Dreams & memories getting mixed/confused - recalling things that didn't happen asif real

I have a very specific "memory" of a period of my life that is extremely blurry and as I think of it, I can't remember it as being real, but it seems as if I have had many dream sessions of it that have merged into my existing memory as if it were real. It's difficult to explain but it started coming back with things reminding me of a situation that I suddenly recalled clearly but when I examined it, I realized that it never happened, couldn't have happened and had to have originated in a dream. The thing is that I do recall dreaming about this topic a few times, feeling really strange afterwards, and then having "triggers" that make me remember the dream as if it were real.


The memory is about a short period of my life when I just moved to a new place where I had lived before a few years prior. I don't confuse the time periods as I was totally different between the two periods of time (think college/party vs professional setting). I always went to the same gym while there, both times, and then I have memories of going to a totally different gym (about 35 mins away vs the gym 2 mins away - would NEVER do that..). This dream/memory all focuses around this gym and my going there, seeing co-workers & other people I know, but I know I've never been to the gym other than stopping in once. The thing is that I have maybe 6-10 distinct memories of specific interactions at this gym that I know were not in real life. It feels like I am watching it or remembering it through someone else eyes/memory or it was a different/parallel life.

This memory goes on to have interactions with the gym (phone, email, etc) after I moved away, but I have no record of it. aa

So I have memories of going to the gym I always went to, the first time I lived there and the second time (I had family who went there) and I can't ever see why I would go so far out of my way for the gym when the prices were basically the same. I've tried to think if it was because of a friend going there or anything and can't think of any good reason and it would have cost $1 each way in addition to the drive. Just makes no sense.

Another odd thing is that there is a bridge where I lived that I remember driving at least 2x a day (usually 4-8x a day to & from work, gym, lunch, shopping) and I remember the bike riders often walking their biked up the bridge b/c it was steep (tall arch over inter coastal water way) and I though I'm glad I didn't have to do that. Then I remember looking out over the island at the top, down to the south end. It was very memorable and clear, I even remember the music I would play in the car driving over - it was a very memorable period of my life. Now I look at the bridge (first on a map) on the island's website & pics of it, and it isn't arched. It might be slightly but this was very tall, so sail boats could go underneath. I seem to be one of the only people who remembers it arched but when I mention some specific times, other people have said "I remember that too! That's really weird!" - meaning they remember it being arched when I mention a specific incident, or event, but otherwise they remember it as "it is now"..

So this whole living at this place seems kind of mysterious and has either played tricks on my memory or my dreams have been very active/vivid. The thing is I NEVER dream about real life things like this, at least never more than once or twice and it always has wacky, skewed things that are much more unsettling, where this memory/dream is so mundane and boring - not at all normal for my dreaming - which is another very odd aspect of this if the orgin is from dreams (and I rarely remember dreams..).

Anyone else ever experience something like this or have any idea of what may possibly explain what is happening? I've considered that I've confused this place with somewhere else, but this place was so unique to other places I've lived that it makes no sense as they are not similar at all. Driving the same road/bridge for 7 months, many times a day, is long enough to establish a decent memory I would hope - as I have strong memories of places I've only been once (and when I return I remember very well like ski slopes on a mountain...).

I dunno.

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Dimemsional timelines interacting? Or Mandela effect at it best.
I'm more inclined to the first one. Have you had any weird accident or very sick, or traumatic experience?

Sleep walking maybe?

Dreams can often seem very real, as well.

Interesting post either way.

originally posted by: Abednego
a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Dimemsional timelines interacting? Or Mandela effect at it best.
I'm more inclined to the first one. Have you had any weird accident or very sick, or traumatic experience?

I've had all of those, accident, being sick and trauma - I guess the severity of these is all relative though...

I'm pretty sure it wasn't sleep walking though I have woken to have my glasses somehow migrate across the house to an unused corner table and I had placed them next to the bed when going to sleep. I'm pretty sure it wasn't sleep walking while going to the gym as I would of had to drive and it was always during the day, which I was always awake while there.

When I lived there I went to a local gym with co workers and family and for some reason the memories are of going to a national chain gym. I've tried to find inside pictures of the gym to see if they match what my dream/memories are of it. It would be interesting to see if they are the same as what I picture.

Now that I think about it I have had another memory that i've had a hard time placing and it starts with the same location but I travel to a vacation home 4 hours north to meet a girl friend I had who I know never was there (at any of the locations). I have very specific memories of leaving my "new home" on the island, driving to our vacation house and meeting her for the night before driving 10 hours to my original home. Now I KNOW I never did this b/c I never went through those actions (leaving island -> vacation house -> childhood home) but I have very clear memories of being at the house with her (impossible b/c my parents don't remember this either).

All of these "dream memories" all have a common thread of living on the island (WOW, I'm getting a "LOST" TV show parallel here..) or starting there. IDK how to try to verify any of this.

I also have experienced very strong Mandela effect's but it seems that the longer they have been "changed" in memory, the less sure I am about the authenticity of the original. I do think there is something happening in the world/matrix and it may only effect some people or some people more so than others where those with little effect can write it off easily (and dismiss others easily) while those strongly effected are the ones who search for answers and speak out and are dissed/mocked by those who have had little effect.

