The Other Side of Midnight - Richard C. Hoagland - Live Chat Thread

[zeebo]

That is a fascinating theory, and makes sense in a way.  For most folks, that imagination which must be responsible for dreaming is blocked in the conscious state.

My dreams (which seem to be encouraged by the consumption of large amounts of meat at dinner -- wtf?) seem to be 90% made up of pieces of reality with 10% strangeness -- vivid colors, fantastic scenarios, and imagery that can only be described as surrealist.  Never having taken psychedelics, I like to imagine I'm getting a little taste.

I've heard of some song lyrics being inspired by dreams.  I often have similar 10%-ers as you. The basic gist will seem pretty normal but there'll be this wrinkle, like the hallway of my old school I'm walking down takes me to some strange room that shouldn't be there.  Or an old friend I'm talking to has a weird hairstyle that I know is wrong but in my dream I'm polite so I don't mention it lol.  There used to be dream thread somewhere on bg, it'd make a good sticky imho.

[pate]

When I was in the 'Stan, THEY prescribed us Doxycyline as a prophylactic against Malaria*, one of the complaints about it was that it gave people bad dreams, was folks excuse to not take it.  It didn't give me bad dreams, but it certainly seemed to elicit some very vivid and strange technicoloresque dreams that I would remember the next day, and puzzle over WTF my subconscious was doing at night.

I actually enjoyed the dreams, but I am a strange person.

*True Story, not only is Doxycyline a prophylactic against disease, it can be used also to cure diseases if prophylactics aren't used.  I suspect the real reason for the standing order behind the prescription (a failure to disobey a lawful order if THEY figured out you weren't taking it and wanted to be assholes) was that there was some serious boot-knocking going on, and command didn't want their little honey-pot Airmen/ladies/Private(parts)/Seamen Command STAFF Assistants to carry/pass-around-Sally-Forth wee wigglers.  Doxy (doxies? heh) is used for UTI in cats, as my veter'narian once informed me.  Just say'in...  NUTHEEEN.  I swear I took it for the vivid sexy dreams!

[K_Dubb]

I've heard of some song lyrics being inspired by dreams.  I often have similar 10%-ers as you. The basic gist will seem pretty normal but there'll be this wrinkle, like the hallway of my old school I'm walking down takes me to some strange room that shouldn't be there.  Or an old friend I'm talking to has a weird hairstyle that I know is wrong but in my dream I'm polite so I don't mention it lol.  There used to be dream thread somewhere on bg, it'd make a good sticky imho.

Oh the weird haircut is fun!  Would be nice to get an interpretation of that.  I think current theory is that they're scenarios concocted by the mind around some immediate emotional stimulus, in the same way that rolling over on a sharp thing in bed might cause you to dream of a bee sting.  But this underplays the fascinating imagery in favor of some mundane explanation.  Do you recall feeling the obligation to keep your mouth shut in any waking circumstance immediately surrounding the dream?

Coincidentally I dreamed of my old school last night:  last day, cleaning things out of my locker in my graduation gown, packing it in a silver metal garbage can with wheels, and careening wildly perched atop it all the way home, which somehow was all downhill.

[trostol]

arguments could be plentiful tonight

http://www.theothersideofmidnight.com/ben-hansen-8-30-16/

[Roswells, Art]

That is a fascinating theory, and makes sense in a way.  For most folks, that imagination which must be responsible for dreaming is blocked in the conscious state.

My dreams (which seem to be encouraged by the consumption of large amounts of meat at dinner -- wtf?) seem to be 90% made up of pieces of reality with 10% strangeness -- vivid colors, fantastic scenarios, and imagery that can only be described as surrealist.  Never having taken psychedelics, I like to imagine I'm getting a little taste.

You bring up something I have been meaning to ask others. Art, I think, said he only dreams in black and white and he said it like he thought that was common. I thought it odd considering all my dreams are in color. Also I dream scents. Does anyone else reading this dream only in black and white?

