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Why do I dream of things that don’t exist?

I’ve been thinking about this for a while and I still don’t understand how or why my mind does this.

Aside from the weird, nonsensical stuff that happens in dreams, like being blown away by the blinding shockwave of some faraway alien weapon, or stumbling upon a tsunami in a random street, I sometimes dream of places that seem totally normal, like streets and buildings and malls and stores. Nothing really crazy happens, I just wander in these places for a while and the dream switches to something totally different and more nonsensical.

Most of the time, these places seem like they could exist somewhere in the world. However, at times I would go through streets near where I live and they’d be like in real life except for a couple of buildings that don’t fit at all, like a police academy or an alley with trees. At other times the place would be much less realistic like a small town with one main street built alongside the edge of a cliff. Lastly, there are times where the scene is simply impossible to happen in real life, like me being in a train with transparent floor and which passes high above a large river with waterfalls on the sides and mountains in the distance. I could see the scenery below just by looking at my feet.

I feel like words fail me to describe how these places and sceneries look. In any case I’m really fascinated by what I see in my dreams and I started taking notes of these places because there are so many of them and I want to remember them. Some of them could totally be used in a medium like a novel or a video game. It's like getting inspiration from an unknown place. Right now I’m recalling some other old weird sceneries as I’m typing this words. I’d love to re-experience these dreams and explore these places thoroughly.

On top of that, sometimes I also randomly recall a scenery that I dreamed of years ago and had completely forgotten. It’s like everything I ever dreamed of since childhood is still locked somewhere within the depths of my mind. I’d love to access all these weird dreams (should I do DMT? probably a bad idea).

Aside from imaginary locations, I also sometimes dream of media that don’t exist. For example, last night I dreamed of being in a supermarket and checking the magazines and books section. I remember one manga with a character I never saw before, a rough-looking young man in grey baggy clothes, drawn in a style reminiscent of Akira. There was also what seemed to be a special issue of a video game magazine from the late 90s and it had articles and screenshots about PS1-era JRPGs that don’t exist. Graphics looked a bit like Suikoden I/II. One screenshot I remember has some characters were standing before a gate. There were screenshots and character sprites. One character I remember was a graceful woman with long blue hair and a dark purple dress and hat. Art style was typical 90s stuff, except that it was a sprite. This was like glimpsing at an alternate universe where different video games exist. I wish I could recall more of that stuff.

So can anyone enlighten me? How does my brain come up with stuff that doesn’t exist? Why does it even bother creating these imaginary places and media? Am I thinking too much about this?

TL;DR: I sometimes dream of places and media (like video games) that don’t exist and I’m wondering if somebody has an explanation for that.
 
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Yeah bruv thats normal its called the inner mind or subconsciousness.
Sure but what are the critera by which the mind decides that tonight's place is gonna be say a mall or a library instead of a downtown street? And what's the point of it all?
 
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Mista

Banned
Sure but what are the critera by which the mind decides that tonight's place is gonna be say a mall or a library instead of a downtown street? And what's the point of it all?
I haven't really read much about it but its mostly about the last thing you did/watched before going to sleep or even thought of

Sometimes its straight outta the magic hat. You don't know what you're getting
 

TacosNSalsa

Member
Sure but what are the critera by which the mind decides that tonight's place is gonna be say a mall or a library instead of a downtown street? And what's the point of it all?
From one theory I remember hearing , it's your brains way of filtering out what you saw throughout the day while it converts short term memory into long term memory. So it could be things that you randomly saw during the day and don't remember but is still somewhere in your head. It can get thrown into this weird hodgepodge of nonsense or actually have structure . But for the most part it seems like we don't really know what they are unless they are very specific or "lucid" at which point it's pretty freaking clear what it's about ..lol
 

Pagusas

Elden Member
This is the weirdest attempt at a brag thread I’ve ever seen...

Anyway, there is nothing special or interesting about your dreams or mind Op, everyone does that, we don’t have enough understanding of how the human mind works at the moment to give you any sort of real answere other than “it’s your mind generating all that from the all the experiences you’ve had In life”.
 
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I believe our subconscious is capable of remembering everything which is why we sometimes have dreams about things that seem new but really aren't. I also believe dreams are comprised of different pieces of information coming together.

I remember having a dream about 7 or 8 years ago that I was on the ship level from Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory but the interior halls and rooms were full of ominous green/yellow lighting that barely lit anything and the crew members were sick as though they had just experienced a biological attack. Eventually I made my way to a large room that looked like a cafeteria (much bigger than the one in the same level and it looked more like a school cafeteria). In the middle of the room lay a casket and I had a feeling that if I opened it I wouldn't like what I would find inside.

Another dream which was much more recent, last year I think, it was similar to ValiantTraveler ValiantTraveler 's description in that I was looking at a shelf filled with games and movies. I distinctly remember one that featured Arnold Schwarzenegger on the cover with the title "Alloy"; he was standing straight in a military dress uniform covered with medals and ribbons in front of (I think) a large window that overlooked Earth (?).

