Dream interpretation

mitosis

Am curious to know how to interpret a disturbing recent recurring dream - what are the subconscious messages it is trying to impart.

I dream that I awake suddenly from peaceful sleep to find I am in an upper corner of my bedroom, looking down at myself (and partner) in bed. We are sleeping peacefully.

On my chest is a small pale humanoid form, tiny like 3-4" tall, sitting, and drawing out with its hand what looks thick misty gossamer from about my sternum. It seems to be eating the whatever it is. When it sees me watching it stops and I wake up. Sometimes it goes on for a few minutes before it notices me watching, sometimes a few seconds only.

I've had this dream 4 or 5 times in the last month or so, and always when I wake up I feel tired, like I've been out for a run and it takes a few hours to recover.

JuliusCaesar

mitosis wrote: »

Am curious to know how to interpret a disturbing recent recurring dream - what are the subconscious messages it is trying to impart.....

always when I wake up I feel tired, like I've been out for a run and it takes a few hours to recover.

Depends entirely on which branch of psychoanalysis/therapy you believe in; depends on what your idea of dreaming and the function of dreaming is.

Here's part of an abstract from Revonsuo, who's done quite a lot of research in the area:

Abstract: Several theories claim that dreaming is a random by-product of REM sleep physiology and that it does not serve any natural function. Phenomenal dream content, however, is not as disorganized as such views imply. The form and content of dreams is not random but organized and selective: during dreaming, the brain constructs a complex model of the world in which certain types of elements, when compared to waking life, are underrepresented whereas others are over represented. Furthermore, dream content is consistently and powerfully modulated by certain types of waking experiences. On the basis of this evidence, I put forward the hypothesis that the biological function of dreaming is to simulate threatening events, and to rehearse threat perception and threat avoidance.

Hartman explains the Contemporary Theory of Dreaming:

Thus we consider a possible (though certainly not proven) function of a dream to be weaving new material into the memory system in a way that both reduces emotional arousal and is adaptive in helping us cope with further trauma or stressful events.

Hobson, on the other hand, holds that the function of dreams is physiological, not psychological:

According to Dr J. Allan Hobson, the major function of the rapid eye movement (REM) sleep associated with dreams is physiological rather than psychological. During REM sleep the brain is activated and "warming its circuits" and is anticipating the sights, sounds and emotions of the waking state. Dr Hobson said the idea explains a lot, and likened it to jogging. The body does not remember every step of a jog, but it knows it has exercised, and in the same way we do not remember many of our dreams, but our minds have been tuned for conscious awareness. Hobson said dreams represent a parallel consciousness state that is running continuously, but which is normally suppressed while the person is awake.

Me? I'd say people dream about five times a night, and only remember the dream they woke up from. And also, if you have an anxiety-provoking dream, then you experienced anxiety with all its physiological correlates (adrenaline burst, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure etc) so no wonder you are tired when you wake up - your body has worked hard in the night.

(Is there a subconscious? - this whole topic is very debatable... let's see what others respond.)

krd

mitosis wrote: »

On my chest is a small pale humanoid form, tiny like 3-4" tall, sitting, and drawing out with its hand what looks thick misty gossamer from about my sternum. It seems to be eating the whatever it is. When it sees me watching it stops and I wake up. Sometimes it goes on for a few minutes before it notices me watching, sometimes a few seconds only.

It's not a dream. When the fairy eats all the gossamer, you die.

Are you experiencing anything else weird?.....Like paralysis, do you feel a pressure on your chest?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

It's an experience some people have, some never have, but it's the root of lot of "supernatural" experiences, and alien abductions.

It's generally different from ordinary dream experiences, so it scares the bejayus out of people.

Lots of common characteristics, something sitting on your chest would be one.

Does your fairy look anything like this?




Sorry, just joking about the sleep paralysis thing - you ARE GOING DIE!!!!

Happy Halloween

MissMoppet

I keep having dreams where I'm pregnant/ or have a baby. Not Impressed..

mitosis

krd wrote: »

It's not a dream. When the fairy eats all the gossamer, you die.

