How Can My Dream Manifest into Reality??

I really need help with this dream experience I had two nights ago. First off I don't really know anything about dreams so I'm hoping there's an expert or someone with knowledge about this experience so I can better understand how it happened. My roommate told me what I experienced was normal but I've never experienced anything like it in my 30 years here. Anyways, my dream was a pretty standard yet odd scenario: me and two other guys whom I've never met or seen before were standing outside of a Food 4 Less (for whatever reason) we were all wearing shorts, tank tops and running shoes so I assume we were out there for some type of exercise. By the way, I NEVER exercise! Anyways, one of the guys challenged me to a race around the entire parking lot so I excepted and we took off. We ran around the lot 3 times and I was winning for the most part. Just as I got to the end of our race I suddenly woke up! I quickly sat up in bed and realized I was completely out of breath! I was gasping hard and I realized that not only was I out of breath but my lungs were burning and I was sweating! I literally felt like I had just raced around that parking lot but it was only a dream. It took a minute to calm down but once I did I immediately started to freak out again once I realized what had happened. It was like my dream manifested into the physical and I couldn't understand how that was possible. I went over possible reasons why this could've happened, but nothing makes sense. All my windows were closed, my fan wasn't on, it wasn't a hot night in fact it was actually pretty cool, I woke up sleeping on my side so I couldn't have been suffocating and for all I know I don't have any sleeping disorders. I can't think of any logical reason for this experience and it's really bugging me. Again, I don't know anything about dreams so maybe this is a normal occurrence but something that I haven't experienced in my whole life. If anybody out there has any answers or similar experiences please let me know. I have to know what happened.

a reply to: cj6

The only real 'expert' on your dreams is you. Symbols mean different things to different people depending on your experience and interpretation of people and events specific to your life.

One thing I have found is that I usually 'know' what my dream is about somewhere in my sub-concious and if you put some time into meditation or maybe even write it down (you just did here) it will come to you.

Keep a dream journal if dreams really interest and you will find you remember more and more.

Good luck.

a reply to: cj6

Not much of a scientific or thorough explanation, but most likely, the basis of what happened is a triggering of the sympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system.

The sympathetic nervous system is usually quite relaxed during sleep, but can be activated during REM (dream) sleep. Most likely, the vividness and activities involved in the dream triggered activation of your sympathetic nervous system, resulting in the waking symptoms you experienced.

a reply to: cj6

I've had dreams like this, often enough whenever I'm struggling to breathe, panting for air, or holding my breath I tend to do so in reality as well. It's more so seems to be a mind over matter issue. For example, if you were to focus on vomiting enough, even if not sick or feeling ill, you can cause yourself to vomit. If you're sweating in your dream I'd imagine it to be the same thing. If I were to sit here now and concentrate hard enough on sweating even a little bit, I could probably make some sort of change. You can raise your body temperature by about two degrees by just thinking about it studies show (I can find a link with this sort of information if you need). You can stress yourself out to the point where you develop headaches.

The more you think about something the more likely it seems to happen. I'd imagine it's your body being so focused on that aspect of your dream that you're bringing some of the physical effects of it with you back into reality. That's my best theory. I've experienced this many times and the physical effects always seem to correlate with what I did in the dream.

Edit: I agree with what Dog and Meta stated. It really depends on the individual themselves and how they react to certain things and what could possibly symbolize what. Everything in your dreams has to be there for some sort of reason and I also believe a sort of mediation can bring these "things" to the surface. Also the more scientific definition makes a lot of sense too. I'm not very good with words for the most part. But that hit the point I was trying to elaborate.

originally posted by: dogstar23
a reply to: cj6

Not much of a scientific or thorough explanation, but most likely, the basis of what happened is a triggering of the sympathetic portion of the autonomic nervous system.

The sympathetic nervous system is usually quite relaxed during sleep, but can be activated during REM (dream) sleep. Most likely, the vividness and activities involved in the dream triggered activation of your sympathetic nervous system, resulting in the waking symptoms you experienced.

This. In your brain there are serotonic neurons that inhibit hallucinations, these themselves are inhibited during REM sleep. This allows dreams to appear real, while preventing competition from other perceptual processes. This is why dreams are mistaken for reality. To the functional system of neural activity that creates our world, there is no difference between dreaming a perception and an action, and the actual waking perception and action. If certain regions of the brain are activated during REM sleep, your nervous system will responds as if the events are real.

I personally had a dream once in my childhood wherein I was bitten by a rat. I awoke at that moment and literally felt physical pain at the site of the dream-bite, this pain lasted into the following day.

It all depends which regions of your brain are activated while dreaming. You are familiar with sleep walking, sleep talking, people acting out their dream activities while asleep, etc.? Same thing. If the somatosensory or motor cortex, which are usually dormant during sleep, are activated, you body will respond the dream stimuli as if the events are actually happening.

All perfectly normal and nothing to be concerned about.. Unless you wake up outside or somewhere else, then I'd talk to a doctor about medication to help prevent it.

a reply to: spygeek

Thanks for the explanation. Totally makes sense or at least I can accept it.

a reply to: dogstar23

So, did he burn calories like he would have if he were awake and running? It seems possible givin this explanation.

a reply to: cj6

A mild sleeping disorder... Some walk some talk, dreams come from forms of anxiety, generally things that need resolving, like an argument with your brother.
Dreams tend to reflect the previous day, but that's just my unqualified opinion.

a reply to: Alien Abduct

Given the increased heart rate, sweating, heavy breathing etc, it would be safe to assume there was an increase in metabolism and he would have burnt more calories than if he did not have the dream. It wouldn't have been as many calories as physically running though.

Everything is energy, including thoughts.

originally posted by: Alien Abduct
a reply to: dogstar23

So, did he burn calories like he would have if he were awake and running? It seems possible givin this explanation.

Good question, I wish I understood it all better, but my guess is there would be an elevated caloric burn, having to do with the bodily processes and metabolism which were sped up, expending energy and there could even be some muscle contractions going on. Not as much as if he had actually been running though - the cells involved in running simply weren't processing as much energy.

Hmmm...sleepcercise... Let's sell a book! "The Dream Workout"

a reply to: dogstar23

That's what I was thinking!

"Hey Bob wanna join us at the gym?"

"No thanks, I don't workout, I take naps."

"But you always look so fit."

"Here, read this....hands him the book"

originally posted by: dogstar23

Hmmm...sleepcercise... Let's sell a book! "The Dream Workout"

Since I've already experienced it I think that book needs to happen like now

science has proven now that just thinking about working out actually triggers your muscles to fire, causing somewhat of a real work out.

In a dream you are basically in an unconscious meditative state. This meditative state is so real to your mind that your physical body picks up on the signals from your brain and fires the muscles and lungs just like its happening in real life.

You can literally get a work out by dreaming or thinking about it.

This is why people say that consciousness is the creator of reality. The more focused your thoughts are, the more they manifest into reality.

Here is a pretty good documentary on the subject if your interested.