# What do you think of dreams, are they prophetic or just the mind defragging?



## merlin (Apr 23, 2015)

Having just posted the thread on waking up, I wondered what were our thoughts on dreams. A long time ago I got involved in a dream interpretation group, which I found interesting and learnt to interpret dreams at a basic level. 

When studying Carl Jung, I took on board his theory of dreams being a way of communicating with the unconscious, and found this very valuable at that stage of my life.

These days I am not sure at all, as my dreams are usually pretty mundane and simple distortions or fantasies of my waking life.

I know there are many theories, and the scientific take is its just the brain sorting out all the various memories and daily experiences, but there is no proof of this.

What are your thoughts, or don't you dream or at least don't remember you have?


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## Ameriscot (Apr 23, 2015)

I remember many of my dreams, some are really weird.  I've read a wee bit of Jung. Some of mine are very deep, but I don't really try to analyze them any more.  Some are quite simple - I'm guaranteed to dream I can't find my passport(s) the night before a trip.


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## merlin (Apr 23, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> I remember many of my dreams, some are really weird.  I've read a wee bit of Jung. Some of mine are very deep, but I don't really try to analyze them any more.  Some are quite simple - I'm guaranteed to dream I can't find my passport(s) the night before a trip.



Yes Lisa has a recurring dream about losing her job, I guess these are based on inner fears, like you losing your passport. 
I used to have very complex and weird ones like you mention you have, and did have one recently, but couldn't be bothered to go into it really. I guess as you get older you tend to accept yourself more and just get on with life, living more in the moment, rather than dwelling on the deeper parts of our psyche


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## Ameriscot (Apr 23, 2015)

In the 90's I used to work on becoming lucid or having OBE's and that made me very aware of dreams.  Some were truly weird!  

And I have two passports I could lose!  I have to travel to the US using both. 

It's been a while but I occasionally have dreams that I'm late for work (haven't worked since 2007), am going for a job interview, or am beginning university.


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## hollydolly (Apr 23, 2015)

I could sit and write every morning about my dreams, they are very lucid, more nightmares than pleasant..and quite a few have been prophetic..


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## Ralphy1 (Apr 23, 2015)

My dreams are getting better all of the time, but, once again, I am to shy and sensitive to explain any further...


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## Ameriscot (Apr 23, 2015)

Uh huh.


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## merlin (Apr 23, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> In the 90's I used to work on becoming lucid or having OBE's and that made me very aware of dreams.  Some were truly weird!
> 
> And I have two passports I could lose!  I have to travel to the US using both.
> 
> It's been a while but I occasionally have dreams that I'm late for work (haven't worked since 2007), am going for a job interview, or am beginning university.



Yes I did work on lucid dreams in the '80s and do have a rare one from time to time, I have never had an OBE, but I did have an accidental odd experience the other day. 

I found some chocolate brownies in the freezer that had been their for longer than I care to guess. 
I defrosted them and ate a couple but later came to realise they were cannabis brownies :stupid: which I had forgotten making, as I am not into any of that these days. 
I subsequently went on an unplanned trip where the voice came came out of the radio, and I could see emails coming in without being near a computer. I could read them as well, but on checking later they were not real ones. For a moment I thought I had developed a new skill :cool1:

I must be careful in future to label things I put in the freezer :coffeelaugh:


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## hollydolly (Apr 23, 2015)

Ameriscot said:


> Uh huh.



:applause2::rofl:


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## Ralphy1 (Apr 23, 2015)

My dreams are better because you aren't in them...


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## Shalimar (Apr 23, 2015)

Holly, are you psychic? Many Scots are. My son's father is, it was a bit spooky, living with someone who just 'knew' stuff.


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## Ralphy1 (Apr 23, 2015)

I see a large net in your future...


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## Shalimar (Apr 23, 2015)

Do you mean fishnet stockings, Ralphy?


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## Ralphy1 (Apr 23, 2015)

Hmm, those would be cool, but I was thinking of something a little larger...


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## hollydolly (Apr 23, 2015)

Shalimar said:


> *Holly, are you psychic? *Many Scots are. My son's father is, it was a bit spooky, living with someone who just 'knew' stuff.



I dunno about many Scots being Psychic Shali, can't say I've heard of that, but certainly it's been suggested many times that I might be..


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## Ralphy1 (Apr 23, 2015)

Tell me what you see for me.  Hopefully, better treatment here...


