I thought that I’d post about this in case others have the same experience.
Basically, most of my dreams aren’t detached and self-contained; they tend to share a fairly consistent alternative world and event history (some pre-existant and some created during my dreams).
In my alternative dream world (I’ll call it “other world” in reference to Coraline), aspects of my real life are represented in a different, but consistent way (eg. my house has a different room layout, and I stayed in an additional rental between this one and the last).
I’ve also formed unique relationships, so there are people I only know in my dreams. I have a different educational background, a different family, a different job… but it’s all familiar and I always seem to know what things are and what I’m supposed to be doing.
The other world has different rules (eg. sometimes I can float rather than walk, and space and time are more maleable). This sometimes helps me realise that I’m dreaming so that I can be more lucid.
Does anyone else out there have an “other world”?
There is one element of my dreams that is similar. I tend not to dream very much, that I can remember at least. Perhaps once or twice a month.
In many of the dreams I live upstairs in a particular glass building that exists in East Perth. I remember that the building made an impression on me when I was driven past it as a young child. Since then it is where I live in my dreams. In reality it has housed a number of businesses, last I checked it was a architects office. But in my dream it has an Apple reseller store on the ground floor and I live on the top floor. I find it quite strange, the Apple store never plays a significant role in the dream, it’s just there.
When I was young I remember having very abstract dreams. Imagery of some kind of self-organising network, or some organic substance growing in a chaotic manner. I haven’t had a dream like that for more than 10 years.
That’s pretty awesome! It’s somehow reassuring to know that someone else has a consistent home in their dreams.
The abstract imagery thing I haven’t really had before. My dreams are pretty… grounded I guess, and I usually dream every night or so.
Also, you absolutely have to purchase that place in East Perth and move in and then see if your dream house changes. 😉
I wish I had one of these “other worlds”. My dreams are usually disconnected. I try to record as many as I can because recording dreams helps to remember them in general, which helps you to induce lucid dreams – and each dream is something completely different. Maybe when I learn to not only lucid dream, but also manipulate my dreams (which comes when you’re in a high state of lucidity), I can force whatever characters I want to appear in there.
I have dreams like tha everynite, at first i didnt think nothing of it but as time went by it felt more and more real. I’ve also had those abstract dreams where something is crumbling on the walls, like the quiet before the storm is the only words i know of how too describe it.
Hello, ive had a very interesting experience, just about 20 mins ago when I woke up that has had such an in pack on me that I am writing it here now. Ive had lucid dreams, ive had disconnected dreams as we all have, but last night, it was not necessarily the lucid dream itself, it was the knowledge and history that I had with in the dream, it was as if I had been in this “alternative world” for a life time, it was a lot like our own, just tweaked, and I had a different profession and life, but its like in the dream, I knew it was a different form of reality than that of the “waking” world. The point im trying to get across here is that it felt like a lucid dream in another life with all the experiences and history of that different life at my finger tips.
thanks for your time.
-Mateo
I’m so glad I’m not the only one. My experience is similar to Mateo’s.. Although sometimes the dream has a fantasy element thrown in which indicates to me that I am lucid dreaming but the main elements of it are always of a different life, but a life that is mine.
I had just experienced one about an hour ago where I felt i had lived out months in another time and place. Full with family, friends, a girlfriend, work, etc. People I have never met in my life in my normal reality. A completely different life yet as familiar as the reality I’m experiencing right now.
I woke up feeling all exhausted and disoriented. Took me a couple of mins to re-adjust. Although this happens quite regularly, I just thought it was normal. For the first time in my life, I spoke of it to my partner but she has never experienced one.. Which got me wondering how normal it really is.
At first, my partner thought I was talking of those “What if my life was different..?” type dreams but she quickly realised it was different because she remembered the look on my face when it took me a minute to place her when I woke up, which isn’t normal.
I’ve read up on a few theories now but what ever it is.. I’m glad I’m not alone..
This is one of the reasons it’s best to keep laying there your spirit energy needs to catch up with your body here. Yes I sometimes wake up exhausted as well, but mostly exhilerated and the friends and family and places stay with me all day. It always haunts my feelings and memories, that’s why I look forward to going back…Sometimes I can be like a zombie here and I wonder if I am still in the alternative place living it out at the same time….I think so….
OMG….I have always known of my alternative and parallel lives. When I first saw Coraline I had an eery yet comforting feeling and have often referred to this movie as the closest concept to what I experience on a daily basis. My other world is very vibrant and detailed in every way. The layouts are similar but always modified larger and many rooms with strangers but mostly friends lounging and having a good time. There is alot of hovering and flying over oceans and running very fast. Great food. Sometimes I do go to the dark side, meaning this place is similar to a black and white movie, the people are not terribly friendly but they do no harm…I often wonder if in fact the friends I know in the other world are people we will never meet here and they are all collectively going to the same village, town or city in their dream life. I also have the ability to go back to the same dream even after I wake up so I can continue the adventure. I always look forward to going to sleep for I know I will be in one of my alternative places. Sweet dreams.
I have the same kinds of dreams, semi familiar places and people but tweaked, more rooms and events going on. An instinctual knowledge that I can fly with a little concentration or run/jump on a ridiculous level. More often than not though I’m.leading ppl away from danger or fighting something bad and dangerous, I’m not a violent person towards others when I’m.awake but I’ve dreamed of killing bad people in defense of myself or.someone else. I.consistently dream of a blonde girl my own age maybe a bit younger (who claims to be.my.daughter and or of a man a bit older than me and although I can’t make out.his face I.recognize him from years worth of dream scenarios spent together. It almost.feels like I’m.being trained.or tested, especially when placed in circumstances that basically demand that I fight or.flee. it literally feels like an alternate life I’m living that I get to witness glimpses of while I’m asleep. I.taught myself to.fight and fly and warp the world as I see fit. If u r really after answers look into the books by Carlos Castaneda, it’s the best explanation I’ve ever had that didn’t rely on.pop dream symbolism and what not. Main books would be the eagles gift.and the second ring.of power
Most of my life I have had run of the mill dreams that I could identify as “just dreams” occasionally I’d have one that was more real and sometimes it would come true or mostly true…true enough for me to freak a little. About 2 or 3 years ago my dreams changed.. My dreams are more like alternate lives, and everything about them feel “real” . For those of you who have ever had an out of body experience these dreams are kind of like that except instead of seeing and being the physical me like I look now I see somebody else that I recognize as me. The interesting thing is that the other me or dream me is never the same. It feels so real and the situations are so normal and comfortable and sometimes so fun, I actually get irritated when I wake up. If string theory physics are correct perhaps we are experiencing or witnessing in some way a parallel life in a parallel universe or dimension in these strangely familiar realistic dreams. Yea I know that this theory is kinda out there but it is the closest to a logical conclusion I can draw based on my limited understanding of string theory which provides the most accepted and logical explanation for the possibility of multiple dimensions. But what IF???
i am a recent coma patient and while i was in my coma i had dreamed that me and my wife had a baby and that she grew up and went to collage. it all seemed so real but then i woke up. my wife was still pregnant but the baby wasn’t born yet. this dream lasted till the baby was about 4, then i woke up again. i don’t know if i’m dreaming right now or not.