Dreamlike but not a dream

My acquaintance (MA) who gets MWRs (microsleep with REM experiences – see here) which, while normal, could easily be taken for paranormal, frequently gets them while reading. Usually this means speech (heard when MA is alone) which sounds like part of an overheard conversation. So MA was startled to get a different kind of MWR while reading recently, one where a different scene appears, not what was actually there. In the scene there was a man on his knees, apparently in distress, asking an (invisible) person nearby for help. MA had no idea from the scene what was going on or what had led up to it.

Last month I speculated (here) on the causes of MA’s various MWRs. I thought the sound-only ones and real scenes where one fictitious object, like a human figure, had been added were related to hypnagogic hallucinations. And I thought the ones where the entire real scene was replaced by a different one was related to dreams, albeit very short ones. But now I’m seriously doubting the dream connection.

In dreams we usually ‘know’ stuff even though we haven’t experienced it in the dream. Take a nightmare I had recently as an example. I ‘knew’ I’d previously helped a friend with their scientific research though it didn’t happen in the dream. I also ‘knew’ that the friend had then set up a highly successful company using the results of our research. What I actually saw in the dream was me reading a letter. It was from my friend’s company in reply to a letter I’d sent to them (which I also didn’t see in the dream) suggesting I might be due some financial compensation for my considerable efforts that led to the company's huge profitability. The reply said that I had made no material contribution to the company’s success and so was due nothing. Furthermore, should I disclose this private communication to any third party they would take legal action against me!  Most people have nightmares where they are chased by monsters, mine consist of disputes with rich tech companies! Unsurprisingly, none of the dream is true!

The important point was that I just knew the background to the dream scene without ever seeing it. I have always experienced this background knowledge in dreams. But MA had no idea of the background to the kneeling man scene or other MWRs where the whole scene was different to reality. So, these ‘alternate scene’ MWRs are actually more like hypnagogic hallucinations than dreams. So, I’m now thinking that ALL MWRs may be related to hypnagogic hallucinations. They are dreamlike but not a dream. And the illustration? A ghost tie, of course.