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## Cookie (Apr 23, 2015)

These days I usually forget my dreams upon waking up, thank goodness. They are usually a wild mix of people, events and places, and its a relief to wake up and be back in my peaceful 'real' world.  When younger I sometimes had prophetic dreams, some very pleasant and some not. I once dreamed there would be a someone staying with us. And sure enough a day or two later my a friend's brother unexpectantly arrived and stayed for a week. Not very woo woo, but there it is.


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## Shalimar (Apr 23, 2015)

Thank God, Cookie, you are woo-woo enough as it is! Back to swimming in Glenfiddich I go, before I get 
poked in the tail with wicked knitting needles by Mama woo!


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## Rob (Apr 23, 2015)

I don't believe that dreams can be prophetic in the true sense, that would imply that the future is fixed and knowable. It also implies that there is nothing we can do to change it, our actions are predestined. A very dangerous philosophy indeed.

I believe that the subconscious mind can often perform feats of extrapolation based on our experiences and knowledge that we aren't even aware we possess at times. These manifest as dreams that, sometimes, appear to coincide with future events, the law of averages makes this so. Alternatively the dream is so vague as to permit multiple interpretations, which may or may not come to be. We remember these and think "Wow, I dreamed that". What we don't tend to remember is the many times that the dream does not pan out.

Likening the brain to hard drive is one way of looking at it, although huge, the storage capacity of the brain is NOT infinite and presumably some method of garbage removal is necessary.

Weird and illogical dreams, I think, sometimes, may be the result of us remembering several dreams and merging them together into a hodge-podge of unrelated dreams as we awaken.

When I, or anyone else, accurately dreams next week's lottery numbers and sends me the numbers in time to buy a card, then I'll believe in prophetic dreams.


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## Cookie (Apr 23, 2015)

Shalimar said:


> Thank God, Cookie, you are woo-woo enough as it is! Back to swimming in Glenfiddich I go, before I get
> poked in the tail with wicked knitting needles by Mama woo!



Shali, what has been going on while I've been quietly dreaming?  Swimming in Glenfiddich? I seem to have missed something. As soon as I finish my cup of tea, I'll be able to think of an appropriate witty response.  Til then I'm still in la-la-between waking and dream state..... zzzzzz.:yawning:


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## QuickSilver (Apr 23, 2015)

I don't have many dreams that make a whole lot of sense... just a jumble of scenes and conversations that I usually in some way can trace back to something that happened during the day.


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## Ralphy1 (Apr 23, 2015)

Well, now you can dream of me in manties...nthego:


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## Shalimar (Apr 23, 2015)

We would need a bathtub of booze to face that gruesome prospect, Ralphy. Shudder.


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## Ralphy1 (Apr 23, 2015)

Your loss, you just don't know what are you are missing, and I am thinking of getting some tats in strategic places to add to the excitement...


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## Shalimar (Apr 23, 2015)

Elephant tattoos are my favourite Ralphy.


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## QuickSilver (Apr 23, 2015)

What would have once accommodated the tattoo "MOTHER"...   now probably would just say "MA"


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## Glinda (Apr 23, 2015)

I've had some prophetic dreams, and many lucid dreams.  I'm not sure if a flying dream is considered an OBE but I have those regularly and love them.  I had one once where I flew up to northern California and joined some people having a picnic among the redwoods.  Very pleasant.  I often dream of loved ones and pets who have died.  It's wonderful to see them again.


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## Shalimar (Apr 23, 2015)

QuickSilver, you are a wonderfully evil woman!


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## Shalimar (Apr 23, 2015)

Glinda, twice I have had dreams where people appeared at the end of my bed to say goodbye. In both instances,  I  was informed the next day that the person had died.


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## Ralphy1 (Apr 23, 2015)

Not sure about the tats combined with the manties as it might cause some of the older gals to faint from the sheer pleasure of the sight...


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## QuickSilver (Apr 23, 2015)

Glinda said:


> I've had some prophetic dreams, and many lucid dreams.  I'm not sure if a flying dream is considered an OBE but I have those regularly and love them.  I had one once where I flew up to northern California and joined some people having a picnic among the redwoods.  Very pleasant.  I often dream of loved ones and pets who have died.  It's wonderful to see them again.



That's the only dream I believe prophetic.  My family always believed that if you dream of people who have died, they are actually contacting and communicating..  I have those dreams on occasions.


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## Shalimar (Apr 23, 2015)

More likely to die laughing Ralphy.lol.


