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| knowledge (Photo credit: the|G|™) |
Dream memory is a topic that has been discussed on this blog a number of times in the past. What I refer to is having a knowledge of something or intuitively knowing something in a dream. In other words it would be like being aware of a preexisting history of something in the dream or knowing the backstory of the dream without dreaming it (or at least remembering having dreamed it).
This phenomena might not be symbolic as much as it might be a function of the dream process, a sort of mind trick or creative mental revelation that could be related to other real life knowledge or experience. The existence of a dream backstory might evolve much in the same way a story comes to a writer quickly and then is filled out more completely as the story is written. There are sometimes things that just seem to come to us without too much thought being involved.
In some cases the knowledge we have in the dream is an integral part of the dream story. For example, I have dreamed that I have knowledge of something very bad that has happened that others in the dream don't seem to be aware of and that knowledge influences the dream action throughout. In other cases I will meet people or be in places that I seem to know due to my dream knowledge and what I know is completely logical and acceptable to me in the dream.
If the dream knowledge is to be considered a dream symbol then perhaps it represents an inherent confidence that I recognize within myself that the dream is reinforcing for me. Since these dreams don't cause me bad feelings I think that this interpretation could be a distinct possibility.
Another interpretation of knowledge as a symbol could be that it is an awareness of things around me in my waking life and that they are true according to the way my mind sees them. Perhaps I have been having doubts about something in my life and the knowledge dream is letting me know that any premonitions or suspicions I may have been having may have strong grounds for being true and that I should believe them.
Whether dream knowledge is a trick of the mind, an illusion of dream time and memory, or a dream symbol, it is a curious element of the dream.
Have you had dreams where you had specific knowledge of something that did not seem to be part of that dream? Do you think dream knowledge is a mental process or a symbol or possibly either one depending on the dream? What is a dream memory that you recall from a dream that you've had?
I find I can never remember what I dream when I first go to sleep, yet if I awaken and it;s too early to get up I go ack to sleep and have vivid dreams always pertaining to what is going on in my life at present.
ReplyDeleteDreams are strange things I have often wondered their reasons.
Yvonne.
I often realize that I intuitively know something while in the dream. In thinking about it now, I think its most often related to what I know of my own personal history. Especially in the case of a recurring dream I have.Thought provoking stuff. Thanks, Z~
ReplyDeleteI'd have to refer to my journals to find out if I had a dream memory within a dream. Last night I dreamed about my now deceased exhusband which was unsettling.
ReplyDeleteI used to write down my dreams in great detail, so much so that a few of them have struck me as great story ideas. But that has sort of dropped off lately.
ReplyDeleteMy dreams are such a confused mish-mash of people and events. usually I can't make any sense of them at all!
ReplyDeleteVisiting from the A-Z Challenge Paula Martin - Romance Author
Yvonne -- Keep a journal. If you can start relating the symbols to what they represent in your life you may understand your dreams more.
ReplyDeleteZoe -- I think in most cases you are right though that dream knowledge may be cloaked in symbolism.
JoJo -- The dream memories are often hard to recognize or go by unnoticed since we may not pay that much attention to why we know certain things in waking life. I think much of the time it's a matter of just taking things for granted.
Trisha-- You should start journaling your dreams again. They can make great story ideas or be excellent writing exercises. You might even figure out some dream messages to you in the process.
Lee
Paula-- Yes dreams are often like that, but I think the more you look at them the more sense they start making. Also, with practice some people are able to control and organize their dream stories so that they make more sense.
ReplyDeleteLee
I rarely can remember my dreams but sometimes, when it's quiet and I'm alone, I hear voices - muted background chatter, always with English accents - that I somehow know are from a pub. I think I'm remembering a recurring dream but I don't know what it is.
ReplyDeleteI wish my dreams had more variety! I keep having teacher dreams and always end up driving a bus on a field trip. It never goes well. Just for once, I'd like to have a dream where there is success, with no problem solving.
ReplyDeleteYes! I have crazy, vivid dreams. Every night. Sometimes I am speaking another language...Although I studied other languages years ago, I never mastered any of them...at least not when I'm awake:)
ReplyDeleteLD -- Very interesting. English accents? What are you channeling?
ReplyDeleteSusan -- Have you tried working out the dream in waking life in order to solve the problem? If you did maybe you could move on to something else.
Talya-- I'm not sure I even speak in most of my dreams. Certainly not in a foreign language!
Lee
I love dreams, for their stories and for what they say about ourselves. The dream I wrote about on day D in A to Z is a kind of "knowledge" dream, something became clear to me: http://galeriaredelius.wordpress.com/2013/04/04/dreams/
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