Reading in dreams impossible?

Why is it said that reading in dreams is impossible? From what I have been told it is because the part of the brain that reads is separate from the part of the brain that dreams. I have read in a dream on multiple occasions. My most striking recollection of reading in a dream is one I still remember to this day. I was in the middle of this dream when I became probably fully lucid and I made myself walk outside my apartment (in the dream, not wake state, lol) only to look at the door of my apartment. I wished there to be written stuff on the door before I went outside so that may have something to do with it. What was written? I do not remember but one thing of the many words that were on that door. The word was "POPULARITY" in all capitals. They were also bubble letters and colored in blue. Also, the letter O was a bomb... the kind used in the video game Bomberman- a ball with a fuse. It was blue as well.

In other dreams I have read as well, I just do not remember what was read minutes after awaking. I only recall one word from a dream that I was reading a book in, that word was Naranja (nah-rrang-hah [r pronounced like a spanish rolled r]). I have no idea why I pronounced it that way in my dream. I also capitalized it in this post because in my dream I knew it was somebody. I also have no idea where the G sound comes from before the J, but that is how I pronounced it in my dream... Nah-Rrang-Hah.

Any other dream readers out there? It is supposedly impossible...

Strange topic for me to see this morning.
I actually recall reading in my dream last night.
from a song book.
I wouldn't have given it another thought if it wasn't for your post.
Briefly: I was with another two people, a girl and a bloke, singing for a small audience.
I'd 'been away' and didn't know the song very well and had to read the lyrics from a book.
Can't remember what the song was though.
Yes you can read in dreams.
thanks for the reminder.

I'm sure I have read in dreams before, never thought about it - yes I must have, I remember a couple of jobs I had, one in a call centre and one as a shot order chef, and I distinctly remember doing both of those jobs in my sleep lol, both required me to read, and even in the call centre I mistakenly called back a customer I'd spend like an hour with the previous day resolving her problem, I swore we found loads more problems with her account, that was a dream, and must have involved reading cos I had a very detailed but imaginary problem to fix.

I'm able to read entire pages of books in my dreams...I can even remember the cars in the cars magazines I dream to read...

Once I was reading the title of a book in a London's library..." Hitler the Democrat "...

But I usually forget every word when I awake...But that Hitler thing was quite weird so it rested in my memory.

Ya, I read in my dreams just about everytime i dream. i don't lucid dream, but I can halfway control my dreams on occasions. Sounds strange, but in my dreams sometimes I will check my email or myspace(don't even have one). Although I can't fully comprehend it, I struggle to read the text and will usually end up waking.

Interesting topic. I'm can't remember if I've done it or not but it seems like I have. Something similar happened though, but it wasn't reading. I was learning a song on guitar and there was a part that I could not figure out for the life of me. I went to bed that night and dreamed about playing the part and when I was playing I could see every single finger position on the fret board. When I woke up I could still see my dream clearly in my head. I grabbed the guitar and played the part and it was exactly right. I think this was a case of my conscious getting in the way. I must have known what to play but my brain wouldn't compute it when I was aware. Once my subconscious took over, it knew exactly what to do. I realize this is not the same as what you described but I thought it was at least similar.

Whenever I read in dreams it's usually always way above my head, like I was reading the complete secrets of the Universe or something, or like a wizards book of spells.
All I really know is that it is usually just a bunch of very intelligent gibberish, that even my large brain can't comprehend.
Yes it's true, I can't understand the products of my own mind.

That's how much BS I tote around all day and is excreted at night when I am least aware.

I remember watching Batman cartoons as a kid, and they had an episode where Batman was kidnapped and put in a lucid dream mode, where he thought the dream was reality. Of course Batman figured out he was dreaming because he wasn't able to read a book from his library.

Since then I had always thought people couldn't read in their dreams. But thats not true, I read in my dreams all the time, my pathology book being the most annoyance. I have went to lectures where I read off the board in my dreams too.

Originally posted by Zagari
I'm able to read entire pages of books in my dreams...I can even remember the cars in the cars magazines I dream to read...

Once I was reading the title of a book in a London's library..." Hitler the Democrat "...

But I usually forget every word when I awake...But that Hitler thing was quite weird so it rested in my memory.

Lol.. I once dreamt that I was reading the title of a book in a dream one time - that was weird too. It was a huge black book called "A Machiavellian Adventure with Aleister Crowley"
I frequently read in my dreams but it's often weird.

peace
J

I find that my brain is so busy gleaning the facts that it dumps what isn't needed .. most often it compresses the files like a computer to remember the over all information and not the precise words unless it's of greater significance... like precise dates or names of future events.

For the last two days i've been reading 4 letter acronyms in my dreams ... not sure why either. Time will expose em.

