Dream personality vs. Waking personality

[Drellix]

So in my waking life I am a pretty chill and nice person. But in my dreams I am this horrible violent criminal.

Like, ok in this dream I had last night I beat three people up that busted into my dorm room, I stole a bunch of stuff from a grocery store, crashed into like three peoples cars, and did a bunch of other bad stuff that I can't remember.

I mean this isn't like just a one night thing, it is like all the dreams I can remember; I have a completely different personality then when I am awake. I had another dream the other night where someone tried to poison me so I nearly drowned him in a puddle, I was involved with this crime syndicate, I stole a bunch of stuff, did a bunch of drugs etc etc.

Another underlying theme in all these dreams is some sort of matrix-ish conspiricy, like I "know too much" about "whatever" so there is somthing far more powerful then me that is after me - seems to have alot to do with the fighting, i'm not just fighting people, its almost like the universe is fighting me. (or i'm fighting it)

So what could this possibly mean? Can you build up negative karma in dreams even if your not aware of what you are doing? Could this be just a subconcious part of myself that I repress? Do I just have multiple personalites? Or could it be past life issues that I still haven't dealt with yet?

[blacktiger057]

Have you ever heard of your shadow self? I do not have a great deal of knowledge about this being, but it is everything opposite that you are. It sometimes appears in dreams and I have seen it in the astral realm. That is the only thing that comes to my mind. See if this dream has some meaning, because it might later in life. It could be warning you of powerful enemies.

[Drellix]

Have you ever heard of your shadow self? I do not have a great deal of knowledge about this being, but it is everything opposite that you are. It sometimes appears in dreams and I have seen it in the astral realm. That is the only thing that comes to my mind. See if this dream has some meaning, because it might later in life. It could be warning you of powerful enemies.

Well if it is your shadow "self" then why would it be some seperate entity? Do you mean like the "shadow" archetype as Carl Jung described it? Don't people just contain that duality - I mean its not like the darker side of people are any less "you" it is just the more conciously repressed side of people. (hopefully)

[Beekeeper]

So what could this possibly mean? Can you build up negative karma in dreams even if your not aware of what you are doing? Could this be just a subconcious part of myself that I repress? Do I just have multiple personalites? Or could it be past life issues that I still haven't dealt with yet?

I'm not sure anyone can answer your questions with certainty. All you will get is a lot of opinion, which is okay if it gives you a possibility you haven't considered, I guess. I think your own intuition will best answer why this happens to you.

I don't think what you do subconsciously will incur karma. In fact, I doubt anything you do in a dream, even a lucid dream where you have control, will incur karma.

As for repression, multiple personalities and past lives, these are really only things you can discover for yourself. There are hypnotherapists and psychiatrists that can help if you want to go that path. There are also dream yoga sites that help you interrogate your dreams for meaning. If lucidity is within your grasp, you could try asking your dream characters.

[crappysurfer2]

sounds like your shadow self (symbolism of dreams aside)
shadow self is kinda tough to explain but ill give it a shot.
ill use myself as an example, in reality i am disgusted with greed corruption and the like, i stand for righteousness and all thats good, HOWEVER, corruption and greed and all the bad exists in me, and sometimes it may surface in dreams, you must realize that it is within you to be more at peace..
that wasnt a very good description, i can go get my book that explains it better if you want

[waking]

I had several dreams where I'm running away from something, part of an underground resistance, spy, etc.

And you know what, they're pretty fun. I think they're the dream equivalent of going out to watch an entertaining movie. As well as being very not lucid, they're not all significant to me. I can tell because I never really feel any strong pure emotions when I'm dreaming them. For example, if i'm being chased im not actually scared, if im attacking someone im not actually angry. Not every dream has to be uber-significant, some of them is just you having a good time. So unless you sense that they are, I wouldn't worry about it too much. ;)

[lucidcruiser99]

Are some of these things your subconscious desires?

I am also a very chill person, however a mob mentality, Woodstock renegade exists inside me that I have to suppress. Never intending to hurt anyone, you might still have energies that wish to fly rampant.

[Alaskans]

I think you are detatched from a dimension of yourself, that part of yourself is not assimilating to the behavior of the waking you and is surfacing when your main conciousness goes to sleep. Make it well known that YOU are in charge.

[Dialgo]

In a dream, people often loose inhibition. The subconscious desires come out and what not without inhibiting forces such as the ones that keep you following the rules you know...such as don't punch your waiter or what not. Its just natural. People often do in dreams what they would not do in real life.

[Korpo]

I cannot confirm that - I know I have quite some inhibitions in my dreams. Perhaps it depends how deep the inhibitions are?

Oliver