Original Post
The Brain and Dreaming
Sup guys. You may or may not know me from around here, but I'm trikskier. I am currently at Yale for the Summer Institute for the Gifted (SIG). I'm taking a class there called The Brain and Dreaming (Course description: The Brain and Dreaming: To Sleep, Perchance to Dream (S4
:
Period 1
Examine dreaming from physiological, psychological, and spiritual perspectives. Compare gender differences in dreams. Debate links between dreams and ontology. Gain an understanding of dream incorporation, lucid dreaming, and dreams of absent-minded transgression. Examine historical perspectives of dreams and their importance. Study the work of artist Salvador Dali and others who depict dreams in their art. Keep a dream journal with interpretations based on both Jungian and a Freudian point of view. Analyze the importance of dream interpretation in our present society.
Also found HERE.
I have a few questions I need to ask all of you, as part of a poll.
PLEASE ONLY ANSWER IF YOU ARE BEING LEGITIMATE!
Part One:
This is for everyone who sleep walks, or for people who know someone who sleeps walks. Please answer the following questions for me.
Is there a certain time of night that you sleep walk at? If so, what time?
Does anything trigger the fact that you get up, and walk around, or does it just happen randomly?
Do you remember sleep walking? If so, are you dreaming when you remember it, or does your subconsciousness just 'know'?
How long does your sleepwalking last for?
Part Two.
This part is for everyone who listens to a lot of music, plays a lot of games, watches a lot of movies etc. before they go to sleep.
What kind of music do you listen to before you go to sleep? What kind of movies do you watch before you go to sleep?
What games/genre of games do you play before you go to sleep?
For experiments sake, try listening/watching/playing for one night. When you wake up, record your 'dream' and the mood you woke up in.
The next night, don't play/listen/watch anything before you go to bed, and record your 'dream' and the mood you wake up in.
Do you notice a difference? If so, what was it? Was it for the better or for the worse?
Do you feel as though you can hear your music during your dream, or as if you are a character in your game/movie?
Part Three.
This is for people who can answer general questions about dreams, philosophical questions are included.
Do animals dream? If so, what kind of animals?
Do you dream in black and white?
Do you dream in color?
Do dreams serve a purpose?
If so, what is their purpose?
Why do we dream?
Can dreams be premonitions? (If so, perhaps provide examples of dreams that you have had, and what events they correlate to.)
Is our brain any different when we are dreaming from when we are awake?
How is it different from our dreams and reality?
I would really appreciate if you guys could help me as much as possible.
PLEASE WRITE WITH PROPER GRAMMAR/PUNCTUATION!
Thank you very much.
If anyone here is an expert on such topics, your help would be greatly appreciated.
:Period 1
Examine dreaming from physiological, psychological, and spiritual perspectives. Compare gender differences in dreams. Debate links between dreams and ontology. Gain an understanding of dream incorporation, lucid dreaming, and dreams of absent-minded transgression. Examine historical perspectives of dreams and their importance. Study the work of artist Salvador Dali and others who depict dreams in their art. Keep a dream journal with interpretations based on both Jungian and a Freudian point of view. Analyze the importance of dream interpretation in our present society.
Also found HERE.
I have a few questions I need to ask all of you, as part of a poll.
PLEASE ONLY ANSWER IF YOU ARE BEING LEGITIMATE!
Part One:
This is for everyone who sleep walks, or for people who know someone who sleeps walks. Please answer the following questions for me.
Is there a certain time of night that you sleep walk at? If so, what time?
Does anything trigger the fact that you get up, and walk around, or does it just happen randomly?
Do you remember sleep walking? If so, are you dreaming when you remember it, or does your subconsciousness just 'know'?
How long does your sleepwalking last for?
Part Two.
This part is for everyone who listens to a lot of music, plays a lot of games, watches a lot of movies etc. before they go to sleep.
What kind of music do you listen to before you go to sleep? What kind of movies do you watch before you go to sleep?
What games/genre of games do you play before you go to sleep?
For experiments sake, try listening/watching/playing for one night. When you wake up, record your 'dream' and the mood you woke up in.
The next night, don't play/listen/watch anything before you go to bed, and record your 'dream' and the mood you wake up in.
