Monday, May 19, 2008

Colorful dreams

There's an urban legend that most people dream in black and white. Why an urban legend? Because everyone I asked said they dream in color. I'm pretty sure that all my dreams are in color and I don't recall ever dreaming in black and white. Supposedly, you would be unable to read in your dreams and the letters would appear as gibberish. I don't remember seeing books or newspapers in my dreams, but I do remember signs with numbers and letters and they were quiet legible.

One weird thing about my dreams is how I fly. I once dreamed I was able to fly by flapping my ears. No, this was not after watching Dumbo and it was actually very difficult to do. My usual way of taking to the skies is gliding like a ninja. I would jump up and kinda glide forward and downwards as if I had a glider attached to my back. Ironically, these dreams were before I watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Naruto.

30 comments:

  1. Interesting. I never thought about those things. I think my dreams were color, but I never recall seeing images in my dream, I just imagine things are happening, its more like thoughts that feel real.

    Sounds like a boy dream.

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  2. Really? That's weird. Never heard of anyone who has that. Usually people dream about stuff or don't dream.

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  3. Moshe

    Thanks for commenting on my blog
    I had dreams were I could do all sorts of thing like being super strong but I usually cant work whatever it is when ever I want

    Baby sitter

    I dont think its a boy dream. have you ever read FruminsouthFlorida.blogspot.com?

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  4. That's because you don't realize that you're dreaming.

    I had very weird dreams where the same setting was repeated from one dream to another.

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  5. I heard that we only THINK we are dreaming in color, because the way we remember our dresms is the same way we would remember anything else, adn that would be in color- because we live in a colorful world.

    The question reallly is is how do these sleep specialists actually "know" that we're dreaming in black/white?

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  6. I remember specific colors of objects. Also, when you close your eyes and imagine things they appear in color. I doubt it's true that we only think we dream in color.

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  7. I was actually just thinking about previous dreams I've had, and I specifically remember one dream in which EVERYTHING was literally black/white accept for the path, which was red.

    So, I'm going to side with you, in that dreams are in color. B/c it can't be that I just remembered ONE thing colored.

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  8. Moshe: I mean I dream about stuff, like I imagine real stuff are happening. But when I remember my dream, I can't remember it with the pictures, I just remember the story of what happened.

    Although actually lately I've started having dreams/nightmares where I would be sleeping with my eyes open where I start seeing things that aren't there. Like one time I thought there were a lot of flies flying around on the dresser, I didn't see them, I just saw black dots, and then I tried reaching for them and there was nothing there, then I would rub my eyes and sit up and take a look and all the block dots that looked like flies flying around went away.

    MikeinMidwood: I actually meant to read her blog, I have a tab open, with it there but I never got around to it yet, but I saw one of her tiles was about superheroes, didn't read it yet.

    FrumSkeptic: but you know they can figure out what you see when your sleeping. Remember hearing that everything you see goes into you, that when there was a lady having brain surgery she starting singing the opera even though she never did before, cause as a young child her Babysitter used to take her to the opera so it came out of her. So through playing with the brain they can figure out these stuff.

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  9. babysitter: "but you know they can figure out what you see when your sleeping"

    I doubt they can determine color. Afterall, it is very likely and i think even proven taht everyone has a different perception of color. So if I'm seeing everything in black/white and various shades of grey, to you it may be various completely different colors.

    So, either way, still doesn't explain that dream where I rememebered only ONE color. Maybe it was a subconscious brain thing, and I was supposed to focus on the red (it was afterall the path I needed to follow), but why would my brain only fill that specific thing in with color for my memory?

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  10. My nightmares are about guests coming for Shabbat, it's an hour before, nothing's cooked or even bought I'm trying to find some food to buy and all the stores are closing and empty.

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  11. moshe: wow. You must have some reputation with cooking and having people over that you have nightmares about this stuff!!

    Gd willingly nothing even remotly close to the situation will ever happen.

    One of my teachers in HS told us that she literally cooks extra food and freezes it incase one of those scenarios occur! How fun, frozen shabbos food.

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  12. FrumSkeptic: Your right, color is based on the perception of what people see, so it would be hard. Although did you know that in the olden days they used to find a persons murderer by opening the eye lids and looking at the persons eye, and the last image stored in the eye, would be the face of the killer.

    Moshe: That sounds like a mothers nightmare. That's why in Pirkei Avos it says the husband shouldn't invite guests without telling his wife in before, or something like that. Because then it would lead to Shalom Bayis problems or she would be working crazy and it wouldn't be fair. But I guess it applies both ways.

