Abstract dreams

[mouserider]

With the risk of sounding like a total weirdo here's a question:

Has anybody had entirely abstract dreams without dream characters, real places or even without the existence of a ego? Not even the illusion of free will or any shred of real life experiences.

For example being part of a huge machinery, without the idea of life or people. Or the combination of a rhythmic sound with physical forces reacting to each other. It is extremely bizarre and hard to explain because it lacks any connection to the everyday life.

I only had about 2-3 of these ever and they happened in the transitional stage of falling asleep or waking up. I know only one person who had a similar experience but I'm deeply interested in the subject.

They could be interpreted as deep emotions or logical problem solving techniques of the brain, but I find the lack of a personal point of view a little disturbing.
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How can truth exist if everything we live by is an interpretation?

[Clark]

Well, I don’t experience any kind of dream like what you said. Dreams have many meanings and it’s hard to understand unless it is reveal to us.


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http://www.themodernman.com/

[dansofe0r]

That sounds like a damned amazing kind of dream to have. I would love to have that experience.
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"I and me are always too deep in conversation: how could one stand that if there were no friend? For the hermit the friend is always the third person..."

[Rox]

It indeed is a very interesting subject, I didn't have any experiences with it and it really hard for me to imagine. Have you done any online research? Maybe there is something like this in the Buddhism, it is really strange indeed.
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Fantasy is endless

[alppdcjr12]

Well, Tibetan dream yoga does discuss that idea--having dreams which don't center on the ego is an eventual point along the path, called "clear light" dreams. However, it sounds like your dreams do have the perception of some sort of content, so I think one of two things could be happening. Either you're along your way to having a dream of the sort that the dream yogis espouse, but your mind is still clinging to objects and ideas, or you are simply in a near-dream state where your mind is jumping from one idea to the other. Since you seem slightly disturbed by them, I think the latter is more likely. However, the fact that you maintain awareness during this is good; I think that if you manage to become lucid or more present, or somehow gain control over it (it's hard to describe it as "lucidity" exactly when the ego isn't engaged) then you might be able to access to dream state that's more profound or peacefully disconnected from the ego. But I can't be certain, having not seen it in your head. I have had dreams where my ego isn't engaged, often with weird or confusing shapes, mechanical parts and in between, if I am aware enough, a sensation of floating or turning. I'm not sure that this is the same thing you're talking about. In between dreams and when waking up or falling asleep, I sometimes feel a more jumbled set of these that are less distinct, but I usually forget them even if I remember my more vivid dreams.
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[phobetor]

thats hypnogogic/pompic effects which I believe are accessing the physics of thoughtlight before the ego's desires / expectations take hold. I have had dreams like that when I have a fever.
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It IS a dream

[Kuang11]

I've been having these, about 5-10 times a year. They are usually work-related, and since I work with a computer all day, they mostly take a form of me doing tasks that are similar to the ones I would do at work, but there's no screen whatsoever, it's just the interface taking up the whole world. I usually don't have any knowledge of anything outside that interface and I perform the work I'm somehow assigned, which is usually very exhausting.

I had this one dream about object-oriented programming where i was a function manipulating properties of an object by force, it was a lot like turning gigantic switches by hand.

I also had a non-work dream, quite long, which was all about one really quite meaningless sentence (something off a shopping list, i knew what the sentece was, although i forgot since then) on a shimmering backdrop and it was just my mind in the void staring at that sentence, not having any memory of anything. Actually it seems to me that this one could be related to the "clear light" dreams described by alppdcjr12.

After waking up from those dreams I feel mentally drained, sometimes I get a really bad headache, it's never been a pleasant experience and I rarely feel I've slept at all. Also, there is always a lot of meaning that gets lost when I wake up, it just leaves me feeling very, very weird.

Otherwise I've been having quite common story-driven non-lucid dreams involving me, other people and none of the above

[Solis Ryne]

I once dreamt thoughts, and concepts and I really don't know what it was. It was like I was there and I wasn't at the same time. It was really weird and I can't properly describe it.