I tend to remember my dreams. My mom swears that she almost never does, and I know if I don’t consciously think about how I spent the night, by that afternoon I have a hard time remembering my five hours as a lumberjack, followed by an hour or two of driving a cruise ship through the mountains. I also dream in color, though I’ve had several friends tell me they only dream in black and white.
What I find fascinating is that sometimes in my dreams a doorbell will ring. Because of the plot of the dream I know it’s going to be Johnny Depp, say, coming to drive me to a movie premiere because we’re dating. But then when I open the door it’s George Washington – and off we go to steal plumbing supplies from ninjas.
Now it’s my brain, and my dream, and my version of Johnny Depp, so why in the world does George Washington show up? Or when I’m taking a bite of something I know in my dream to be pepperoni pizza does it suddenly become calamari (which I’ve never even tasted and have no plans to ever eat)?
Some brain specialist types say this is because we really know so little about the brain and about how the unconscious mind works.
Other people say it’s proof that we’re in the Matrix. Me, I just think it’s really weird, occasionally frightening, and frequently hilarious.
Another thing I find interesting about my dreams is that I almost never dream about a book I’m writing. I figure this is because my conscious mind is working on it almost constantly, so my dream brain needs a break. And I don’t recall ever having driving dreams before I drove a car – but I do have dreams where I fly, without a plane, when I’ve certainly never done that in real life. Not that I recall, anyway.
Last week – and I swear this is a real dream – I dreamt that I was in a community play about The Avengers. Everybody had homemade costumes (The Hulk was a big, green cardboard box worn around some guy’s chest) and cheap props. I, too, was one of The Avengers. My hero name was Chan, and I hurled watermelons at foes
which would explode in gooey watermelon guts. And then it was the real Avengers, and I was still Chan the watermelon hurler. Now I think my unconscious mind is perfectly aware that Chan isn’t an Avenger name, and that hurling watermelons isn’t very practical for fighting evil. And yet there I was, and in the dream it all made perfect sense.
Do you remember your dreams? Do you dream in color or black and white? Do you ever fly? Craziest dream? Have you ever been an Avenger?
Sometimes I remember my dreams.
I guess I dream in color, I never really paid attention.
No, I do not fly.
For the past few years I have the tv on as I try to fall asleep. Many times I have dreamed about having arguments with tv characters.
No Avenger
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 4:31 am.
LOL, TinaF. Do you win the arguments?
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:34 pm.
I wake up before the arugment is finished.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 10:46 pm.
If it’s a weird dream then I remember it. I also dream in colour and have sound as well which is either cool or a pain in the butt depending on the dream. I have had a number of flying dreams and frequently I am being chased in them. In one of these flying dreams I was flying through a hospital, trying to escape from someone (I don’t know who) and managed to get lost in the hospital. The craziest (and most memorable) dream that I’ve had is when I was flying around in this room where there was all these trees and I was dive bombing into all this leaf litter where I found some pills and I knew that it was the pills that were making me fly. So I flew out of that area and discovered that I was in a building (I didn’t know that previously) and the area that I was in was a caged area. I did manage to escape and it was a really cool feeling. I have never been an Avenger in my dreams, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not though.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 5:54 am.
That sounds like a very cool dream, Kelly. I wish I flew more in mine. My sis told me in her dreams she speaks every language — but while everybody around her understands what she’s saying, she doesn’t. I’d rather just fly around. *g*
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:35 pm.
I have the most vivid dreams, every night. Some of my friends think it’s strange. I sometimes think it’s exhausting.
Long, elaborate stories, like a movie, are often played out while I sleep and sometimes I’ll have the same story for several nights running.
But mine are never directly related to my books, either. I’m the center, and what’s happening in the dreams usually reflects whatever dominant emotion I’m feeling/dealing with..
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:25 am.
I know what you mean, Deb. I really hate the dreams where I’ve just gone through my whole day, and then I wake up and have to do the same thing again. *g*
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:38 pm.
I have very vivid dreams and I dream in color. I don’t dream about stealing plumbing from ninjas but I have dreams where I have conversations with different members of my family. I remember most of my dreams which I heard most people don’t. I also have dreams about things that come true later on. Don’t remember the correct name of those types of dreams but I have them a lot.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:54 am.
It’s precognitive dreaming Aida.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 8:31 am.
Ooh, very cool, aida. So far none of my dreams have come to pass.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:38 pm.
I recently dreamed that my colleague was pregnant. Last,it flashed into my conscious mind that she just might be. Hmmmm.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 8:35 am.
Just be careful how you approach that one, Fresh. *g*
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:40 pm.
