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Mundane Dream Prediction

James_H

James_H

And I like to roam the land
Joined
May 18, 2002
Messages
7,631
My friend just told me this, it happened to him today.

He lives in a large European capital city. Last night he dreamed that he was back in university, and that the address of his residence was number 6 or 16 of a specific street. Let's call it X Street. He woke up at 7 or 8 AM and specifically noted the address, for whatever reason — I guess it stuck in his mind.

Later that morning, he saw a listing on facebook that contained the address 6a X Street. It was posted at 9.30 AM.

So it seems like an example of a precognitive dream, but one that is totally mundane and un-useful. Perhaps he should have visited...
 
Tell him to keep it up, maybe he will be able to progress and enhance on these abilities as to come up with a meaningful prediction in the future.
 
Might this help?

I bought a book in a second-hand book shop many years ago - 1970s? - that simply seemed unusually interesting.

Turned out to be a well written and fascinating account of the author's own investigation into whether his dreams might predict the future.

The writer consequently realised that this might only be possible if on waking up, even half way through the night, he absolutely had to instantly write down what he just dreamt.

After a period of experimentation, there was evidently nothing in it, until eventually, there seemed to perhaps be...

Bottom line, document your dreams immediately on waking up (voice recorder app on a mobile nowadays?), otherwise that precise recollection tends to be lost?
 
I once dreamed of a car registration plate (XFX 198L, if anyone is interested, and yes, it was a long time ago).

I moved into a rented house some years later which had an old moped in the garden, overgrown with weeds, which had the same numberplate.

Nothing of note happened in this house, I no longer see the person I moved in with, and, in fact, live hundreds of miles away. I do wonder if, on some occasions where the dream isn't recorded, we sort of 'retro engineer' our dream memories to fit circumstances (ie, maybe I dreamed of a number plate which began XFX, which was, at that time, the local plate for Exeter, and on seeing the moped I iimagined' that it was the precise numberplate I'd dreamed of). Anyone think this might sometimes be the case?
 
There's a registry of number plates in the UK where you can trace the vehicle it belongs to - worth a go? Can't recall the site address off the top of my head, sorry.
 
When you dream how can you be sure that you actually did dream it that night and are not recalling and earlier dream? Sorry sounds a bit odd perhaps, sorry yet again.
 
catseye said:
... I do wonder if, on some occasions where the dream isn't recorded, we sort of 'retro engineer' our dream memories to fit circumstances (ie, maybe I dreamed of a number plate which began XFX, which was, at that time, the local plate for Exeter, and on seeing the moped I iimagined' that it was the precise numberplate I'd dreamed of). Anyone think this might sometimes be the case?
Click to expand...

It's entirely possible, and it's entirely consistent with waking memory of 'non-dreamt' events.
 
Dotty said:
When you dream how can you be sure that you actually did dream it that night and are not recalling and earlier dream? Sorry sounds a bit odd perhaps, sorry yet again.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I understand the question ... Are you asking:

(a) How do you know the dream was dreamt only once and was dreamt last night rather than any earlier night?
versus ...
(b) How do you know last night's dream wasn't a 'rerun' of a dream from an earlier night?
versus ...
(c) Something else entirely ...
...?
 
As I understand it, dreams aren't stored like normal memories. They go into very short term memory for a few minutes after waking but then aren't really 'saved'. So it's hard to 'remember' a dream (unless it makes a very powerful impression on you or is written down or 'saved' in some other way) and then when you think 'oh yes, I dreamed this before', that's actually a brain-glitch, almost 'dream deja vu', rather than a real memory of a real dream? I have dreams where I'm sure I'm in places I've been before, but on waking realise it wall ALL, including my memories in the dream, a construct of that night.
 
Comfortably Numb said:
Might this help?

I bought a book in a second-hand book shop many years ago - 1970s? - that simply seemed unusually interesting.

Turned out to be a well written and fascinating account of the author's own investigation into whether his dreams might predict the future.

The writer consequently realised that this might only be possible if on waking up, even half way through the night, he absolutely had to instantly write down what he just dreamt.

After a period of experimentation, there was evidently nothing in it, until eventually, there seemed to perhaps be...

Bottom line, document your dreams immediately on waking up (voice recorder app on a mobile nowadays?), otherwise that precise recollection tends to be lost?
Click to expand...

I tried to keep a dream diary but never noticed anything significant in them. Different types of cheese before bed did seem to inspire different kinds of dreams (Red Leicester bringing on a nightmare) but the worst thing was trying to make out what the hell I'd written when I got up the next day.
It's hard writing in a straight line, or even legibly, when it's dark!
 
catseye said:
As I understand it, dreams aren't stored like normal memories. They go into very short term memory for a few minutes after waking but then aren't really 'saved'. So it's hard to 'remember' a dream (unless it makes a very powerful impression on you or is written down or 'saved' in some other way)
Click to expand...

It's no doubt a defence mechanism. Forgetting horrible nightmares is a good thing - when I did my dream diary and was able to recall the worst ones it was pretty unpleasant.
 
XEPER_ said:
I tried to keep a dream diary but never noticed anything significant in them. Different types of cheese before bed did seem to inspire different kinds of dreams (Red Leicester bringing on a nightmare) but the worst thing was trying to make out what the hell I'd written when I got up the next day.
It's hard writing in a straight line, or even legibly, when it's dark!
Click to expand...
If this may no interest...?