Do you notice a difference? If so, what was it? Was it for the better or for the worse?
Do you feel as though you can hear your music during your dream, or as if you are a character in your game/movie?
Part Three.
This is for people who can answer general questions about dreams, philosophical questions are included.
Do animals dream? If so, what kind of animals?
Do you dream in black and white?
Do you dream in color?
Do dreams serve a purpose?
If so, what is their purpose?
Why do we dream?
Can dreams be premonitions? (If so, perhaps provide examples of dreams that you have had, and what events they correlate to.)
Is our brain any different when we are dreaming from when we are awake?
How is it different from our dreams and reality?
I would really appreciate if you guys could help me as much as possible.
PLEASE WRITE WITH PROPER GRAMMAR/PUNCTUATION!
Thank you very much.
If anyone here is an expert on such topics, your help would be greatly appreciated.
Last edited by Trikskier; Jun 29, 2011 at 03:45 PM.
Dude I am sooooooo incredibly jealous :I
Jealousy aside, Congrats man! I'll answer as much as I can as best I can, being fairly familiar with the psychological aspects of dreams.
I listen to a lot of mellow stuff. I prefer indie or folk (or even indie-folk :o) or sub-pop stuff. Nothing too loud or percussive, etc. I don't watch many movies. I don't game very much, either. But if it means anything, I generally socialize a lot before I go to sleep; much of my journal is composed of other people. I dream a lot about socializing and social situations. I've never felt as though I was a character in a game/movie, and I don't recall ever writing anything about hearing music in my journal, unfortunately.
Animals definitely dream. Research predicts that any animal that sleeps, and is capable of remembering anything can indeed dream. I'm not sure about that blue fish on Finding Nemo, but a whole bunch of animals can dream
. Take a look at this:
I find that absolutely fascinating, hope you do too.
I don't recall ever dreaming in black and white.
Every dream that I can recall has been visually identifiable with the conscious world.
Well, this question is extremely subjective. I think it's scientifically accepted that dreams are just utterly random and sporadic concoctions of our subconscious mind, and that they don't relate very much (if at all) to the conscious mind. So apparently, they're useless. In my opinion, dreams are incredible things. They're a window into the the most creative thoughts your mind has ever yielded. These thoughts: can be applied to literature, (many have) are a tool for social interaction, (who doesn't love talking about dreams?), and a window into the convoluted and mystic subconscious mind. So for me personally their purpose is entertainment, social outlet, and literature.
>_<
There are so so many theories, man. I would go for the most up-to-date studies. I find comfort in Freudian theory, but I'm pretty sure it isn't very accepted anymore, lol. I've even heard some refer to Freud as a "pseudo-scientist" more than a psychologist/philosophizer.
I don't personally believe in spirit or AP's or any "bigger connection", so I'd have to say no. But that aswell, is a pretty subjective question.
Hope I helped, and good luck with your course, man. I wish I was able to do something like that >_<
Jealousy aside, Congrats man! I'll answer as much as I can as best I can, being fairly familiar with the psychological aspects of dreams.
What kind of music do you listen to before you go to sleep? What kind of movies do you watch before you go to sleep?
What games/genre of games do you play before you go to sleep?
For experiments sake, try listening/watching/playing for one night. When you wake up, record your 'dream' and the mood you woke up in.
The next night, don't play/listen/watch anything before you go to bed, and record your 'dream' and the mood you wake up in.
Do you notice a difference? If so, what was it? Was it for the better or for the worse?
Do you feel as though you can hear your music during your dream, or as if you are a character in your game/movie?
I listen to a lot of mellow stuff. I prefer indie or folk (or even indie-folk :o) or sub-pop stuff. Nothing too loud or percussive, etc. I don't watch many movies. I don't game very much, either. But if it means anything, I generally socialize a lot before I go to sleep; much of my journal is composed of other people. I dream a lot about socializing and social situations. I've never felt as though I was a character in a game/movie, and I don't recall ever writing anything about hearing music in my journal, unfortunately.
Do animals dream? If so, what kind of animals?
