Rare Dream Instances
Welcome back! This week I researched some unusual dream occurrences. The most interesting ones I could find were people who only dream in black and white and multiple people having almost identical dreams. If you have experienced one of these, consider yourself in a group of a select few, because they are all fairly rare.
Dreaming in Black and White
When talking about dreaming, people would think of a “movie” playing out in one’s head in color, right? Not everyone. While most report dreaming in color, some people claim to dream in both color and black and white, and the rest only dream in black and white. If you’ve never had a colorless dream before, it might seem pretty significant to have one. So what’s the reason behind them? Some dream theorists believe the black and white element represents the lack of emotion and participation you have to the dream’s contents. It could mean you are viewing the dream from a third person perspective, rather than experiencing the events personally. Or lastly, it might be an indicator that someone else is controlling the narrative of your waking life, leaving the dreamer feeling as if they have little control. (Putnam)
Shared Dreams
While it is scientifically impossible to prove that two people shared the same dream, thousands of documented accounts make it very likely it is a real instance. (McNamara) The most popular cases are therapist and client related, where the therapist verifies the claim that the two had a similar dream. The second most popular scenario are close relationships, such as parent/child, siblings, and lovers. These two cases make the most sense logically, considering the people of the shared dream are very close to each other. Although the third type of relation is a bit harder to believe- complete strangers! Typically, these strangers recognize each other in public places from seeing them in their dreams. While the two people believe they are experiencing the same dream, the details they recall don’t always match up completely.
McNamara, Patrick. Can Two People Have the Same Dream? 19 June 2016, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/dream-catcher/201606/can-two-people-have-the-same-dream. Accessed February 20, 2021
Putnam, Rose. Dreams Explained: 5 Reasons Why You Dream in Black & White. 31 May 2020, crystalclearintuition.com/black-and-white-dreams/. Accessed February 20, 2021
