Fantasy Foretold Forum Symbolism & Sleep

What can anyone tell me on information about symbolism? It's never been a strong point for me, at least... I'll use symbolism but I won't actually realize it's a symbol until I start thinking about it and then I'm like, "Whoa, my brain did that without even realizing it?" so I've been trying to find these things more often.

I'm using dream-importance in my current project, so maybe I can help.

I think, for most people, a dream feels absolutely real DURING it, but once you reawaken, the differences between the reality of the dream world and the reality of consciousness are quite distinct.  After a nightmare, some people might wake up shaking slightly, maybe with after-dream sensations in which the touch of the noseless woman who's head is on backwards still seems to linger on your neck as if she had somehow been real.  Dream-touch isn't actually touch, though...more like the mind recalling specific touches and bringing to mind the sensation of that touch, but not the touch itself.  Does that makes sense? (If not, please tell me, I'll be willing to take another approach, I just love dreams and the mind!)  After a nightmare, different people react differently.  If one wakes up in the middle of the night, the following may occur:
1) Feels a sense of relief at it having been a nightmare
2) hides under the covers
3) prays
4) wraps his or her self in the covers and crawls into bed with his/her parents
5) turns on the light and goes back to sleep
6) Person stays in bed for a while, quivering slightly into the empty void of his/her own bedroom, imagining the horrors of the nightmare lurking in this unknown darkness, projecting the fear of his or her mind into the outer world, horrifying him or her so much that he or she can't go back to sleep or leave his or her bed, so he or she simply exists until sunrise, bags forming under his or her eyes and his or her heart pounding incessantly
7) a heart attack
8 (if schizophrenic or on a hallucinogen) ) the objects of the nightmare actually seem to have escaped his or her mind and he or she can find no safety in reality and begins to question the difference between unconsciousness and consciousness
...I could go on and on, but they just start getting more and more ridiculous after this...probably not what you're looking for

Something you may want to know:
-Nightmares-->during REM, the body is paralyzed to prevent one from acting out one's dreams, so the tossing and turning?, and they are very memorable
-Night terrors-->during the transition from deep sleep to light REM sleep, a person might experience a sudden fear reaction and bolt up right, sweating and breathing heavily, maybe even screaming, but the person will have no recollection of the night terror, as it did not occur in REM sleep

The only time I could think of having someone confuse dreams with reality is if someone were to have a realistic dream a long time ago, and then, over time, the person thinks back on the events of the dream and recalls it as a memory from an actual occasion.  It would be quite disturbing when you realize some of your memories never really occurred and were mere figments of your imagination.

Hope this helped, if there's anything else you need, just ask! (in regard to the thread, of course).

For me, symbol is to have two things, the symbolize and the symbolized. The symbolize has to be simple and creative in nature, and the symbolized is the entire picture the symbol represent, the end game, etc.

I once used to have a bizarre dream that occurred almost every night. The world is blood red(sometimes normal), but dangerously calm, there is nothing except a giant mountain and a large crescent moon at the top. I started out running, and for some reason I needed and wanted to run to the top of the mountain, but I couldn't, and the dream ended as soon as I fell, and you know how it is when you fall in your dream (It was never pleasant, and worse if it keeps coming back). It got to the point where I kept falling and screaming, and because, I think, it wasn't scare enough for me to wake, I just kept falling until I woke, and believe me, it felt real even when you wake.

I dont know why it kept coming back, but then, it stop, and I am grateful somehow (I hate falling every night!). The dream, I think, may be about me having so big a goal I will never accomplish it, but still, sometimes the blood red world reminds me it may have a different darker meaning.

So, symbolism and sleep: think bizarre, wicked, twisted images and settings that somehow related to the thing you want to symbolize, and there you have it.

But remember, the more bizarre it is, the better it is, because if it is not, it will be clear, and not a symbolized dream anymore.

When i dream I rarely remember it right when I wake up. It's usually 15 or 20 minutes later, sometimes not even until some real-life triggering event occurs hours or days later. I don't often contrive symbols within my writing, but it seems that what you really need on a foundational level are two objects or ideas that are physically or conceptually different, but have a common, intangible component. That's probably "duh," but I think it helps to define it.

Dreams are typically the subconscious trying to communicate. Unlike the conscious mind the SC is primal and uses subtle or instinctual clues to show what it's saying. The SC is also a lot less creative than the C. Because of this we recycle images, feelings and thoughts in our dreams. It's a bit like an impressionist painting. All the individual pieces are thrown together on a single canvas. If you stand too close you'll never see what the picture is of. When interpreting a dream it's best not to get hung up on details or you'll just run yourself in meaningless circles.

Awesome, thanks for all the help. :D