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## Debby (Apr 23, 2015)

merlin said:


> Yes I did work on lucid dreams in the '80s and do have a rare one from time to time, I have never had an OBE, but I did have an accidental odd experience the other day.
> 
> I found some chocolate brownies in the freezer that had been their for longer than I care to guess.
> I defrosted them and ate a couple but later came to realise they were cannabis brownies :stupid: which I had forgotten making, as I am not into any of that these days.
> ...



A friend of ours had an OBE once.  He said it was the oddest sensation to realize that it was him laying in the bed beside his wife even as he stood at the foot of the bed and like all who have them, he said the whole feeling was one of more realism than he feels when he is awake.  His experience was a catalyst for me to begin reading all that I could find on the subject.  

Have you ever read the books by Robert Monroe?  Three books that chronicle his experiences with OBE's and it's his contention that the 'dreams' that we have are actually each individuals 'spirit/soul' or whatever, leaving our bodies for short periods while our mind is unconscious and I guess 'recharging' in an alternate dimension.  I guess sort of like the Star Trek folks taking a holiday on the hollideck (How do you spell that?).  Anyway, fascinating books and then there's Tom Campbell who's career in large part was spent as a NASA physicist, and was a compatriot of Robert Monroe's and set up the labs at the Monroe Institute in Virginia.  The Institute specializes in research into consciousness and is legitimate enough that the US military made use of their facilities and research at one point.   If you haven't already read Monroe's books and you enjoy a good 'adventure', I think you'd find his writings very intriguing.

As to the rest of your post, was it overall an interesting experience because it was unexpected or were you like that cop years ago who took some pot off people he stopped, baked it into brownies and then he and his wife ate too much and thought they were dead because 'times was going by really slowly'?


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## Cookie (Apr 23, 2015)

Debbie, I think I'll see if I can find Monroe's books. They sound intriguing.


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## Shalimar (Apr 23, 2015)

Debby, had a strange experience in my twenties when I was living with the Englishman. We were in bed one night and I was trying to astral travel while awake. Fell asleep, woke in the middle of the night to see my boyfriend (wearing his green pajamas) rising up toward the ceiling in front of the closet. It did not resemble the man I knew, but appeared like a wax-like being filled with smoke. I could see clearly , even though I was not wearing my glasses. As far as I am aware I had not been dreaming. I recall blinking my eyes to test for reality, then, bam, it was as if something shut off my consciousness, and I fell asleep until morning. Upon waking, first thing that came to mind was my experience, and the feeling I had witnessed something I was not ready to see. Never happened again, but my memory of sharply lingers. Who knows??


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## Cookie (Apr 23, 2015)

Debby said:


>



Debbie, that video is hilarious.  What a laugh!  Thank you, I really needed that.


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## Butterfly (Apr 23, 2015)

I dream, but most of them are more or less nonsense upon waking.  I often dream of being late for something important, or unable to find something I REALLY need.  Though I don't work anymore, a lot of my dreams involve working.


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## Shalimar (Apr 23, 2015)

Debby, omg! Hilarious!


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## Debby (Apr 23, 2015)

Glinda said:


> I've had some prophetic dreams, and many lucid dreams.  I'm not sure if a flying dream is considered an OBE but I have those regularly and love them.  I had one once where I flew up to northern California and joined some people having a picnic among the redwoods.  Very pleasant.  I often dream of loved ones and pets who have died.  It's wonderful to see them again.




People who have OBE's say they are totally different from dreams although you can do all the aerobatics or be somewhere in the blink of an eye of whatever.  They say when you have an OBE you know you are awake and your body is 'there' and still sleeping.  We have a friend who experienced that once and he says you pretty much know that it wasn't a dream.  

I had a lucid dream and I woke up from it within an instant of realizing that I was awake within my dream and it left me with the most interesting sense of peace throughout the next day.  Quite a pleasure really even though I didn't get to experience much during the 'dream'.


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## ~Lenore (Apr 23, 2015)

*I prefer not to dream.*


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## Debby (Apr 23, 2015)

Cookie said:


> Debbie, I think I'll see if I can find Monroe's books. They sound intriguing.




