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| "Open Your Eyes" by Ada Zdanowicz |
In a past post I discussed the concept of specified geographical locations as dream settings. The places I typically dream about seem familiar within the dream, yet strange at the same time. In other words, I will usually know where I am in a dream, but it will not look like the actual place in waking life or it will be an artificial setting that I accept as being real in the same way that a movie set will appear real when seen in the viewing of a film.
If this explanation seems convoluted or weird, then that's because it is. Dream setting and the sense of place can be difficult to explain. In other words, a dreamer might accept the dream setting as being their house, but there are usually many peculiar differences that make that house a much different place that it is in real life.
Dreaming Away from Home
Recently when I was on vacation traveling across the country and staying in different hotels or at my daughter's house, the settings in my dreams seemed to reflect the fact that I was dreaming away from home out of my own bed. Unfortunately I do not recall any of the dreams as I did not make a point of remembering them upon awakening and I did not record any of them for future reference. After all, I was on vacation wasn't I?
However, I do recall being specifically aware that my dreaming mind knew that I was not at home and my dream setting reflected this. This was a noticeable phenomena that stood out in my mind. My dreams away from home had a distinctly different feel from the dreams I would normally experience in my own bed. The settings continued to be strange, but within the dream context my mind had an awareness that I was traveling. It's difficult to explain, but lets just say that perhaps the dreaming mind is aware of where the dreamers body is and when it is not in its normal sleep base then the mind somehow is able to convey this to the realm of the subconscious.
Why would dreams seem different when one is away from home?
It seems obvious that new or different sensory stimulation would have a dramatic influence on ones dreaming mind when one is not at home. Waking hours when traveling are often filled with a bombardment of new sights, sounds, and other assaults to the senses. Especially if driving long distances, sensory stimulants are passing by so quickly that the mind cannot process everything at the time and may use the subconscious mind to sort things out in dreams.
The affect of different surroundings, such as a hotel room, while sleeping can also undoubtedly have an influence on dreams and at times even provide a certain sense of disorientation or other mental affectation that can enter into the sleeping mind thereby swaying ones inner visions. Likewise things like time zone shifts, changes in eating times, and other jolts to ones routine might cause dreams to feel vastly different than when at home.
Could it even possibly be that external effects stemming from ones location in the universe influence what one dreams? Perhaps there are force fields encompassing various areas of the Earth that can affect our bodies differently depending on where we are. There could even conceivably be forces emanating from the stars or somewhere in the universe that pass through us in different ways depending on where we are. These are all wild thoughts, but are they concepts that are totally inconceivable?
My Conclusion
I'm sure we can think of many reasons logical and quite far-fetched that dreams away from home would seem different than dreams in ones own bed. I will hold to the theory that most dreams are merely processing the day's activities and when that days activities involve relocating to another locale of sleep then the processing codes the new place to be interpreted as such in the dream. The sensory overload of travel combined with the unfamiliarity of new sleep location provide us with a somewhat different dream experience than we are accustomed to.
Did I thoroughly confuse you? When you travel are your dreams different than the ones you have at home? What do you think that travel or new sleep location does to the dreaming mind? Do you think that external sources (fields, auras, and the like) change with geographical location and can influence dreams? Have you ever slept in an area that some consider to be near a psychic or energy vortex (Sedona, Mount Shasta, Devils Tower, etc)? Any stories to relate?
Interesting. I was on vacation recently also. I had more vivid dreams than normal, but don't remember them much. I think if dreams provided messages, I would remember more. I think they just try to sort out all the thousand images past and present, and file them away.
ReplyDeleteLEE ~
ReplyDeleteI can't really say whether or not my dreams change in any significant way when I'm dreaming from somewhere other than my bedroom. If so, it has made no impression on me, so at most, it's only a slight difference that's slipped past my radar.
>> . . . Do you think that external sources (fields, auras, and the like) change with geographical location and can influence dreams?
I wouldn't absolutely dismiss the idea out-of-hand. And although I've yet to come across any evidence that I feel strongly supports the theory, on the surface it would seem to make sense. Somewhere like, say, the "Oregon Vortex", about 30 miles from Grant's Pass, would probably be an interesting place to conduct some dream experimentation.
>> . . . Have you ever slept in an area that some consider to be near a psychic or energy vortex (Sedona, Mount Shasta, Devils Tower, etc)? Any stories to relate?
I have hiked up Bell Rock in Sedona, which according to some "New Ager" types is located in an odd energry force field area, but I noticed nothing unusual.
Also, I did indeed sleep in a campground right at the base of Devil's Tower for a couple nights many years ago. However, I do not recall anything at all unusual pertaining to my dreams during those nights.
It's an interesting topic, but I'm afraid I don't have any firsthand information to add to it other than the "nuttin' unusual" which I've experienced in these so-called "energized"/"spiritual" places.
~ D-FensDogg
'Loyal American Underground'
The only dream I remember had to do with driving and getting lost, which is exactly what happened when I was traveling across country. A true reflection of the day's events. ;-D
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