Questions anyone?

[DrmDoc]

Hello All,

Why do we dream? From where do dreams come? How can I use my dreams to better my quality of life? What are lucid dreams? How do I stop bad dreams?

These are some of the questions you may have about dreaming that could have answers in the research I have reviewed and amassed in over three decades of personal study. So, if you have questions about the general nature of dreams and dreaming or have theories you'd like to explore, I invite you to do so here in discussion with me. I welcome your thoughts.

DrmDoc

[Gypsy55]

Hi
My take on dreams are that they help us to make sense out of our daily lives, and give us necessary inisght into what we need to do in our future. Dreams are where we can get messages from our Angels or Spirit Guides who can show up as people we know who have passed. They can also be a way to work out difficult decisions we need to make by offering up different scenarios and watching the outcome.
In Love and Light

[DrmDoc]

Hi Gypsy,

Originally Posted by Gypsy

My take on dreams are that they help us to make sense out of our daily lives, and give us necessary inisght into what we need to do in our future. Dreams are where we can get messages from our Angels or Spirit Guides who can show up as people we know who have passed. They can also be a way to work out difficult decisions we need to make by offering up different scenarios and watching the outcome.

Interesting, do you think this perspective also applies to other dreaming animals. There is evidence that suggests humanity is not the only species that dreams. Do you think dreaming serves other species the way you believe it serves us? I welcome your perspective.

[Wolfjk]

Hi DrmDoc,
It is nice to hear from you.
In view of recent advances in dream medicines, have you altered your own theory of dreams, perhaps towards the idea that dreaming is an important function of life and in reality the nocturnal control system?
This is from one of your earler posts on the previous DC forum:

I have reviewed the idea or theory that dreaming is how the sleeping mind regulates sleep and arouses the body to physical discomfort. The most current science on brain function does not support the belief, idea, or theory that dreaming is anything more that a result the sleeping brain's interpretive process. Dreaming is how our sleeping brain interprets arousal in the brain during sleep. Dreams do not create arousal, they are a result of arousal.

Cheers Wolfjk

[Jennings]

DrmDoc, Take out the religious content of Gypsy's post and I subscribe to much of what she says; fortunately, I am anti-religious (you didn't think I was about to say 'regretfully')?

I have kept dogs for almost 30 years and I would suggest that their dreams have a similar affect on them as dreams have on us; Okay, this cannot be proved (as far as I am aware) but from observation of the dynamics of their interaction with other animals including us humans they do learn and make adjustments to their behaviour and I would suggest that dreaming helps them to do this.

I had three dogs until recently, two dominant males and a female (presently highly pregnant and due next week), and posturing, attacking, and pairing, was a regular feature. The older dog, the 'James Cagney' of the dog world (currently Norfolk terriers) I noticed dreamt more during this period of hostility. Sadly we had to find another home for the other male; it is a nice one and he is well settled and interestingly, since, the older dog has not shown any noticeable signs of dreaming.

I too find that whenever I am stressed or focussed on some problem that I become increasingly aware of my dreams and have occasionally benefitted from understanding them. They do seem to assist in maintaining one's equilibrium but for a number of years, although I dream, I have considerable difficulty at recalling them which I think is due to the fact that I am retired and have been freewheeling in life for some considerable period, so there is nothing in my life to provide the dream with sufficient energy to remember it.

My interest in dream goes back to early infancy, indeed, as far back as I can recall and, without declaring my age, probably around 75 years! I have been reading the dreams of my family and friends for a number of years, more as a party-piece, so it is not unfamiliar territory.

[DrmDoc]

Hello All,

Originally Posted by Wolfy

In view of recent advances in dream medicines, have you altered your own theory of dreams, perhaps towards the idea that dreaming is an important function of life and in reality the nocturnal control system?

I am delighted that you remain a constant in our dreaming universe. Our exchange of views is always a pleasure. To answer your question; no, my position has not changed. The most recent evidence in brain study and dream research does not suggests that dreaming sustains or regulates our life's functions when we sleep. In fact, the evidence strongly suggests to me that dreaming continues to be a byproduct of the vestigal arousal in the brain that is caused by how our brain evolved. I welcome your thoughts.

Originally Posted by Jennings

Take out the religious content of Gypsy's post and I subscribe to much of what she says;…

My question to Gypsy would be inclusive of her religious views. If the ideas we hold about the nature of dreams and dreaming are valid, I think those ideas should apply to every dreaming animal from fish to fowl to humanity.

Originally Posted by Jennings

...I too find that whenever I am stressed or focussed on some problem that I become increasingly aware of my dreams and have occasionally benefitted from understanding them. They do seem to assist in maintaining one's equilibrium but for a number of years, although I dream, I have considerable difficulty at recalling them which I think is due to the fact that I am retired and have been freewheeling in life for some considerable period, so there is nothing in my life to provide the dream with sufficient energy to remember it.

