I often awake knowing that I have dreamed. I am sure most other people do the same.

But, I can't for the life of me remember what I dreamed about!!

Why is this?

I realise that sometimes, I do remember some details of the dreams(s), but it is not forgetting that is taking place, because I know I was dreaming just before I awoke.

it's just a matter of stopping yourself before you get up out of bed and forcing yourself to remember the details. If you don't attempt to remember immediately after waking, 90% of the time you lose the whole dream

i think that the reason that people often know that they're dreaming but forget the dream is because you dream with a different part of the brain than you generally think with. when you wake up the part of the brain that you normally think with comes into consciousness and the part of the brain that you dream with goes out of your consciousness. it is impossible to focus on the dream part of the brain because the act of focusing is done with the wakeful part of the brain. the dreams that you remember involve parts the section of the brain that you think with, and the dreams that you don't remember involve mostly that part of the brain that you don't think with... or at least that's the best explanation that i can come up with, let me know if you find any flaws in it.

The act of becoming more lucid is done through acceptance. What is expanding conciousness without accepting all possibilliteis? Who lays the word to rest and, who awakens?

You are certainly right about the connection between consciousness and memory. It seems that no memory is ever formed unless the mental object passes through consciousness first.

I don't pay much attention to dreams anymore because they're merely distorted reflections of hopes and fears. The higher levels of consciousness are more interesting to me.

For me it's behind the dream that I am interested in, the background of our mental structure. To reach higher states of conciousness it is beneficial to do dreaming but, certainly not necessary. The structure called dream is the illusion of sleep. The structure called world is the illusion of wake. Both are equally unreal in my opinion. And though the nature of these illusions seems to be different, they are equally simillar.

We as humans must sleep. Why not use this opportunity to become aware, rather that remain ignorant? Do you still have dreams? If they are merely distorted reflections of hopes and fears of the ego, why not become aware of those hopes and fears to venture beyond them. The same you that I am talking to now is the same you that falls asleep and dreams. We sleep 1/3 of our life after all. If you don't pay much attention to dreams and still have them than you are certainly not conscious of a large facet of yourself.

Being aware at the level of dreams allows a more detatched state of being, which can be brought back to the daily world and, has been used to attain and sustian higher levels of cosciousness/awareness. When we are asleep we go through stages of consciousness that are closer to death than the waking state. Unless you're allready beyond these states, in which case you would have no illusions, dreams; awake or asleep, expanding consciousness through dreaming practices is beneficial in every sense, espesially when complimented with daily practices. At any rate, whatever practices you do now to attain higher states of conciousness could be done in sleep as long as you can remain aware. Expanding awareness in and of that time span itself is great practice. Since dreaming occurs only a small fraction of the sleeping period, if you could remain fully conscious outside of the dream you would be experienceing the innermost depths of self-awareness. Sleep is a natural barrier to our own consciouss efforts to remain fully aware in all experience.

All of the above is just my own conclusions. Dreaming practices are no more important than daily practices. Most however, are unaware of the beneficial quallities of integrating both to greatly increase the rate and quallity of thier own development on the path.

Have you ever had full awareness in your dreams before, awareness like that of the daily world? Or simply go beyond the dream, disolve the dream. It takes practice of course but, only because of ignorance. It is an awakening prosess inside of your own nature. The only reason we are not aware of it is because we are too involved with our own view of the world to pay attention.

Dreaming is a gateway to inconceivable states of conciousness. I hope I've widened your perspective on the matter of dreaming. It is just an undiscovered aspect of the mind, dormant till awakened and just as real as the daily experience. It is just as real as any illusion. But of course you must follow your own heart. If you're content without lucid dreaming and think it holds no value to you then it is useless. I see it as a useful tool to further my personal evolution but, most think i'm crazy when I even talk about it. It just isn't something our sosciety knows about or cares to try when they hear of it.

Dakota

Because children are unable to seperate the Cartesian res extensa from the res cognitans, they place their faith in the versimilitude of dreams, myths, and fairy tales.

The psychiatrist Carl Jung explored these currents that well up from the psychic underground and proposed that the archetypal heroes, heroines, and monsters that dominate the mental lives of children arise from this universal pool.

Though Jung believed that their power continues to affect us all our lives at a deep unconscious level, nonetheless our literal belief in them gradually dissipates as we grow older.