Wow, you have great dreams.. I’m one of those who don’t remember them. If I did they’d be in color and I’d definitely fly without a plane and have Johnny Depp ring my doorbell.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 8:40 am.
I think you would, too, Lori. Only when you opened the door it would still be Johnny Depp, and not George Washington. Sigh.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:41 pm.
I dream a lot. In detail. In color. I’ve dreamed whole movies at times, and often puzzle out problems. In them.
Reading about the watermelons, I had to wonder if you’ve been playing Fuir Ninja.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:12 am.
You know, now that I think about it, Barbara, I HAD just played Fruit Ninja for the first time that week. *g*
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:33 pm.
I usually remember my dreams and they are always in colour. The other night I dreamt that I was having a cocktail in a bar overlooking the ocean in Hawaii. I could feel the breeze on my face and the heat of the sun on my arms. It was such a vivid dream. Then I woke up and realized it was still -15c and I felt low all day.
I do have one recurring dream where I am young and I come home from school to find that my family has moved without me. I spend my dream trying to find them. I have had this dream on and off for years. It really unsettles me, and I have woken up from it with my pillow wet with tears.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 9:39 am.
Oh, those are just mean dreams, AmyS!
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:43 pm.
I almost always remember my dreams. I dream in color and they’re usually vivid. I count it a night well slept if I can’t remember my dreams, or I don’t wake up soaked in sweat and shaking from adrenaline.
I usually dream that I’m a spy. I can’t say that I’ve ever been able to fly in my dreams, but I’ve been able to jump really far, and flapping my arms helps me go further. It’s still just jumping, though. I’ve dreamed that I could do a backflip over an 8 foot bookshelf. I’ve broken into cars and driven them to getaway from a bad guy. I’m jumped off cliffs. I’ve jumped off buildings. I’ve shot people. I’ve protected people. I’ve worn all kinds of nifty outfits. My dreams are rather intense and quite awesome. They just mean I’m not always well rested when I wake up.
It’s the dreams when I’m not a spy that I don’t like. Like Aida, I’ve had precog dreams. I find it interesting because my husband doesn’t believe in the precognitive ability, but I’ve had it happen over and over again. Some that stand out: I dreamed that I was an astronaut’s wife and I was waiting for a shuttle landing. I was standing there watching the shuttle shoot across the sky when suddenly, it burst into a million pieces. Two days later, the shuttle exploded on re-entry. I was devastated. But what can you do? You don’t know which dreams are precognitive and which ones are an overactive imagination. Even if you could figure it out, no one would believe you.
While I was pregnant with my first son, I dreamed that my aunt was pregnant at the same time as me. We were walking around with huge bellies at the same time. She was horrified at the idea. Two years later, there we were pregnant with our babies at the same time. She was still horrified.
I mostly try to ignore my dreams. If they portend the future, there’s nothing I can do about it. If they don’t, I could certainly write a screen play for an action movie, but until I take up writing, there’s nothing for me to do about those dreams either.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 10:30 am.
That’s fascinating, Kristina – both kinds of dreams. I’m kind of glad I’ve never had the precog ones, though.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:46 pm.
I don’t remember dream unless someone from The Other Side is visiting me. Those are the best. I booked a girl’s trip to Cancun this week, and already had the lost/missing/forgot passport dream. That was scary.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 10:32 am.
Forget the dream, Amanda! I’m jealous you’re going to Cancun!
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:47 pm.
I would say mine have been more like nightmares lately. I wake up shaking. I don’t remember what I have dreamt, and I don’t think I want to…But most nights I don’t remember dreaming at all..
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 10:35 am.
Hm. Sounds like you’re subconscious mind is trying to work through something. Hopefully the nightmares will go away soon, Kathleen, and you’ll be back to peaceful nights!
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:49 pm.
Sometimes I remember my dreams
color, I dream in color
Oh yeah I fly
No Avengers dreams as of yet but that could change
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 10:43 am.
Feel free to be Chan the watermelon-throwing Avenger, Angela! *g*
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:50 pm.
Wow….I need to hang with you! Sometimes I remember my dreams….only if I go through them in my mind immediately after I wake up; and even then, just bits and pieces.
My dreams are always in full color. Sometimes they’re really random, and sometimes they apply to what’s currently going on in my life. I’ve also had those “Deja Vu” dreams where something random happens in a dream, and I wake up thinking “weird”–then it takes place sometime later in the day, month, year, etc. Those just tick me off…because I can never actually remember the context of the dream, just that it happened. :p
No Avengers dreams yet…..and I’ve never flown, which kind of bums me out…
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 10:55 am.
I don’t fly very often, Haley, and I frequently run in slow motion. I figure it’s a trade-off. :->
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:51 pm.