These effects could be related to something like how much interaction a person has had with other people, groups, etc, where someone very active socially may have more "anchors" (as each person in a social activity it a unique anchor that would need to be changed) so if someone who had a lot of contact with large groups, they would have lots of anchors and possible stronger memories of events relevant to them. there are lots of tangents this could go out on, but I'm not going to explain my thoughts on it, but I think it has to do with inter-personal interaction being a main factor somehow.

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

I have a very specific "memory" of a period of my life that is extremely blurry and as I think of it, I can't remember it as being real,

Oh man, that just seems funny to me.
Sorry.

a reply to: DigginFoTroof

Only reason I mentioned that was...

Some many years ago, when I joined the Army, during boot camp there was 2 instances where I slept walked, without the knowledge of my DS's. If they had, I would have gotten kicked out right there on the spot.

One night, I got out of my bunk and walked across the barracks to a window. I was about 3 stories up. I opened the window and sat down on the windowsill and watched outside for a moment, then started pushing the screen out of the way because it was in my way. Right then, one of my platoon buddies who was pulling night guard walked up to me and said "**** - What are you doing man? Let's go back to your bunk...".

Some time later, it happened again but this time I put on my wool socks, my boots and my cap, dressed only in my brown T and my brown undies... I walked out the back passage way to the first floor with another night guard quckly on my heals trying to get me back upstairs. He asked what I was doing and I told him I was "pulling CQ". He laughed and put me back to bed.

Those are the only 2 times in my life I ever slept walked, that I know of. The strange thing about them were, I can remember every detail though it was kind of like in a dream state but real where my surroundings were kind of fuzzy. It was almost exactly like a dream but I saw myself doing every bit of it, I just couldn't remember why. I had a reason but I have only a faint memory of what it was. Looking back at the first instance, it was scary. I don't "THINK" I was trying to throw myself out from 3 stories but I was certainly trying to open the screen for some reason. I think I wanted it out of my way or I had a reason for doing it but I just don't remember exactly what. It scared the crap out of my platoon buddy. I imagine he though I was suicidal, lol.


This is why I though sleep walking because for me, it was real, I remember it but it was also like being in a dream world at the same time.

I have had similar experiences. I once told a friend that sometimes I remember things that I know have never happened to me, and he said "Never ever tell anyone else that. It makes you sound like an f'ing wierdo."

I have had instances were events can trigger memories, or the tip of a memory that I can't quite get to, of things that I know have never happened. It could be a location, a song, the weather, and suddenly I have images that seem familiar floating around in my head.

I have also had times where I will dream something and years later an event or location will remind me of the dream. Instances where the location and weather are identical to a dream I've had years before.

I don't know if any of that makes sense, but yeah.

a reply to: Abednego

Dimemsional timelines interacting? Or Mandela effect at it best. I'm more inclined to the first one.

But the (poorly named) Mandela Effect is exactly this... shared memories of something different then what is, now. Doesn't matter what one calls it, and folks have whispered about it since forever... but yah, back in the day they'd be called "crazy" by most and that's that.

Now we have an internet to compare notes, almost anonymously.

As for the OP ... yup. Weird, isn't it?

originally posted by: VekTorVik
I have had similar experiences. I once told a friend that sometimes I remember things that I know have never happened to me, and he said "Never ever tell anyone else that. It makes you sound like an f'ing wierdo."

I have had instances were events can trigger memories, or the tip of a memory that I can't quite get to, of things that I know have never happened. It could be a location, a song, the weather, and suddenly I have images that seem familiar floating around in my head.

I have also had times where I will dream something and years later an event or location will remind me of the dream. Instances where the location and weather are identical to a dream I've had years before.

I don't know if any of that makes sense, but yeah.

Yes, I understand exactly what you are saying. My memory was triggered by driving on a road that somehow made me think of a call I got (cell phone) while driving there. Now since I don't remember my dreams unless I REALLY try, I guess it is possible that some of these are dreams that I've had that I never actively recovered until something similar IRL triggers the thought pattern that makes me recall the dream. That is the only way I can explain it. I've had dreams that continue one night to next, or weeks, months or years later, the dream may repeat somewhat or progress from where I dreamt before.

Has anyone ever seen the tv show Dollhouse where a bunch of people get their entire personality programmed/wiped every mission/job and they never remember what they did. Only once in a while do they get flash backs which are a "glitch" in the process and it eventually builds to where they piece together whole memories, jobs, past lives. With what has been researched in covert/black budget projects, I wonder if there isn't some kind of tech that allows for this but I strongly hope not.

originally posted by: Baddogma
a reply to: Abednego

Dimemsional timelines interacting? Or Mandela effect at it best. I'm more inclined to the first one.

But the (poorly named) Mandela Effect is exactly this... shared memories of something different then what is, now. Doesn't matter what one calls it, and folks have whispered about it since forever... but yah, back in the day they'd be called "crazy" by most and that's that.

Now we have an internet to compare notes, almost anonymously.

As for the OP ... yup. Weird, isn't it?

Mandela effect is more about changing the past, not the same as timelines interacting.
Still interesting.