i figure that a lot of dreams involve the conscious mind, in a passive state of
rest, becoming aware of subconsciously held information/ideas. the 'energies'
conveyed in the subconscious may get 'translated' into recognizable forms by
the receptive conscious... facilitating communication between the two.
it seems likely that the dream figures are merely interpretations used to
make the ideas more understandable... those people might speak of such
topics in such a manner as portrayed in your dreams.
you could look at it as those people communicating, in that their ideas have
left an impression on your subconscious, which is relaying them back into
your awareness... possibly with added nuances you'd overlooked.