Sometimes I remember my dreams and sometimes I don’t want to. The hub has tried to wake me up sometimes because I will be crying in my sleep…thank goodness I don’t rememeber those.
My craziest dream is one that the hub still teases me about. We used to watch the reruns of Night Court ALL the time. We loved that show and the hub had a huge crush on the lady that played Christine Sullivan, Markie Post and we loved Bull and Selma, the bailiffs. John Larroquette played Dan Fielding on that show, and he was such a despicable character…I had a VERY vivid dream that I had wild sex with Dan Fielding in Judge Harry Stone’s office to the music of Mel Torme. I was so horrified when I woke up, I took a shower and made the mistake of telling the hub, who thought it was absolutely hysterical and proceeded to tell practically everyone he knew, and they also laughed hysterically. Now, I do realize how funny it was (and is), but of all dream lovers, I have NO idea why I picked THAT one…
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 10:56 am.
That’s too funny, Julie! In one of my dreams I dated Triple H the wrestler, and I had no idea why. At least yours has won Emmys! *g*
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:53 pm.
Haha! I very much enjoyed your blog post, Suzanne
I often remember my dreams when I first wake up, but forget them shortly thereafter. Sometimes, though, I do recall them. Like you, I dream in colour.
I LOVE my flying dreams! I haven’t had that many as I have gotten older, but when I as younger I certainly had them all the time.
I have never been an avenger. My most frequent dreams are about me running away from something. I have been chased by giant spiders, ants, zombies, murderers on a rampage, villagers with pitchforks and torches, ghouls, ghosts… the list goes on. Only recently have I started fighting back in my dreams/nightmares. I might find a large stick, etc. and try to defend myself, for example.
Otherwise, my dreams are a nonsensical mixture of images usually. I might be house hunting some place and suddenly look in a mirror and discover that I have no teeth. Then I’m suddenly in a boxing ring and the no teeth thing makes sense… then I decide to go home, but my home isn’t my actual home but some sort of maze. My mom appears, but she doesn’t look like my mom, but for some reason in my dream she is. Then I switch viewpoints and I’m an onlooker watching me try to find my bedroom in the maze.
I also get anxiety dreams where everything goes wrong. I am usually late for some appointment and I keep forgetting things at home, then I realize that I haven’t got my keys, or my purse, or my wallet, or my children, etc.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 11:01 am.
That’s what most of my dreams sound like too, Cheri. They just jump from one scenario to another, and while it all makes sense while I’m dreaming, it’s ludicrous when I wake up.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:55 pm.
I go through phases when I remember my dreams clearly, and also years when I don’t remember a single one.
I had a friend who often dreamt she was flying. She loved it.
My oddest dream was one in which I died. They say you never dream that, but I did. And my dream included an after life where I met members of my family.It is one of the few dreams I have never forgotten.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 11:32 am.
That’s fascinating, Madeline. Wow.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:02 pm.
I used to fly in my dreams, but don’t any more. I do dream in color and oftentimes they are very intricate plots with lots of intrigue.. with some really surreal things tossed in.
I don’t remember my dreams most of the time, but every once in a while it’s a pretty awesome show.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 11:54 am.
Things like watermelons and ninjas, Sheridan? Most of the time I wake up and lie there going, “huh. Where did that come from?” *g*
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:57 pm.
I dream in color with sound. I have dreamed about family members who are gone. I have also dreamed of TV series. I remember dreaming a Bewitched show. I don’t always remember the dreams though. If most people don’t dream in color isn’t it strange that most of us here do dream in color. Maybe it is people who don’t read, don’t have a good imagination only dream in black and white. Should we do a study?
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:14 pm.
Did you have witchy nose-twitchy powers, Sandi? *g* I think the color vs. b&w is more of a brain chemistry thing. Dream flying is supposedly the same thing. I know I can’t do math or read in my dreams.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:59 pm.
Good morning, Chan!
My dreams are usually a bunch of blah, but every once in a while I have a whopper of one that I remember. Most are in black and white, but I swear that sometimes they are in color. I don’t recall ever flying, but I do drown. Eek. Why can’t I remember Patrick Dempsey showing up at my door with flowers in his hands? Or something fun like hurling watermelons?
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:16 pm.
LOL, Kelly. I don’t drown, but I do get lost. A lot.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:00 pm.
I dream in color mostly…and I remember most of my dreams. I have vivid and detailed dreams that seem long. I don’t fly in my dreams but I occasionally “sleep talk” (according to my husband) lol. I have reoccurring dreams sometimes also.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:24 pm.
Very cool, Danielle.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:33 pm.