Animals definitely dream. Research predicts that any animal that sleeps, and is capable of remembering anything can indeed dream. I'm not sure about that blue fish on Finding Nemo, but a whole bunch of animals can dream
. Take a look at this:MIT researchers studied over 40 REM recordings from the rats. When the animals slept, about half of them repeated the signature neural pattern seen during the waking maze exercise. The correlation was so precise scientists could pinpoint where the dreaming rat was in the maze,
I find that absolutely fascinating, hope you do too.
Do you dream in black and white?
I don't recall ever dreaming in black and white.
Do you dream in color?
Every dream that I can recall has been visually identifiable with the conscious world.
Do dreams serve a purpose?
If so, what is their purpose?
Well, this question is extremely subjective. I think it's scientifically accepted that dreams are just utterly random and sporadic concoctions of our subconscious mind, and that they don't relate very much (if at all) to the conscious mind. So apparently, they're useless. In my opinion, dreams are incredible things. They're a window into the the most creative thoughts your mind has ever yielded. These thoughts: can be applied to literature, (many have) are a tool for social interaction, (who doesn't love talking about dreams?), and a window into the convoluted and mystic subconscious mind. So for me personally their purpose is entertainment, social outlet, and literature.
Why do we dream?
>_<
There are so so many theories, man. I would go for the most up-to-date studies. I find comfort in Freudian theory, but I'm pretty sure it isn't very accepted anymore, lol. I've even heard some refer to Freud as a "pseudo-scientist" more than a psychologist/philosophizer.
Can dreams be premonitions? (If so, perhaps provide examples of dreams that you have had, and what events they correlate to.)
I don't personally believe in spirit or AP's or any "bigger connection", so I'd have to say no. But that aswell, is a pretty subjective question.
Hope I helped, and good luck with your course, man. I wish I was able to do something like that >_<
Thanks.
Part Two.
What kind of music do you listen to before you go to sleep? What kind of movies do you watch before you go to sleep? This song specifically. At other times just happy soft music.
What games/genre of games do you play before you go to sleep? Adventure games in general. This used to be Minecraft and Darksiders, but other games in the genre too. Lately it has been FEAR2 and The Path, coincidently these are probably the two most fucked up games I regularly play.
For experiments sake, try listening/watching/playing for one night. When you wake up, record your 'dream' and the mood you woke up in.
The next night, don't play/listen/watch anything before you go to bed, and record your 'dream' and the mood you wake up in.
Do you notice a difference? If so, what was it? Was it for the better or for the worse? Very noticeably different. Without my music getting to sleep itself is hard (probably just because I have formed the habit of not getting tired until I hear the music), and my sleep was restless and fragmented.
Do you feel as though you can hear your music during your dream, or as if you are a character in your game/movie? This has happened before, quite a few times I have experienced the game in my sleep. At other times it simply puts me in a good mood. I don't think I have ever had a song play in my dream, but I have experienced things that are mentally linked to that song.
Part Three.
Do animals dream? If so, what kind of animals? Yes, all animals with sufficiently developed brains. Cats and dogs obviously dream, I have heard of horses dreaming so I would assume cows and pigs and such do too. Not sure about birds, since their development is quite radically different to mammals, for example some birds sleep one half of the brain at a time, surely that would have an impact on such things.
Do you dream in black and white? No
Do you dream in color? Yes
Do dreams serve a purpose? Yes
If so, what is their purpose? They give people incentive to sleep.
Why do we dream? In short, they are a by product of the brain's actions during sleep. Be it simply from resonance, or from the consolidation, sorting or storing of semantic or long term memory, or re-experienced long term memories.
Can dreams be premonitions? (If so, perhaps provide examples of dreams that you have had, and what events they correlate to.) Firstly, correlation does not imply causation. You should not take all your dreams as being premonitions, only in hindsight do they become premonitions. A good string of dreams can cause you to be in a good mood and have a good day. Dreams can expose your true feelings towards issues, which could be viewed as a premonition.
Sounds like an interesting course, but I can't help but feel that if you are looking from a Jungian and Feurdian point of view, that the course will be merely historical rather than practical. Analysis of Dali's work is somewhat skewed. Although some works are based on dreams, his entire philosophy is based around the perversion of reality, so take it with a grain of salt. That said, Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening is a perfect illustration of how outside stimuli are incorporated in to dreams.
