I was going through some folders on my laptop in order to sort through the clutter and clean things up and I came across this post I wrote about dreams over 5 years ago. I thought I had posted it on this site at some point, but it appears as it never made it. So here it is:
Dreams
Dreams are mysterious things. Volumes of literature have been written about the subject - each giving its own view and perspective. Studied over centuries, the unconscious has been a favorite topic of discussion in drawing rooms and around the water cooler. And yet, through all the examination, no conclusive theory has been presented to solve the mystery of dreams. Are they just the result of random firings of neurons, or are they something much more?
I’ve always believed that dreams have much more significance than the purging of short-term memory as some psychologists are prone to believe. To me, a dream is something like a glass-bottom on a ship - allowing us to see briefly into the stream of consciousness. However, as with all forbidden glimpses, we are only allowed to see so far; soon the light starts to fade and eventually disappears. But, every once in a while, something makes its way into the light - just for a brief moment - only to jettisoned back into the night to disappear.
Our mood prior to sleep has a significant effect on the tone of our dreams. Elation over a shared conversation with that special someone prior to sleep can lend itself to a night of pleasant diversions. But, the opposite can occur as well. It is impossible to prevent the nightmares which sometimes invade our existence. A sense of dread is a sensation often present in our nightmares. Being chased, waking up in a foreign environment alone and defenseless, and the loss of a loved one all perpetuate this feeling. Why must we be alone and frightened when we are at our most vulnerable with no consciousness to protect us. An answer has not yet been found.
It is not the presence of but it is how we choose to handle this that shapes our perceptions of what is and what we see in our dreams. We can never be quite sure what we’re seeing. Our senses are shrouded. We can feel that something is there, but can’t be certain what it is. Light and dark; hot and cold are easy to detect. Intensity is a little more fuzzy and uncertain. The difference between the crescent of a moon and smile of loved one, easily distinguished in broad daylight, are but part of the murky swamp that inhabits our sleeping mind, breathing into are consciousness the fog of confusion.
And the question is not whether or not we possess a consciousness. It is our consciousness that sets us apart from the rest of the creatures on this planet. I recently saw two television shows which dealt with the unconscious dream world. In each, the protagonists all experienced a similar set of themes; some even shared the same exact dream. In one instance, the characters all experienced similar visitors to their dream realities. The visitor was obviously serving some purpose, and yet it was not know what that purpose was. In another, the characters were all trapped in the same dream plane, imprisoned there by some unknown entity.
In either case, it brings up the interesting point in question. Do we share one single stream of consciousness? Is it a giant stream in which we all tap into to sip and drink? Are we connected in some way to each other? Can the thoughts of one person be sensed by another thousands of miles away? Or are we alone in out thoughts, separated and segregated?
[edit]: Ok, I’ve decided to fix the spelling and gramatical errors. Happy? 
