Post your dreams

[Ataraxia]

I did not know this:

"There are several functions to dreaming. One is to give balance to the events that happen during the day. Studies have shown that if we interrupt dreaming for humans, they go crazy and psychotic and start seeing hallucinations and all kinds of strange things - even if they get the rest of their sleep. In other words, it's really a vital process. It has actually been scientifically proven in sleep lab research that dreaming increases learning or retention of new knowledge. Obviously, the more we sleep and dream, the more we integrate things that we have learned during the day. That's another valuable function," Webb says.

So as our bodies repair themselves in dreams, other health benefits arise. Our dreams also function to improve the quality of our life.

"Dreaming also provides mental, spiritual, and emotional coping mechanisms that help us develop creative solutions and new ways of thinking about our challenges, questions, and problems in life," Webb says.


http://www.essortment.com/causes-dreams-42591.html

[Karl Henning]

At heart, I knew that. Or, I may have dreamt it all.

[Ataraxia]

At heart, I knew that. Or, I may have dreamt it all.

Dreams only interest me while I'm dreaming.

[Karl Henning]

I endorse that message.

[ibanezmonster]

Craziness.  I went to sleep early because of a painful headache that was just about to make me throw up, so I ended up getting nearly 10 hours of sleep, the most in several months, probably.

Two long, detailed dreams:

1. Mikkel (the guy who posts here) wrote a suite about his trip to Philippines. I probably listened to whole thing (4 movements), but only the first movement was very memorable. It had Romantic-ish type strings, and throughout the piece there were hints of his individual idiomatic phrases, somewhat influenced by Norgard. (I can't actually recall the music, just how it sounded). There was a solo piano version and a version for piano and orchestra- I much preferred the piano and orchestra version, and it was on youtube. There was a lot of imagery of the cities and landscapes, but I don't remember if I was actually "there" in my dream.

2. Started off in a city square, where some people were human-sized and others were giants, like in the manga, Gantz. Then, it shifted focus and me and the characters from Mortal Kombat were in some type of 1-story house/building hybrid, and we decided we had to fight to the death. I took down a few of the characters, but while hiding in a bathroom, I saw some girl there doing makeup or something, and didn't want to come out. I can't remember if I just let the rest of them duel it out or not (Raiden and Johnny Cage were left).   

[ibanezmonster]

Tried a new technique for getting a lucid dream for the first time, and it worked. I tried because it has a very high success rate, but you know how these things go for me... doesn't mean anything unless I can finally get it to work consistently.  (so I'll keep trying)

The technique involves a WBTB, which means sleeping ~5 hours, waking up, and going back to sleep. The difference with this technique is that you try to repeat 3 things 4-5 times while falling back asleep: 1) 15-20 seconds of paying attention to imagery seen while eyes closed; 2) 15-20 seconds of paying attention to sounds (though often, like for me, there might not be much); 3) pay attention to sensations that are related to onset of sleep paralysis.

At first, I had a false awakening. My friend called me, since we were going to play basketball in the morning, and I was so tired that at the end of the phone call I said, "I'm so tired, I wouldn't be surprised if I were dreaming." I was dreaming.

Then, I remember becoming lucid, but everything was so dark that nothing really happened; but, lucidity was achieved, at least. Let's just see how this technique goes...

[ibanezmonster]

Tried a new technique for getting a lucid dream for the first time, and it worked. I tried because it has a very high success rate, but you know how these things go for me... doesn't mean anything unless I can finally get it to work consistently.  (so I'll keep trying)

Haven't been able to try it again until last night; it worked again.

My dreams were extremely fragmented, though. I think the way I did a reality check was, while in a car, seeing if it could lift up and fly. It did. Then, by the end of the dream, I remember a very, very vivid ~20 seconds where I was at Costco, floating around at the level of the top shelves, marveling at how accurately my dream portrayed hundreds of bags of food of varying color so accurately.

Then I had at least 2 dreams after that. The first one involved me somehow meeting the mom of my friend from many years ago, and in the second one, I was talking to some girl in the library who was shelving books. I even thought, "too bad I'm not dreaming..." Out of all of the dreams were I could be lucid, I'd rather it have been that one, but no... 

But... some thing are making more sense now. I'll keep experimenting with this SILD technique.

[Polednice]

One theory I heard about the importance of dreams given an evolutionary perspective is that they prepare you for possible difficult future circumstances - if you dream about something frightening that you haven't experienced before, your subconscious may well be more prepared for it if/when it does happen. Of course, once you throw human culture into the mix, dreams become whackier and more complicated! I've experienced the downside of excessive dreaming though - a few months ago, I would have very, very extensive dreams every night and I could remember every minute detail instantly upon waking up. They were so long and vivid that I may as well have been awake, and I certainly felt like I could do with a lot more sleep despite having been in bed for 9 or more hours.

Last night I dreamt I broke my hip. Painful. :p

[Karl Henning]

Oof!

[ibanezmonster]

I've experienced the downside of excessive dreaming though - a few months ago, I would have very, very extensive dreams every night and I could remember every minute detail instantly upon waking up. They were so long and vivid that I may as well have been awake, and I certainly felt like I could do with a lot more sleep despite having been in bed for 9 or more hours.

Epic dreams can be fun- like an adventure that you could only possibly go on while asleep.

