How has your dreaming changed over the years?

I dream and have always dreamed a lot, and they have ranged from funny and entertaining to downright scary. But these days they seem often to bring up anger and sadness. I keep seeing old friend’s faces or composites of them and having lengthy conversations, not always pleasant ones.

The bed sheets are not as damp as when I were a lad.

It’s different, but is about as interesting. I have had quite elaborate dreams for most of my life, and started writing them down when I was about 18. There were many years where I didn’t write down many or any, but recently I’ve taken some dreaming classes and joined a dream group, where we do intentional dreaming and share and discuss our dreams, develop our dreaming skills and practices and so on.

One of the first things I learned in the class, is that even just the intention of recording dreams can make a big difference. I later learned that I dream a massive amount that I don’t generally wake up and remember to write down. Having a practice can turn that around.

Now, if I’m rested and try to record dreams, I generally can record several a night, and know I have more. But it takes a fair amount of work to remember and record dreams, especially when it’s competing with the urge to sleep or return to dreaming instead of record them. I use an Android app called Smart Voice Recorder, which records through the night any sound above a certain volume, so all I need to do is speak, rather than go find paper and pencil. Recording the dreams is enough for me to remember them, usually, though transcribing onto paper (is more work and) does better at getting me to remember them. I have recorded some that I don’t remember having or recording when I hear myself recording them on the recordings.

With what I’ve learned in the class, dreaming has become not just entertaining and interesting, but useful, as they provide insights into myself and other things. It is also many people’s experience that some dreams have some psychic content, which is also interesting and useful…

I used to have a reoccurring dream and reoccurring dreamscapes. Both have stopped for awhile now. Same with lucid dreaming.

My sleeping habits are drastically different from when I was younger. I’d imagine that would affect my dreaming as well.

I have had no nightmares in recent years, or dreams of flying. My dreams are now mostly of places but not places I have ever been. I recently dreamed of a white city of domes and spires which I wanted to explore but I woke too soon.

I used to have a lot more sex dreams, which I really enjoyed. Now… not so much.

When I was young I had two kinds of dreams: dreams with real life setting and with fantasy setting. Now the fantasy setting has been replaced by more realistic setting. It’s like turning from “a world full of magic and witch” into “a dark street of the ‘30s”. My young age’s dreams often involved me fighting bad people mindlessly and winning effortlessly, while my current dreams involve solving crime and I don’t always win. It has something to do with my turning from liking fantasy world to more realistic things.

I remember dreaming more now than when I was younger. When I was very young, a child, I would remember nightmares, but rarely be aware of happy dreams.

Moving into teen years I had some sex dreams, not many, and a mix of nightmares and happy dreams. Still very little dreams remembered though. In my mid to late twenties and thirties I had days, weeks, and months at a time off and on of reoccurring horrible stressful nightmares. Someone chasing me and shooting or stabbing me. The dreams were full of fear and anxiety.

Almost all of my adult life I have a 50/50 chance of a homework or similar dream if I need to catch an early flight or something similar. Not turning in homework on time or not making it in time for a test, that sort of thing.

I still at times have sex dreams, that’s nice. Very rare like always though. Maybe 2–3 a year.

I liked it better when I was more unaware of my dreaming.

Well, last night I first dreamed that drones were delivering pizza but since a war was on, they kept smashing and hitting people.

Then I dreamed that I was interviewing Joyce Carol Oates in her penthouse apartment and her family was really weird.

I have always had a very active dreamlife and my dreams are usually indicative of some emotion or something going on by day. Not sure what those two were about.

No wonder I’m often tired during the day!