An intrigued newbie's introduction

Hey, everybody. I know there are probably many, many introductions on this board, but I felt that I should make one anyway. My basics:

Name: Jen
Age: just turned 20 today, actually
Location: West Virginia (home) and D.C. (college)
Major: English Literature
Interests: painting, drawing, writing, reading, classic and modern film, singing, photography, shopping (I'm a dirty material girl, I know), friends, etc.
Ethnicity: Korean (was adopted when I was 3 months old, though, so I can't speak it)

I'm here because I've always had really strong dreams. Ever since the time I was a child up until about my junior year in high school, I had nightmares every single night. It was awful, but I couldn't help it. I had my first lucid dream when I was about fourteen, but it was very distressing because nobody in the dream believed me even those I was screaming to them that they didn't exist (they were trying to console me because in the dream, my dad just died). I kept a dream journal starting in about fifth grade because I was really interested in them, but a lot of the times, I forget to write them in. I was told that since I'm such a visual person (have been an art lover since I could pick up a pencil), my dreams can get really wild. Also, I remember coming to the realization in grade school that my mind was capable of creating anything, and this took a negative effect. My nightmares became insanely horrific once my subconscious knew that it had no limits.

Anyway, I left my nightmare phase and now just have odd ones. My friends always ask if I'm on crack, because they can't remember theirs and find mine to be very strange. But it's cool to join a community where other people experience dreams as vividly as I do!

-Jen

Hi Jen!

Welcome to Dreamviews. Please let us know how we can help you.

your name, 'the witness' wouldn't happen to be from 'The Second Ring of Power' would it? Nestor was the 'witness' in that book.

hey Jen, welcome to DreamViews. :D

I'm sorry to hear that you had alot of nightmares...you may know this now, but if you ever have a nightmare remember that it's your dream in your mind, and you have the ability to change it into a more pleasant dream. I believe the main cause of nightmares is stress because I believe that dreams are a reflection of your thoughts during your everyday life. so if you were under a lot of stress during the time when you frequently had nightmares that is a logical explaination. (though I'm sure there are other causes, too.)
I also believe that every dream has a message and can be interpreted, because your subconscious mind picks up on things you may not notice. (and I say this from experience, I've witnessed it myself with my own dreams.) it's great that you kept a journal, do you still keep one? it's practically a necessity for dream interpretation! it can also help a considerable amount if you'd like to get into Lucid Dreaming- it helps you find your personal Dreamsigns, which are used with Reality Checks and is an excellent start for beginners.

please, don't feel bad about having strange dreams. it's true that most people ignore their dreams, but those who don't most likely have very strange dreams as well. it is very common.

if you have any questions, feel free to post them or if you'd like you can send a Private Message to a member of the staff- such as my self- and we'll do our best to help.