Dreaming while Awake

[wanttoknow]

I am very healthy and active. Periodically I will have an experience of false memories or like I am dreaming while I'm awake.

This past Saturday, I was helping out with our association in our subdivision, doing some landscaping. This is when my latest experience happened. It is very hard to explain, but I would start having memories of things that had never happened. I would sort of wake up and realize that what I was remembering wasn't real. This would happen every couple of minutes. After we were done, I went home and started mowing our lawn. It takes about an hour and the entire time, this weird experience was happening. Every couple of minutes I would fall into this dream state (or false memories) while I was cutting the grass. I started to question whether I even helped out with the landscaping because I didn't know if that was a false memory. After a couple of hours, I was totally fine and had absolutely no memory of what the dreams were about -- only that I had had that experience.

I've had minor experiences similar to this before, but never for this length of time. In the past it was like I was reliving a dream, even though I had had no memory of the dream.

One time I was reading a book and it triggered a memory. All of a sudden, this whole stream of memories from a totally different life, but very familiar life, started going through my head. I was totally enthralled! It was all so familiar to me and so comfortable and very welcome. Then the stream of memories stopped (after I don't know how long -- maybe 10 minutes at the most) and I totally forgot the content but remembered the experience.

Am I going crazy? Are these early signs of a mental problem or Alzheimer's?

Has this ever happened to anyone else?

[Lady Amethyst]

You were in a form of light hypnosis that can make you drift off and yet you're awake.

[John from Lowell]

It is interesting that you are experiencing this degree of day dreams.

I suspect that there is a purpose for these experiences. Do you have a method for self reflection or meditation so that you can use to investigate them?

John

[wanttoknow]

It is interesting that you are experiencing this degree of day dreams.

I suspect that there is a purpose for these experiences. Do you have a method for self reflection or meditation so that you can use to investigate them?

John

I do. Nothing has popped up and I don't feel any sense that I need to be concerned. I guess I was more curious to see if anyone else has had a similar experience...

Barb

[Professor Buzzkill]

I am very healthy and active. Periodically I will have an experience of false memories or like I am dreaming while I'm awake.

This past Saturday, I was helping out with our association in our subdivision, doing some landscaping. This is when my latest experience happened. It is very hard to explain, but I would start having memories of things that had never happened. I would sort of wake up and realize that what I was remembering wasn't real. This would happen every couple of minutes. After we were done, I went home and started mowing our lawn. It takes about an hour and the entire time, this weird experience was happening. Every couple of minutes I would fall into this dream state (or false memories) while I was cutting the grass. I started to question whether I even helped out with the landscaping because I didn't know if that was a false memory. After a couple of hours, I was totally fine and had absolutely no memory of what the dreams were about -- only that I had had that experience.

I've had minor experiences similar to this before, but never for this length of time. In the past it was like I was reliving a dream, even though I had had no memory of the dream.

One time I was reading a book and it triggered a memory. All of a sudden, this whole stream of memories from a totally different life, but very familiar life, started going through my head. I was totally enthralled! It was all so familiar to me and so comfortable and very welcome. Then the stream of memories stopped (after I don't know how long -- maybe 10 minutes at the most) and I totally forgot the content but remembered the experience.

Am I going crazy? Are these early signs of a mental problem or Alzheimer's?

Has this ever happened to anyone else?

That is wierd that you dont remember the content but the feeling of being "welcome". Could have a natural explaination (i.e chemical imbalance making you drowsy/creative) but does seem quite mysterious

[wanttoknow]

You were in a form of light hypnosis that can make you drift off and yet you're awake.

It didn't feel like hypnosis -- I have been hypnotized before. You know how when you're working on some routine task, you just start thinking about things? You could call that daydreaming. In my case, what I was thinking about had never happened. It was like I was remembering things that were not real. These thoughts were like false memories. I could only equate it to dreaming. All of a sudden I would just realize it wasn't a true memory and sort of wake up. Then I'd go back to thinking again and the same thing kept happening over and over. I was very awake and was very physical because I was mowing the lawn. After a few minutes I couldn't even remember the false memories -- they would fade just like a dream fades when you wake up and you try to remember what you were just dreaming. After a while it became annoying and I wanted it to stop. I couldn't control it and that sort of freaked me out. This went on for a couple of hours and finally went away. Maybe it was just some weird chemical imbalance going on that affected my brain functioning temporarily. It would be nice to know what triggered it so I can be proactive if it happens again.

Barb

[rassy]

Wow, that's really not a common thing at all, I don't think. I think only you can truly understand your experience more than anyone else, as most can only imagine what you're experiencing. Have you ever tried to speak to maybe a psychoanalyst, or some such person, so as you can maybe assess what is going on and why? Or maybe someone really close to you that you can confide in so you can perhaps explore avenues of what it might be or why this is happening to you? I am sure I have read about some people being able to dream while wide awake, so maybe there is a medical explanation somewhere. Although, the way you come across, these seem to feel more like memories to you, rather than dreams. I believe you are sincere about your experiences, so I personally wouldn't even rule out the possibility you could be picking up something psychicly or maybe had a past life, even though I don't take much stock in those things.

[Blueguardian]

I've had that before, I believe that in the right conditions you can recall things that happened in dreams, it's similar to a memory of a past event so you think about it and then you ask yourself did that really happen and then realize that it was just a dream. Nothing to worry about, dreams can be very similar to reality.

[wanttoknow]

Wow, that's really not a common thing at all, I don't think. I think only you can truly understand your experience more than anyone else, as most can only imagine what you're experiencing. Have you ever tried to speak to maybe a psychoanalyst, or some such person, so as you can maybe assess what is going on and why? Or maybe someone really close to you that you can confide in so you can perhaps explore avenues of what it might be or why this is happening to you? I am sure I have read about some people being able to dream while wide awake, so maybe there is a medical explanation somewhere. Although, the way you come across, these seem to feel more like memories to you, rather than dreams. I believe you are sincere about your experiences, so I personally wouldn't even rule out the possibility you could be picking up something psychicly or maybe had a past life, even though I don't take much stock in those things.

Thanks for your thoughts. It could be something medical. I'll be visiting my sister in a couple of weeks. She's an MD. I'll ask her what she thinks...

[wanttoknow]

I've had that before, I believe that in the right conditions you can recall things that happened in dreams, it's similar to a memory of a past event so you think about it and then you ask yourself did that really happen and then realize that it was just a dream. Nothing to worry about, dreams can be very similar to reality.

I think you've nailed it!!!

[Voyager10]

I've had that feeling when I'm just coming out of a dream and starting to wake up. There will be some "fact" in the dream that is taken for granted even if it's totally absurd, but then as I start to wake up, I suddenly realize it was only in the dream that it was true.

[Hass]

This Phenomena is a type of sub-conscious day-dreaming - very common - everyone has these but very few people are aware of it. Very Similar to normal asleep dreams/nightmares some people can remember them other's don't.

[Briansdreaming]

I just found this topic by googling dreaming while awake, and this is exactly what I’m going through as of lately. I realize that you posted this in 2009, but have you gotten any answers to your phenomenon? I’m becoming concerned because it’s happening more and more frequently.

[+Not A Rockstar]

Hi Brian. Most of these folks have been gone for years now. If none of the answers work for you, I would talk to my doctor about it in case there is a medical issue like adult ADD or something. The thread seems to cover anything I could say.

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