Odd Circumstances Relating To Dreams Part 1

I will start off by saying that I know this site is not about dream interpretation. That is not why I am writing this. I am merely just questioning odd facts and circumstances that relate to some of my dreams.

I know that many of my dreams are nothing more than that. Just a dream. But I do have many many dreams that seem way more than that. I categorize all of my dreams into one of two types. Those in which contain possible paranormal, psychic, or spiritual qualities and those that do not. The former is; for obvious reasons; what I am writing about here and seeking guidance for. I will not go into specific detail about any of these dreams. I will just do my best to explain the odd circumstances relating to those dreams, and why I am questioning them. So let's get started.

The first thing I question about my odd dreams is the STATE of sleep in which the dream occurs, or in some cases at least starts. I question whether or not I am actually fully asleep because of the fact that I am still consciously aware of my surroundings while these dreams are playing in my head. Meaning that while I am mostly focused on the vivid images that are playing out in my dream state, I am also still aware and able to process details outside of the dream; such as feeling too cold or hot, hearing a family member snore, a car passing by outside, etc. To me, that seems odd. This ONLY happens when I have one of my 'odd' dreams. Has anyone else ever heard of being able to do this?

Fact two I question is possibly having an OBE while in these dream states. Admittedly, I do not know enough about OBE's to know what to call these experiences. So I will just do my best to explain, and hopefully someone can help me understand what it really is. This happens to me during most of these odd dreams, although not every one of them. While in the dream, I am viewing everything from two entirely different perspectives at the exact same time. I am in my own physical body looking out of my own eyes, aware of my surroundings and what is happening throughout the dream. In my own body I can see, smell, hear, etc everything just as in a normal dream and while awake. But at the exact same time I am experiencing all of it from my physical body, I am also 'watching myself' from a different perspective. From that perspective, it is always from a different spot in the room (or whatever environment the dream is playing out in.) It is almost like watching a movie with myself as the leading role. From this perspective, I am aware of the emotions I am feeling and even everything I can see, hear etc around me. I just do not seem to have a physical body from which I am experiencing this. I have heard of people having OBE's and astral projection. But I do not think I have ever heard of being able to experience the dream from both perspectives at the exact same time, being fully aware of every detail from both perspectives simultaneously. Has this ever happened to anyone else? Is this what astral projecting is? Or could it be something else entirely?

Fact 3 is that every single one of these dreams has either

A) A very strong spiritual connection for various reasons or,

B) Some sort of paranormal connection

In some dreams there is a black shadowy figure. The numerous experiences I have had while awake which involved a black shadowy figure were entirely different than those of my dreams. While awake, I would only 'see' the figure for a few moments. Once I felt like I could physically feel its presence even after I could no longer see it. Each of these experiences did not last very long. And there was the accompanying emotions like fear, shock and questioning whether or not it was real. As well as a very strong feeling that I can not quite explain that the figure was not intending to harm me, more that it was just watching me. In the dreams however, each time I 'saw' a shadow figure it was more like a badly scripted horror flick. Each one a different setting, storyline, etc. The only common factors being that same black shadow (in the dreams it had red eyes) would taunt me, trying to induce fear. It had a somewhat sinister laugh if I did start to feel fear, and (as even more odd than it already sounds) it seemed to get stronger in those moments when I would get afraid. When I have had these dreams I have woken up feeling entirely drained of energy like I had not slept at all, and would be experiencing the same exact emotions I felt throughout the entire dream. So much so as I would wake up feeling like the entire dream I had just had happened for real. Is it possible that these dreams are just my subconscious way of dealing with the real experiences I have had while awake? Or maybe something more?

There have been others as well that are in some ways very similar to the black shadow ones. They all seem almost to play out like a badly scripted movie. But they all involve the presence of either that black shadow or a ghost/spirit (sometimes as an almost see through white mist or just vibrating energy) and me being able to communicate with it in some way or another. What are your thoughts and opinions on this?

There are some more factors that make me question some of my dreams. But I think; for now; we shall start with just those listed above. I will also be submitting a part 2, so please feel free to read that one as well. As I said before, I know that some dreams are nothing more than a dream. Yet these things make me question... Are some of them much more than JUST a dream? Has anyone else experienced such odd things happening in their dreams? If they ARE something more, what could it be and where do I begin to learn more about it? Any insight and advice is greatly appreciated.