[trostol]

You bring up something I have been meaning to ask others. Art, I think, said he only dreams in black and white and he said it like he thought that was common. I thought it odd considering all my dreams are in color. Also I dream scents. Does anyone else reading this dream only in black and white?

pretty sure i dont dream

[K_Dubb]

You bring up something I have been meaning to ask others. Art, I think, said he only dreams in black and white and he said it like he thought that was common. I thought it odd considering all my dreams are in color. Also I dream scents. Does anyone else reading this dream only in black and white?

I'm pretty sure your smelly dreams mean that you are a being in some state of ascendancy, but we'd have to ask rosegirl to be sure.

[Roswells, Art]

pretty sure i dont dream

Have you ever been awoken mid deep sleep and remember what you were dreaming at that moment? I think you would be dead or a raving lunatic if you didn't dream.


Also, I think the more abstract your dreams are the harder it is to remember them while awake because they don't make any sense to your conscious mind.

[Roswells, Art]

I'm pretty sure your smelly dreams mean that you are a being in some state of ascendancy, but we'd have to ask rosegirl to be sure.

Damn, K_dubb!

[WildCard]

dead or a raving lunatic

[trostol]

shhhhh

[WildCard]

Damn, K_dubb!

You're the one who bought up scents in a dream.

I've never experienced scents or colors.

[norland2424]

shhhhh

you dream of hoagie failing all the time

[Roswells, Art]

You're the one who bought up scents in a dream.

I've never experienced scents or colors.

Hmm... I would like more people to weigh in on this, about dreaming in black and white or color. It's really kind of fascinating. K_Dubb was a little right, the "scents" never smell good as far as I can remember. It's usually not a good smell. It's not something that smells in real life either that is getting into my dreams. My bedroom smells just fine, thanks.

[norland2424]

Hmm... I would like more people to weigh in on this, about dreaming in black and white or color. It's really kind of fascinating. K_Dubb was a little right, the "scents" never smell good as far as I can remember. It's usually not a good smell. It's not something that smells in real life either that is getting into my dreams. My bedroom smells just fine, hehe.

i used to have recurring dreams when i was still in hs, that we were invaded by a foreign nation and everything in my area looked the way Syria does now, long story short i end up getting shot in the dream, and i can smell my burnt shirt and my own blood before i die in the dream, and each time i died in the dream thats when i would wake up.

[Roswells, Art]

i used to have recurring dreams when i was still in hs, that we were invaded by a foreign nation and everything in my area looked the way Syria does now, long story short i end up getting shot in the dream, and i can smell my burnt shirt and my own blood before i die in the dream, and each time i died in the dream thats when i would wake up.

That was before you joined the military even? I've never died in a dream.

[GravitySucks]

Hmm... I would like more people to weigh in on this, about dreaming in black and white or color. It's really kind of fascinating. K_Dubb was a little right, the "scents" never smell good as far as I can remember. It's usually not a good smell. It's not something that smells in real life either that is getting into my dreams. My bedroom smells just fine, thanks.

I only have vague memory of smells, and they are generally related to the environment I am dreaming of, so it could be imagination. And most often in lucid dreams. I distinctly remember one lucid dream where I had "flown" to a waterfall in New Zealand. I could smell the cool, clear air and the almost ozone-like smell of the mist from the falls. It was in a remote area and I could smell the forest around me. And damp earth. One of the most vivid lucid dreams I ever had and one that I will never forget.

I do dream in color, and the colors are almost always natural hues. Don't recall them being any more or less vibrant than real life.

If you dream of smells, do you dream of tastes?  I need to ponder that to see if I have any memories.

[norland2424]

That was before you joined the military even? I've never died in a dream.

before boot camp yes

[norland2424]

i dont give most dreams credit but that recurring dream i always assumed was a different dimension seeping thru to me in a dream state

[GravitySucks]

That was before you joined the military even? I've never died in a dream.

Did it smell like burning chicken feathers?  Could be a brain tumor.


