Miscellany:Dreaming

Dreaming is an altered state of consciousness that occurs during the rapid eye movement period of sleep. The physiological or psychological purpose, if any, of dreams is unknown, although some authors, such as Ann Faraday, have written books such as The Dream Game about how dreams can deliver messages from the subconscious providing warnings, advice, and other information. For example, according to Faraday, a dream may attempt to tell a person how he really feels about a situation about which his conscious mind has reached a certain decision based on conventional or familial standards of what is proper.

It is difficult to tell whether such analyses are correct, because whatever one deems to be important about dreams, one is more likely to recall. For example, if a person believes that only sexual dreams are important, it will increase the likelihood of remembering sex dreams rather than other dreams. Those who deem dreams to be unimportant in general are particularly unlikely to remember dreams very often, and may even believe that they do not dream.

Some people keep a dream diary and a pen by their bed with which to record dreams upon waking, before the details fade from memory. They may then attempt to analyze the dream and see what analogies the subconscious might be using to comment on waking life. This may, in turn, influence the next dream. Faraday notes that keeping ample amount of writing paper available may encourage the remembrance of more than one dream during the night, or more details, compared to if one only kept a small scrap of paper available, since that would signal to the subconscious that one did not expect or want to have much to write.

Some also attempt to perform reality checks during dreams, in hopes of entering a state of "lucid dreaming" in which they recognize that they are dreaming while dreaming. These can include, for example, looking at a clock, or at one's own reflection in a mirror, or putting one's finger through one's palm. Supposedly, the numbers on clocks, especially digital clocks, are often distorted or nonsensical in dreams, and one's reflection can also appear distorted in dreams. Likewise, in dreams, supposedly it is sometimes possible for a finger to go all the way through one's palm. It is said that one can prepare to conduct these reality checks by engaging in these behaviors while awake in put into one's memory a clear impression of what they look like in reality; and then, while dreaming, engage in those same activities and compare what one sees to one's memory.

In a 2011 Mises Forum conversation, it was mentioned that "getting to control your dreams could be like having your own personal holodeck, if it's actually possible to get that good at it." However, accounts differed as to whether various reality checks worked or not.