The discussion of the links between dreams and ontology will be very interesting I think, especially with regards to lucid dreaming (take in to consideration Plato's cave!).
I think you will find a lot of people around here have a lot of knowledge on the subject, seeing as we have a thread on the subject every couple of weeks.
Sounds like a fun and interesting course, I hope you enjoy it, and maybe post often so the rest of us can observe and learn ;)
What kind of music do you listen to before you go to sleep? What kind of movies do you watch before you go to sleep? This song specifically. At other times just happy soft music.
What games/genre of games do you play before you go to sleep? Adventure games in general. This used to be Minecraft and Darksiders, but other games in the genre too. Lately it has been FEAR2 and The Path, coincidently these are probably the two most fucked up games I regularly play.
For experiments sake, try listening/watching/playing for one night. When you wake up, record your 'dream' and the mood you woke up in.
The next night, don't play/listen/watch anything before you go to bed, and record your 'dream' and the mood you wake up in.
Do you notice a difference? If so, what was it? Was it for the better or for the worse? Very noticeably different. Without my music getting to sleep itself is hard (probably just because I have formed the habit of not getting tired until I hear the music), and my sleep was restless and fragmented.
Do you feel as though you can hear your music during your dream, or as if you are a character in your game/movie? This has happened before, quite a few times I have experienced the game in my sleep. At other times it simply puts me in a good mood. I don't think I have ever had a song play in my dream, but I have experienced things that are mentally linked to that song.
Part Three.
Do animals dream? If so, what kind of animals? Yes, all animals with sufficiently developed brains. Cats and dogs obviously dream, I have heard of horses dreaming so I would assume cows and pigs and such do too. Not sure about birds, since their development is quite radically different to mammals, for example some birds sleep one half of the brain at a time, surely that would have an impact on such things.
Do you dream in black and white? No
Do you dream in color? Yes
Do dreams serve a purpose? Yes
If so, what is their purpose? They give people incentive to sleep.
Why do we dream? In short, they are a by product of the brain's actions during sleep. Be it simply from resonance, or from the consolidation, sorting or storing of semantic or long term memory, or re-experienced long term memories.
Can dreams be premonitions? (If so, perhaps provide examples of dreams that you have had, and what events they correlate to.) Firstly, correlation does not imply causation. You should not take all your dreams as being premonitions, only in hindsight do they become premonitions. A good string of dreams can cause you to be in a good mood and have a good day. Dreams can expose your true feelings towards issues, which could be viewed as a premonition.
Sounds like an interesting course, but I can't help but feel that if you are looking from a Jungian and Feurdian point of view, that the course will be merely historical rather than practical. Analysis of Dali's work is somewhat skewed. Although some works are based on dreams, his entire philosophy is based around the perversion of reality, so take it with a grain of salt. That said, Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening is a perfect illustration of how outside stimuli are incorporated in to dreams.
The discussion of the links between dreams and ontology will be very interesting I think, especially with regards to lucid dreaming (take in to consideration Plato's cave!).
I think you will find a lot of people around here have a lot of knowledge on the subject, seeing as we have a thread on the subject every couple of weeks.
Sounds like a fun and interesting course, I hope you enjoy it, and maybe post often so the rest of us can observe and learn ;)
What kind of music do you listen to before you go to sleep? What kind of movies do you watch before you go to sleep?
What games/genre of games do you play before you go to sleep?
I listen to Metal, I watch any movie that is on TV, then pass out in the middle of it and I play First person shooters.
For experiments sake, try listening/watching/playing for one night. When you wake up, record your 'dream' and the mood you woke up in.
The next night, don't play/listen/watch anything before you go to bed, and record your 'dream' and the mood you wake up in.
Do you notice a difference? If so, what was it? Was it for the better or for the worse?
Sometimes I pass out with music going on, sometimes I pass out with the TV on and sometimes I pass out in silence, for each I found no differences. When I dream, its about anything, past places I used to live, seeing places I haven't seen before, though it feels like I've been there before. Except I think it's just a place where I live, but my mind has altered it beyond recognition.
Do you feel as though you can hear your music during your dream, or as if you are a character in your game/movie?
