Dreams... What they really are?

[ArmyOfOne1911]

Hey guys.
I have had dreams before... that were so evil and dark... or weird, and it always made me wonder... Was this something happening in the astral but I was just really not aware? Or are you creating everything you dream? I have heard so many different theories about this. I guess my question is... It seems different everytime. One time I had a dream of this girl I met. I never really saw a clear picture of her. She was really shady throughout the whole dream. It felt real at times... It was one of those dreams where you wake up and you are upset you can't bring it back and it stays on your mind all day. She gave me a great feeling... and that dream felt pretty real, but it was still dreamy. Since I have had OBE's before it's easy to say they are completely different. I know some people say it's all about consciousness levels and how aware you are. That makes sense, but what about this dream I had a few nights ago? Literally... There was a bird next to me. I accidentally crushed it. I was looking for it, then lifted my shirt and there was guts all over my chest from it. But it wasn't bloody... Instead it looked like when you crack an egg open and see a bunch of yolk. But I knew it was "guts" It was kinda disturbing to say the least. Was I creating this? Was it real? When I say real... was this an actual bird or entity I was dealing with in this dream? Or was I creating this subconsciously just manifesting things? How can you ever know if you are manifesting this stuff or if you are actually dealing with an entity or creature etc? Some of the dreams I have... I wonder why I would ever be around that stuff in the astral if I was aware.  So it's almost got to be my subconscious trying to deal with things while I am sleeping? So many questions... I hope this made sense.

Thanks all!
-Cody

[CFTraveler]

No one really knows 100% what dreams are- what we know is:
Everybody dreams, even if they don't remember any.
In some periods, dreams are easier to remember because of when people wake up slightly after it helps.
Some dreams are obviously the mind 'rearranging' and contextualizing ideas- possibly 'filing'- the filing of memories, and possibly its rearranging.
Some dreams are precognitive- so something 'nonlocal' is happening in those instances.
Some dreams are shared- so again, something nonlocal is happening.
They can be symbolic, and when symbols are looked at they show dreams to be symbolic of things that are happening in the physical- representative of worries or just thought processing.  So they are not nonsensical.
When compared to archetypal symbology, dreams also seem to be telling  the percipient something about their lives, and when compared to personal symbology (i.e. associations that the person has made according to their experiences) messages appear also, which contributes to the idea that they are the subconscious part of us communicating with the conscious part, or just to itself.

[ArmyOfOne1911]

CFTraveler thank you so much. This helped a lot.