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June 26, 2009
Q. From a Cleveland reader: “Who on Earth are those complete strangers that keep making their way into my dreams? I never saw these people before. Where do they come from?”
A. Dream images come from your personal experiences filed in long-term memory, either people you know or have seen in a movie or photograph or just imagined, says psychologist Rosalind Cartwright. The interesting issue is why you see them on any particular night. They are triggered by some emotional response to an experience during the day that you may not even be aware of consciously. Those feelings important to your self-concept you carry over into sleep and search for a match in memory, which is more emotional than logical and may be better served by a composite of several people with a similar meaning for you.
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