Have you benefited in this way from all your dreams? Have you had dreams that seem to have no relevance to any experience in your life or that of someone you know? How do you explain such dreams? I welcome your thoughts.

DrmDoc

[Gypsy55]

Hi
In reply to Drmdoc, yes I believe that all species with the ability to dream do so and although I have no factual information to back this up, I have seen my own dog go through numerous dream sequences, especially when something new has come into her life and her comfort zone has changes. ie: baby, new house, other dogs, etc.
Jennings:
Religous views or not, I believe that you will be helped through your dreams to accept those things that you cannot see or touch.

[Jennings]

Gypsy, I do believe in the spiritual aspect to life and its connection to our dreams but cannot see any connection to religion. I guess this has got you confused? We best not discuss it otherwise it will detract from the thread. In principle we agree, while in the detail we differ.

DrmDoc, While the brain has developed from its reptilian phase through to its present day structure would you be suggesting that its genesis limits our thought processes?

Somehow our species seems to have broken free from its reliance on nature to harnessing nature for its own purposes which indicates a pronounced change not only to human thought processing but also to the nature of life itself, a change which seems to be continuing. In this continuation process it would seem that the only limit to our intellectual development is the constriant which society imposes on our imagination, and imagination and dreaming somehow seem to be interlinked and symbiotic. I often wonder if we are our own worst enemy in this respect and if the constraints of society are possibly the balance-wheel that 'pulls the reins' to our imagination?

Many questions arising all seeking answers. Like the proverbial dog chasing its tail; if it stopped suddenly what would happen to it (now constrain your imagination)?

[DrmDoc]

Hi Gypsy,

Originally Posted by Gypsy

yes I believe that all species with the ability to dream do so...I believe that you will be helped through your dreams to accept those things that you cannot see or touch.

Do you think that other animals receive spiritual messages through their dreams? I welcome your continued interest.

Hi Jennings,

Originally Posted by Jennings

While the brain has developed from its reptilian phase through to its present day structure would you be suggesting that its genesis limits our thought processes?

Very good question! The idea of the human brain originating from a reptilian phase began with Dr. Paul Maclean’s and his very popular Triune Brain Theory. A careful study of his idea will find that it is incomplete. Dr. Maclean’s theory doesn’t go back far enough in prehistory to assess our brain’s exact beginning. With just a little investigation of the available evidence in brain structure and our planet’s evolution, we find that our brain began its march to its current state of complexity from a bacterium-like (a combined plant and animal) stage—perhaps 200 million years before the first reptile. This is not a suggestion that our brain’s ancient beginnings limit the nature of our thought processes; however, the level of thoughtful activity we currently enjoy, including dreaming, is dependent on the ancient parts of our modern brain—parts humanity acquired millions of years ago.

Originally Posted by Jennings

Somehow our species seems to have broken free from its reliance on nature to harnessing nature for its own purposes which indicates a pronounced change not only to human thought processing but also to the nature of life itself, a change which seems to be continuing.

When we look at the various components of brain structure and how their distinct functions contribute to the overall activity our brain engages, we find that proper brain function is dependent on a concert of activity between the ancient and recent parts of brain structure. Our ability to dream would not be possible without the contributions of our brain’s primitive aspects. How these aspects contribute to dreaming suggests why we dreams and what their imagery generally references.

Originally Posted by Jennings

I often wonder if we are our own worst enemy in this respect and if the constraints of society are possibly the balance-wheel that 'pulls the reins' to our imagination?

I think that the constraint on our imagination is a product of our growth experiences and maturity; however, the evidence in brain function suggests that imagination may have very little to do with the content of our dreams. Dreaming is a product of our brain’s unconscious activity, while imagination originates from our brain’s conscious activity. How our brain functions unconsciously is not the same as how it functions consciously. I’ve often likened the difference between the unconscious and conscious activity of the brain to the lighting in a two-story home. In such a home, there is a master light switch on the first floor, which operates lights on all floors of the home, and a secondary switch that only operates the second floor lights. When we are conscious, our brain operates through a master switch that initiates our brain’s primary and secondary activity; when unconscious and dreaming, our brain appears to operate through a secondary switch that only engages a secondary level of brain activity. Fortunately, none of this diminishes the spiritual nature or significance of some dream content. I welcome your further thoughts.

DrmDoc

[Peter_C]

I believe that dreams are a form of entertainment that our brain puts on as it waits for the next day. Sitting there not thinking is probably pretty boring, some people can do it (the non-dreamers) other people can't stop thinking. And when all other sensory is cut off from conscious mind, our brain thinks up a new world and it feels real.

Except when my sister comes to visit me in my dream, they are very different types of dreams. They feel so real that they had to have been real. I believe that spirits can visit us in our dreams. And they can tell us what lies beyond. My sister told me what heaven was like, and what happened at the accident.