The more you understand yourself, the better able you are to understand others, right?
I'll go first, although I'm tempted to pull an ed.
A post by Mr_Box set my thoughts in motion about dreams and sleep. He asked whether we'd ever had a dream come true, and I truthfully said I had. The few dreams I've had that I recall coming true were all bad, save one. It really shook me up every time it happened. Can you imagine what that would do, especially to a kid, after a while?
Every bad dream becomes a fear, because you don't know which ones will happen and which will remain dreams. I've got a pretty firm grip on myself now, and it doesn't freak me out when it happens these days - I flatly refuse to live in fear of things that might not happen, and maybe I'll dream something good that does turn out to be accurate. :) I also play with lucid dreaming as much as I can, to give myself tools against bad dreams. I still get wary when realistic nightmares occur.
Lesson: Perhaps my recurrent difficulties with sleep are partly from a residual fear of precognitive nightmares.
I also learned this week, through an email conversation, that I take certain matters perhaps too lightly - but I don't intend to change, save to withhold anything worrisome from future discussions along the same lines.
I'll come back with other things, but that's all I have for now.
What have you learned about yourself lately? Anything surprising?
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the_infernal_optimist posted on Jan 18, 2008
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Comments
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Mr_Box said on Jan 18, 2008....
That must have been really scary for you to have bad dreams come true. Especially if it was when you were a child.
It can be a terrifying ability because like you said, how do you know which ones might actually come true? I feel for you.
What have I learned about myself lately? I have more willpower than I thought I did. I like things that are easy and fun and I usually give up on something if it's hard.
But I've learned that I can really use mind over matter and stick to something even if it sucks.
(this means I'm still not smoking)
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silverwhisper said on Jan 18, 2008....
hm...i don't think i've had any such revelations in a while...as i struggle w/ the database project however, i do realize that i really don't know as much as i thought about form design in access. but that's not really the kinda thing you mean, is it?
i'll think about it a bit. :>
ed -
the_infernal_optimist said on Jan 18, 2008....
Good for you, Mr. Box! :) That's got to be one of the hardest things to quit - but I know several people who have done it, DH's parents included.
Do you have anything in mind as a sort of self-reward after a certain amount of time has passed?
The first three dreams I had that came true were my cat dying (the next morning she was dead), my pastor becoming gravely ill (he was diagnosed with a brain tumor within a month - and that was within six months of the first dream), and then years later, my grandfather almost dying (he had open-heart surgery a few days later).
The pastor one I actually relayed to my mom, in tears, and she tried her best to console me...and then when the phone call came, she remembered and looked at me while she was on the phone - the look you'd give to someone who sprouted three more heads at random.
ed: No, not really, but you have been pretty busy.
~Infernal
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evil_twin said on Jan 18, 2008....
That stuff about the dreams coming true, I had no idea. No wonder you like to post them up and see what they mean. I hope this doesn't happen too much to you, especially if it's a bad dream.
As for what I've learned about myself lately....I've learned that I don't want to be like everyone else. And I'm not much of a planner, I'm a doer. I'm really impulsive, but sometimes I think that's okay.
-evil_twin LA
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Mr_Box said on Jan 18, 2008....
It is hard to quit smoking. It's horrible. But I know eventually it'll get easier. I just can't see other people smoking or I want to grab the cigarette out of their hand and suck it down.
Those dreams are pretty powerful. I can see why you'd be freaked out. I would be too.
I've never really had anything like that happen to me. I've just dreamt of places and things and then later on I encountered them.
But what you described is frightening because even with pre-knowledge, you couldn't have changed the outcomes. So you have to wonder why you were shown this huh?
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the_infernal_optimist said on Jan 18, 2008....
Kyle: I don't think you have anything to worry about, as far as being one of a dime-a-dozen lot. ;-)
There is something to be said for impulsiveness - it's hard for me to do anything on an honest-to-goodness impulse, and I think it would be a lot of fun. Besides, when you respond to someone that way, you're giving them the first, uncensored reaction to whatever they said, and that's cool (most of the time! I'd imagine if you were angry it might not be so great).
Mr. Box: Well, I hope you don't have to see many smokers then! And I think maybe the dreams are just for bracing purposes...I don't know.
~Infernal
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evil_twin said on Jan 18, 2008....
Sometimes being impulsive can be bad, like you said, if I'm angry. I do tend to react instantly and emotionally, and sometimes end up looking like an idiot because of it. But with good things, I like to be spontaneous. Planning sucks. I prefer to just get an idea and then act on it. It keeps life fun!
-evil_twin LA
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Mr_Box said on Jan 18, 2008....
Bracing purposes. That's a good point.
But did that ever help I wonder? I think it probably served to do the opposite. It just made you scared and have to experience the same thing twice.
I hope you don't get very many of those, unless you dream about winning the lottery. Then I hope that one comes true.
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nursecutie said on Jan 18, 2008....
I think I would totally freak if I had dreams that came true like that! Poor Infernal......have you ever had GOOD dreams that happened too? I hope so!
I'm not sure what I've learned about myself lately except that I think I finally believe that my opinion matters and I should speak up more!
xxoo natalie xxoo
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lfbno7 said on Jan 19, 2008....
If you have any dreams about the results of a horse race please let me know. -
quietone said on Jan 19, 2008....
I have had dreams that have come true also, but mostly they were good. I have also had/have nagging "feelings" about things that I don't care to have.. about things not being just right...or something is about to happen...oh I hate those. BUT... on your question... I have learned by having positive thoughts I can divert a lot of this negativity. Attracting positive into you life is a very strong energy... it also can pour out into the world around you. I like that. -
paidinblood said on Jan 19, 2008....
Here's what I learned:
A master stroke always produces a solution. *wink*
XD
Seriously though, I've had one dream about riding before a bike--that was just before I learned how to for some miraculous reason. The moment I woke up, I just did it without any precedent.
I agree with quietone that having a positive mindset in life has opened opportunities than when I was being 'realistic'-- in fact, I always found myself desperately trying to fix what I could while everything was falling apart.
What I do with my self-knowledge is I make precautions against my own tendencies. Like they say, there's no greater enemy than yourself--I just look at it in a non-hostile way, I know what precautions to make so I can succeed.
Much respect.
PiB
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skald said on Jan 19, 2008....
Always learning something new. One thing someone threatened me and I don't let people intimitate me no matter how frighted I am. -
wombat said on Jan 19, 2008....
I answered "no" to Mr Box's question about having dreams that have "come true." After reading your post, I am glad I can say that. That does sound pretty scary--for it to even happen once when it was something bad.I haven't had any major revelations about myself lately, but I remember practically "waking up and smelling the coffee" where my relationships were concerned. I learned I could manage without someone in my life (and I did). The next relationship I had, I made sure it was an "addition" to my life--and not the only thing holding up the walls. -
one.way.or.another. said on Jan 20, 2008....
the dreams come true thing - scary!
i havent learned anything about me recently, but i did find out that i have better friends than i though i did (: