question about board etiquette

[Canard]

Apologies if this is not the appropriate place to discuss such matters but I have a question about board etiquette.

For boards that don't have a lot of activity in them, is it ok to have more then one topic by yourself on there?
There are a couple things I would like to discuss with people in the board about dreams but I already have a topic there but in regards to the topic the queries I have don't fit so I can't quite consolidate them? I suppose I could add onto the topic with a post in that thread but would that warrant the bump? I also would like to discuss a few dreams I had there but my topic hasn't gotten any responses so I feel that additional postings would be inappropriate. However, a lot of topics in the board have had no activity for over two weeks. Still, it seems to me that if I had more then one thread on the board I would be hogging the board to myself. Then in addition to that, constantly bumping my own thread that sees no responses, or even views for that matter, I think would also be inappropriate.

 

[Alana]

Apologies if this is not the appropriate place to discuss such matters but I have a question about board etiquette.

Hi Canard. All you need to know about how this forum functions is in the Guidelines. I am not aware of any board etiquette in particular, other than common sense and external consideration.

For boards that don't have a lot of activity in them, is it ok to have more then one topic by yourself on there?
There are a couple things I would like to discuss with people in the board about dreams but I already have a topic there but in regards to the topic the queries I have don't fit so I can't quite consolidate them? I suppose I could add onto the topic with a post in that thread but would that warrant the bump? I also would like to discuss a few dreams I had there but my topic hasn't gotten any responses so I feel that additional postings would be inappropriate. However, a lot of topics in the board have had no activity for over two weeks. Still, it seems to me that if I had more then one thread on the board I would be hogging the board to myself. Then in addition to that, constantly bumping my own thread that sees no responses, or even views for that matter, I think would also be inappropriate.

What you say makes me wonder "why would anyone want to talk about dreams that much, when there's so much of reality going on". A question that I see other members also posed to you in your intro thread. So it seems a few of us see that you might have a tendency to avoid reality ;)

The thing about dreams is that, however we try to give them meaning and understand their origin, it's pretty hard to read them objectively or for them to give us any practical real life information. Until we learn how to "tune" our reading instrument in our everyday life, dreams are noise at best, disinformation at worst. Or so has been my experience. I am not dissuading you from sharing your dreams, not at all, I am merely wondering why are they your "singular focus"? (I say this after reading all the posts you wrote on the forum, including the "awake" dream of flying).

 

[Canard]

Dreams aren't my only interest, just something I have to say something about. I've been watching other boards too but when I read into the topics it seems that the stuff I can add to the discussion has already been said or would be too off topic. Dreams for me are just a passing interest, really. Kind of like a minor form of entertainment? Sometimes something happens that really grabs my attention. I've actually had a dream that has kinda hurt me a little. Then I've had another kind of thing happen where I had no idea what was going on. For the most part however, just stuff my mind is playing out for some reason or another. I just think its interesting to see if there's something working under all that fluff. I do watch the 'What's on your mind' board primarily though, but I regularly read others, just can't think of anything useful to post. Makes me feel a bit inadequate.

sorry for the lack of punctuation in the title though, my fault. I'll try to look out for that in the future.

 

[Alada]

Dreams aren't my only interest, just something I have to say something about. I've been watching other boards too but when I read into the topics it seems that the stuff I can add to the discussion has already been said or would be too off topic.

[...]

I regularly read others, just can't think of anything useful to post. Makes me feel a bit inadequate.

I think you'll find a fair number of people here who have had experience of that, myself included. Its a block of sorts, and a frustrating one at that. Left too long though it can grow, which isn't at all helpful and takes even greater effort to break down, fear comes in, and then even greater hesitancy.

There's no harm in saying something that's already been said, it can be helpful for others too in gauging their own perceptions. So where's the harm in posting a "I agree, I think that..." Every now and again? Even if the main aim of the post is really as practice to overcome the fear of posting, well then it can be doubly useful. ;)

As for dreams, I was quite struck recently in re-reading some Cs sessions, how many times the answer to the question "was there any significance to my dream about ...?" Came back as "no" or "none". As Alana said, it's hard to make much of them really, so maybe use your judgment to share things of particular note, but probably best not to get overly obsessed by them.