In that same dream, I looked down and there was a box-shaped console with a cartridge slot that when I peered inside I could see pieces of other consoles, for lack of a better description "stitched together". But the general idea was that this boxed-shaped console was part SNES, Dreamcast, Xbox and GameCube. I think maybe I was trying to find the PlayStation or PS2 but it wouldn't "shift" to either of them.

Another recent dream that I had earlier this year, I was walking up some stairs in a cave filled with blue light (the kind of light that looks like illuminated water in the dark) and constellations and paintings of planets on the walls. On my left I was helping to carry someone up the stairs. I don't remember who it was but I was determined to reach the top. It felt like a dramatic third act in a movie.

I definitely understand and somewhat agree with the artistic interpretation of dreams and I like to believe that this is how some game developers like Hideo Kojima come up with ideas and concepts for Death Stranding. Because it really does look like something out of a nightmare but in a good way.
 
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My dreams have end credits. Who knows why you dream what you dream when it's like this
I take it you have a difficult time reading them. I can read single words in dreams but a newspaper, for example, I will look at the date on it and it keeps changing! :messenger_angry:
 
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Tesseract

Banned
our cortex does remember everything we see, even if it's experienced for 1/60th of a frame

your sub is pulling all kinds of data and mixing and matching at random, we're not sure why yet but the general idea is that it's a way of fragmenting the overload of information we experience
 
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From one theory I remember hearing , it's your brains way of filtering out what you saw throughout the day while it converts short term memory into long term memory. So it could be things that you randomly saw during the day and don't remember but is still somewhere in your head. It can get thrown into this weird hodgepodge of nonsense or actually have structure . But for the most part it seems like we don't really know what they are unless they are very specific or "lucid" at which point it's pretty freaking clear what it's about ..lol

I heard about this somwhere before. Good food for thought. Though I'm stil puzzled why my mind takes that direction.

You sound creative. Write down your ideas. Try to draw or paint what you see.

I struggle to get human anatomy right. Drawing backgrounds seems too daunting at the moment. But I do write down what I remember.

This is the weirdest attempt at a brag thread I’ve ever seen...

Anyway, there is nothing special or interesting about your dreams or mind Op, everyone does that, we don’t have enough understanding of how the human mind works at the moment to give you any sort of real answere other than “it’s your mind generating all that from the all the experiences you’ve had In life”.

What? Why would I even brag about something like that? I never said my dreams are special, it's just I'm interested in understanding them.
 
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I struggle to get human anatomy right. Drawing backgrounds seems too daunting at the moment. But I do write down what I remember.
Draw/paint/whatever something in your medium of choice every day. You'll improve rapidly. You can do it, dude. You've got the creativity for it. The hardest part of art is coming up with something mentally stimulating as your subject, and it sounds like you have no problem with that.
 
That’s your other life. When they goto sleep they wonder the same thing about your life.
Tha f.......
The brain do amazing stuff at sleap, fantasy stuff happening, you do things you cant do in real life, that data get stored in the backround of the brain to be fully exploited when you sleep, also you utilise a higher % when you sleep, the amount of details & the world you create... just amazing.
 

TacosNSalsa

Member
I take it you have a difficult time reading them. I can read single words in dreams but a newspaper, for example, I will look at the date on it and it keeps changing! :messenger_angry:
No I cannot . I can see they are letters scrolling on a black background but I can't make them out
 
That’s your other life. When they goto sleep they wonder the same thing about your life.
Well that's really creepy :messenger_fearful:
Draw/paint/whatever something in your medium of choice every day. You'll improve rapidly. You can do it, dude. You've got the creativity for it. The hardest part of art is coming up with something mentally stimulating as your subject, and it sounds like you have no problem with that.
Thanks for your kind words. I want to draw manga. The hardest part for me is practicing consistently.
Read Jung's The Red Book, OP, for some deeper understanding of how your subconscious uses symbols to communicate with your waking mind.
I'll be sure to check that out, thanks for the recommendation!
 
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Thanks for your kind words. I want to draw manga. The hardest part for me is practicing consistently.

I'll be sure to check that out, thanks for the recommendation!
I only bring it up because vivid dreams have been the impetus for artistic expression since time immemorial.
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
To me, dreams have no meaning.

It's like you only get them because your noggin is bored sleeping.

Every once in a while there will be someone in a dream from my public school days who I barely even spoke to. Yet I get one dream where they are in it some reason.

Then another dream, I get chased and shot.

Then another, I'm flying.

Then another, I'm heaving a pass as a QB..... and I don't even care about football.
 
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Tesseract

Banned
i had a dream the other night that i was placed in a coffin with hornets and rolled through a hall of faces
 

MetalAlien

Banned
You gonna get nuked.
Period.
I have goosebumps people!
giphy.gif
 
To me, dreams have no meaning.

It's like you only get them because your noggin is bored sleeping.

Every once in a while there will be someone in a dream from my public school days who I barely even spoke to. Yet I get one dream where they are in it some reason.

Then another dream, I get chased and shot.

Then another, I'm flying.

Then another, I'm heaving a pass as a QB..... and I don't even care about football.
Sometimes they mean nothing but sometimes they are predictions.
 