Are you experiencing anything else weird?.....Like paralysis, do you feel a pressure on your chest?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis

It's an experience some people have, some never have, but it's the root of lot of "supernatural" experiences, and alien abductions.

It's generally different from ordinary dream experiences, so it scares the bejayus out of people.

Lots of common characteristics, something sitting on your chest would be one.

Does your fairy look anything like this?




Sorry, just joking about the sleep paralysis thing - you ARE GOING DIE!!!!

Happy Halloween

The "fairy" looks like a little (4" - 5") tall person with a slightly larger head than scale. It's not particularly ugly, like your pic. I don't feel a weight on my chest, or sleep paralysis.

mitosis

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

Depends entirely on which branch of psychoanalysis/therapy you believe in; depends on what your idea of dreaming and the function of dreaming is.

I don't know if I believe in any branch of psychoanalysis in particular. It just seems reasonable to me that my subconscious could be trying to communicate something to me. I wish it could just leave a note

I posted here because the alternative board for posting for interpretation is Sleeping and Dreaming, which seems to be populated by "spiritual" types - and I don't believe in any of that stuff.

krd

mitosis wrote: »

The "fairy" looks like a little (4" - 5") tall person with a slightly larger head than scale. It's not particularly ugly, like your pic. I don't feel a weight on my chest, or sleep paralysis.

Your description of the little fairy eating gossamer, I've heard that before. Which doesn't mean there is a fairy - it means it's a common experience. And the experience is so common that in the past people did believe in fairies - today they believe in alien abduction.

Sleep paralysis is the more scary end of it. You are actually semi-conscious and hallucinating. And paralysed. And then you can have cultural variations to the experience - but there's similarities. In Europe you have experiences of the old hag - waking up paralysed and being tormented by a terrifying old witch. And this is probably where the idea of witches came from. In Asia you have something very similar. It's very common. People don't talk about it because they're afraid of getting locked up. The thing is, the experiences are all the same, and all utterly meaningless.


As for the whole idea of dream analysis. In psychoanalysis the idea starts in earnest with Karl Jung. Jung believed all the wild and crazy things that can happen in dreams were metaphors for other things - which may have a little truth in it. But then many things may happen in dreams that are not metaphors for anything and have no real meaning, and just be caused by cheese.


Your little fairy, probably means absolutely nothing. But, I have a feeling, if you were under a lot of stress in your life, and experiencing some kind of anxiety, that fairy would transform itself into a wicked witch and try to break your bones and rip your heart out.

mitosis

Nice pics, krd. Why is there a horse peering through the curtains?

No paralysis, not even particularly disturbed by the dream, it's just odd that it is new and recurring. I don't drink, so it's not alcohol induced, nor do I eat a large meal near bed time. It is interesting, though, that you say it is common. I wonder is there some kind of shared cultural mythology that exists on an unconscious level, because I don't recall ever hearing of this particular experience before.

krd

mitosis wrote: »

Why is there a horse peering through the curtains?

You've heard of a night-mare?

Since we don't have many horses around us anymore, we don't dream about them.

No paralysis, not even particularly disturbed by the dream,

No, but you're getting the out of body experience.

it's just odd that it is new and recurring. I don't drink, so it's not alcohol induced, nor do I eat a large meal near bed time.

I tried looking up statistics for this before. And roughly it's half of people get the experience at some time in their life - it comes and goes. And they're are a small number of people who get it all the time. It could be a slight change in brain chemistry - and it's not really caused by anything.

And cheese dreams. It's not any ordinary cheese. Some fungus is hallucinogenic - so some weird mouldy cheese can give you a strange experience.

It is interesting, though, that you say it is common. I wonder is there some kind of shared cultural mythology that exists on an unconscious level, because I don't recall ever hearing of this particular experience before.

You haven't heard of the experiences, but you have heard of fairies and elves. It's hard to know which comes first.

Does the fairy on your chest give you a funny wide-eyed look when it notices you looking at it?

magicherbs

I would like to discuss this with you KRD when you are unblocked.