Never. sometimes I feel like I'm in the same area as in the movie, but rarely. My dreams are never about everyday things. They are about as random as going into banks with your mom, then come running out with money with some random guy who isn't your mom, then you get into the car and start going then you realize the tires have little to no traction so we are drifting through out the city, then more random stuff occurs like me ending up back at the bank and returning the money.
From my experience with dreams they are anything. They could be telling you something that you are already telling yourself, like do homework. Lucid dreams have no explanation. Why would dreams be lucid and have premonitions in them, You would never find them or notice them, unless they are happening directly at you or on you, like you realize you are super fat in the dream because you have been telling yourself you have been eating way too much, and your dreams are telling you "Settle down you don't want to be this fat, see how annoying it is in just a dream?"
What games/genre of games do you play before you go to sleep?
I listen to Metal, I watch any movie that is on TV, then pass out in the middle of it and I play First person shooters.
For experiments sake, try listening/watching/playing for one night. When you wake up, record your 'dream' and the mood you woke up in.
The next night, don't play/listen/watch anything before you go to bed, and record your 'dream' and the mood you wake up in.
Do you notice a difference? If so, what was it? Was it for the better or for the worse?
Sometimes I pass out with music going on, sometimes I pass out with the TV on and sometimes I pass out in silence, for each I found no differences. When I dream, its about anything, past places I used to live, seeing places I haven't seen before, though it feels like I've been there before. Except I think it's just a place where I live, but my mind has altered it beyond recognition.
Do you feel as though you can hear your music during your dream, or as if you are a character in your game/movie?
Never. sometimes I feel like I'm in the same area as in the movie, but rarely. My dreams are never about everyday things. They are about as random as going into banks with your mom, then come running out with money with some random guy who isn't your mom, then you get into the car and start going then you realize the tires have little to no traction so we are drifting through out the city, then more random stuff occurs like me ending up back at the bank and returning the money.
From my experience with dreams they are anything. They could be telling you something that you are already telling yourself, like do homework. Lucid dreams have no explanation. Why would dreams be lucid and have premonitions in them, You would never find them or notice them, unless they are happening directly at you or on you, like you realize you are super fat in the dream because you have been telling yourself you have been eating way too much, and your dreams are telling you "Settle down you don't want to be this fat, see how annoying it is in just a dream?"
Last edited by T0ribush; Jun 29, 2011 at 09:44 PM.
What kind of music do you listen to before you go to sleep? What kind of movies do you watch before you go to sleep?
I Listen to some rock, before I put in a comedy movie and doze off.
What games/genre of games do you play before you go to sleep?
Mature games, that would make some people soil themselves.
For experiments sake, try listening/watching/playing for one night. When you wake up, record your 'dream' and the mood you woke up in.
The next night, don't play/listen/watch anything before you go to bed, and record your 'dream' and the mood you wake up in.
Do you notice a difference? If so, what was it? Was it for the better or for the worse?
I go to sleep in the silence sometimes and sometimes with a Tv on or music not really ever a difference
Do you feel as though you can hear your music during your dream, or as if you are a character in your game/movie?
Part Three.
Do animals dream? If so, what kind of animals?
Research shows that animals do dream, But other than that i have no honest clue.
Do you dream in black and white?
No
Do you dream in color?
Yes
Do dreams serve a purpose?
If so, what is their purpose?
I think dreaming serves a purpose sort of like the brain living out its fantasies, or when your dreaming you can sometimes hear sound from the real world, It could be a defense mechanism, so we don't get killed in our most vulnerable time?
Why do we dream?
I answered it in the other question.
Can dreams be premonitions? (If so, perhaps provide examples of dreams that you have had, and what events they correlate to.)
I think they can, I've had dreams that Didn't build exactly from reality like the words might be the same and the same person is there that I'm talking to but it's a different setting.
Is our brain any different when we are dreaming from when we are awake?
How is it different from our dreams and reality?
I think our brain is different when we are dreaming.
I think it functions at higher rate, or we are smarter when we are dreaming, letting us perceive a dream as reality, Because we have all been fooled by a dream thinking it was real.
Also the brain generates random sequences sometimes and random settings that the actual person that is dreaming may have never seen before.