Or a sinus infection.

[Roswells, Art]

I'm glad others are talking about dreaming smells. I think K_Dubb thinks I was lieing.

[Roswells, Art]

I only have vague memory of smells, and they are generally related to the environment I am dreaming of, so it could be imagination. And most often in lucid dreams. I distinctly remember one lucid dream where I had "flown" to a waterfall in New Zealand. I could smell the cool, clear air and the almost ozone-like smell of the mist from the falls. It was in a remote area and I could smell the forest around me. And damp earth. One of the most vivid lucid dreams I ever had and one that I will never forget.

I do dream in color, and the colors are almost always natural hues. Don't recall them being any more or less vibrant than real life.

If you dream of smells, do you dream of tastes?  I need to ponder that to see if I have any memories.

I don't remember dreaming of tastes. I need to ponder that too.

[Lunger]

You bring up something I have been meaning to ask others. Art, I think, said he only dreams in black and white and he said it like he thought that was common. I thought it odd considering all my dreams are in color. Also I dream scents. Does anyone else reading this dream only in black and white?

That's funny.  Mine are always in color but no smells.  I do 'feel' things though. ( like the breeze against my skin kind of thing.)

[norland2424]

do any of you ever look at clocks , watches etc in dreams, time tends not to exist in my dream state

[K_Dubb]

I only have vague memory of smells, and they are generally related to the environment I am dreaming of, so it could be imagination. And most often in lucid dreams. I distinctly remember one lucid dream where I had "flown" to a waterfall in New Zealand. I could smell the cool, clear air and the almost ozone-like smell of the mist from the falls. It was in a remote area and I could smell the forest around me. And damp earth. One of the most vivid lucid dreams I ever had and one that I will never forget.

I do dream in color, and the colors are almost always natural hues. Don't recall them being any more or less vibrant than real life.

If you dream of smells, do you dream of tastes?  I need to ponder that to see if I have any memories.

When I dream of eating, which happens frequently, it has no taste.  Like wax, or feathers, depending on the texture.  I think that means my imagination doesn't extend to that sense.

Either that or it's a metaphor for life, which is horrible for an epicurean to think about.

[Roswells, Art]

That's funny.  Mine are always in color but no smells.  I do 'feel' things though. ( like the breeze against my skin kind of thing.)

You bring up an excellent point! I never feel weather, like breeze or rain in a dream. That is one thing, if you think we go on to some spirit world or something after death, that I think I would miss.

[Rix Gins]

That's funny.  Mine are always in color but no smells.  I do 'feel' things though. ( like the breeze against my skin kind of thing.)

I'm like Lunger.  As a matter of fact, I had a dream last night that I was presented a cake made out of fully cooked scrambled eggs.  I could see the color of the scrambled eggs but there was no smell.  As far as taste goes, I just don't know.  Woke up before I had a chance to take a bite.

[Roswells, Art]

do any of you ever look at clocks , watches etc in dreams, time tends not to exist in my dream state

Now that you mention it, I have never seen a timepiece in a dream that I can remember. It's usually day or night, which I guess is supposed to mean something. 

[K_Dubb]

I'm like Lunger.  As a matter of fact, I had a dream last night that I was presented a cake made out of fully cooked scrambled eggs.  I could see the color of the scrambled eggs but there was no smell.  As far as taste goes, I just don't know.  Woke up before I had a chance to take a bite.

Oh that is weird.  Do you remember what you felt in the dream when you saw the cake?  Consternation, disappointment, revulsion?  Can you connect that emotion with anything in your immediate experience, perhaps that you haven't acknowledged fully?

Edit -- I read this and it sounds awfully like I'm prying, which isn't at all my intent.  If you think of anything, yes or no is more than sufficient.

[norland2424]

Now that you mention it, I have never seen a timepiece in a dream that I can remember. It's usually day or night, which I guess is supposed to mean something.

when ever i look at a clock etc in my dreams time stand stills, and thats how i know in the dream that im actually dreaming