Thanks
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 3:48 pm.
I do remember most of my dreams and I do dream in color. I remember wearing a very pretty raspberry pink blouse in one dream. Why, I don’t know. I have had dreams that sometimes reflect a couple of things that may have happened to me and I dream about them coinciding. I’ve never really had a nightmare, but have had sad dreams (such as when my grandma died and I had a weird dream about her). I’m not sure I believe in premonitions, but I had a dream a few summers ago that was a warning of some type not to drive 3 hours away to a friend’s father’s funeral. I felt guilty for not going, but the dream invoked very strong feelings not to attend.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:24 pm.
You never know, Deb. There’s so much we don’t know about why we dream and what we dream. If if made you feel that strongly, I’m kind of glad you listened.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:35 pm.
Most of the time I can’t remember my dreams. Just an over all feeling may linger. There is some color, but more like those pictures where only certain things or a part of the thing is in color.
I used to have flying dreams all the time when I was younger. Sort of like Peter Pan. Sometimes I was a glider like a flying squirrel, hopping from one perch to another.
My craziest dreams come when I start a diet. I dream about food, lovely stuff I can’t have. When I wake up I have these guilty feelings like I cheated. It is so real I have to remind myself that I didn’t actually eat anything.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:31 pm.
I think you have something there with dream eating, Michelle!
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:33 pm.
I do usually remember my dreams and they are so vivid and real! I woke up one morning as my husband was leaning over to say good bye for the day (he leaves for work about the time I wake up) and I reached over and hugged him and exclaimed “I’m so glad you are not lost at sea!” I had dreamed he was lost on a ship in the ocean. He laughs and can tell you lots of crazy stories like this. He doesn’t remember his dreams, which I think is unfortunate. I have so many crazy adventures in my sleep that instead of thinking of sleep as “wasted time” I think of it as a grand journey of great fun. At least when the dreams are pleasant…
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:34 pm.
Exactly, Heather! Most of the time my dreams are a great adventure.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:34 pm.
Interesting blog, Suzie. I don’t remember many of my dreams, but when I do they usually involve members of my family. My step-family will morph into members of my real family. Or vice-versa, the way it happened in real life. I do enjoy dreams about certain members of my deceased relatives. It’s as if I get to visit them all over again. It’s a good thing they’re not spooky dreams, or I might not enjoy them so much. I’ve only flown in one recurring dream and that’s down the staircase in one house we lived in when I was little. My dreams are in color with sound. I’ve never been an avenger, but have been a revenger.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:37 pm.
You made me snort, Donna. *g*
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:35 pm.
I don’t always remember my dream, but when I do, I wake up literally in the middle of saying something to my mom then realize that
A. My mom is not even in the room,
B. It is not 1 in the afternoon and I have not slept for 12 hours straight, instead it is 9am and I am late to work.
C. It is not even the same day as I thought it was.
But then I come from a weird family, dream-wise.
One time, my sister & I heard my Mom talking in her sleep and we (having nothing better to do) had an entire conversation with her about a horse in an empty train that she does not – till date – remember. Not the dream nor the conversation.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:46 pm.
It sounds like vivid dreams run in your family, Pals20!
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:36 pm.
I dream every night and remember at least part of if not all of my dreams. My dreams are usually very crazy and if I say to friends – oh you were in my dreams last night – they usually groan knowing it is something crazy. It is hard to say the craziest but I can tell you the one night I had such a vivid dream and started to tell a friend (who was in the dream) and she told me she had the same one that night – what the heck????? Also, my family members who have passed appear in my dreams all the time but never talk just stand in the background – kinda spooky sometimes.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:58 pm.
That does sound kinda spooky, Jeanne. But how cool that you and your friend had the same dream!
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:37 pm.
I had a vivid dream two nights ago. That I was pregnant and the dh and I were in the doctor’s office for an ultrasound. I was hoping for a girl (as I already have two boys). Turned out it was twins. More boys. I was never so glad to wake up. The funniest thing was the ultrasound picture. The babies were little stick figures–don’t know how we knew they were male. But, you know, dream.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:00 pm.
Bwaa haa haa, Christie!
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:37 pm.
Just had to share — last night I dreamed that a deer came down the hill behind my house and jumped through my upstairs window, then went wandering around the house until I let her out through the patio door. I thought it was very cool, but was annoyed that I had to clean up deer poop from my grass carpet. And that the pics I took of the deer vanished from my camera. I real life I don’t have a hill behind my house, and my carpet isn’t made of grass.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:06 pm.
Are you by chance on medication?
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 2:34 pm.
You aren’t the first person to wonder about that, Kelly. *g*
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:38 pm.