I'm in a Skee Ball league and I dreamed last friday night that a friend that plays brought an x-rated pinball machine to the game that day and it said "If you wanna see what I got put a quarter in and see my box". I woke up the next morning and was like WTF!?!?!? I told my wife about it and she thought i was crazy...that's the first time i have read in a dream.

You can definitely read in your dreams (as people's accounts here show), but it is one of those functions which your dreaming subconscious has trouble replicating accurately, and as such is one of the main methods of performing a 'reality check' when seeking lucidity in a dream. It's not uncommon for the text to contain weird symbols/letters, and if you look away and look back often it will have changed to something completely different. Digital clocks in dreams are notorious for this too. If you suspect you're in a dream, find some text or a clock, look away then look back, and if it has changed - voila! A lucid adventure awaits you

The mind is a powerful thing, and it's ability to create a believable dreamworld is phenomenal, but like any imitation of something, is not 100% perfect. Light switches (and other gadgets etc) are another example; try flicking a switch in a dream and it will often not work at all, or behave kind of strange.

My most humorous dream text moment was when I was looking through a music magazine and it had an article with photos of bands and a caption under each photo. There was one of the Rolling Stones, sitting around in a typical 'cool' band like pose, looking all tired and old like they do nowadays in real life. The caption read 'Bong moths that have been in the stale smoke for too long'.

*edit to say s&f cos I love dreams and always enjoy threads on them

I've noticed if I concentrate on the actual letters they tend not to make sense, but I read them to make sense. Like the wrods dnot excist untiel yoo mkea thme. Also noticed while concentrating the rest of the dream starts to break down. Reading in dreams is kinda pointless for me, I already know what It's going top say before I read it.

reply to post by pa.Frost


When I was younger maybe in my teens or later, I remember having the opportunity to read in dreams, be it newspapers, street signs etc. But I would just look at the words and it looked like Russian or something...nothing I could read. As I grew older I began to almost become lucid and force myself to be able to read in dreams, till I guess it just became nature and the letters transformed to English. I didn't have to think about it. Oddly though, as recently as in the past couple of years, the same Russian style language has shown up.... But I seem to understand it anyway. Only after I awaken do I think...hum that was weird I don't even know anything about the Russian language. Oh and sometimes I can do math. And I do have a grasp of numbers. That has never been an issue as best I can remember.

Great topic

I hadn't remembered my own dream of doing this until just seeing this thread... I remember several dreams I have had where I was suddenly reading words from a book...

In all of these dreams, the words in the book became super focused and the clarity was startling enough that it raised my heart rate so that I was awakened very soon after...

Never figured out what it meant, but it was interesting..

I have had other dreams of suddenly having super vision and the clairty, depth perception was dramatically more than normal, and each time it forced me to awaken because of adrenaline.. 3 times was text in a book, and a few others it was textures on concrete walls very close up, or some other surface.

Note: I was told a long time ago that dreaming in color was impossible, but I have dreamed in full color and able to remember thousands of dreams I have had just like the day they were dreamt..

I don't think reading or anything is impossible in a dream...

reply to post by soldier_ant


That is hilarious! I didn't expect such a response for this thread but dreams are awesome. I was just wondering why I was taught that reading in dreams is/was "scientifically" impossible. Like you said, the many here who have professed the same is evidence to the contrary.

reply to post by Wetpaint72


Lucidity is odd, I understand why you see Russian characters. Sometimes while awake I can see how others would view English. It is a difficult mind state to accomplish and I do not like to do it too much, but I can semi-view my own language as foreign and see it's oddness. It is easier for most to accomplish by turning a written paper upside down or writing backwards.

I am glad that so many people have had the same experience as me. I feel less alone.

Fascinating thread. I can't say for certain whether I do or not but will focus on the question before bedtime.

Another interesting thing I learned about dreams I saw recently in the movie "Inception."

Mini spoiler alert:
It was pointed out in the movie that a person never really remembers the beginning of their dream. Usually just the middle. I find that to be true. Poof, there you are without knowing how you came to be in that particular situation. (It is an important plot concept of the movie.)

Once again, great thought provoking thread.

reply to post by pa.Frost


Well, it's always been impossible for me! In fact, I can't even see... That is, most of my dreams take place in thick twilight, and lights (torches = flashlights, room lights, don't work. I can't even see to dial a phone.)
That's one of 3 ways I know something is actually a dream..
Vicky

reply to post by kinda kurious


The same is true for me. Dreams are very short and I do find myself in the middle of one but I have brute forced myself into a dream about 5 or so times. I can never do it on purpose but trying to do it on purpose is the only way. I don't know if that makes any sense to some, but it's true. I have had quite a few elating experiences using brute force and not using brute force. There is not words in any language that can describe such experiences.