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Reblogged on Ermisenda's tumblr
“Already the dream was coming apart, its bright silk strands unwinding into nebulous emotions, little coloured clouds of feeling being dispersed by the movement of my waking-up mind.”
– Steven Hall
I believe dreams reveal a lot. Studying psychology has put focus on Freud and his beliefs. Although he is acknowledged, much of what he believed is disregarded such as the interpretation of dreams. I do not think that we can decipher everything from our dreams because at least for me I have some of the strangest, bizarre and often demented dreams that I do not believe reflect my mind. If so, I am definitely insane (maybe I am?).
I have had multiple dreams where I slayed zombies in a post-apocalyptic world, I have tried to escape the Titanic, I have been part of a new alien race, I was the chosen one for the Matrix, I have been romantically involved with people I have never met regardless of gender (I am currently heterosexual and in a loving relationship), I have been pregnant with an alien baby, I graduated from Hogwarts (it was so sad waking up) and I have been murdered. This is only a glimpse into how bizarre my dreams can become let alone the number of sub plots that stem from every major theme. I think that much of my creativity lives through my dreams (until written), without it I do not think I would be nearly half the writer I am (whether good or bad).
Is my subconscious trying to tell me something through my dreams? What would have Freud thought? Am I crazy?
I think people need to understand that dreams are random, the fabrics used are meaningless but woven together they can express many ideas. Some of these dreams will represent parts of your life that may not be meaningful to you but it is more than just random images, at least I am a strong believer of that. Every time I dream I can see where I pieced together the scene, no matter how strange or bizarre. I can understand what aspects of my life, past experiences or present thoughts pieced my dream together. Sometimes a bird represents nothing, it is simply noise in my dream. At a different time I know that the bird symbolised my need for flight, an escape and independence.
Dreams can tell us a lot but I think it’s up to the dreamer to delve into their mind, their subconscious and if they’re brave enough, dissect it. I know I have had dreams that I do not want to visit again, not because they were scary in the horror-movie sense of the word, but because they expressed something I did not want to think about, something I did not want to face.
Are dreams meaningful or just for fun?
– Ermisenda Alvarez
I think it depends. I’ve had some pretty bizarre dreams myself, but I’d say the majority of them make sense. Usually I dream that I’m blogging or comment replying on WordPress– yeah, I’m kinda lame.
Most of the time, I end up dreaming about whatever I’m thinking about before I fall asleep. Many times, my dreams reflect upon my greatest wishes and fears.
But then I’ll dream that an author asked me to write a review of the Declaration of Independence and think, Where did that come from?
I’ve dreamed about commenting on blogs and on Facebook too. If you’re lame you’re not alone. 🙂
Yeah often our dreams can become a mix of multiple things. Imagination, desires and life. I guess that’s the beauty of them right? Thanks for stopping by and commenting!
I think dreams can be meaningful as well, as you said before it can be about past events that you have experienced or about the present. The past experiences in dreams can help you, if you remember the dream, to help remember the potential mistakes, or good things, you have done to keep your life going.
Although I did also have random dreams which do not make sense at all, or at least I can’t find the sense behind the dreams myself.
Either way dreaming is a good way of getting a new dose of creative ideas for may it be books/poetry/movies anything really. So for me I hope I will dream, or remember, my dream every night to keep the creativity coming.
I think that’s a great way of looking at it Otheus. 🙂 I feel as if dreams serve to keep my creativity up and running too. I can become so inspired by what my mind throws at me as I sleep. The phenomena of dreams is so amazing, there is so much to think about and consider. Being able to experience past memories is also rewarding in dream-form. It was great to hear from your points, they got me thinking.
“Dreaming or awake, we perceive only events that have meaning to us.”
~ Jane Roberts
That quote sits at the top of my blog page which is kind of a testimony of my dreams and the world they encapsulate. I really don’t think dreams are to be analyzed as much as experienced just like when we are awake. Why analyze killing zombies when you can embrace it and scream, “Where’s the f’n Twinkies?” I don’t dream zombies – a single vampire once… ew, creepy – but I have crazy dreams, I love them, and it seems a shame to waste them on myself as much as it would be to waste my life alone.
The biggest thing for me is that I become other people, men too, in other times and places and sometimes I recognize them and sometimes I don’t. I speak other languages in my sleep, usually German or Spanish, but also French, Old English, some form of Gaelic, Latin and what was probably Armenian, even though consciously I only speak a little Spanish. I also have died – shot, hanged, impaled (while pregnant), dragged by a horse, a couple of different suicides – and I also have had romantic relationships with people I’ve never met, one of whom is a girl who I dream frequently. (Someone tell me how to stick with those long enough to get to the sex parts please.)
I personally think Freud had serious issues that he tried to impose on everyone else through his studies. He’s not paying me, so I’m not psychoanalyzing him, but most of us don’t fit neatly in the Freud box. If anyone was crazy it was him, not you.
One thing you don’t mention is precognitive dreams, but I think those fit into the same pattern that you described. If you remember your dreams and pay attention to your days, I think you find the same thing where you recognize how you wove your day together from the fabric of your dreams. I wrote this really geeky poem when I was 22 that doesn’t have a title that tries to paint that picture of our lives creating our dreams and our dreams creating our lives. I have it in my drafts here… when I get a title…
Anyway, I think you are really right there with everything you’ve said. Sometimes a bird is just a bird. Whatever needs to come together to express whatever you were expressing or create whatever you were creating, you pull from the resources at hand. Sometimes it’s surprising on both sides of consciousness, how many resources were at our disposal. We dream in the same way we live, but with a different set of physical limitations.
