long. There are far too many stimuli for it to process. The mind
prioritizes the stimuli and makes you aware of those that need
immediate attention (the crying baby, the out-of-control car, your
boss' request) so that you may act accordingly. The stimuli that
you are not consciously aware of are nevertheless noted by the
brain, but on a subconscious level (the drip of the bathroom
water faucet, the remark by a coworker at the water cooler while
you were on the telephone.)
Furthermore, you feel emotions all day. Some you acknowledge
and act on (you say thank you and smile when you are
complimented.) Some you repress or do not allow yourself to act
on (you don't punch your boss in the nose when he tells you the
report you worked on for a week is no longer needed.) Traumatic
experiences occur that you face (you call the police) or if it too
painful, you deny them happening and send them deep into your
subconscious (repression.)
In addition to all these emotions and stimuli the brain must
process daily, it also keeps your body functioning; it remembers
names and faces; it allows you to talk and walk and chew gum
(sometimes all at the same time); and performs numerous other
activities that you take for granted.
You must admit -- that's a lot to do. At night, when your body
must rest, the mind continues working. When no longer called
upon to type letters and do the grocery shopping, the brain
concentrates on processing all of those subconscious stimuli
and emotions (while still maintaining body temperature and
breathing, etc.)
This is why we dream. Only you are not awake to receive the
signals at a conscious level -- you can not hear or see or touch
(at a conscious level) while you are sleeping. The brain must
resort to other means to get the signals through to your
conscious mind. This is why we dream the way we do. The
mind uses everything at its disposal (which is everything its
ever been exposed to) to get the message across (green teddy
bears, Uncle George and your grade school classroom, for
instance.) Simply put, dreaming is the minds way of processing
all of the stimuli and emotions it has received during the day or
repressed over time, so that you may act on them.
All in all, it's a pretty neat system. But unless you are
remembering and making sense of your dreams, you are missing
out on countless opportunities to learn about yourself and
experience life to its fullest.
Next step --Why Interpret Your Dreams?
Schumann's: Traumerei
(Dreaming) performed and
© John Bell Young. It is used
with permission.
be an expert on dreams. I
have no degree in Psychology
or any other science. I
profess to be a dreamer -- in
every sense of the word,
because I dream and I have
learned to interpret my own
dreams. I make no promises
that I can interpret your
dreams. I merely hope to help
you learn to interpret your
own dreams. You are
welcome to learn from my
experiences.
Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 Book 5