I rarely remember my dreams, but those I do recall are in vivid color and real doozies; like when I kicked the footboard off the bed to ward off an attacking tiger or punched my sweetheart in the eye because he was choking me and I really couldn’t breathe. (Poor Hubble sat straight up from a sound sleep and demanded to know why I hit him. I sobbed that he was choking me, and he just sat there, confounded. We laugh about it now, but it wasn’t funny then!) I’ve never been an Avenger, however, although I’ve had a prophetic dream or two. Very strange.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:20 pm.
Oh, that’s too funny, Gwyn! My mom talks about how my dad wrestled a pillow one night. He denies it.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:40 pm.
I have very vivid dreams. For a period of time, I was making an note to write down what I remembered when I woke up. I ran across that little journal the other day, and if I didn’t know me, I would think I was nuts.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:33 pm.
I know you, and I still think you’re nuts. *g* In a good way, of course. Ahem.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:40 pm.
The moment I wrote that sentence, I thought, “wait a minute…” LOL. At least I can rest easy knowing I’m not quite as nuts as you, dreams notwithstanding.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 8:48 pm.
I dream in both color and black and white, I guess it depends on the dream, but mainly it is color. I remember most of my dreams although I do know a few have slipped by..lost in the subconscious.
I do have a crazy dream that is reoccurring since my childhood, about demon wolves that hunt and kill anyone that tries to help me get away from them.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 1:37 pm.
That’s fascinating, Carla!
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:41 pm.
So far as I remember I always dream in color. I have never dreamed of flying or being an Avenger.
I never dream about any of the books I am writing either. I have, however, had dreams in which one of my books is being made into a movie and I am in some sort of consulting position on the set of the film. It is always the same book – one for which I have notes, but have not yet written. The best part of the dream is that the actors I would love to cast in this story (Should I ever write it and should the rights be optioned to film) are always in this dream asking me questions about their roles or just sitting around chatting. SIGH!
My Mom, however, has had precognitive dreams for years. She was born a twin, but her twin sister,Lois, died when they were six months old. She always dreams of her twin before something bad happens to a member of our family. In the dream her twin is always sixteen. I have no idea why. She dreamed of Lois the night before their brother died. She dreamed of Lois the night before my Dad died. She dreamed of Lois the night my then husband and I survived a car accident that should have been fatal. Freaks me out, but Mom is somewhat used to it.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 2:37 pm.
Wow, Louisa. Love the movie dream, and glad I don’t have those precog dreams like your mom does.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:42 pm.
Sometimes I remember my dreams, especially the really vivid ones. I’ve lots of precog dreams. For about a decade I had dreams about how my grandpa would die. I didn’t want to ask my mom about how he died, but about 6 months after his death, she mentioned it in passing – exactly like my dream. Then, I had precog dreams about my fil when he started dating 2 years after my mil’s death and about the second woman he dated, whom he proposed to just a couple of weeks later. It was not all good; my dh didn’t believe me at the time, and she’s turned out to be just a horrid, horrid woman. My dh is quicker to trust my intuition and dreams, now.
I’ve a friend who’s a psychologist that believes in dream interpretation. I’ve listened to a couple of her lectures. Fascinating stuff.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 2:39 pm.
It’s amazing how many of you guys have precog dreams! I’m glad your dh has learned to listen to you now, Janae.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:44 pm.
You say “hurling watermelons” and I say, “Gallagher.” Are you sure you got your Avenger name right?
I do remember my dreams when they’re vivid. And when they’re vivid I don’t sleep well. I wake up tired. I always go to bed wishing for a deep, dreamless sleep. I know we dream every single night, but I don’t need to remember it, do I?
Vivid dreams tend to disturb me. They’re never pure fun. I can always see the meaning underneath it all.
I blame a Dream Analysis class I took once.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 3:47 pm.
So subconsciously I think I’m Gallagher? Hm. *g* I love dreaming most of the time. If I don’t remember my dream I feel like I wasted a night.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 7:45 pm.
Well that was fascinating Suzanne. Yes I dream and I think mine are in color. Sometimes it can be a dream I’ve had before. I’ve had a dream, or should I say nightmare related to the ex. Sometimes it’s where I’m still married or remarried to him. Really weird dreams.
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 8:40 pm.
Those are the sort of dreams I hate, Ginger. It’s like mine when I’m back working for my old cranky pants boss, and I spend the whole time trying to hide under a desk so I can write. *g*
Posted on February 23, 2013 at 12:14 am.
I have weird dreams & I do wake up remembering them. Never any nightmares though thank goodness.
Posted on February 23, 2013 at 3:39 am.