Your self in dreams

[Zhaylin]

My kids, hubby, family... well, shoot, let's just say everyone thinks my dreams are weird if not clinically suspicious and concerning. So, I thought I'd ask you good people here. When you dream (regular dreams, non-lucid), are you always yourself? If you're not yourself, are you always your gender or someone you know personally or through television? Have you ever been anything else (plant, animal, alien, inanimate object)? Do you dream in first person (like you're living the dream and seeing it through your eyes only, as in real life) or third (like watching a tv show) or something else? Can you create the dream even when not in a lucid state? Have you ever died in your dreams? Curious to read the responses

[Charles3]

My kids, hubby, family... well, shoot, let's just say everyone thinks my dreams are weird if not clinically suspicious and concerning. So, I thought I'd ask you good people here. When you dream (regular dreams, non-lucid), are you always yourself? If you're not yourself, are you always your gender or someone you know personally or through television? Have you ever been anything else (plant, animal, alien, inanimate object)? Do you dream in first person (like you're living the dream and seeing it through your eyes only, as in real life) or third (like watching a tv show) or something else? Can you create the dream even when not in a lucid state? Have you ever died in your dreams? Curious to read the responses Well first off don't let anyone tell you your dreams are "strange". There is really no such thing as a "strange" dream. Dreams can be anything. So don't let those matrix people try to make you think you need to be... "Modified" or something crazy like that. Whatever you dream, as long as you work on recalling it and building a relationship with those dreams, will be exactly what you're supposed to dream. I've been other people. I've had no body. I dream in both first and third person. I died in 2 dreams. In one I was shot. And I reappeared moments later in the same spot, gently took the gun from the person, and we talked more about how they were kid napping me. Nothing bad happened. Another time I was also shot. I think I just woke up or had a false awakening. Dreams don't fit in a box. Its not like some things are bad to dream and only certain things are OK. All dreams are OK.

[Zhaylin]

Thank you for the quick reply I wouldn't change my dreams for anything. I'd like to recall MORE. My kids are dreamers. It helps that I always spoke of my dreams when they were growing up and we shared them regularly. My hubby could care less lol. Even my kids, though, think my dreams are "bad". They joke that I should see a Dr. about getting medicine. My hubby tells me to be careful who I share my dreams with or someone will "lock me up" (in the funny farm). But I still love my dreams. Because of the reaction I get, I've always wondered, though, if there is something strange about my dreams. I once dreamed I was a star being born (planetary). I dreamed of being a bug, a wolf and a car Those are not "usual" for me though and each were one time only things that I cherished. I've dreamed of dying. The first time I was a kid (13-14 or so) and I thought it was weird because I was always told if you die in your dreams you die in real life I was squished my a train. I've died many other times since then, though that too is not usual. My typical dreams reflect my life- video games, conversations, my congregation and family. But I also character jump a lot in my dreams and sort of experience it through "different" eyes. Every month or so, I also have what I call "god-mode" dreams where I see a world and decide what's going to be built or grown or what peoples are going to move there. But I'm not aware I'm dreaming. It's sort of like playing Civilization and Farmville but through truer to life eyes.

[DawnEye11]

I agree with Charles. What you listed and described doesn't sound strange for it to be a dream. I've experienced the same things you guys have before. I recall this one time where I was a cup in a dream and this other time where I was a guy. Must be interesting/cool to take the form of a star. Dreams can be fun, silly, and perhaps cause you to feel strange but that doesn't mean your strange or that it shouldn't happen.

[Charles3]

Thank you for the quick reply I wouldn't change my dreams for anything. I'd like to recall MORE. Youre welcome. I want to recall more dreams too! Ha! My kids are dreamers. It helps that I always spoke of my dreams when they were growing up and we shared them regularly. My hubby could care less lol. Even my kids, though, think my dreams are "bad". They joke that I should see a Dr. about getting medicine. My hubby tells me to be careful who I share my dreams with or someone will "lock me up" (in the funny farm). Sorry to hear that. I don't think thats really a nice response. I'm sure people at dream views would like them But I still love my dreams. Because of the reaction I get, I've always wondered, though, if there is something strange about my dreams. I once dreamed I was a star being born (planetary). I dreamed of being a bug, a wolf and a car Those are not "usual" for me though and each were one time only things that I cherished. I've dreamed of dying. The first time I was a kid (13-14 or so) and I thought it was weird because I was always told if you die in your dreams you die in real life I was squished my a train. I've died many other times since then, though that too is not usual. Yep I think dying in real life from dying in a dream is a myth. My typical dreams reflect my life- video games, conversations, my congregation and family. But I also character jump a lot in my dreams and sort of experience it through "different" eyes. Every month or so, I also have what I call "god-mode" dreams where I see a world and decide what's going to be built or grown or what peoples are going to move there. But I'm not aware I'm dreaming. It's sort of like playing Civilization and Farmville but through truer to life eyes. Well I think you have a gift For cool dreams.

