Dreams...

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Science as it stands now is divided when it comes to dreaming. Some claim that sleep and dreams are not relevant and that the body can still "rest/regenerate" without entering into a REM state or "rapid eye movement sleep"

That said FFI or "Fatal familial insomnia is almost always an abnormality/mutation of the brain and something you don't see on X-men for the most part. Thankfully it is rare but people did die so I guess the part of "we don't need sleep" is untrue.

Some scientists believe that dreams can indeed create memories, generate emotional responses to prepare us for "possible" future events thus allow us to cope better. Now if you ever had a nightmare you would say "ok so dreaming of "Freddy Krueger" is helping me how? Well to cope with fear for the most part. And it is a well known fact that "fear" is what keep us alive for the most part.

But all of us also know that dreams can be fun and or realistic and sometimes hellish. In my own opinion I think it is the imagination let lose to avoid insanity. So can dreams link us to the future? I personally think yes. The brain is hardwired for information why wouldn't dreaming be some device the brain uses?

Anyhow Sweet dreams...

 

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Last night I was a teacher and I couldn't find my class, then I suddenly was a new student in a school. See? What do all these school dreams mean??!

Holy cow, I just looked up "school" in my dream encyclopedia, and it says some say during sleep the soul attends classes "on the inner planes" (in the spiritual realm), so that dreams about being in a classroom would be interpreted as reflecting this type of "spiritual learning" experience...
It also says being the teacher may symbolize authority, the looking for your class thing could be about feeling unprepared...
Maybe this will give a little insight...

What if you dream that you are in a monstrous prison?

 

[PoisonApple]

Last night I was a teacher and I couldn't find my class, then I suddenly was a new student in a school. See? What do all these school dreams mean??!

Holy cow, I just looked up "school" in my dream encyclopedia, and it says some say during sleep the soul attends classes "on the inner planes" (in the spiritual realm), so that dreams about being in a classroom would be interpreted as reflecting this type of "spiritual learning" experience...
It also says being the teacher may symbolize authority, the looking for your class thing could be about feeling unprepared...
Maybe this will give a little insight...

What if you dream that you are in a monstrous prison?

I can look it up for you.

 

[PoisonApple]

Holy cow, I just looked up "school" in my dream encyclopedia, and it says some say during sleep the soul attends classes "on the inner planes" (in the spiritual realm), so that dreams about being in a classroom would be interpreted as reflecting this type of "spiritual learning" experience...
It also says being the teacher may symbolize authority, the looking for your class thing could be about feeling unprepared...
Maybe this will give a little insight...

What if you dream that you are in a monstrous prison?

I can look it up for you.

I looked up "jail", prison wasn't an option...
"Dreaming about being in jail usually reflects a sense of restriction one feels in one's outer life, the limiting of one's creativity. It could also indicare a sense of guilt or self-criticism. Alternatively, the dreamer may need to "put a lock on" certain actions or behaviors. Dreaming about being the jailer is similar, though it shifts the focus to our own agency - we are the ones restricting ourselves."

 

[label]

I looked up "jail", prison wasn't an option...
"Dreaming about being in jail usually reflects a sense of restriction one feels in one's outer life, the limiting of one's creativity. It could also indicare a sense of guilt or self-criticism. Alternatively, the dreamer may need to "put a lock on" certain actions or behaviors. Dreaming about being the jailer is similar, though it shifts the focus to our own agency - we are the ones restricting ourselves."

Sorry for replying only now,

Yes indeed I am a prisoner of the past and a haunting one at that. It is why I have an obsession with time-travel and is trying to figure-out how to go back and fix things. But more to the point it the proof is as it is. My mind lives in constant regret and my subconscious is tell me exactly that.

All of us know how bad dreams can get and how unforgiving the mind is once the images are imprinted onto our long term memories. It is always there always finding ways to remind us that our days are counted, our sins are recorded and our futures is written in stone.

But not all dreams are bad, sometimes they give strength nurture hope feed the soul if you will. Once I had a dream that I was trapped inside a tank and someone decided to start filling it up with water. I looked up saw the massive pipe shacking then splash volumes and volumes of water.

I just stared at it and fear left me. I accepted my fate and was somehow very liberating "I am no longer afraid of this". Maybe dreams really are part of our survival strategy?

 

[Ayasano]

It's interesting that no one has mentioned lucid dreaming here yet. If you don't know what it is, lucid dreaming is basically when you realize you're dreaming. Most of the time you'll simply wake up, but with practise you can learn to stay asleep and basically wander around in your dream.

