUOTE]

I disagree with this. What exists that we haven't seen? That isn't a combination of what we've seen. It's like numbers or letters. Tell what what you are imagining right now that you haven't seen. I would guess it is composed of parts of things you have seen.

I find this a lot while reading. That's why I think minimalistic writing is better, it cues your brain to draw all of your own experience. I find it hard to imagine anything with clarity anymore, though...

-Smak

[QUOTE=eriX]Well the only thing you can dream about is things you've seen before... there's no way that your brain can make up people or anything else that you have not already seen at some point in your life.[/QUOTE]

This

I've had dreams where people and locations are pieced together however. Rooms combined, i'll walk through a doorway and be in a completely different building, one that appears to be a few different places combined. People I think i've never seen before only to remember them later. Maybe that's what's making you think that you've never seen the places before, i've done the same


And to the guy talking about DMT, it isn't like dreaming in the way you probably think it is. Totally not what you'd expect once you actually do it, but actually in a more pleasent way than you'd imagine


Also OP leave the board you promised

[QUOTE=fiddy]Pretty much. OP might be dreaming about random strangers he had seen on the street or a in movie.

[/QUOTE]

Nope.

These strangers were close and personal to me; the girls were pretty and I felt like they were my exes although I have never seen them before in real life. Of course I would of remember them if I saw them in real life. You tend to pick out pretty girls more than random strangers; and of course locations, if you've been to some place, it's not hard to recollect that location if it is specific, like a yard, gate, how many stories, the color of the house, etc. even I'm sure I can pin point it to what movie.

I doubt dreams are latent; if it is, then why do you see so many things you don't see in real life?

What I'm saying is I'm beginning to believe in Quantum dimensions. It is in its infancy, but I think the more we know about it, the better we can explain our dreams; as is, we know absolutely nothing about dreams.

[QUOTE=MetsPackers]This

I've had dreams where people and locations are pieced together however. Rooms combined, i'll walk through a doorway and be in a completely different building, one that appears to be a few different places combined. People I think i've never seen before only to remember them later. Maybe that's what's making you think that you've never seen the places before, i've done the same


And to the guy talking about DMT, it isn't like dreaming in the way you probably think it is. Totally not what you'd expect once you actually do it, but actually in a more pleasent way than you'd imagine


Also OP leave the board you promised[/QUOTE]

These aren't combinations I'm seeing; it's not like I'm seeing my "dream" gf with the body of Angelina Jolie and face concocted between 2 different girls and the body of a dog or something. I don't buy it could be just some random stranger I met in real life because it wouldn't be as personal, and what even makes it more crazy is some family members aren't recognizable as family members in my dreams, so the whole latent theory doesn't fly: if it is base on my experiences, then why can't I recognize people close to me?

Try dreaming about a nuclear bomb going off when you look outside your window. I had this dream recently and it almost felt real. I could see the bomb going off, all the red crap going up in the air. I even remembered what I said the moment the bomb went off. "Those mother fuccers actually did it. WTF" followed by me crying(I was probably referring to China). Anyways, a couple seconds after I said that, I feel the brunt of the bomb and all of a sudden I'm dead.

I'm expecting to wake up with heavy breathing and heart beating like crazy. Nope, none of that. That wasn't a nightmare for me at all. It was as if I was accepting death and now I realize today, if I'm ever going to die out of the blue, then it better be when a nuclear bomb goes off.

[QUOTE=IamRAMBO24][B]Nope.

These strangers were close and personal to me[/B]; the girls were pretty and I felt like they were my exes although I have never seen them before in real life. Of course I would of remember them if I saw them in real life. You tend to pick out pretty girls more than random strangers; and of course locations, if you've been to some place, it's not hard to recollect that location if it is specific, like a yard, gate, how many stories, the color of the house, etc. even I'm sure I can pin point it to what movie.

I doubt dreams are latent; if it is, then why do you see so many things you don't see in real life?[/QUOTE]

I stopped reading there. Think about what already has been written in the thread about the dreams.

[QUOTE]I disagree with this. What exists that we haven't seen? That isn't a combination of what we've seen. It's like numbers or letters. Tell what what you are imagining right now that you haven't seen. I would guess it is composed of parts of things you have seen.[/QUOTE]

Look at it this way. If someone was locked in a room their whole life, with no human contact, and only fed MUSH and drank water, I think they would still dream about things outside of the room. All of their dreams wouldn't be based on the room and the mush. They would imagine what it's like outside, imagine who is giving them the food. Etc etc.

