Dream Logic

Haven't been here for a few months so I don't know if this has been discussed here already. But anyway I'd like to share my two cents about this matter.

Just today I've had a vivid dream which felt pretty real to me: I was driving a car on a beach and a while after I hit the car into the sea (I don't know why but I wanted to). In that moment I was trying to hold my breath, which was very uncommon (since childhood in dreams I can breathe underwater) and really fascinating, too. Then I swimmed off the car and out of the blue there appeared some big sea creatures that really don't exist and all that had some crazy story which doesn't make great sense if you consider the story in awaken state.

All I want to say is that while it was very vivid when I was dreaming I still consider it as "a dream experience only" because in awaken state my memories of this dream are not so clear now (unfortunately: Because I loved it, fortunately: My memory would be very confused, I guess). I think that "dream logic", the logic that doesn't make any sense in awaken state but still is so much enjoyable (I know I enjoy it) when someone sleeps, could be some sort of compensation for the fact that we are unable to recall the dream experience (even the very vivid one) in scale we wanted to, so our brain makes dreams a unique experience and the way it's doing it is by "bending" common logic, which is a way that is truly fascinating. The other way is making the dreams so vividly beautiful as reality could be and sometimes it's by both ways, like in my today's dream.

I hope I didn't confuse anyone. :) I will be happy to read any opinions on this topic. This thread isn't locked, I hope.

Hey there,

I have dreams that I can recall as strongly and vividly as any waking event. In fact, if I put memories of a dream next to memories of a waking event, I cannot discern any sort of difference at all (other then my mind telling me one was a dream and the other a waking event). But qualitatively speaking, in strength of recall, detail and sensory memory, they are exactly the same.

Now it's true that this only counts for the very vivid and special dreams. Most dreams are very quickly forgotten. But by the same account, most waking events are very quickly forgotten as well. Do you remember what you had for breakfast last month? Do you remember everyone you talked to last week?

Like dreams, I tend to only remember parts of everything that happens to me during waking life as well. The big majority of it is quickly forgotten.

Just my 2 cents,

-Redrivertears-

Quote: I have dreams that I can recall as strongly and vividly as any waking event. In fact, if I put memories of a dream next to memories of a waking event, I cannot discern any sort of difference at all (other then my mind telling me one was a dream and the other a waking event). But qualitatively speaking, in strength of recall, detail and sensory memory, they are exactly the same. /Quote

That makes you a unique person, I guess, or better said a person with a unique memory.

Quote: Now it's true that this only counts for the very vivid and special dreams. Most dreams are very quickly forgotten. But by the same account, most waking events are very quickly forgotten as well. Do you remember what you had for breakfast last month? Do you remember everyone you talked to last week?

Like dreams, I tend to only remember parts of everything that happens to me during waking life as well. The big majority of it is quickly forgotten. /Quote

Well, I kind of disagree with this comparison. I remember so much from my holiday week in Spain, not every moment but very much from every day. I can't remember that much from dreams I've had this morning. Vivid or common dreams don't matter, as I can remember a few common dreams that I had as a kid, they weren't any special nor vivid or lucid but I liked the content so I remember them (I wanted to).

Quote:

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Originally Posted by CloudOne

I remember so much from my holiday week in Spain, not every moment but very much from every day.

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That's because it was special and had meaning for you. It's much easier to recall things that carry some level of significance. That's why dream journals are helpful when trying to improve your dream recall. It places a higher level of importance on your dreams which, in turn, makes them easier to recall. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. A positive feedback loop, so to speak.

Quote:

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...as I can remember a few common dreams that I had as a kid, they weren't any special nor vivid or lucid but I liked the content so I remember them (I wanted to).

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Exactly, that's my point. You placed value in them so you were able to remember them better. And that's the same thing Redrivertears was saying.

About dream logic:

Dream logic is twisted indeed. As you said, it's an alteration of real life logic but, in a way, it fits perfectly within the context and framework of the dream realm. Dreams have their own set of rules and those rules change with the wind.

Dream logic is awesome. Like when you see DC's who are actually 3 or more real life personalities in one. Or when you instantly teleport from one area to another without even considering the possibility that that might be strange.

Oneironaught: You've made me realize something interesting.

What is dream logic anyway? Yesterday I've had a long lucid dream about being someone else, where I had different job and it took the whole night to morning. It was strictly logical as in an awaken state. Everything made sense, every action, what was happening had logical reasons. There was no dream logic at all. The dream was lucid but not vivid, I could see the place around me as it was in my memories but in a real time. The dream logic, is it something that we want to live through during sleep?