 

[Alana]

Dreams aren't my only interest, just something I have to say something about. I've been watching other boards too but when I read into the topics it seems that the stuff I can add to the discussion has already been said or would be too off topic.

As Alada says, this is something we all struggle with when it comes to posting. But the beauty of networking is that we are so many and we each bring our unique perspective into every discussion. So somebody posts about a problem. A person responds with some advice. Then another and another. In the end the person will have a more objective and rounded advice in the combination of the replies. And here's where you come in (or any other new member). You can offer a new fresh perspective in any subject.

And the more you post, the easier it gets after a while. The more you interact, the more you get to know everyone, and everyone else knows you, the more you feel like a part of the grand family.

Dreams for me are just a passing interest, really. Kind of like a minor form of entertainment? Sometimes something happens that really grabs my attention. I've actually had a dream that has kinda hurt me a little. Then I've had another kind of thing happen where I had no idea what was going on. For the most part however, just stuff my mind is playing out for some reason or another. I just think its interesting to see if there's something working under all that fluff.

I think so too, regarding dreams. Have you ever kept a dream journal? I think it's the best way to see patterns emerging after recording many dreams. It might even help you identify unconscious thought patterns or emotions. I recommend it if you haven't tried it yet. And really, if you have a very interesting dream, or one that haunts or puzzles you, feel free to share. The feedback will help you "read" it.

I do watch the 'What's on your mind' board primarily though, but I regularly read others, just can't think of anything useful to post. Makes me feel a bit inadequate.

Like I said above, the more you do it, the easier it will get. Like Alada says, it takes practice and working through the resistance or negative thoughts about the self in regards to posting.

sorry for the lack of punctuation in the title though, my fault. I'll try to look out for that in the future.

No problem at all, I didn't notice it before you mentioned it actually.

 

[Canard]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone. I do actually keep a dream journal, but only recently. As for patterns, I'd say about half the time I'm some sort of animal critter and half the time I'm not even my real life gender. I'm curious if that means anything. But yes, I'll try to post more then, and, hopefully, keep others in mind when doing it. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[denekin]

Canard, on dreams and keeping a journal: in my opinion, it is very rare that a particular dream has a particular significant meaning. Dreams are part of an ongoing conversation.
The way to find the meaning of this conversation is to keep track of dreams over months and occasionally review these dreams, two or three months worth, to see themes which repeat. Those themes are the message, if there is one. There is a tendency to make a particular image from a particular dream have tremendous importance. That tendency is likely to make us miss the underlying theme of the conversation. While we are always capable of having a Big Dream, a dream with particular dramatically revealing material, it is more likely that we will discover the meaning of our dreams over long patient observation. Vivid images are meant to grab our attention, but are rarely fraught with meaning.

Feeling inadequate when posting to the Forum is something we have all felt.
It's something I'm feeling right now.
Welcome to the club.

 

[MusicMan]

To quote from the Bible: "Your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams".
I don't see a problem with starting a new post for each dream, so that you have a discussion point.
I think the advice about journalling is good advice.
Personally, I never remember my dreams, although there is one recurring dream I had when I was six years old, which I still remember sixty odd years later!

Anyway, here's what I think: When I was recovering from an operation years ago, I was on morphine for pain relief, and I had been on this stuff for about four days, and I began to hallucinate. The images I could see were of 'a large truck' this truck was made up of thousands of other images, you know like the pictures that are made out of lots of other pictures.

It occurred to me later that this is the way that the brain operates, and stores information.
You can go into the image or a part of the image and you will discover other images there, and so on.
So the dreaming process is about how the brain is filing your data away for a fast recall process.
You could consider this like a computer on which you are defragging and compressing the data.

Or so I think. Just don't ask me where the truck came from, I'm not a truckie, I don't even drive a car!