The Dream by Henri Rousseau
Yes, I’ve met Adriana Lima before. Well, if you mean in waking life then my answer would be different. To be more exact, I have met her as a dream character in one of my many dreams. Although the experience of meeting her was probably different to what would occur in reality, dream characters can give the dreamer a very real experience.
A dream character (or DC) is any character you encounter in a dream, whether it be a lucid or non-lucid dream. Dream characters will usually be human but sometimes will take the form of animals, robots, or even the abstract.
Typical dream characters will be people you know (e.g. friends, family, peers) or celebrities. The occurrences 0f such dream characters often coincides with the level of contact in waking life. So, a friend you recently spent time with may likely be encountered in a dream or an actor from a movie you recently saw will make a guest appearance in one of your dreams.
However, this is not always the case. Some dream characters are exclusive to the dream world. Often times these unknown dream characters will only serve the roles of “extras” and will be based on stereotypes held by you. For example, imagine a dream where you find yourself lost in a foreign country you’ve never been to. You don’t necessarily know how the people look or even the language they speak but your mind has some preexisting stereotypes and will fill in the rest.
An unknown dream character may also take the role of a dream guide. The dream guide does exactly that, he or she guides you through the dream landscape. This is often a recurring dream character who may give you clues and assist you to achieve whatever your goal may be in the dream. Not everyone meets dream guides in their dreams, but you may be able to summon one at will once you are experienced with lucid dreaming.
Its interesting stuff how dream characters come about. I’ve never been to Paris and have no idea what the people there are like. One night I’d a dream I was wandering around the city and the only person I conversed with was a Mexican gangster looking guy with no top on, covered in tattoos. Only after I woke up I realized that its probably very unlikely Parisiens look like that haha.
Haha, great anecdote. I too have had some similar experiences. I find that the mind is quite good in filling in details but it gets carried away at time, especially when non-lucid.
I met my dream guide for the very first time this morning!
And it was wonderful..,
I’d set my nightstand alarm earlier than usual (a rare occurrence, because i usually use my cell’s vibrate option, which i couldn’t do that day) – for 9 am. I don’t remember exactly what situation I was in during my dream but I was having trouble with something. So I walked around trying to figure out what to do when I come across this shirtless man (which fit my dream’s scenario: a sunny day in a sea-side city). He looked at me directly and stated solemnly, “Don’t worry, you’re smart and you have a good heart. You’ll figure things out.” (or something to that effect. Looking back, I wish I’d jotted down his exact words. But I didn’t realize at the time who I was talking to.)
I thanked him a lot and feeling very relieved I headed back to deal with my issues. As soon as I began heading back my alarm went off. I don’t think this was a coincidence. I believe my dream guide wanted me to remember him because although I went right back to sleep after setting my alarm – lol – I probably wouldn’t have remembered our encounter had my sleep not been interrupted. Also, it’s only later on in the day – after I actually got up for good :)… and recalling the incident that i realized I’d met my dream guide. An epiphany that would have escaped me altogether had i not read about dream guides on your website several months ago, not to mention that the night before I’d repeated the words “I will recognize I am asleep and remember my dreams” – which I’d stopped doing for a while.
I remember feeling deeply soothed from encountering my dream guide & I hope I see him again tonight/ tomorrow morning.
Just wanted to share my experience…
Gia,
I’m really happy for you! It’s a great feeling to meet a dream guide and interact with them. Have you met him again since you had this dream?
I read some of your writings. It’s all very interesting. Maybe I should start my own dream diary too.
I had a non-lucid dream before. I was surfing the web for pictures and videos related to Silent Hill, a creepy and unnerving game. I was just into those stuff, and I believe the dream I had afterwards had a lot to do with me getting influenced with it.
Some time after I quit researching the game, I had a dream in which a bunch of kids (that I regarded as friends in the dream–it’s strange, because none of them were my real-life friends and their faces were just blurs) and I were kidnapped in a very old, rusty abandoned building. For some reason, we knew it was a serial killer who kidnapped us. I was some sort of a leader figure there, and suggested everyone that we escape before the kidnapper comes back. Everyone spreaded out.
The most interesting thing in the dream was the killer’s appearance. He looked just like one of the enemies in Silent Hill, the Red Pyramid, except he wore a butcher’s outfit and had a big chainsaw instead of a gigantic sword.
To end this ramble short, my friends were killed one by one before even escaping. I was the kidnapper’s last victim being chased, and I woke up as soon as he struck me.
Like I said previously, I’m sure the killer figure was heavily influenced on that game I was so fond of. Now that I know what it means, it’s pretty interesting.
I love the Silent Hill series. Strangely most of my dreams tend to be influenced by Resident Evil rather than Silent Hill.
Start keeping a diary and learn more about your dreams and yourself. Once you have good dream recall you can move on to lucid dreaming and not get stuck in such scary situations (unless you enjoy scary dreams).