I had a precisely 2 dreams which I have not forgotten in roughly 50 years which concerned "possible worlds" -- alternative routes that I could take.

So, 2 dreams about alternate worlds in 50 years? Not a trend. Most of my dreams seem to fall into the "make no sense whatsoever" category. A few nights ago I dreamt that I was on aliens' space ship. Of course it was strange -- what would you expect? Every now and then I have an "interesting dream" which seems to be fairly long, is a vaguely coherent narrative, and involves more or less pleasant subject matter.

Mostly I think dreams should not be taken seriously.

Mostly I think dreams should not be taken seriously. — Bitter Crank

Why not?

Aren't they glimpses into one's soul?

I had a precisely 2 dreams which I have not forgotten in roughly 50 years which concerned "possible worlds" -- alternative routes that I could take. — Bitter Crank

I don't think this is what I meant by dreams reflecting possible worlds. I meant to imply that one's situation that you find yourself in dreams can be reflective of a possible world you could live in. I mean to say that when you find yourself talking to your significant other in a dream or with anyone at work, then that can be reflective of another possible world you could have lived in or experienced.

I hope that made better sense.

Perhaps my brain produces too much DMT. I don't know.

This is interesting: http://thescienceexplorer.com/brain-and-body/psychedelic-drug-may-be-released-our-brains-we-die

I understood you the first time, and the 2 dreams I mentioned were precisely what you described, "that can be reflective of another possible world you could have lived in or experienced" provided that the possible world is within this world and not an alternate universe

Why not?

Aren't they glimpses into one's soul? — Posty McPostface

Hell no, they are not glimpses into one's soul. Why aren't they?

Well for one, not sure we have a soul to glimpse into, and two, if "soul" means "mind" then the best way to glimpse someone's mind, soul, is to talk to them, listen, observe. Three -- you don't get to glimpse into my soul through my dreams, you only get to hear as much about my dreams as I care to tell you. If that tells you much about my soul, then... you're imagining things. If I did have a soul, and I wanted to glimpse what was going on in there, I would think. Thinking is how we assess and access our mind... soul...

Look, dogs dream. Other animals dream. Clearly dreams have something to do with some basic function of the brain. So, if you have pleasant dreams, enjoy them. If they are boring forget them. If they are terrible, consult a psychiatrist (who probably won't be able to help you either, but you can give it a whirl).

Perhaps my brain produces too much DMT. — Posty McPostface

Apparently.

Hell no, they are not glimpses into one's soul. — Bitter Crank

How is it that psychology is all big about dreams? Isn't that indicative of their importance in our lives? I don't know, but, I think dreams can be profound in giving significance to the all-important "I".

Have you ever had a dream without the "I" component present?

Apparently. — Bitter Crank

:halo:

How is it that psychology is all big about dreams? — Posty McPostface

Freud was big on dreams, of course; he thought they were the royal road into the subconscious mind. But psychoanalysis isn't the dominant strain in psychology, these days.

Dreams are interesting to brain science because the brain is busy doing something during REM sleep. What is it doing? We don't know for sure. It might be consolidating content. It might be rummaging around in the attic. Perhaps the brain just doesn't have an 'off' switch. I don't know.

There is nothing wrong with interrogating ones dreams, of course. It strikes me as a parlor game of sorts--not a total waste of time, but it is the conscious thinking about dreams, not so much the dreams themselves, that would make it useful.

Dream on, and interpret if you wish. Have you read "the Interpretation of dreams" by S. Freud?

Freud was big on dreams, of course; he thought they were the royal road into the subconscious mind. But psychoanalysis isn't the dominant strain in psychology, these days. — Bitter Crank

As far as I'm aware psychoanalysis is alive and kicking.

Dreams are interesting to brain science because the brain is busy doing something during REM sleep. What is it doing? We don't know for sure. It might be consolidating content. It might be rummaging around in the attic. Perhaps the brain just doesn't have an 'off' switch. I don't know. — Bitter Crank

Well, yes, the brain is constantly working. There's no off switch due to the nature of the mind. Maybe if you get sh*tface drunk then it would be possible to turn your brain off for a while.

There is nothing wrong with interrogating ones dreams, of course. It strikes me as a parlor game of sorts--not a total waste of time, but it is the conscious thinking about dreams, not so much the dreams themselves, that would make it useful. — Bitter Crank

Why does it strike you as that? I mean, dreams are something of significance to someone going through grief or sadness. It just strikes me as odd that we don't really pay more attention to dream content. I suppose it has something to do with their strangeness. But, the fact that you remembered after all these years about those two dreams gives me the impression that those dreams were significant to you.

