How are dreams viewed in the society you live in today?

How often are dreams talked about? Are they viewed in a semi spiritual way, or dismissed as "funny little pictures in your head at night that your brain is sorting through to commit important things to memory"? Or does it depend on the dream itself (some viewed as meaningless, others worth thinking about)?

In the US, generally people will mention a silly dream every once in a long while, but if you bring up a serious one people will definitely look at you funny or become uncomfortable. I live in CA, and even though there are a lot of open people who are willing to talk about spiritual, new age, paranormal subjects, dreams are usually met with a total disinterest. Most everyone I know just assumes that all dreams are meaningless and not worth thinking about at all. A select few friends of mine believe that a handful of dreams have meaning, but they don't have any interest at all in dream journaling or lucid dreaming or anything like that.

I just find that kind of sad. Here is something that everyone does every night which has so many possible benefits to mental, emotional, even spiritual well being, but paradoxically, that normality seems to be the very reason people never pay any attention to it.

You're right, it's very disappointing. Only about 3 or 4 of my friends will even take the time to listen when I tell them about my dreams, and are actually interested.

Maybe this stems from the fact that when people have nightmares as children, their parents usually tend to say something along the lines of, "Don't worry, its just a dream." I believe this this is one of the major reasons that most people assume that dreams are of little importance.

Good question!

Dreams are rarely a subject in "polite company" 'round these parts.  I have one friend in New York I discuss my dreams with on occasion, and who shares his dreams with me.  With him, we can share anything from the most intense to the trivial.

That's the only person in my "direct circle" who is open to discussing dreams, and he's 600 miles away.

Dreams are so often viewed as trivial distractions - quaint and perhaps mildly amusing, unless they begin impeding on our waking (translate WORKING) lives.

Soooo. . . I hang out here.

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A little different for me. A surprising number of people remember dreams around here (eating early and getting plenty of sleep, I guess.) I hear them talk about them all the time at school. Not a day goes by where I don't hear someone say, "Oh! I had a dream about you last night." or something like that...

I still haven't tried telling them about LDs though. Many would think I was insane... or a worshiper of Satan. The few close friends I told about seemed uninterested, but happily clung to every word when it came to dream recall. I got one friend interested, and he does some exercises, but doesn't have the drive to start LDing. (He'll be my roommate in a few months, so I'll change that. )

Well here where I am in the UK very few people talk about or mention dreams at all.  If you talk to people about Lucid Dreaming they do look at you like you have gone crazy and can't seem to understand it! So I rarely talk about dreams or dreaming to anyone that I know.

Of course if we were all interested in LDing and talking about dreams then we probably would get our fill of it in our everyday lives and wouldn't frequent MM to share our experiences! LDing is still pretty much a niche thing it appears!

People i know tend to view dreams as a very new-agey based subject if you try and talk about it in detail. Its annoying when people do that because they don't realize its a complete subject in itself and it is fascinating to talk about if the other person is interested and willing. But i guess many people i know just aren't that bothered about the topic which is sad really.

Dreams, i also find it really sad that ppl see dreams as just a meaningless insignificant thing.

U say that a lot of open people (lucky u if u have open minded friends) are willing to talk about spiritual, new age and paranormal subjects, and that dreams are usually met with a total disinterest.

I think dreams are just the most direct pathway with our minds, spirit and intellect, and so dreams and spirituality are directly connected, but because its so normal ppl don't give it too mutch credit.

I have a little story that ppl here might find interesting.

I've been studying occultism for some years now (for those who don't know, well, its conscious spiritual energy work, basically). I have a friend who usually have dreams who actually happen or partially happen in real life, and when this occurs she has the habit to come and tell to his friends. I've listen at least 2 of this story's.

Well, she doesn't believe in any spiritualism and she has no idea about my interests, She just says that i'm weird. One day she comes to me and says she dreamed about me, i asked her what did she dreamed about. She said she dreamed that we both were somewhere in the middle of a forest, there was groups of ppl, like a camping park. There were stars drowned in the floor. (-Stars like the one u have on your necklace. she said)I use a pentagram in my necklage.

