Mistaking dreams for memories -
Lately, I started studying dreams closely and started realizing that some of my memories might not actually be memories, but dreams. Especially my earliest memories - my childhood.
I've been reading books and articles about dreams, especially lucid dreaming. As I've been reading, I started to get flashbacks of my past, memories that just didn't make any sense.
It was scary.
Imagine going about your day and suddenly realizing that the girl you kissed in kindergarten never existed - the kiss you always thought about fondly (it was your first one afterall) never happened.
Needless to say, I've been analyzing my memories a lot...
Why does this happen ?
- Dreams can be extremely similar to reality.
- Memories aren't very reliable - memories change with time, they can be influenced by other people and events.
- Dream memories are stored the same way that normal memories are stored and the storing process is nowhere near perfect.
- Dreams are experienced reality. You see, feel, hear etc.
Life is an illusion.
With things like this, it's very simple to call life an illusion -* you can't even trust your own memory anymore !*
I've never been fond of radical statements like this, but it makes you think, doesn't it ?
What if life is just a big game, that only works, because everyone is sticking to the rules ?
If life IS a game, enjoy it and try to get a high score - what if it's the only game you get to play ?
This is an excellent post! I'm upvoting and I promoted it for you.
The post reminds me of a quote...
There are cultures in this world that believe that the waking state is what is unreal and that the only reality is the dreaming.
Neil Gaimans Sandman series was very influential in my life in the way that I think about dreams and the dreaming.
Thank you, kind sir. It's amazing how you guys always educate me in your comments ! :)
I remember having this experience on ayahuasca, where I asked what things would be like if I had never existed. Abuelita (the spirit/voice in my head/voice of the drug) said, remember that cute girl Jane who wore a ponytail and fluffy striped jumpers, who used to come visit you when you were 16? I said yeah. Abuelita said, well there was no such girl, I just made her up. I said "oh." I guess the idea was, if I had never existed, I would just be a fantasy in someone else's trip.
I also have this odd memory, which I've wondered about for years. When I was in 3rd grade, I didn't have any friends at my school. I do remember having one friend in that time, who had a curly blonde mullet. I don't remember his name, but he was at my school for several months. Then, nothing. I don't remember anything about him leaving the school. I guess it was just a dream.
Have you read anything about the Mandela effect? Might be interesting for you.
Wow, thank you for your extensive response, I just read about the Mandela effect, thanks for bringing that up - very interesting indeed. :)
Thanks for sharing that trip story too, made me research ayahuasca.
That's fascinating! I haven't thought about this before, that some of my memories might be dream memories and not "real". I have noticed that sometimes I'll remember things while dreaming that didn't happen in real life, so where did they happen?
I had a dream last night were I remembered being on a street and having previous experiences there. But I've never actually been on that street. Did I have those experiences in another dream? That suggests a continuity between some dreams, a continuing story connected by memory, rather than the disjointed, random experiences we assume dreams are.
Or maybe the memory was "planted" instead, like in @churdtzu's ayahuasca trip. How mind-blowing, that a memory could come into existence and feel completely real with no "actual" experience to create it. It calls all memories into question and makes you wonder if you might have just appeared in this world a second ago, with all your memories born in that moment with you.
Wow, glad to see such a thoughtful response ! The amount of dream we have in a lifetime is very high and we certainly don't remember them all, but it's possible that bits cling to your memory.