Dream on, and interpret if you wish. Have you read "the Interpretation of dreams" by S. Freud? — Bitter Crank

No, I haven't. Is it any good?

It's been a very long time since I read Freud. However, if you think psychoanalysis is still kicking (I agree, it is) then this would seem like a good book for you to read. It's not a "how to interpret dreams" hand book. Some people find it helpful, but it's kind of a luxury service, considering the length of therapy, number of visits, and cost. Plus, there are not a whole lot of Freud-style psychoanalytic practitioners any more.

Another reason why psychoanalysis isn't as viable as it used to be has to to do with Freud's murky psychodynamics involving sexual issues like penis envy, the oedipal conflict, and stuff like that. I think Sigmund got it wrong: It's men that have penis envy, not women. (Men are always making comparisons -- how big is his? Is mine big enough?) A truism among gay guys is that one is either a size queen or a liar.

Still another reason why psychoanalysis isn't as viable as it used to be has to do with success rates. Now, one could probably find that all psycho-therapeutic approaches would benefit some people, and all psychotherapeutic approaches would fail to help some people.

Back in 1967, a doctor divided up a bunch of certified crazy people among three different psychotherapeutic approaches. One group were behaviorists, a second group were classical freudians, and the third group were people with zero training to do psychotherapy. At the end of 6 months, they found that some people in each group had made improvement.

Well, how could it be that untrained people would get as good results as a psychoanalysis? Well, people like receiving caring attention, and in this study the patients got caring attention of one sort or another--even from the untrained people.

OK, back to dreams.

If one assumes that the peculiar content of one's dreams is just peculiar errata and isn't in fact coded messages from the unconscious, then there isn't any reason to pay attention to one's dreams. Only if you believe that dreams are important are they important. The upshot of thinking about dreams as meaningless or meaningful seems to be indistinguishable.

People who have lost a loved one will probably dream about that person for a time. They will, quite often, even see or hear that person while they are wide awake, sitting in their usual chair, or doing something they did in life. My partner died about 9 years ago, and I find him still appearing in my thoughts -- particularly when I am half awake. Then I realize with a bit of a start that Bob isn't here anymore.

In general, mental health practice doesn't give a lot of attention to a rich understanding of the mind. Why? Because therapists need to collect insurance payments, and insurance companies are not interested in leisurely investigations into people's dreams, neuroses, and so forth. They way the patient cured in 8 sessions. If it can't be done in 8 sessions, then tough. Give them drugs. People who are very very mentally ill are expected to need extensive care, but run-of-the-mill neurotics are sort of screwed these days.

Judge for yourself. Here's a PDF copy of the book. FREE!!!

https://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Freud/Dreams/dreams.pdf

People who have lost a loved one will probably dream about that person for a time. They will, quite often, even see or hear that person while they are wide awake, sitting in their usual chair, or doing something they did in life. My partner died about 9 years ago, and I find him still appearing in my thoughts -- particularly when I am half awake. Then I realize with a bit of a start that Bob isn't here anymore. — Bitter Crank

I'm sorry to hear your still (I think) grieving. I've never experienced the death of a loved one although, I do worry a lot about the welfare of my mother, upon which my whole life revolves around. I don't believe I would be able to cope with her loss, and in the back of my mind, I think I would end my life after or near after her death. Sorry to end the post on such a daft note; but, it's true.

I am not still grieving. One never forgets the loved one, but one does adjust and become accustomed to their absence. It just takes time. At first, it seems like one would never adjust--but one does. It takes time -- many people grieve for a year or two. My father grieved the death of his wife (married for... 60+ years) for well over a year, but eventually his grief lifted.

The work of the survivor is to cherish the memory of the one who died and to embrace life still. No one will take the place of your mother, of course, who as you say you have been very close to. But life does go on; the seasons change, and one's life reawakens... in time.

I just had a dream the other night about moving out and going to college, and a celebration party made by my mom. — Posty McPostface

My thoughts about dreams are that this is a good one. :smile:

My thoughts about dreams are that this is a good one. :smile: — Jake

Yeah, I did find that dream to be of interest to me. I liked the fact that I was going somewhere. Which leads me to believe that structural changes in one's life are portrayed in dreams often, and that has significance to an individual.