One of the most provocative questions to peruse is ‘Why do we dream’ or ‘Why do we dream the way we do’? I tried to look up the researches and the inferences as derived by scientists, and I realized that although there are various avenues to answer this question, none of them are conclusive in the long run.
Dreaming is a very complicated process that can aid any interpretation whatsoever concerning human function. In fact, most of the supportive shreds of evidence conclude that dreams serve no functions at all. Of course, after watching films like ‘inception’ and ‘waking life,’ we are not ready to accept the same. However, on a focused scientific scale, it is crucial to investigate whether lucid dreaming and dream self-reflectiveness have a link with the functional aspect of dreaming.
It is surprising to ask yourself why an evolved consciousness awareness develops itself during sleep when it can perform efficiently in its on the state. Various researchers had tried to construct a cycle to define the dreaming characteristics involving self-organizing, self-reproductive, self-referential, and self-reflective. Thus, one of the functions of dreaming must be that it wants us to notice the same, which generally occurs across a transition tipping point in the physiological organization of the state. This is quite evident in the case of lucid dreaming, where we do notice that we are dreaming without any interventions of transiting the physiological organized state.
You would be amazed that the development of lucid dreaming for a waking state is to facilitate the realization of what it defines as being awake rather than absolute, thus developing self-reflection. In other words, these events help us differentiate between what it means to be asleep and awake. That is perhaps one of the sole reasons we don’t consider our dreams as our reality and reality as dreams.
Moreover, the lucidity for cognitive psychology enables the development of intentional actions within the dream state, as we saw in Inception, remember? Thus, in the process of these actions, one can develop various skills that might not be cultivated in the awaken state. Various surveys which were carried out on skilled lucid dreamers suggest that skill is a derived form (and not a different one), that is of a different order as found in the waking state.
Thus, for me, I believe dreams harmonies itself to be an evolutionary process that helps to develop self-reflectiveness along with skillsets that are exclusive to lucid dreaming. Hence, for the next time, when you see a dream (and you remember them), please reflect on the question of whether the dream is the reality, or the reality is the dream. I am sure you shall get an insight to the question- Why do we dream?
P.S- Lucid dreaming is usually defined by a phenomenon when you are conscious during a dream. The event is prominent during a rapid eye movement sleep, or what we call it the ‘dream state. During the process, you tend to realize your thoughts and emotions as the dream proceeds. You may read more at https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323077
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