Dream Malls
I often dream of being in a public space with other people who are just milling about, sitting, talking. Often, the place is a park or college campus. Railway stations are another common theme. Sometimes I recognise people from earlier dreams, but none from waking life. We chat about ordinary topics. No significant action happens. I do not remember anything unpleasant happening in these situations. Maybe half of my dreams are like this.
I call these “public space” dreams. My hypothesis is that after breaking out of personal space dreams, you find yourself shuffling about aimlessly with others in the same situation. This is the default post-personal experience. It is also the launching pad for psychedelic dreams.
Last night I dreamt of an 18th century shopping mall. As usual, people were just strolling about. There was a food court on the ground floor, shops nearby and on a mezzanine. That is typical for mall dreams, other than the 18th century styling.
But this time, I noticed something unusual: a woman on the mezzanine was beleaguered by other people asking her questions. She seemed to be some kind of manager or coördinator. There was someone who seemed to know what was going on.
I thought I ought to note this in case someone else can make sense of it.
Update: since writing the above, I discovered that I am late to the game. There is even a subreddit called mallworld. It has been written about in the New York Times.
I’m encouraged to think that the other regularities I have written about have been or shall be discovered by others.