Has anyone else had experience with completely impersonal dreams? By “impersonal” I mean dreams that seemingly have nothing to do with you at all.
From time to time I’ve had dreams which looked and sounded like TV commercials. I usually get these dreams early in the morning, when I’m between waking and sleeping. I’m often lucid during these dreams, and view them from a third-person perspective with no avatar in the dream stream.
For example, I’ve once had a sudden, behind-the-eyelids lucid dream (or vision) of a Nike shoe commercial. Recently I had a dream that played out like a presidential attack ad.
In these dreams, I don’t seem to have any attachment to the content. Sometimes they begin with a strobing feeling in my brow.
I’ve noticed that they tend to be sociological in nature, like they’re downloads from the group mind or something.
I actually hardly watch TV at all. And when I do I don’t watch commercials (or usually mute them). I haven’t had a a TV signal on my TV since 2008. Right now the only two TV shows I watch are The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, which I watch online. Of course, I have years of experience with TV commercials, and do still see them occasionally.
The recent political ad dream came after a period of being intensely interested in the election. The continuity effect was probably at work, here. However, I neglected to mention that the content of the dream was completely at odds with my own thoughts about politics. So I woke up wondering why my subconscious would try to sell me on a point of view that I (consciously) completely disagree with. That’s why I wonder if that dream, and dreams like it, aren’t entirely personal.
I can believe that the dreams come from my subconscious, but these dreams are different from others. Simply the fact that I’m not personally in the dream sets them apart. I’m an invisible observer, and the dreams often unfold cinematically (but are still “dream-like”).
I guess the true mystery for me about these dreams is where they come from, if they come solely from me. They don’t reflect my conscious thoughts or feelings about things. And, if I stop and introspect, I find that they don’t secretly reflect any thoughts or feelings either. Many dreams have revealed true feelings to me, and those true feelings have been a surprise, and educational. But in the case of these types of dreams, the feelings behind them–upon inspection–don’t match up with me at all. I also wouldn’t say that they particularly embody my fears! Truly, they seem anomalous.