[QUOTE=IamRAMBO24]These aren't combinations I'm seeing; it's not like I'm seeing my "dream" gf with the body of Angelina Jolie and face concocted between 2 different girls and the body of a dog or something. I don't buy it could be just some random stranger I met in real life because it wouldn't be as personal, and what even makes it more crazy is some family members aren't recognizable as family members in my dreams, so the whole latent theory doesn't fly: if it is base on my experiences, then why can't I recognize people close to me?[/QUOTE]

The others in this thread are wrong! Your dreams are completely normal and not surprising. I've been writing down my dreams on and off for years, and I have had dreams like yours.

You should write down the dreams as much as you remember and try to figure out what it means. Your subconscious is giving you a message through the girls and through that connection you feel. It might mean you need to find a girl like the girls in the dream. It might mean they represent someone in your real life who you've been neglecting. But only you can really know the meaning because it's your dream. Just sit down and think about it the answer will come to you :)

[QUOTE=fiddy]I stopped reading there. Think about what already has been written in the thread about the dreams.[/QUOTE]

You don't ever dream about that sh*t? Like you see someone that you swear to god is either your mom, gf, close friend, etc. in your dreams but when you wake up, you don't remember them having any association with you at all (yes including random strangers and any other stupid movies, etc.)

Let me ask you this, if dreams are indeed so latent, then why do blind people still dream?

[QUOTE=joe]The others in this thread are wrong! Your dreams are completely normal and not surprising. I've been writing down my dreams on and off for years, and I have had dreams like yours.

You should write down the dreams as much as you remember and try to figure out what it means. Your subconscious is giving you a message through the girls and through that connection you feel. It might mean you need to find a girl like the girls in the dream. It might mean they represent someone in your real life who you've been neglecting. But only you can really know the meaning because it's your dream. Just sit down and think about it the answer will come to you :)[/QUOTE]

I like your thinking and you are spot on. It's almost like I'm seeing into the future or something because as of late I'm beginning to settle down and start a new phase in my life (meaning wanting to get marry), but I don't know which direction I'm going.

I think premonition in dreams is a weird fascinating phenomenon: most big lotto winners claim that they saw the numbers in their dreams.

[QUOTE=LoPro4u2c]Try dreaming about a nuclear bomb going off when you look outside your window. I had this dream recently and it almost felt real. I could see the bomb going off, all the red crap going up in the air. I even remembered what I said the moment the bomb went off. "Those mother fuccers actually did it. WTF" followed by me crying(I was probably referring to China). Anyways, a couple seconds after I said that, I feel the brunt of the bomb and all of a sudden I'm dead.

I'm expecting to wake up with heavy breathing and heart beating like crazy. Nope, none of that. That wasn't a nightmare for me at all. It was as if I was accepting death and now I realize today, if I'm ever going to die out of the blue, then it better be when a nuclear bomb goes off.[/QUOTE]

I had a dream once that I was on a flight leaving LAX. When the plane was taking off down the runway, I heard a loud boom sound and saw a massive mushroom cloud over downtown LA. Then a few moments later the delayed shock wave came carrying debris (trees and cars and shit), causing the plane to crash before it left the ground. But I think everybody survived. Then it fast-forwarded to me riding with a gang of a bunch of convict-looking motorcycle riders in this post-apocalyptic California. I ended up somewhere near the ocean with a group of random people on some wealthy dude's property. I think it was somewhere in Malibu.

Also, I always have dreams about being back in college and about to miss a final or some important project. Or that I'm lost on campus the first day. Hate those feelings.

[QUOTE=shaq2000]Also, I always have dreams about being back in college and about to miss a final or some important project. Or that I'm lost on campus the first day. Hate those feelings.[/QUOTE]

I've had those too. And I always have dreams where I'm back in my high school, not even always for school. It's just a frequent setting.

[QUOTE=IamRAMBO24]I like your thinking and you are spot on. It's almost like I'm seeing into the future or something because as of late I'm beginning to settle down and start a new phase in my life (meaning wanting to get marry), but I don't know which direction I'm going.