The author of his inherent experimentation, did emphasise it was some time documenting his dream recollections before they maybe...
 
I'm always a little hesitant to encourage someone to "develop" skills such as these, since we don't know exactly what a person taps into when they have such dreams. Perhaps, in the words of King Lear, "... that way lies madness."
 
I had a friend once who used to say 'don't look at the detail of the dream, look at how it made you feel. That's what your brain wants you to pay attention to.'

Of course, he was the most massive idiot, but he might have had a point.
 
XEPER_ said:
I tried to keep a dream diary but never noticed anything significant in them. Different types of cheese before bed did seem to inspire different kinds of dreams (Red Leicester bringing on a nightmare) but the worst thing was trying to make out what the hell I'd written when I got up the next day.
It's hard writing in a straight line, or even legibly, when it's dark!
Click to expand...
(I've written this before I think but...) I kept such a diary for several months in the 1980's. I stopped when the writing down after waking in the morning took over an hour. It was interesting to see how ones recollection gradually improved over a period and the disjointed insanity that most recollections comprise, join up into a moderately sensible narrative.

I never dreamt anything remotely predictive, that wasn't within the bounds of my day-to-day life (so dreaming I'd meet someone who I met most days anyway wasn't noted as predictive) and it's also the case the the dream narrative tends to expose any feelings in an unambiguous manner, so be comfortable with yourself before you start...With hindsight the dreams noted were probably only those of the last of the three or four 'sleep cycles'.
 
catseye said:
I had a friend once who used to say 'don't look at the detail of the dream, look at how it made you feel. That's what your brain wants you to pay attention to.'

Of course, he was the most massive idiot, but he might have had a point.
Click to expand...
The author's account of his experiment (I thought this would be a well known book on here?) did not allow for anything other than disciplined, written documentation of what he recalled having just dreamt.

IIRC, paramount were those brief dreams we have and then wake up for a moment, just wanting to go straight back to sleep. Noting these dreams instantaneously, seemed to become particularly meaningful.
 
SkepticalX said:
I'm always a little hesitant to encourage someone to "develop" skills such as these, since we don't know exactly what a person taps into when they have such dreams. Perhaps, in the words of King Lear, "... that way lies madness."
Click to expand...
Profoundly see where you going with this..
 
Comfortably Numb said:
Might this help?

I bought a book in a second-hand book shop many years ago - 1970s? - that simply seemed unusually interesting.

Turned out to be a well written and fascinating account of the author's own investigation into whether his dreams might predict the future.
Click to expand...

J.W. Dunne's An Experiment With Time?

If anyone feels like recording their dreams but thinks that physically writing them down might break the spell, how about using a sound recorder, e.g. on a phone, to record impressions while still waking up?
 
James_H said:
J.W. Dunne's An Experiment With Time?
Click to expand...
That's the very fellow indeed, Sir!!

Doubt I actually still have the book and never having being able to identify it would just have been be so really annoying!

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I'm covering old ground here but a prime example of a counter argument to the usual debunkings has presented itself.

Last night sitting at this computer before going to bed and sleep, an oversized moth appeared and started fluttering wildly around the room. Something no one sane is a fan of. Before i could find some way to dispose of one of God's creatures for my own petty peace of mind, it vanished as inexplicably as it appeared.

One of the last dreams of the night that followed involved a large moth flying around the room and at me. It was in the living room and my sister was there sitting on an armchair. the moth landed on her lap and she squealed. It then flew in my direction and I dived into the kitchen.

Is the dream related to the event that preceded sleep? If anyone suggested no, you would put them down as trolling or being wilfully stupid, I would suggest. And if someone in all seriousness dismissed any connection between the event and the dream because the plotlines didn't match and there were more points of difference than similarity between them (after all in the real event my sister wasn't there, nor did it happen in the living room, nor did i dive into the kitchen) then you would not take than person as being entirely in possession of their faculties. When an obviously matching event precedes the dream the connection between them is taken as read.

Yet suppose my real life encounter with the moth occurred not last night - prior to the dream - but tonight - post dream. When this happens..as it does...the obvious and universally understood is dismissed and abandoned and all of the "you'd be mad to say it" arguments mentioned in the above paragraph not only would be employed by the Richard Wisemans of this world, but in fact ARE employed by them. But other than the order of dream and event there is no difference whatsoever between the two situations.

This also counters the doubts of the dreamer themselves, as well as those around them: why should they expect a dream inspired by tomorrow's encounters to be any more literal or faithful than the ones inspired by yesterday's? A dream of the future is still a dream. Its a story, told for whatever purpose. In my experience its not that it's plot is taken from tomorrow. It's just that one or two of its characters and props are.
 
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I dreamed the other night that I was visiting an old friend from school who I haven't spoken to for about forty years, but we were all younger in the dream. I was in her house when the news came through that her brother had vanished. He'd left his car behind and gone.

It was a very vivid and 'real' dream and it has stayed with me for a few days - that awful feeling of not knowing what to do, hoping it would all be a mistake or have a simple explanation but the reality being frantic and slowly sinking in...

This had better not be precognitive in any way or I shall have to have words with the Universe.
 
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