[tropicalbreeze]

The stranger the dreams the more fascinating. I have a really bad dream recall so i don't remember too much. Most times i dream in the first person, but there are times where i was watching myself in the dream. Or i've done things out of character, like killing people. I don't recall actually being dead in a dream. More like just about to die but awake just before death touches me.

[Zhaylin]

So sweet, Charles, thank you. My family doesn't mean anything by it. We're a sarcastic bunch My dreams have actually mellowed a bunch with age. I have a lot of zombie/parkour/terraforming dreams though because of the video games I play. Tropical, that's how a lot of death dreams are for most people (myself included). Usually, I jolt awake before death. But that train dream was something else. I was walking across a train trussle and couldn't get out of the way in time. The train ran me over and turned me into a pile of goo with my eyeballs remaining to take in the whole thing. I had that dream because my friends and I took a shortcut across the very same trussle and I was terrified the entire time. It was twice as high as the tallest trees, so we couldn't just step out of the way if we needed to.

[lucidbunnie]

As someone who is described as borderline insane by my psychiatrist I can assure you the kind of dreams you described are somewhat tame. I have experienced dreams in different perspectives, through different characters, as living beings, as inanimate objects, in time-dilation spanning years, felt pain, seen future events that had come true, and have even died several times. ^^'

[Zhaylin]

Thank you for sharing, LucidBunnie! The dreams my kids call me crazy over are more disturbing. The latest one was the house being on fire and I saw several of our cats badly burned and one of them was decapitated. One from last night was of changing a baby's diaper and it's insides were on the outside (kind of like it's been pushed inside-out,not from trauma or something- maybe it symbolizes truly explosive diahrea ? eww lol). I've had that dream several times before and it always shocks me awake. I frequently have zombie dreams where I vividly kill them and skin the zombie dogs (thanks to my video game). Those are very rarely "nightmares" to me. It's just an exciting adventure. I look forward to and love my dreams. The ones I don't like are where emotionally upset about something or scared- I'm lost; family members are injured or killed; I lose control while flying and get hurdled toward space; I'm having a heated argument with someone; my doll dream; when I'm "stuck" in a dream and can't get out until I fall asleep (in the dream lol); sleep paralasis/waking hallucination type dreams. Those are my nightmares, which just feels weird for the most part lol Visually, those dreams are extremely tame compared to the ones I enjoy. But I guess they trigger me on an emotional level.

[snoop]

My dreams go all over the place. I've been the opposite sex before, I've been people other than myself a handful of times, and about 25% of the time I'm just some sort of observing camera with no personality or selfhood. My dreams can also go from being mundane to being crazy/wild, fantastical, and at times even utterly bizarre or incoherent. More often than not they're rather fantastical but ultimately still coherent. Really I don't specifically go out of my way to LD any more because I average about 30 to 50 a year without putting in any real effort anymore anyway (my familiarity with the dream state and the hypnagogic state, both in how to utilize them when in them and in recognizing them by feel from all my effort put into and experiences of LDing in the past, usually wind up getting me lucid every month or so and get me a short spree of 3 to 5) and my dreams can often be so interesting on their own that I like having non-lucids almost more than having lucid ones. My friend, by contrast, says he almost exclusively dreams of doing regular life stuff that he'd normally do. His dreams are basically indistinguishable from his normal waking life. Honestly I find it a little strange dreams could in any way be considered clinically suspicious, lol. As if the types of dreams you have and the perspectives you have within the dream could be any real indication of something being wrong with you, haha. Then again, I suppose it's just my opinion that that notion sounds pretty ridiculous. Who am I to actually say it is, though? d:

[LeaningKarst]

In my own dreams, it’s quite normal for me to be someone else—almost always a human being, though everything else is variable. Sometimes it’s like being another person with a different set of memories— on rare occasions, someone famous or fictional. Sometimes it’s like being an observer who just happens to be seeing things from a particular person’s perspective. Sometimes I’m more like an actor playing the role of that person, either controlling all their behavior or just jumping in some of the time. A couple times, I’ve intentionally switched from being one person to another and then proceeded to act out their role—is this what you mean by character jumping?–all without realizing that I’m dreaming. It can be fascinating, although I’m pretty sure it’s why I never had much luck with DILDs. Waking-life habits like reality checks just don’t seem to carry through when you’re other people. I also have dreams where I’m a disembodied observer pretty regularly, but I don’t think I’ve ever had one where I was a plant or inanimate object. I have, however, been music, which is an amazing experience. And, unfortunately, one that’s pretty much impossible to describe. It would be interesting to know why people have such different dreaming styles. I’m sure some of it comes down to media influences, but as far as I can tell, my dream life has always been this way. The first dream I can remember was one where I was a different person, and that was from when I was only 4.

[Zhaylin]

Yeah, I feel sad for people who don't remember their dreams and those who just dream about the every day. As much as I hate to go to sleep, lol, I absolutely look forward to my dreams (though I do enjoy some more than others ) It's strange to me that there's this great divide. Okay, how many people here have had a long time love and fascination with dreaming? When did it begin? Maybe that's the reason for the divide? When I was about 4 years old, I had a nightmare about a lady in wheelchair, in a mansion type house and about my dad turning his eyelids inside out. When I was in kindergarten, I had a cartoonish dream that I was asleep in bed and there was a thought/dream bubble of me asleep in bed with another thought bubble of the same thing repeated until the image became too small to make out Because of those 2 dreams, I was hooked perhaps. As for clinically suspicious... I hold to the belief that the person we are in private is who we are despite the masks we might wear. What better way to glimpse at the heart and soul of a person than through their dreams. But I also believe that, sometimes a dream is just a dream If a person regularly has (and perhaps enjoys) dreams about torturing animals/raping/rampaging or other devious plots then perhaps that person should seek help ASAP. I don't know. So much influences our dreams. Which is another reason I love non-lucid dreams. I love piecing together the puzzle (as long as it's not outright symbolism. I hate outright symbolism and made a deal with my subconscious a LONG time ago NOT to feed me that crap if it wants me to understand something ) **EDIT** haha, you snuck in here while I was posting LeaningKarst. That music one does sound amazing!! And yeah, that's what I meant about the character jumping. My most memorable dream of that was of a war in Africa. I was both the black tribal people (women and men) as they were being slaughtered, as well as the white soldiers carrying out the attack. I'd jump from one person to the next as they died and fought and I felt the emotions of both factions. Usually such dreams aren't that dramatic. I'll just jump between 2-4 people and experience their side of the story. Most of the time it's like I'm possessing the person and I don't actively act out the role, I just observe and feel it. And DEFINITELY. Reality checks and the likes have always failed me for similar reasons. Even during flying dreams, everything unfolds in a true-to-reality fashion.

[Carrot]

I personally believe you can dream as anything that you've seen or experienced before. Because I spent too much time on the computer, I've dreamt as 3rd person, sometimes I don't even see myself in my dream, all I see is a computer screen. Sometimes I'm not the same gender, sometimes I'm not even human. The weirdest dream I had so far was where everything in my dream world was pixelated, and there was a huge cluster of pixels gathering together to form a pixel block, and it was just bouncing around, I'm not even sure where I am in this dream lol.

[Zhaylin]

I'd be curious to see how technology has influenced dreaming. I was always told you can't dream of something you've not experienced (maybe that's where the "you can't die in a dream" comes from). I think that would also include experiencing something through our imaginations. How much our dreams must have changed with our exposure to video games and movies. I'm certain mine have anyhow. Killing zombies, building worlds, parkouring dangerous terrain. Those aren't things I've ever experienced (or really even thought about) in the real world. My family hates/loves that I see every side to a situation. I can explain reasonings (albeit "unreasonable") behind some of the most terrible things. Even if I don't agree with something, I can get inside the mindset of almost anyone. Maybe that's why I character bounce so much.