I like the length if the dream is good- it is possible to make time "slow down" in dreams; epic dreams seem to do that naturally, since the longest single REM cycle period lasts only an hour or less, while epic dreams feel like they can go on for much longer. (Although, in your case, if you're recalling several, that may mean 3 or so hours of dream recall...)

[Polednice]

Epic dreams can be fun- like an adventure that you could only possibly go on while asleep.

I like the length if the dream is good- it is possible to make time "slow down" in dreams; epic dreams seem to do that naturally, since the longest single REM cycle period lasts only an hour or less, while epic dreams feel like they can go on for much longer. (Although, in your case, if you're recalling several, that may mean 3 or so hours of dream recall...)

I tended to have 2 or 3 separate dreams per night, each of them usually involving gruesome deaths. :p

[ibanezmonster]

I tended to have 2 or 3 separate dreams per night, each of them usually involving gruesome deaths. :p

Oh, well... never mind, then. 

[ibanezmonster]

Last night:

1. Someone wanted me to put their drugs in the trunk of my car. I thought "why not?" and did so. Then I realized what I just did. I took them out of my car and into someone else's car. I look behind me and see a police car. They get in trouble and I don't.

2. I am in a store (looks almost like Toys-R-Us), and there is a table with a group of people making music. On the left side of the table is one of the newer GMG posters, Fin Henderson, and on the other side is my friend, Skip. (There were a couple of other people I know at the table, too, but it's hard to remember who). They were improvising concrete music by playing around with various devices. Fin had this magnetic strip on the table that changed sound when a magnet, which was hovering over it, changed position. Skip made two loud hammer strokes against some plastic ball which he was trying to fit into a hole in the table.

Everyone was concentrated intently on making all of the odd noises, while people around were baffled by it. The name of the event was "Nerdpocalypse." 

[ibanezmonster]

Last night:

1. A super epic dream that felt like it went on for hours, or maybe even a full day, except that I don't remember any of it, unfortunately. This, despite a sleep time of roughly 6 1/2 hours.

2. I see a bright red, flashing light. I thought I was getting abducted by aliens. I see crazy, random images and wake up. I thought I died for about 10 seconds, but I wonder if it had something to do with the fact that lately my resting pulse has been very fast and it's been hard to breathe correctly. I might have been holding my breath for a very long time and that's what led to that (who knows).

[Henk]

Greg, I was on Cold Mountain, not in my dreams but in real.

The greatest feeling one can have, of loneliness of proudness. I suddenly got that experience. It was such a great feeling. A sort of proud out of loneliness that became very very huge!

I think it was what Han Shan writes about in his book Cold Mountain.



I also experienced spheres. I was in a sphere. I experienced a sphere around the entire cosmos.

Also I had experiences of some great feeling, a feeling what should accompany somebody in his life.

Also I experienced greatness, some feeling I was a giant.

Not in my dreams, in reality! What I want to say is, that you find your life too boring, but life can be really great. Much more greater than in dreams. Dreams are interesting to understand your psyche, not to subsitute for real experiences.

[ibanezmonster]

Greg, I was on Cold Mountain, not in my dreams but in real.

We have a Cold Mountain in Florida, too. Um... drive up a hill and jump out of your car naked in winter. Wait a minute and get a DUI. Yeah! 

What I want to say is, that you find your life too boring, but life can be really great.

If you have money.

Dreams are interesting to understand your psyche, not to subsitute for real experiences.

Well, until I learn how to fly in real life, I'll have to stick to doing it in my dreams. I guess it's my clumsy white person genetics. Only black people know how to fly.

[ibanezmonster]

I also experienced spheres. I was in a sphere. I experienced a sphere around the entire cosmos.

Also I had experiences of some great feeling, a feeling what should accompany somebody in his life.

Also I experienced greatness, some feeling I was a giant.

You're feeling the cosmos.

[Henk]

It's obvious that I have insulted you in your greatest life-fullfilment. That wasn't the purpose.

[Lisztianwagner]

A thread about dreams, very nice; this reminds me I have just to read Freud's Die Traumdeutung.....

I've remember two dreams, both concerning music:

1. About the first one, I clearly remember a fragment: I was in a music shop and I had to choose a box-set of Mahler's symphonies as a present for a friend of mine; after I had looked at some recordings, I laid my eyes on a completely blank box. When I took it in my hands to see it better, I heard a voice calling me: it was Leonard Bernstein who said: "Don't buy that one, this one is much more powerful, believe me". He gave me a box-set with beautiful pictures (but the interpreters weren't specified), and after thanking him very much, I bought that version and I left the shop.

2. About the second dream, it started with me being in strange building, a merging between the Musikverein and a museum of Art History; I was looking at some treasures of the Hapsburg Age, when I saw some people cheerfully talking to each other who were going to another hall. I decided to follow them and after a while we enter the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. I sat on a chair and immediately the strings and the woodwinds of Wiener Philharmoniker appeared and started playing unknown music. There were some friends of mine next to me and we began talking a little while the orchestra continued playing; after some time the orchestra stood up and they said that the concert would continued in another room. I arrived at this concert-hall followed by some players and some of the audience, and we stopped in front of the entrance. While I was waiting for the rest of the people, one of the violinists went near me and said: "So, do you like the concert?"; I answered that I did very much and then I asked if I could shake hands with him; he smiled, gave me the hand and we enter the hall together.

[madaboutmahler]

Wonderful tales, Ilaria! Could it have been me that you were buying that Mahler cycle for? I hope it's the Michael Tilson Thomas set!