Dreamstuff

Dreamstuff

Dreamstuff, as the name implies, refers to the “material” out of which the world we experience during the dream state is constructed. Although dreamstuff—or such alternative expressions as dream fabric and dream matter—can be used metaphorically, it can also be used in a manner that suggests belief in some actual (though subtle) substance that forms the landscapes we encounter in dreams. The latter idea is especially popular in various occult and metaphysical schools of thought, which postulate a series of “planes” or levels that coexist with the physical plane in what might be called a different dimension. From this perspective, most dreams are said to occur on what is called the astral plane. The astral plane is said to be composed of subtle elements, etheric in nature, more akin to the energies of the life force than to physical matter. This subtle material can be shaped by our imagination and responds to our mind to become the realm we experience during dreams.