[Carrot]

I was always told you can't dream of something you've not experienced (maybe that's where the "you can't die in a dream" comes from). I think that would also include experiencing something through our imaginations. I think many people have experienced death in a dream. The thing is we're not sure what happens after death, so some of us wake up after dying in a dream, or go to a new dream after we died in our previous dream. I've personally tried killing myself in LDs, although not very successful. The dream didn't want to let me die hahaha. How much our dreams must have changed with our exposure to video games and movies. I'm certain mine have anyhow. Killing zombies, building worlds, parkouring dangerous terrain. Those aren't things I've ever experienced (or really even thought about) in the real world. I don't think you have to physically experience something to dream about that. You can experience things from movies you've watched or books you've read. Your dream might be far from the real experience, but it will still feel real to you in your dreams. I also think it's common to dream about the things that you do/watch frequently, or dream about the last thing you've done/watched before you sleep.

[Zhaylin]

Heh, that's it exactly. For me anyhow. I do, indeed, either wake up or just bounce to a different dream when I die. With me sleeping so much lately, maybe I will try to LD and kill myself. It could be very interesting! I think I'll start with flying first... just to be sure I think that's why I enjoy dreams so much. I'm one of the most sedentary, boring people you could ever meet. I play a lot of video games and watch a lot of shows and movies. My dreams are the perfect outlet.

[Iluzjusz]

In my dreams, my character is often unknown. I mean, in my world, I have occasionally any information about myself. My supposes are based on environment. Where am I? Who is my intercolutor? What do I have? etc. For that reason I distinguish me as myself, or me as a "dream actor", like in game. And when I say "me" as for dreaming land, I mean offten my character, not myself. maybe I will try to LD and kill myself. It could be very interesting! I think I'll start with flying first... just to be sure When I fall in my LD, I just fell pain, lol. That is what I really expect after fall in LD xD I once broken my leg in LD, and that hurt

[Zhaylin]

Heh, yeah... when you can feel pain in dreams, it makes Reality Checks nearly impossible Even with flying dreams... since I was a kid and at an age that I didn't really understand gravity, it was always such work to get off the ground to fly. The closest thing it's like for me is like being at the bottom of a deep pool and having to push off from the bottom. There's the sensation of resistance and an urgency to hurry. With swimming, you hurry or you'll drown lol. But with flying, it's like you'll miss the perfect conditions required for lift.

[Iluzjusz]

Yea, RC with pain is useless for me. The worst dream scenario is, when I'm torturing, or when I'm in military conflict, and I can be shoot. So, when I do RC, I clog my nose, and try breath. That RC work for me in 100%

[Zhaylin]

I was about to say "What a great idea! I'll have to try that!" But then I remembered dreams in which I could breathe under water and at first, I'm confused, then my dream brain says 'You've always been able to breathe under water, don't you remember....' then the dream creates memories of life in this alternate world where such had always been possible

[EbbTide000]

Way back 2009 on another forum I woke from dreams where I would come out of the sea behind penguins. I'd rock-up the beach. On waking I realized I had been in a penguin's body. My kids, hubby, family... well, shoot, let's just say everyone thinks my dreams are weird if not clinically suspicious and concerning. So, I thought I'd ask you good people here. When you dream (regular dreams, non-lucid), are you always yourself? If you're not yourself, are you always your gender or someone you know personally or through television? Have you ever been anything else (plant, animal, alien, inanimate object)? Do you dream in first person (like you're living the dream and seeing it through your eyes only, as in real life) or third (like watching a tv show) or something else? Can you create the dream even when not in a lucid state? Have you ever died in your dreams? Curious to read the responses

[Iluzjusz]

I was about to say "What a great idea! I'll have to try that!" But then I remembered dreams in which I could breathe under water and at first, I'm confused, then my dream brain says 'You've always been able to breathe under water, don't you remember....' then the dream creates memories of life in this alternate world where such had always been possible My brain also try to explain me, this (something strange) is absolutely common. But I code into my mind, that clog nose is my personal RC, and if I try this, that mean I expect a dream, so I never had any false memories with that RC