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  13. "Although did you know that in the olden days they used to find a persons murderer by opening the eye lids and looking at the persons eye, and the last image stored in the eye, would be the face of the killer."

    No, I didn't know that. thats really cool. however, I would totally consider that as risky evidence to go by. Maybe as "lead" it would be ok.

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  14. babysitter, my wife makes fish, yemenite soup and cake, I cook the rest, for both meals.

    fs, you should come to us for shabbat. dunno if your whole family would want to walk that far but if you want you can stay by my mom's.

    the thing about the murderer was in Wild Wild West. It's popular folklore and is not true. There's an article debunking this myth.

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  15. Moshe: when I said olden days I meant in the days of the Gemarah kinda thing. So of course things were different back then. But that's interesting that there's actually an article about it.

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  16. Unless you have a source, pretty sure that the whole idea is no more that 300 years old.

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  17. Babysitter- I read a sci-fi book once on this subject. They literally photographed all dead people eyes and then they would bury them. These photographs were later used in inheritance or criminal disputes. But otherwise it is untrue. Dead eyes reflect whatever they see, just like any other reflective surface.

    Moshe-I dream in color. I heard that we dream in black and white so I started paying special attention. I definitely saw color. Red and blue and yellow. Although these colors kind of stand out against a back ground.

    Moshe - I dream about flying all the time. I even looked it up once. If you're flying up, that means that you're on a right spiritual journey, continue in the same manner. If you're flying down, then you should reevaluate your life. Flying is actually about extreme spiritual decline or uplift. Same is said about walking or driving. Up - you're good, continue the same way. Down - stop, change.

    The food dreams means that you're searching for some kind of an answer. Something is bothering you. For example are you allowed to use tea bags or not. You yourself are using one or the other, but are not satisfied with your decision...

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  18. MLevin: But do the dead eyes keep seeing new images? or it only sees the last thing it saw?

    MLevin and Moshe: now I remember, about the flying, I never thought of flying as going downward like falling, but I once had a class in sem about dreams, basically most dreams you have you don't have to worry about, but there are some that can be a sign, so one of them I think was falling. Another one was food, that it can be a sign for something don't remember if its good or bad.

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  19. Gonna have to disagree with you about the food. This is something that I'm concerned about normally so it's no wonder it'll end up in my nightmares. I usually make cholent for twice more people than are coming. Fridays I also sometimes go crazy about food. Also, always must make enough of each food so that each person gets a piece. And even though I know approximately who will eat what and how much of it, if we're having 8 people, I'll make at least 8 of each even though half will not be eaten.
    As far as tea bags, I brew tea leaves and put out tea bags and I'm very satisfied.

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  20. My father once had this dream when he was young something very scary and it made him so afraid he didnt want to go to sleep anymore this was after constant nights of having the same dream. My grandmother took him to a Kaabalist he made my father hold a tissue said a few words and until this day my father cant remember that dream only the fact that he was scared. I think it might have had to do with Shaidim or something

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  21. Babysitter – I read somewhere that a body does not begin to decompose until one hour after the death. That is why it is possible to breast feed a baby one last time after mother’s sudden death. So, theoretically eyes continue to “see” even after the death, but these images are not registered anywhere because brain is dead and no electrical impulses movements are occurring.

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  22. MLevin: That's really interesting. (That reminds me of something discussed in one of my English classes, about a man that would rape dead bodies, now I see how that was possible)

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  23. "fs, you should come to us for shabbat. dunno if your whole family would want to walk that far but if you want you can stay by my mom's."

    :)

    I'd love to come, and I'm sur my parents wouldnt mind the walk..but are u sure you can put up with them? LOL. My dad will wanna discuss politics and crazy frum people. my mom only discusses science, and my sister sits there and goes "WHY AM I HERE". lol

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  24. Well, I like politics, science and bitching about frummies. So check, check and check.
    And for your sister, tell me what she likes to eat and I'll prob make it.

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  25. As per my 7th grade biology teacher, Mendeleyev dreamed his table.

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  26. Yea, as strange as that sounds. She was discussing dreams and recall.

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  27. I no longer dream. It could be that I block it all out. Your dream sounds like a HUGE high, but what do I know. My strongest dream occured when I was 10. i felt as though my soul left my body and soared around the sabbath candles. Since then I have been landlocked.

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