"From the last three lines of your post, I'm assuming you are applying the "better safe than sorry" mentality to life-rights over all of time. This addresses points 3) and 5) of my post on Wed 5/15, but does not address points 1),…"
I Power
Scientific Research & Self-Development Activism
Why Do We Dream?
OK people, this question is one that I've never seen a great answer to yet, and I figure that since there are quite a few intellectuals who hang out here it might be worth hearing some of your ideas. Why do we dream?
Or, better yet, Why MUST We Dream?
Chiren and the crew are obviously very much into neurology. Athene's Theory of Everything proposes that Consciousness is a key to understanding the universe; and I've seen some discussion in other threads about Sleep Paralysis and Lucid Dreaming; but nobody has yet asked the BIG question: Why do we have to dream at all in the first place?
I mean, Most of us are required to sleep a full 1/3 of our entire lives away just in order to maintain our physical health! But even more importantly, studies have shown that if we are not allowed to sleep, and more specifically to dream, that we begin to lose our sanity. Many governments of the world throughout history and up to this very day have used {and still use} sleep deprivation as a method of torture and interrogation. So it is not just physical rest that we need; and since the brain remains active during sleep it is not as if the brain is resting itself during this time. No, it is busy playing with itself and making shit up! {Mental Masturbation? LOL}
Dreams are obviously a hallucinogenic form of virtual reality which are created by our subconscious minds - ie., they are not "real"... but, do our experiences with and in them get neurologically wired in with the rest of our life experiences as if they were a part of our reality? or does our brain separate them off into a side compartment somewhere and treat them as experiences that are not to be trusted? Why do we forget them so easily upon regaining consciousness? And why are they necessary to maintain our sanity and clarity of thought during our conscious hours? It seems a bit of a paradoxical conundrum to me.
I would love to hear all your thoughts - unless you are one of those people who believes in astral projection and accessing other dimensions during meditation. If you are, then piss off! because I don't want to hear about something you saw while in a trance or learned from some medium who channels alien spirits.
Tags: Dream, Dreaming, Dreams, Lucid, Paralysis, Sleep, consciousness, sanity, subconscious
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Arjuna aka sdsad on -
Well actually I have no Idea why we HAVE to dream at all. It is a very interesting question though.
But what makes me curious: Why do you get so emotional about "other dimensions" and astral projection? I mean, I am not so much in to these topics, but I still think that these experiences, which some people claim to have had, are at least worth being taken seriously. I think if the phenomenon is real then it at least has a very rational explanation for that fact that science has very big troubles approaching it. So why are you that stubborn and "close-minded" when it comes to such kind of things?
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Permalink Reply by The Shiznit on -
While I feel that such things are actually a product of our dreams, I do not feel that they explain our need to dream; and I don't want this thread to get warped into a discussion about that kind of stuff.
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Permalink Reply by Arjuna aka sdsad on
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ok ;-)
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Permalink Reply by ryan edge on -
to give the most unsatisfying answer science often gives... we dont really know. but it doesnt mean science hasnt looked into it, ill go into more detail when i get off work.
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Permalink Reply by The Shiznit on
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Please do. ;-)
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Permalink Reply by Dean O'Brien on -
We dream to solve problems. (apparently einsteins theories came together in a dream). The brain can put alot of random input together in a dream and form relationships between ideas you once thought were seperate or couldnt connect.
We dream to solve dissonance. Unresolved emotions can be addressed in dream situations, and dreams are often very emotional causing a wide spectrum of feelings. People with Post Traumatic Stress disorder will often relive terrifying situations in an attempt by the brain to "get over" certain feelings or situations
We dream to live out fantasies. Some fantasies can be harmful or dangerous, other ones are simply too risky to attempt. When we get caught up in a decision during the day our brains may sometimes attempt to simulate fantasies so we dont get too hung up on things that aren't useful. This can help us to move on, or more aggressively pursue goals or dreams (funny we use that word actually)
We dream to understand ourselves. A dream can help us understand our own perspectives. In a dream everything is simulated internally, that means you can use dreams to better understand how you view the world, what you really think of certain people etc. its a quick and shallow glance at how our subconscious interprets our environment and the people in it, this is the main reason I find Lucid dreaming so useful.
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Permalink Reply by Mike de Klerk on -
-- This reply is not on the bear, but on Dean --
I think this is a very interesting view. You do shutdown 'judgement' in a dream in a way that you accept everything that happens, but you can still find people strange, funny, or stupid. You still have feelings. But you do not judge the scenario. If you do, you get lucid. And if you are not judging, it is easier to review yourself.
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Permalink Reply by The Shiznit on
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Interesting, Xavier. So {using computing metaphors} are you suggesting that our brains are basically kind-of saying, "OK. I have now taken in a Billion Gigabytes of information and I'm exceeding bandwidth limits and going into overload. It's time to shut this idiot down and close off further sensory input until I can sort it all out and try to make some sense of it." {?} In other words, that our brains are actually trying to make some practical sense of what we experienced in reality while we were conscious and, in essence, cleaning house and "taking out the trash"?
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Permalink Reply by Ryan on -
contents are confusing and may affect our conscious awareness in a negative way... like taking too many drugs and eventually not being able to separate fantasy from reality.
That's an interesting thought. I forgot where, but I was reading some sort of Buddhist philosophy that mentioned lucid dreaming. The writer started to convey that a serious danger of lucid dreaming was in fact becoming obsessed with the dream world and replacing reality with it. I wonder how frequently one needs to lucid dream in order for the dream memories to affect their waking life. One of the prerequisites of being able to enter a lucid dream willingly is constantly checking to see if you're dreaming; I wonder if this can become an uncontrollable obsession.
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Permalink Reply by The Shiznit on
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I have Lucid Dreams quite often, because my sleeping habits are so poor. I've never been obsessed with having them, though, or found myself wanting to have them. I've just accepted that having them is to be expected sometimes. There is a certain appeal to them I suppose, in that because you are partially conscious you have partial control of the dreams; as well as a greater chance of remembering them after you are fully awake. I can't say that I have personally found any practical benefit out of this, though. Not yet anyway. :-)
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