Quote Originally Posted by Darkmatters View Post
^ It's called Day Residue (I guess you haven't read your ETWOLD? Highly recommended if you're interested in this stuff). Dream incubation is when you're able to visualize something just before sleep and then dream about it - which is a way to use day residue to create a particular dream, so it does fit into this thread in a way.

Essentially when the mind creates dreams it uses material from your memory, including day residue as well as long term memory and mixes it together with whatever dream schema it's cooking up, then finishes with pure creative imagination to fill in whatever blanks are left. This explains precisely why dreams are so psychologically revealing - they reveal our thoughts and feelings through familiar imagery from our lives.
I can't say I have read about that, but a friend once told me that dreams are nothing but a residue from your waking life. I thought it was an interesting take because I don't see dreams as having any meaning, unless one interprets his/her own dreams. I'll try to find this ETWOLD, though. Thanks.