DeceptiveAlarm

Gold Member
All that stuff exists in one form or another. I always wonder if I could dream of something I never saw. Like I dream of aliens places but the Trees might be weird man but their still trees. 🧐
 

timeflais

Banned
" It's like getting inspiration from an unknown place. "

Your subconscious dances in unknown places to the conscious mind. Your dreams are not just a reflection of you or your own mind.
 

Tesseract

Banned
" It's like getting inspiration from an unknown place. "

Your subconscious dances in unknown places to the conscious mind. Your dreams are not just a reflection of you or your own mind.

that would go against all available literature, our brains aren't magic

things input, things output, nothing sneaks its way in from the ether
 

timeflais

Banned
that would go against all available literature, our brains aren't magic

things input, things output, nothing sneaks its way in from the ether
This quote ties into the other post I havent replied to yet.
Firstly, not all "available literature"
Secondly, you assume that what is regarded as the network of knowledge is free from deceptive agendas?
Follow the money.
Expose the network.
Fantasyland.
 

Tesseract

Banned
This quote ties into the other post I havent replied to yet.
Firstly, not all "available literature"
Secondly, you assume that what is regarded as the network of knowledge is free from deceptive agendas?
Follow the money.
Expose the network.
Fantasyland.

i see

i will dig into the wanderlust and enter the matrix
 

timeflais

Banned
i see

i will dig into the wanderlust and enter the matrix
Those you mock as Wizards know the true nature of reality.
They own the capital.
History is written by the winners, generational perceptual shifts.
"G" in the freemason logo means God, Grand architect, Gnosis, Generative principle. Depending on rank.
Generative principle, the knowledge of how the conscious mind affects 'objective reality'.
Collective conscious is unified by something.
There is no such thing as blank space.... Aether.
Good time to rewatch the fifth element.
 

Tesseract

Banned
Those you mock as Wizards know the true nature of reality.
They own the capital.
History is written by the winners, generational perceptual shifts.
"G" in the freemason logo means God, Grand architect, Gnosis, Generative principle. Depending on rank.
Generative principle, the knowledge of how the conscious mind affects 'objective reality'.
Collective conscious is unified by something.
There is no such thing as blank space.... Aether.
Good time to rewatch the fifth element.

if they know the true nature of reality, why haven't they read feynman's lecture series on physics

a fifth element rewatch is a good idea tho, that shit is dope as fuck
 
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Tesseract

Banned
You make some wild assumptions.

nah dude, i've talked to some freemasons, those goofy bastards barely understand linear algebra

the true nature of reality is earned, not given, and it's absolutely not passed on in capital

it's a meritocracy
 
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timeflais

Banned
nah dude, i've talked to some freemasons, those goofy bastards barely understand linear algebra
I also know a drunk mason in my local area. This is not who I refer to.
The majority of Masons are taught an ideology. They "belong" to a group.
It's the few at the top, I have stated this before, that pull the strings.

Edit: alongside others.
 
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Tesseract

Banned
I also know a drunk mason in my local area. This is not who I refer to.
The majority of Masons are taught an ideology. They "belong" to a group.
It's the few at the top, I have stated this before, that pull the strings.

Edit: alongside others.

in my experience the people in groups are the biggest losers of them all, ideologies always go wrong (or stupid) in some way or another

the few at the top are the most competent

you need to be more specific if you want to convince me of this stuff, kinda feels like we're chasing dragons
 

timeflais

Banned
in my experience the people in groups are the biggest losers of them all, ideologies always go wrong (or stupid) in some way or another

the few at the top are the most competent

you need to be more specific if you want to convince me of this stuff, kinda feels like we're chasing dragons
At what point does a (blind) derivative of knowledge become an ideology?
Belief in reputation among peers?
What if the system of reputation was already dominated in blackmail and corruption?
In time.
 

Thurible

Member
Going to be a bit blunt here, but sometimes dreams are just dreams and there is no meaning to it. It is just the subconscious putting a random assortment of information together that feigns coherence, like it is reality.

However, sometimes dreams do have some meanings (I'm not talking supernatural here, as supernatural dreams seem like bs). Sometimes, your psyche tries to tell you something you may know subconciously but not conciously.

I remember right after my Dad died, I always dreamed of him. He was alive and well, but when I woke up I felt so sad. My waking mind was always so confused, how can he both be here and not be here? My grief was affecting the way I dreamed. I don't remember much about my dreams, but I remember being surprised when I saw him and he was almost always the center of the dream. I also remember one where I could time travel to be with him again and try to stop his death.

Is something different in your life or are you experiencing trauma?
 

O-N-E

Member
Ok if we're sharing weird dreams, I have no shortage of them since they happen pretty much every night.

Couple nights ago I dreamed that aliens from some myriad light-years away were projecting an image onto our night sky. One half was what they were doing on earth, the other was on their side. On the earth side, they were sending these fish-like creatures that could fly to attack us, on their side, they showed how they were sucking up our fish and teleporting them to their own home.

I don't know.... but it felt cosmic, stressful and existential.
 
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