h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As far as I can see, there are 3 types of dreams:

The abstract type:

There's some real wierd stuff that's happening that doesn't tend to happen unless you're on acid.

Example: There is a telepathic dog who lives in your garbage disposal and has the ability to see into the future.

The day-in-the-life-type:

Could be anything that would happen normally, but there tend to be a few surprises.

Example: You're meeting up with some of your friends for lunch, only some of them aren't in the country.

The-type-which-is-best-not-mentioned-but-its-the-one-you're-thinking-about:

You know, the lewd ones that thirteen year old boys tend to have.

Example: Use your imagnination, I'm sure as hell not going to tell you!

Nightmares can be either abstract or day-in-the-life types, and can cause such panic that hopefully you'll awaken as soon as possible.

If any psychologists are out there who can enlighten us to what they know about dreams, I'd love to hear from them.

From what I can recall, Flying is something along the lines of sexual repression, and finding you haven't studied for an exam that's tomorrow is an expression of guilt or lack of studious commitment.

I had a dream, and I cannot put it in none of the categories. Or into a mixture of abstract-sexual-nightmare stuff. I was at a sex-party (not involved in any activities, still felt comfortabe), and met Madonna. We had a nice chat, so in the morning we went on with it while shopping. We bought a lot of shoes. But I was worried about how I can get to my exam at half past one, without hurting her (leaving alone).
Imagine, how my exam went next day (started at half past one).

I don't seem to dream often, or at least not remember them. How does that fit in? (Is it a side effect of spending all my nights here at H2G2? )

If you are waked suddenly, you remember. Just ask someone to wake you really rude after only a couple hour of sleep.

I know some people have dreams but forget the details in the morning. I don't even remember having dreams in the first place. This, I imagine, makes me some sort of sociopath (or something). I don't know how unusual this is.

I'm guessing that these subconscious thoughts sift out of your head pretty quickly after regaining consciousness.

I find that if I'm having a pleasent dream and have the presence of mind to attempt to recall it as soon as I wake up, I have a much better chance of remembering what I was dreaming about.

My favourite type of dream is when you realise you're asleep. Once you have this knowledge, you can have a lot of fun. Suddenly you find a whole wad of money in your pocket. Go nuts, it's a dream for goodness sake.

The worst kind of dream (nightmares not included of course) is where you start hoarding items underneath your bed for when you wake up... and you're sooo convinced that they're going to be there upon your awakening....

The worst type of dream, apart from nightmares, is when you are dreaming you are walking down the road, and then you start moving your legs in real-life. As I sleep facing down, I can't move my legs at all, because I'm asleep in bed lying down with the bed in the way. In my dream I suddenly am falling, and I push out with my arms to stop myself, only to wake up seeing me doing push-ups, feeling very stupid, and my heart beating as if it had the shock of it's life.

That's certainly the worst thing about nightmares, trying to run and not being able to. Then you wake up with half your sheets on the floor.

Well, you got away didn't you?

Horror films don't give me nightmares, but I guess the one which had the most effect was "A Nightmare On Elm Street". Okay, it didn't give me any bad dreams, but it sure made me reluctant to close my eyes!

Worst one for me was the Stephan King's "It". Take a perfectly lovable clown, one of the safest happiest things there are.

Then you give it huge scary teeth, a nasty voice and tell it to eat children turning it into an evil killing child-eating machine.

You should always be able to trust a clown that gives you a balloon I say.

Brrrr....

Hmm, but as we've gone on to Horror films, I'd just like to say that the BEST Horror film ever has to be Stanley Kubrick's "THE SHINING".
No film will ever be able to beat it for atmosphere or scariness, especially considering you only see one murder.

I can't say I'm much of a horror buff, but as long as you're not watching them... alone... on a dark night... in a comfortable couch... with your back to the wall... and a storm outside... in a creaky old house...

... then I hope you're not going straight to bed...

I can remember my grandmother telling me not to drink coke before going to sleep because that would give you nightmares. I guess I believed that enough to thank her for fillingless teeth.

Clowns? Are you kidding? I *hate* clowns. Horrible, 'smiling' creatures. Yuck. They give me the shivers.

Coke gives you bad dreams? So does that mean there's a relationship between Coke and cheese?

I _never_ remember my dreams when I awaken suddenly...only when I awaken slowly.

I prefer to have my back to the wall...that way nothing can sneak up on me.

Can anyone explain this: When I was young, I never dreaded the first day of school; in fact I looked forward to it. Yet almost every year, before school started, I would have dreams that involved being late, not being able to find my classes, and all sorts of things like that. It made absolutely no sense to me since I never feared those things in real life.

Yeah! We're not all homicidal sociopaths. At least, not all the time.

7
(deflating again)

Perhaps you were subconsciously concerned that these things were still possible, even though you'd rationalised them into irrelevance?

I had a dream that I was being strangled from behind and I was trying to punch the guy behind me. When I woke I was face down into the pillow and punching the alarm clock above my bed

Maybe. But it still puzzles me. I loved school...and these things were so ridiculously exaggerated--they could _never_ have really happened.