I think premonition in dreams is a weird fascinating phenomenon: most big lotto winners claim that they saw the numbers in their dreams.[/QUOTE]

I don't necessarily believe in dream premonitions but I think our subconscious mind is ahead of our conscious mind in a lot of areas. If you get really good at lucid dreaming, you can directly ask your subconscious mind questions and receive answers. "What is my biggest fear?" "What profession would make me happiest?" It's pretty amazing, but it takes a long time and a lot of patience to reach that level.

[QUOTE=eriX]its not possible... just like its not possible to describe to someone blind what colour is. Your creativity is limited by your knowledge, hence why knowledge is often considered to be "power" because it expands your creativity and other stuff. Being imaginative does not equal to actually making stuff up.[/QUOTE]

You mentioned in your first post that "there's no way you can make up people" in a dream. That is just not true dude. I've had many dream characters that my mind completely made up, including several just last night. There was a black guy that I was talking to on a street, a female bowling alley owner, and a cop investigating a crime. All people I've never seen before in my life. I've also had more than one dream where I WAS a person I had never met- including one dream where I was a female scientist on a submarine that was being attacked by sharks. lol.

[QUOTE=ProfessorMurder]Please, explain to everybody what it's like to have total recall of every person's face that you've ever glimpsed.

I mean, you must have that because there's no way for you to prove you've never seen someone before.[/QUOTE]

So you believe my subconscious keeps an accurate storage of faces I can't even consciously remember, but you refuse to believe it can construct a new face I haven't seen?

[QUOTE=ProfessorMurder]Please, explain to everybody what it's like to have total recall of every person's face that you've ever glimpsed.

I mean, you must have that because there's no way for you to prove you've never seen someone before.[/QUOTE]

If you see a face you have never seen before, and your conscious mind can't recollect it, then it is probably a memory that you've never experienced before. Memories don't truly get lost (unless if you have amnesia of course). Once you recall a face, situation, experience, etc. your mind will connect directly back to that memory.

I doubt dreams are anything like real life. The claim it is all just a combination of latent experiences sounds too bogus to claim with certainty because it is just completely different from that.

Can you draw a face you've never seen before? Yes. Can you draw a place you've never seen before? Yes. So how can you say you can't dream a face you've never seen before?

[QUOTE=joe]Can you draw a face you've never seen before? Yes. Can you draw a place you've never seen before? Yes. So how can you say you can't dream a face you've never seen before?[/QUOTE]

sigh... Let me put this to you one last time. STUDIES which i don't have time to retrieve right now have shown multiple times that your brain will store memories of randoms that you caught a glimpse of at some point in your life. We still do not fully understand the brain and its full ability but you still can't make up something you've never seen before.

Like i said before, easiest way to put it is you can't tell a blind person what colour is...

I also noticed the two of you never quoted that post and never talked about it.

iamrambo. these people in your dreams that you dont know represent the personas you encounter on the internet.

[QUOTE=nathanjizzle]iamrambo. these people in your dreams that you dont know represent the personas you encounter on the internet.[/QUOTE]

This I partially agree with. i think I met a guy name "Nathan." He was a flaming homosexual. He told me to lie down and he wanted to jizzle hot steaming lava cumm all over my face. I was willing at the moment, but my conscious mind told me this was wrong.

[QUOTE=IamRAMBO24]He told me to lie down and he wanted to jizzle hot steaming lava cumm all over my face. I was willing at the moment[/QUOTE]

:biggums:

[QUOTE=IamRAMBO24]This I partially agree with. i think I met a guy name "Nathan." He was a flaming homosexual. He told me to lie down and he wanted to jizzle hot steaming lava cumm all over my face. I was willing at the moment, but my conscious mind told me this was wrong.[/QUOTE]
So basically you just said you're a [COLOR="Black"]******[/COLOR]

[QUOTE=Jello]So basically you just said you're a [COLOR="Black"]******[/COLOR][/QUOTE]

Not quite, dreams don't represent reality, so I might be a homosexual in my dreams, it doesn't mean I am that way in real life.

[QUOTE=IamRAMBO24]Not quite, dreams don't represent reality, so I might be a homosexual in my dreams, it doesn't mean I am that way in real life.[/QUOTE]
:facepalm stop living in denial and embrace your inner [COLOR="Black"]f[/COLOR]aggot. Your dreams are trying to tell you something.

Fun fact. You only dream of faces you've seen in real life.