Watching an old film centred on various people’s dreams. One fellow’s dream includes an extensive scene featuring his wife’s experiences, in which he himself is not present.

Thinking about it, I can’t recall any dream of mine that wasn’t “first person”. Anyone here had a dream in which they’re not there?

Bubblecar said:

Watching an old film centred on various people’s dreams. One fellow’s dream includes an extensive scene featuring his wife’s experiences, in which he himself is not present.

Thinking about it, I can’t recall any dream of mine that wasn’t “first person”. Anyone here had a dream in which they’re not there?

Yes, I’ve had several (probably fewer than 10 in my life.) I’ve also had a dream my brother shared, from different perspectives (me from mine, him from his.)

I dream quite a lot about other people. I’m not always aware of myself.

btm said:

I’ve also had a dream my brother shared, from different perspectives (me from mine, him from his.)

Same here.

I often observe events that don’t involve myself but I’m still “there” to observe them, even if I’m watching them on a screen or whatever.

As for shared dreams, in my teens I remember the immediately younger sister and I both had a dream about The Patty Duke Show, on the same night. Ditto my Mum & I with a dream about a comet.

> Thinking about it, I can’t recall any dream of mine that wasn’t “first person”. Anyone here had a dream in which they’re not there?

Yes, many. So many that I’ve been able to put together a hierarchy of such dreams.

To put things in historical perspective, I had a period of stagnation (in which my dreams were minor and black and white) followed by a period of intense grief following the death of my daughter. The emotion was sufficient for me to be put in a mental hospital for two weeks and, more startling, also had significant physiological changes – my eyesight improved by 1 dioptre in both eyes, my feet which had previously been of different lengths became the same length, I grew taller. These physiological changes can all be linked to a sudden reduction in muscular stress.

Anyway, that’s background. During this same period I started having extremely vivid and memorable dreams, initially while awake, initially in psychedelic colour which slowly faded over time. The hierarchy of dreams, from most abstract to most normal were:
1. Geometric shapes, eg. geodesic dome, crystal, deep ocean, vortex, valley of the shadow, floating.
2. Geometric shapes with animals that looked as if they’d been constructed using software, flying, swooping and swimming effortlessly, beauty, waves.
3. Gods (eg. Jesus) and Jungian archetypes.
4. Other people.
5. Dreams involving myself.

The dream you’re describing, “One fellow’s dream includes an extensive scene featuring his wife’s experiences, in which he himself is not present” is just one level up from normal.

mollwollfumble said:

> Thinking about it, I can’t recall any dream of mine that wasn’t “first person”. Anyone here had a dream in which they’re not there?

Yes, many. So many that I’ve been able to put together a hierarchy of such dreams.

To put things in historical perspective, I had a period of stagnation (in which my dreams were minor and black and white) followed by a period of intense grief following the death of my daughter. The emotion was sufficient for me to be put in a mental hospital for two weeks and, more startling, also had significant physiological changes – my eyesight improved by 1 dioptre in both eyes, my feet which had previously been of different lengths became the same length, I grew taller. These physiological changes can all be linked to a sudden reduction in muscular stress.

Anyway, that’s background. During this same period I started having extremely vivid and memorable dreams, initially while awake, initially in psychedelic colour which slowly faded over time. The hierarchy of dreams, from most abstract to most normal were:
1. Geometric shapes, eg. geodesic dome, crystal, deep ocean, vortex, valley of the shadow, floating.
2. Geometric shapes with animals that looked as if they’d been constructed using software, flying, swooping and swimming effortlessly, beauty, waves.
3. Gods (eg. Jesus) and Jungian archetypes.
4. Other people.
5. Dreams involving myself.

The dream you’re describing, “One fellow’s dream includes an extensive scene featuring his wife’s experiences, in which he himself is not present” is just one level up from normal.

I’m going to change that sequence a bit.

1. Abstract geometric shapes, eg. geodesic dome, crystal, deep ocean, vortex, floating.
2. Landscapes and animals that looked as if they’d been constructed using software, flying, swooping and swimming effortlessly, beauty, waves, dappled light.
3. “Near-death experience”, Gods (eg. Jesus)
4. Jungian archetypes, non-Jungian archetypes.
5. Dreams involving only other people.
6. Dreams involving myself.

Do remember what drugs they were giving you at the time, mollwoll?

Yeah I have had a few dreams that were like watching a movie but it is not the norm, for me.

It is clear that we all remember more about our dreams than we’d imagine, when we think about it.

roughbarked said:

It is clear that we all remember more about our dreams than we’d imagine, when we think about it.

I don’t understand what you mean.

I remember about as much about my dreams as I imagine.

dv said:

roughbarked said:

It is clear that we all remember more about our dreams than we’d imagine, when we think about it.

I don’t understand what you mean.

I remember about as much about my dreams as I imagine.

Was probably sloshing my hand around in the bucket of words and not finding the right ones again.

1. Abstract geometric shapes, eg. geodesic dome, crystal, deep ocean, vortex, floating.
2. Landscapes and animals that looked as if they’d been constructed using software, flying, swooping and swimming effortlessly, beauty, waves, dappled light.
3. “Near-death experience”, Gods (eg. Jesus)
4. Jungian archetypes, non-Jungian archetypes.
5. Dreams involving only other people.
6. Dreams involving myself.

If you don’t know what a “non-Jungian archetype” is, think “angels and demons”, but with a complex ideology and vocabulary. For reliable interpretation of dreams involving only other people I found holistic interpretation of dreams using Adler’s method essential, Freudian and Jungian interpretation wasn’t good enough.

Do you remember what drugs they were giving you at the time, mollwoll?

Yes, none. Not even an aspirin. Was undergoing hypnotherapy, which loosened a few personal inhibitions.

I remember about as much about my dreams as I imagine.

I also learnt the best way to remember dreams. After waking up stay absolutely still with eyes wide open. Don’t shut your eyes even for a second, and don’t move for anywhere between 2 and 5 minutes. By that time you will have remembered most of the dream – write it down immediately in a notebook without getting out of bed, more details will come to you as you write. After a bit of practice, each dream would fill up two to three pages of the notebook – and I write small.

I finally gave up on Adlerian dream interpretation when I struck a dream that required more than an hour and a half to analyse – I no longer had that much spare time.