Try looking for them on Abe Books.  That's an online site for used books (and some new) and I find that it's sometimes a bit cheaper than Amazon.  And you should pick up the set and start with the first one which is called Journey's Out of the Body.  That one deals with the first months of the experience and how it impacted him and how he began to understand and explore the OB experience.  The next is called Far Journeys and the last, The Ultimate Journey and they all build on one another.  He made a point, right from the beginning to take notes and keep journals of each experience.  Sort of a non-professional scientist which ultimately led him to working with a young, recently graduated physicist, Tom Campbell.  I think you won't be disappointed if you read them and if you've an open mind and consider the ramifications of what he suggests......seriously mind blowing.  Anyway, hope you like them as much as I do.


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## Debby (Apr 23, 2015)

Shalimar said:


> Debby, omg! Hilarious!




I know, wasn't that just too funny!  I'm still chuckling over his last words!  Aside from loosing his job, I'll bet he still gets ribbed about that.  Poor guy, he'll never escape


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## merlin (Apr 24, 2015)

Debby said:


> A friend of ours had an OBE once.  He said it was the oddest sensation to realize that it was him laying in the bed beside his wife even as he stood at the foot of the bed and like all who have them, he said the whole feeling was one of more realism than he feels when he is awake.  His experience was a catalyst for me to begin reading all that I could find on the subject.
> 
> Have you ever read the books by Robert Monroe?  Three books that chronicle his experiences with OBE's and it's his contention that the 'dreams' that we have are actually each individuals 'spirit/soul' or whatever, leaving our bodies for short periods while our mind is unconscious and I guess 'recharging' in an alternate dimension.  I guess sort of like the Star Trek folks taking a holiday on the hollideck (How do you spell that?).  Anyway, fascinating books and then there's Tom Campbell who's career in large part was spent as a NASA physicist, and was a compatriot of Robert Monroe's and set up the labs at the Monroe Institute in Virginia.  The Institute specializes in research into consciousness and is legitimate enough that the US military made use of their facilities and research at one point.   If you haven't already read Monroe's books and you enjoy a good 'adventure', I think you'd find his writings very intriguing.
> 
> As to the rest of your post, was it overall an interesting experience because it was unexpected or were you like that cop years ago who took some pot off people he stopped, baked it into brownies and then he and his wife ate too much and thought they were dead because 'times was going by really slowly'?



I didn't actually like the trip Debbie, partly because it was not planned and kinda messed up my day, but also I never really got on with cannabis and have only tried it a half dozen times over the past 20 years. I can't smoke it, because I have never smoked so I just can't inhale without choking. I didn't ever get the stoned feeling which people talk about, only weird trips.

On the other hand when I grew and used psilocybin mushrooms about ten years ago, I had many trips and a couple of bad ones which stopped me using them in the end. I found the beautiful visual effects of scrambling your brain and the timeless periods of extreme peace when coming down wonderful.
Funnily enough I still have a block of psilocybin chocolate in the freezer somewhere  though no desire to use it.

The only drug I use now is alcohol in the form of beer, and vodka/gin/cognac at times when in Russia mainly (I think) because its cheaper than soft drinks there.  The calming floaty effect that alcohol gives me I do like, even though I know its really a poison and a depressant!! I didn't start drinking until I was in my 50s so I guess my liver will see me out 

Having wandered off the subject a bit, back to OBE;  I studied in a local dream group for a while in the 80/90s and then trained as a spiritual healer with the NFSH during the early '80s, working mainly with people having terminal cancer. 

During this time I was exposed to a lot of the ideas you mentioned about our spirits leaving the body and the connections we all have to one another etc. 
I was immersed in a heady spiritual world which brought me into contact with many lovely and interesting people, as well as mentally unstable ones 

Having a very strong left brain I slip out of my spiritual side and into the physical world all too easily. I am on a sort of plateau of easy living in the physical realm at the moment, with an underlying restlessness for reasons unknown. 

Thank you Debby for the reading recommendations, I am not familiar with either Robert Monroe or Tom Campbell, I will look into their books, maybe I am ready for a good adventure nthego:

The video was hilarious, thanks for that!!


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## Debby (Apr 24, 2015)

Shalimar said:


> Debby, had a strange experience in my twenties when I was living with the Englishman. We were in bed one night and I was trying to astral travel while awake. Fell asleep, woke in the middle of the night to see my boyfriend (wearing his green pajamas) rising up toward the ceiling in front of the closet. It did not resemble the man I knew, but appeared like a wax-like being filled with smoke. I could see clearly , even though I was not wearing my glasses. As far as I am aware I had not been dreaming. I recall blinking my eyes to test for reality, then, bam, it was as if something shut off my consciousness, and I fell asleep until morning. Upon waking, first thing that came to mind was my experience, and the feeling I had witnessed something I was not ready to see. Never happened again, but my memory of sharply lingers. Who knows??