Some people have them naturally, some have to learn to do it, but pretty much anyone who can dream can do it. (And that just means people with certain medical conditions like a variant of schizophrenia. If you don't have one, you always dream, you just don't remember due to how dream memory works)

Also, the longer you practise, the more likely it is that you'll be able to actually exert control over the dream. You can do anything from making things change when you look away, to flying or levitating objects, to reshaping the entire dream world. Want to have a conversation with your subconscious? Just go ahead and will them into existence!

As far as actually learning to do it, it's pretty simple. Keep a dream journal next to your bed (electronic or paper, doesn't matter) and as soon as you wake up, write down any dreams you can remember, however little. The more you do it, the more you'll remember. After all, you might forget you even had a lucid dream.

The other half is doing "reality checks" every so often while you're awake, so you become accustomed to doing them and end up doing one while you're dreaming. A reality check is anything that tests whether you're dreaming or not, like looking at some text and looking away several times to see if it changes, (3 times is usually enough for a 95% chance of it changing, according to studies) turning a lightswitch on and off to see if it fails, or holding your breath and seeing if you can stil breathe. (Due to the fact that your body usually won't let you suffocate yourself while asleep)

There are also a few other techniques such as Wake-Induced-Lucid-Dream (WILD) and Mnemonic-Induced-Lucid-Dream (MILD). The standard way of doing reality checks is Dream-Induced-Lucid-Dream. (DILD)

 

[PoisonApple]

It's interesting that no one has mentioned lucid dreaming here yet. If you don't know what it is, lucid dreaming is basically when you realize you're dreaming. Most of the time you'll simply wake up, but with practise you can learn to stay asleep and basically wander around in your dream.

Some people have them naturally, some have to learn to do it, but pretty much anyone who can dream can do it. (And that just means people with certain medical conditions like a variant of schizophrenia. If you don't have one, you always dream, you just don't remember due to how dream memory works)

Also, the longer you practise, the more likely it is that you'll be able to actually exert control over the dream. You can do anything from making things change when you look away, to flying or levitating objects, to reshaping the entire dream world. Want to have a conversation with your subconscious? Just go ahead and will them into existence!

As far as actually learning to do it, it's pretty simple. Keep a dream journal next to your bed (electronic or paper, doesn't matter) and as soon as you wake up, write down any dreams you can remember, however little. The more you do it, the more you'll remember. After all, you might forget you even had a lucid dream.

The other half is doing "reality checks" every so often while you're awake, so you become accustomed to doing them and end up doing one while you're dreaming. A reality check is anything that tests whether you're dreaming or not, like looking at some text and looking away several times to see if it changes, (3 times is usually enough for a 95% chance of it changing, according to studies) turning a lightswitch on and off to see if it fails, or holding your breath and seeing if you can stil breathe. (Due to the fact that your body usually won't let you suffocate yourself while asleep)

There are also a few other techniques such as Wake-Induced-Lucid-Dream (WILD) and Mnemonic-Induced-Lucid-Dream (MILD). The standard way of doing reality checks is Dream-Induced-Lucid-Dream. (DILD)

Thank you for bringing it up! That's why I started this thread; to learn more about dreams, and also if we can manipulate them... "DILD", however, makes me giggle...

 

[PoisonApple]

About 11 years ago, my grandmother was on her death-bed and our family was saying our goodbyes to her before she passed...When it was my turn, all I could think to say was "Visit me in my dreams."
It didn't happen immediately, maybe a few months or so, but she did seem to visit me in my dreams...I dreamt I was outside, it was so bright that I couldn't see much, but my grandma was there, along with her mother, whom I've never met...All I could see was her face, her body was what I'd describe as a ball of light, just brilliantly lit up...And she was fairly young, not old and sickly like she was when she passed...
In the dream, I was overwhelmed with this immense feeling of love and comfort. When I awoke, I cried, happy that she kept her end and let me know she was okay..
So my question is this: Do you believe our loved ones who have passed can still visot or contact us, even through our dreams?

 

[PaulaJedi]

So my question is this: Do you believe our loved ones who have passed can still visot or contact us, even through our dreams?

Yes, my grandmother does all the time, and not just with me. Also via dreams...

 

[PoisonApple]

So my question is this: Do you believe our loved ones who have passed can still visot or contact us, even through our dreams?

Yes, my grandmother does all the time, and not just with me. Also via dreams...

Aww, that's wonderful...