She couldn't remember anymore, i insisted for her to remember. then she said she could remember there was someone, it was maybe me, i was laying down, and there were plenty of drowns in my chest, when i asked what drowns, she said they were just lines... i didn't insisted anymore.

Just lines... This "just lines" are the basis in many occult practices.

And there it is, i just find it was interesting to share this event in this topic. Maybe my friend is some kind of oracle, but because of her lack of information and education she had, she will not search neither try to understand.

That is interesting.  I wonder where and how the connection was made?

Have you ever experienced shared dreams that were verified?

Quote from: Delphinus on March 12, 2009, 09:54:14 PMA little different for me. A surprising number of people remember dreams around here (eating early and getting plenty of sleep, I guess.) I hear them talk about them all the time at school. Not a day goes by where I don't hear someone say, "Oh! I had a dream about you last night." or something like that...

I still haven't tried telling them about LDs though. Many would think I was insane... or a worshiper of Satan. The few close friends I told about seemed uninterested, but happily clung to every word when it came to dream recall. I got one friend interested, and he does some exercises, but doesn't have the drive to start LDing. (He'll be my roommate in a few months, so I'll change that. )

Now that I mentioned this... I started noticing it more.

More than five times a day I hear one of the following: I had such a weird dream last night You were in my dream last night. I had a really sad dream last night... I've started making noticeable faces too. I hear that and I turn and smile. Or make an odd face of interest. I want to hear their dreams and see if they're getting lucid or not. Unfortunately, it is usually in the halls of school, and they keep moving and I head to class. When they say it in class though, I check. Just in case.

Have you ever experienced shared dreams that were verified? Nope, as i said in my topic before, i rarely remember my dreams now (i come to realize that is because of my stress levels, i think).

But anyways i never had that experience.

Great topic!

I think that the people I interact with every day do not think seriously about dreams. They are regarded as just uncontrollable nighttime images with no consequence. Without asking I know I can't confirm this, but I don't think that a great number of people are aware of lucid dreams- or even that dream recall can be improved.

Within my close group of friends, I have talked about dreams (both mine and theirs) a bit more in the last few months however. It is always in a jokey way, and whilst they know I am pursuing lucidity, I won't get into discussions about techniques or the spiritual side of dreaming. I just don't think that would interest them at all, and might even result in me getting a few strange looks! I think people might like hearing about dreams that they are a character in more, as it indicates that they have made an impression on the dreamer.

I have got to the stage now though where I will only talk about it if someone else brings it up, as I think people were starting to get a bit annoyed with how often I would mention my previous nights dreams! This does make me a little sad, and I wish interest in it was more widespread. It is unfortunate that the idea that dreams are fun but not so important seems so deep rooted in many societies. Makes me even more grateful to have found the Mist.

Quote from: Naiya on March 12, 2009, 06:11:41 PM if you bring up a serious one people will definitely look at you funny or become uncomfortable.

Yeah, that has happened to me.

Some people simply do not posses the required intellectual level of thinking needed to be introspective and to think about a dream as something that is more than "just a dream".

Dreaming is brought up quite a bit. By both family, friends and others over the time I've known. Seems to vary quite a bit.

The first person I ever told about lucid dreaming believed me and starting getting into lucid dreaming, for a while at least. Then I told another friend and he seemed quite interested but then later when I tried to talk about dreaming to him again he kinda shrugged it off. I have told two more friends who thought it was a joke/something not to be taken with any degree of seriousness as some people here have experienced, it is very uncomfortable in this situtation

Then again a few times the topic has been brought up to me, by my sister once she was asking about dreams and after watching something on television about dreams and nightmares was talking to me about dreams and if you can control them or not. Then in another discussion about dreams people were talking about if you could control them or not. However most the time people talk about dreaming they talk about it without much seriousness, not really like its a joke as much. But Lucid dreaming would not be taken seriously unfortunately by loads of people. Oh well makes us more special and unique