Any dream analysts out there?

[lucid dancer]

Patty,    ...First of all, congratulations for having a lucid dream!  The best solution to a dream is answered by the dreamer, don't ya think?  There are many levels of consciousness.  I think this may have been a case where you weren't totally lucid. It might be a good idea to brainstorm the differences between dreams and projection.  I think It's interesting that you chose to keep a story going.  You saw people around you, not only believing they were actual people, but thinking that they must also be dreaming.  I've also had dreams like this. It seems that you may have wanted a projection rather then a dream(asking the meaning of life).  At the end when your friend showed up could mean a few things.  During Lucid dreams one often gets lonely or bored. You could have subconcsiously willed him to be there, (if you think dreams are all from the dreamers mind) OR he could have actually been there (if you believe you were out in a dream dimension).      ...Sorry, I often get carried away when thinking of dreams. I try not to push my beliefs onto people.  After all, it's something I'm still trying to find out as well!

[Patty]

Hi Dancer,

Like you, I think the dreamer is in the best position to understand the dream. But I love getting input, too.

Thanks for your thoughts on my dream! It was some time back, but one of the few times where I actually put a purpose to an LD.  Usually I just see what I can do while lucid.

I'd be curious what you think the differences are between AP and LD. It sounds like you have thoughts about it to some extent. I usually go with instinct in labelling them. Some are clearly one or the other (as this was clearly an LD to me) and some are in the middle and hard to define and ALL of them are valuable at one level or another (as are normal dreams.)  So do you think the distinguishing feature between an LD and an AP is merely a question of degree of conscious awareness? To some extent I agree with that, on the other hand I often search for validation of any given experience after the fact so, for example, if I dream I am flying over the neighbor's house and I see a pet bunny in the back yard, and the next day I learn that they have a new pet bunny in the back yard - I start to think that some 'dreams' are actually projections after all. That's where it gets murky for me.

I tend to think that THIS dream - (after sleeping on it and getting feedback on a couple forums) reflects my OWN beliefs about the 'purpose of life.'  My beliefs tend to be things like : Friends are important, the world is materialistic, spiritual beings are present but hard to interact with.  At a deeper level, then, one could say that the 'purpose of life' is to create your own purpose.   I asked the purpose of life and saw my beliefs reflected back to me. So my beliefs create my purpose.

What richness dreaming adds to life.

Thank you again, for your response -

Patty

[lucid dancer]

Patty, Hello again! It's so refreshing to type of dreaming. I come to this forum often, because I read Bruce's book. I have't had a concsious projection yet, so I feel right at home in the dream section.  I could write forever with the questions you've asked.  I guess you've recieved some impressive feedback about this dream. Do you shop a lot? That reminds me of Bruce's suggested exersize for a WILD projection. Are you aware of that technique? ...Write back and I'll tell you about it if you want.             Ok!    Dreams and OBEs:  Lately I've been having awesome dreams, and refuse to believe they are meerly imagination.  Lately my lucid dreams have quickly turned into projections.  When I wake up and think about it, it doesn't seem likely that it was a projection. So I must have been having a dream about it.  Considering the mind split, I now believe that these dreams are the dreamers perception of an OBE.  We project every night. If we're not concsious of them, or don't remember them, we could surely see signs of them in dreams.  Well, I would like to continue researching these ideas. Plus I'm not sure if dreaming takes place within, or if we travel to dream dimensions.               ...Sorry about the lengthy message!   I just got off work and I'm delerious!        LD

[Person]

As to the blur between dream and OBE/AP...
I had quite a few OBE's that started out just fine, then I go through my window and there's a cactus in my front yard and the whole thing is suddenly dreamlike... some obe's have exit symptoms but are too unstable to be considered real... my solution was to just categorize everything as a dream unless proven (like the bunny.)  After reading Bruce's book, the part where the body's mind falls into a dream state while the other is still OBE, making the two memory streams mix or making the OBE environment very unstable, really makes sense.  So if it ever turns dreamlike, just end it there.
Your LD I think was a dream, but your subconscious/higher self raised the bar a bit on awareness to show you a higher level of dreaming.  Even though dreams are internal and personal, you can connect with another during a dream - mutual dreaming.  If that's possible (its been proven), then why not a way to connect to a whole town of people inside a dream?
As to the interpretation, I came to the same conclusion before reading yours.  Your expectations of the answer overtook any real answer you may have gotten.

-Person

[Patty]

Hi,

I'd like to share one of my lucid dreams because although it was a lot of fun, I am not quite sure what to make of it.

I was dreaming non-lucidly that I was caught in a large net. No surrounding scenery, just this large net in an otherwise empty dreamscape. I was thrashing and trying to get free - and about then I gained lucidity. I was able to work my way through an opening in the net and leapt into the friendly void feeling the fall so tactilely, and feeling "I'm free, I'm free, I'm free......."

So when I land, still in a void but on some surface, I remembered all the advice about asking your 'big' questions while in an altered state of consciousness like this. So I asked "What is the purpose of life?" Very loudly and forcefully.

Immediately (get ready) a shopping mall appeared ahead of me. I was on a conveyor belt and moving through the automatic doors to the mall.  I start walking once I am inside, and see all sorts of people. Most of them are clearly humans who are unaware they are dreaming at that moment. To my left was a group playing arcade games in the main corridor of the mall. Ahead an to my right were some non-descript shops and a group of obvious grey-haired 'elders' who were clearly lucid, aware, sort of above the human automaton folks.  I went up to them and said "What's this all about?" They looked displeased that I had bothered to ask them and moved away without answering.

I continued thrrough the mall, turned a corner to my left, and saw a bar in the main corridor with people sitting around having drinks. Over across the hallway/corridor I recognize an old friend sitting by himself in a booth having a brew, and he waves me over - He laughs and says - "Oh do join me Patty. I do so hate to dream alone."

I laughed at the joke and woke myself up.

So, what is the purpose of life? To shop? To drink? To not take things to seriously? And please don't disturb the grown ups? Life is nothing more than a shopping mall? I am hoping for a meaning with a little more substance!

Any ideas?

Patty