Dream world style

[Vampireboy]

Hey guys The question I want to pose today, and it's more aimed towards the experienced amongst us, is that do your dream worlds seem to have a consistent style? Does the world you inhabit, the buildings, clothing and other items always have the same style, or does it seem to be an entirely random collection with no coherence? I was thinking about this the other day and how some dreams seem to be fairly realistic in their styling, where as others seem to be completely off the wall and random. I guess this question is fairly similar to one I saw elsewhere on the forum (too lazy to link it in, YOLO such a rebel) asking whether dreams and the worlds you create can continue on through several dreams. As always thoughts and comments appreciated

[dutchraptor]

There are so much styles and influences in dreams that it really does seem entirely random but there is one thing which is almost always the same in common non-lucids, the world is real to yourself and everyone around you. While non-lucids can be fun, they always have that similar feel because no one acknowledges the dream world. Since you are in the dream and you are just doing what you think is normal you miss out on alot of cool dream content. However in lucid dreams there truly is no style, in all my lucids the only times things stay the same is when I specifically remember to change them. I'm not surprised considering how much memories and things we go through every day.

[Vampireboy]

So generally everything still seems fairly realistic and normal compared to your every day waking life? Within my dreams in general they seem to revolve around being in large American-block style cities (which is weird as I'm British, not American) or sophisticated high class balls and parties, and sometimes a mix of the two psychoanalyse that

[dutchraptor]

haha wouldn't know how to, I seem to have alot of dreams of high rise american cities too and I live in the countryside

[Vampireboy]

Perhaps watching too much Inception is the cause?

[Taffy]

My dreams are always... Painfully boring. I want to dream about being somewhere cool for once, school, towns and cities are not exactly "fun." So to answer your question, yeah, my dream world is pretty much the same every time, and almost identical to the real world.

[Iokheira]

Most every place in my dreams is kind of gritty and grungy, like a filter in a movie or something. I have a lot of beautiful landscapes, oceans, and all that, but cities are gritty. I guess it fits the theme though, because most cities in my dreams are broken down or post-apocalypse or dystopian. Also colors are either really muted and dark, or super saturated and amazing to look at. I haven't had many lucids, but when I do it's about the same style as the dream before (I've only DILDed)

[Vampireboy]

So do we tend to get alot of realistic looking landscapes? No Dali/Escher style nonsense?

[Iokheira]

Oh, my sister has tons of that crap. But mine are realistic.

[Vampireboy]

Would you rather it were realistic?

[Iokheira]

Sometimes, it's usually more the storyline and what happens that makes my dreams interesting rather than the location. However such a creative landscape would be fun to play around in, and amazing to see.

[CharlesD]

A common theme in mine is that scale always seems too small. I'll be at a sporting event and the field isn't really big enough, like a soccer match on a field the size of a basketball court, or a historical battle taking place on a field the size of my back yard. I'll be swimming and reach the other end of the pool in about four strokes.

[Vampireboy]

Is that whilst Lucid CharlesD? Either way that's fairly odd, but I think it's just another way of the dream world seeming slightly off once we examine it with any real intention. However I've never experienced scale being a problem before I guess this coincides more with my goals as a relatively inexperienced Lucid dreamer (exploring the dreamscape, interacting with whoever or whatever I find, changing very little), but I would prefer more creative landscapes. It compensates for my inexperience at changing the dream myself, I can see the appeal of keeping things fairly normal though

[TwoCrystalCups]

It looks like reality as much as possible.

[dutchraptor]

As others have said, the style of lucid dream seems to majorly fit into what dream you had previously but Im able to change the style of lucid dreams quite easily, so it is not defined exactly. In some of my lucid dreams I like to walk into tv's or pictures and I can see the cartoon or dramatic movie style around me.

[Vampireboy]

If you had the complete choice to pick, which would you prefer? surely realism can get awfully dull after spending all day in it?

[Sageous]

So do we tend to get alot of realistic looking landscapes? No Dali/Escher style nonsense? I always get amused/annoyed watching movies, viewing art, or reading about dreams, and all they can do is make the dreams appear utterly surreal with impossible or terribly disfigured landscapes and characters. Trouble is, though these images might be remembered upon waking as surreal, during the Non-lucid dream they're perfectly realistic. Normal, non-lucid dreams are always described by how they are remembered, with waking-life experience intruding to "interpret" the experience. As someone said above, when you're not lucid, everything in the dream seems perfectly real and in the right place, with all detail exactly as it should be. Surreal is literally impossible, because as a Dream Character yourself, you are part of the reality in which your dreaming mind has placed you, and as such you "belong," and everything just seems right.. When lucid we can notice that the picture isn't as perfect as we thought, but expectation and interest in staying lucid makes LD'ers able to "accept" the oddness. If an LD'er demands that everything to be waking-life real, they often wind up with gray, simple schemas and sort of dull DC's. Of course, the other side of this is that if the LD'er remembers that the dream world is her own, she also knows that an open mind and vivid imagination will bring her all the surrealism she can conjure, and more! P.S.: before you all note them, I agree that there are exceptions to every rule...

[Vampireboy]

I think that's probably why I like things such as Escher or the film Inception, it's realistic but with a hint of the surreal that makes it dream like even if they aren't about dreams (sorry to bring it up again, but I am a fan ) I get what you mean though, either all these artists and directors are hogging all the good dreams or they've never dreamed in their lives ..

[TwoCrystalCups]

If you had the complete choice to pick, which would you prefer? surely realism can get awfully dull after spending all day in it? No, my waking life is very different than dream life, but my dreams looks realistic. I see different people and places everyday in dreams, unlike in real when it comes to places.

[Vampireboy]

Do you tend to follow the flow of the dream as it is? Or are you more of a fan of going off and doing your own thing?

[Iokheira]

If you had the complete choice to pick, which would you prefer? surely realism can get awfully dull after spending all day in it? Not really, because while my dreams are styled realistically that doesn't mean that they are the same as waking life. I never see shelled-out buildings in real life, but if I did, my dream is how it would look like. I've never been on a spaceship, but if I was, it would probably look more or less the same (just more cramped). Just because stuff isn't floating around everywhere and twisted in impossible ways doesn't mean my dreams are styled like Camazotz or anything I guess the big question here is whether or not you'd be happy in whatever world you create for yourself. If you're not, I wouldn't exactly be surprised if your dreams changed accordingly. And lucids are so exciting in themselves, the landscape takes more of a backseat. While that will probably change in time, it's not the reason I want to have LDs.

[Vampireboy]

Perhaps in a way having a really wacky world to inhabit would take away some of the impact of having a LD, being set somewhere so realistic might make your abilities and powers even more appealing and interesting. They would contrast more heavily in a realistic setting, as opposed to somewhere where everything is already off the wall

[Vampireboy]

Saying that, what is more fun in people's opinions, keeping your dream powers to a minimum to keep things somewhat realistic? Or using them at will whenever you like? Also thanks guys, 1000 Hall points, woo?

[CharlesD]

Is that whilst Lucid CharlesD? No, normally just non lucids, and not all the time, but enough to be a dream sign.

[Vampireboy]

Lucky you've got such a distinct dream sign, some can be rather obtuse and afraid to present themselves