Are dreams meaningful or just for fun? I would say both!
I too have had dreams where I am other people. Sometimes of the different gender. I love how while your dreaming all of this makes sense. It makes sense to be a boy, to also be speaking in Arabic while sitting on the moon fishing for chocolate bars. Then the tiniest thing can occur (the moon moves) and it can disorientate you or the action in the dream. I remember in one dream I was in a hovering car, racing down the mountain with a group of friends. We were trying to rush to the school because we knew that something big was going to happen. I recall some kind of hike that could save the world… but as we parked the big van (which kept transforming model to model) we saw a goat outside. I somehow knew that goat was a classmate. The essence of the classmate had somehow been encapsulated into goat form into my dream, that goat (or classmate) was part of the key to saving the world. But when someone tried to throw me down onto the ground, to stop me from saving the world I remembered thinking to myself “Whatever, that’s impossible. You can’t run that fast. This must be a dream.” Oh dreams! The hilarity!
Dreams are definitely a blend of both fun and meaning. That is a great quote you shared with us, very truthful. I wish I kept records of my dreams… I sporadically record them but never consistently. I might make it a challenge (and I’ll share it on Ermiliablog) one month. That could be interesting… right? You outlined some brilliant points Anne, it was a pleasure to read. I really appreciated the effort and time you put into responding to this post. 🙂
Oh wow, cool! I have two hovering car dreams and one recurring dream where the essence of dust was part of the key to saving the world. LOL, I’m starting to wonder if we should compare notes!
Haha, that’s awesome. I love dreams. There should be a dream club…
I think most of my dreams revolve around things going on in my life. Can’t say I ever remember dreaming of being a zombie. Worst nightmares usually involve something bad happening and I can’t speak.
Lately I wish they were premonitions of things to come. Three dreams in the last month involve moving into a different home. All the homes have one thing in common, they are old. I love older homes and being from New England we have so many beautiful farm houses that are in need of repair. Being able to buy one and fix it up would be a dream come true.
Sometimes I wish my dreams were premonitions too. Although I wonder if that would cause more problems than good? Even though I love dreams to bits it is good to have dreamless sleep occasionally. Dreams can be exhausting at times. That sounds like a lovely thing to aspire to. I love old homes too, homes with history. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us ramblinann!
I’ve always taken my dreams – at least those I remember – into consideration. They’re both meaningful and fun for me. Sometimes they just don’t make sense, but sometimes they awake feelings inside of me that were hidden; they often want to reveal some kind of things… Other dreams are just a distraction 🙂 having a great time while sleeping. I also get sleep paralysis when I sleep in complete darkness – I never do that anymore – it’s the worst state ever! Stuck between reality and dreams…
Wow, sleep paralysis. Really? I have never experienced that. I have incredibly vivid, crazy dreams and on the rare occasion they are lucid. I wish they were lucid more often. People underestimate how fun sleeping can be when you’re a great dreamer. Yay for sleep! Thanks for stopping by evilnymphstuff. 🙂
Very interesting post. You are lucky to remember so many of your dreams & so vividly. I’ve found dreams to be a great source of inspiration for all kinds of stories. Often, I can connect them to events & concerns in my own life, but not always.
I’ve heard that when we remember dreams, we actually do so through a filter. Our conscious mind edits what the subconscious generated, trying to make sense of it even before we begin to tease things apart and interpret them symbol by symbol. So in a way, we can never truly remember our dreams as we experienced them in the moment.
I have a great respect for the work of Freud, and sometimes I bristle at folks who right him off or speak poorly of him. There were issues with aspects of his theories, of course. He was, after all, a product of his time. But on the whole, he developed a concept that no one else had thought of before — the idea that certain psychological processes can be ‘running’ underneath the visible fabric of our mind without us being aware of it. It was revolutionary for its time, and continues to inspire curiosity and conversation today.
I’ve also heard that dreams help keep us mentally and emotionally well. Without it we may become overloaded with stress and be more susceptible to breakdowns. I guess no one really knows what they are for but I think many of these explanations hold, at least, partial truth. They can be an emotionally relieving experience.
I respect Freud as well. As you said, he was a product of his time. I think that dreams are often overlooked and they shouldn’t be. Whether they are the key to resolving your psychological issues doesn’t matter, they can still provide guidance to reach that goal.
Studies have proven the power of the unconscious and many of his psychodynamic terms for transference/counter-transference (projecting the personality of someone (e.g. your mother) upon the client and directing your emotions towards that person as if they were your mother) and “suppressed thoughts” still exist because there is proof behind such phenomena occurring. Maybe he was right about the dreams too? We can’t prove him wrong or right. Thanks for stopping by Karin, it was great to hear your thoughts.
Like you my dreams are pure chaos. Sometimes they’re meaningful, but if I spent regular time analyzing them I’d waste a lot of good writing time. I can easily see the major themes, but overall I think they’re my mind having totally uninhibited fun. I love dreaming!
I think a lot of the meaning can be derived relatively quickly. Or, as I have noticed, if I retell the dream to a friend then I will pick up on the meaning of certain symbols or events I hadn’t picked up on before. I think dreams while being intricate and chaotic are also quite direct with the major themes they are trying to express. There is no need to do a deep analysis. Great to hear your thoughts, doubledynamite! Thanks for swinging by. 🙂