Wow, that sounds really interesting!  It's also interesting how those kinds of 'moments' stay with you for decades isn't it?  Years ago, I had a dream that I was in a semi darkened place, sitting on a small stool and there seemed to be a few people standing in the shadows.  'Someone' shot me in the right side of my head and I tipped off the stool.  What was interesting about the whole thing was that I was absolutely unafraid and indeed felt extremely peaceful about the whole situation.  The memory of it comes back constantly and I still feel peaceful about it.


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## Shalimar (Apr 24, 2015)

Debby, I am probably out there, but the first thing that came to mind was execution for crimes committed, perhaps a karma thing? Not inconceivable  to feel peaceful, although odd.


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## Shalimar (Apr 24, 2015)

Debby, another thought, perhaps a heroic death to protect others? Could also elicit the same response. Oh the 
possibilities!


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## Ameriscot (Apr 24, 2015)

QuickSilver said:


> That's the only dream I believe prophetic.  My family always believed that if you dream of people who have died, they are actually contacting and communicating..  I have those dreams on occasions.



I have those quite often and I like think that's what's happening.  I dream about my mother who died in '98 and grandmother who died in '91.  

When I quit smoking I dreamed I was smoking.  After menopause I dreamed I was pregnant or had a new baby.


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## QuickSilver (Apr 24, 2015)

I had a dream about a long deceased friend last night..  So I guess he was visiting..  I wonder why.  I haven't thought about him for years.


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## Cookie (Apr 24, 2015)

Sorry ladies, I just couldn't resist.  Remember these commercials?


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## Shalimar (Apr 24, 2015)

Yikes! You could poke your eye out with that bra.


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## Cookie (Apr 24, 2015)

Just don't get your eyes in the way, honeybunny.  LOL


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## Ameriscot (Apr 24, 2015)

Ahaha!  I remember those!


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## Pappy (Apr 24, 2015)

Pretty mild compared to Victoria's Secrets ads on TV.


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## Cookie (Apr 24, 2015)

Not hijacking the thread, just since we were on the subject of 'Dreams', thought was ironically amusing.


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## Lon (Apr 24, 2015)

My dreams are usually replays of actual things and events that I was a part of.


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## debodun (Feb 18, 2018)

I have recurring disturbing dreams either about something going wrong in the house, or my computer isn't working properly. These have a weird way of becoming reality, but not in the exact context of the dream. For instance, I may dream the roof gets blown off the house, then a few days later the drain will back up. If I dream my computer is on the fritz, something may go wrong with my car. Go figure.

I still have dreams where my mom and I are out looking for garage sales. I also dream of finding money just laying on the ground or a sidewalk, but it's not ordinary money, usually some rare coins or such.


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## Camper6 (Feb 18, 2018)

There was one dream I had that had me bending up my leg and cutting a corn off that has been bothering me.

I tried it.  Couldn't get it halfway.

Most of my dreams are having lost something or losing myself and trying to find my way home. Or trying to find my car.

For some reason I am always in a scrapyard making my way through debris.

I'm always glad to wake up.


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## hearlady (Feb 18, 2018)

It always baffles me when I dream about someone I sat in front of in third grade. Someone obscure I haven't thought of in many many years. Why do they come up?
If I have some place important to go I often dream that I just can't get ready. My hair is wet, two different shoes, etc. I've heard that is preparing yourself and you will be ready.
Another is I'm in school and I have no idea what I am studying. I am totally unprepared and have missed all assignments. I am way behind and perplexed.


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## Toomuchstuff (Feb 18, 2018)

My dreams are totally  bizarre .... the total opposite of my true personality !


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## chic (Feb 18, 2018)

Sometimes my dreams are prophetic but mostly they reveal what's troubling me most.


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## Camper6 (Feb 18, 2018)

i think it's our fears in a replay but a different scenario. Who hasn't forgotten where they left something.?


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## Camper6 (Feb 19, 2018)

~Lenore said:


> *I prefer not to dream.*



Everyone dreams.  It's part of sleep.  It's just that some people don't remember the dreams when they wake up.


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## Ruthanne (Feb 19, 2018)

There are so very many dream theories.  Freud said they were the "royal road to the subconscious."  Sometimes if you look at various parts of a dream you will find similarities in them to what is happening in your life in some aspect.  Other times I do think the mind is defragging or regenerating.


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