How can a dream surprise you?

[The_Vigilant]

I had a funny experience about an hour ago. I was taking a nap and having a strange (read: normal) dream. One of the characters in my dream started talking about something I did in my past and I expected (within my dream) his final appraisal of the act to be congratulatory. It wasn't. He said, "I have never been so disappointed." I had a relaxed attitude all the way through him saying "I have never been so-" because I expected the word that ended that sentence to turn it into a compliment, not an insult. I was shocked! The rug was pulled out from under me in my own dream.

I have several questions, best directed at you Escapists with a psychology background. First, how is that possible? The dream is entirely a product of my own mind. Shouldn't it be like playing chess with myself - no matter how hard I try not to, I implicitly understand my own intentions. I can't separate the "me" playing black from the "me" playing white. So, it follows that I can't separate my understanding of a person from the way I would imagine that person to behave. So how can a dream ever surprise me like that?

This type of "dream surprise" happens to me all the time. Usually when it happens, it's sort of a fantasy - my wants override my logic - and some smoking hot girl desires a fling with me or I become wildly rich or famous for something. In the case that prompted this thread however, I can't see the motivation for tricking myself. It was just a case of dialogue and the delivery of the shock was handled with almost cinematic impact. So my second question is: have any of you experienced similar surprise within a dream? What happened?

 

[enzilewulf]

I have a theory to the first question. We want something in real life to happen like getting a sweet car , but we know that in reality we can't get it because we have to se the money for less fun things like food and shit. Yet in a dream you can have what ever you would like so when you get the car it comes to a shock if your like me and once in a dream you think its reality.

Once I had a dream about a certain naughty act me and a girl were having and I knew I usually wake up before anything good happens but this time lets just say I got to the end. Surprised the hell out of me.

 

[Antitonic]

While your subconscious mind might take in every little detail, your conscious mind doesn't. Any time the subconscious has room to shine, it could surprise you, even though TECHNICALLY you're aware of everything it has to say.

Basically, you're aware, but not aware of the fact.

 

[The_Vigilant]

Once I had a dream about a certain naughty act me and a girl were having and I knew I usually wake up before anything good happens but this time lets just say I got to the end. Surprised the hell out of me.

Yeah, I never make it to the end of those. I suppose it's for the best since I'd probably wake up in something sticky if I did.

While your subconscious mind might take in every little detail, your conscious mind doesn't. Any time the subconscious has room to shine, it could surprise you, even though TECHNICALLY you're aware of everything it has to say.

Basically, you're aware, but not aware of the fact.

That's a pretty good explanation. The only enigma of it is that in normal circumstances the two always work in tandem, although the conscious higher brain does all of the talking and reasoning. It's strange that they work against each other in a dream and that the subconscious does some talking of its own. I guess that's what you meant by "room to shine."

 

[BulletMoaf]

simply put, you most likely wasnt fully aware of what things you were aware of.

also, it could simply be so that something in the back of your mind tries to remind you of that one time where you got credit for doing something while you didnt feel you earned it. the dream represents it by letting you do something "admirable" that you instead get "scolded" for.

its a funny thing about dreams, things are not represented by what you think of them, but rather how you think of them. a classic is the matter of dreaming of your X in a situation you want with your current half. its just you find both (possibly) attractive , and thus your brain mixes them, since its a matter of attraction, not individual.

 

[xxmyhero64xx]

Dreams are damn weird. It's always fun to theorize about them but I don't think there really is a solid explanation for why they are the way they are. I mean seriously last night I had a dream involving my cat, Michael Chiklis, and wolf pigs. Go figure man. I mean I enjoy dreams, I really do, but I can't anything concrete behind them.

 

[Antitonic]

While your subconscious mind might take in every little detail, your conscious mind doesn't. Any time the subconscious has room to shine, it could surprise you, even though TECHNICALLY you're aware of everything it has to say.

Basically, you're aware, but not aware of the fact.

That's a pretty good explanation. The only enigma of it is that in normal circumstances the two always work in tandem, although the conscious higher brain does all of the talking and reasoning. It's strange that they work against each other in a dream and that the subconscious does some talking of its own. I guess that's what you meant by "room to shine."

I think of it a little like poker. The dealer holds all the cards, and given enough time, so will you. Right now, though, you're just chasing a flush.

Perhaps that's taking the analogy a little far, but you get the idea.

As for "room to shine", you more or less got it. I put that in because dreams are the domain of the subconscious, where it can take the stand with a live microphone, and the conscious mind just sits there and takes it. Not just the standard dreams, either. Under hypnotic trances as well, for example.