The frequency and intensity of dreams and nightmares generally taper off with age, and most adults will readily concede that these epiphenomena lack the vividness and punch they once had in childhood.

To be recognized as an adult, an individual must give up his or her belief in the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman, and Santa Claus.

Vincent Van Gogh, Post-Impressionist - "A child in the cradle has the infinite in its eye."

Dreams, however, according to Sigmund Freud, were the royal road to the unconscious.

Dream time does not obey the linear commandments of train time, nor does dream space conform to Euclidean axioms.

Dreams also mangle the usual laws of causality.

Objective Reality vs Subjective Reality?

Dream time can be counted and perceived by an outside witness to be the same as day time.

Oh Yeah, a Scientist of some sort, correct?

No Faith?

But "ya gotta have faith," George Michael.

It is more important to disbelieve untrue things than to believe in true things.

I'm glad you agree. For example, if more people had disbelieved the Republican lies in the last American election, we would have a President today who is not an idiot.

The man as measure and measurer of all things.

Tell me again, how can you remember a dream that you can't remember? If anyone has an answer, then I'll also try applying it to my daytime forgetfulness. Then I could get that law degree!

those who have power have the truth. but they spread lies about themselves and the world to disguise the truth. the definition of "lies" can be very broad, in this context.

Why the need to disguise the truth? What is so horrible about the truth that the powers that be deem it necessary to be secretive and deceptive about it?

well quite! perhaps it it the truth that gives them the power. as you know, some truths are hard to take. perhaps they might say they are protecting us.

I don't have any power so I can't know any truths.

So your suggestion is merely theoretical?

Don

You're beginning to sound like HAL, or a psychiatrist. RU either of these?

Hey Hey

LOL

Too many questions, not enough answers?

What is it? Questions depend on the answers or answers depend on the questions?

he didn't include Scientology, so it can't be the whole truth.

Today's Humanist, armed with ancient knowledge/wisdom and new science, faces the future with confidence.

agreed that there are severe limitations with psychology. but what limitations does traditional philosophy have ?

Philosophy faces limitations of expression. Words cannot convey all meanings or experiences.

When neuroscience and psychology 'integrate' their objective systems (minus the subjective), that branch of science may take a huge leap forward as well!

And we'll, collectively, as a global community, evolve to a new cognitive paradigm!

And I'm guessing that it will be a quantum paradigm, quantum consciousness, a shift from the present relativistic paradigm and poor old Einstein.

His universal constants seem to be taking a beating these days.

Live long enough and you may lose some of that exuberant optimism.

Yeah, things may not happen in my time of existence, but I'm optimistic that they will happen at some point and moment in time! With a little guidence, of course.

Just like our fore-thinkers have guided today's human race to where it is.

So shall today's thinkers guide the future of mankind.

<!--quotebegin-rick+may 04, 12:13 am--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>quote (rick @ may 04, 12:13 am)</td></tr><tr><td id='quote'><!--quoteebegin--> words cannot convey all meanings or experiences. <!--quoteend--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--quoteeend-->
new words?

like the silent movies, activities can be expressed non-verbally (ok there are written interludes in silent movies, but they are interjective and specific). but language has changed and expanded over time and will continue to do so. how else will we be able to describe phenomena? for example, text was not a verb when i first learned english. at that time to describe the activity of texting would have been a long sentence rather than two words (to text). we will devise words and expressions for any new activity that crops up, or ideas that need communicating.

(the language of mathematics is just another language. if you speak the expressions, then mathematics is a spoken language. the interpretation would be difficult for most people, but then many people have trouble interpreting good old fashioned english!)

i'm adding this line to this post that i did not (!!!!) write or submit (!!!!) and yet i can edit. someone has stolen my identity (!!!!)

....Live long enough and you may lose some of that exuberant optimism...

time to pass the torch.

the post above was not submitted by me (!!!!) i didn't write or submit it (!!!!) and yet i can edit it. someone has stolen my identity (!!!!)

Could a combination of dosulepin, atenolol, bendroflumethiazide, warfarin, sumatriptan and coproxamol cause an anomalous, bizarre memory event? or maybe i need an injection of those genetically modified cells referred to in the medicine board!

ps Rick, I fell in love with Hayley Mills when I first saw Pollyanna.

So did I, and I think it's unlikely that such a drug combination would *not* cause an anomalous mental event!

that explains it then!

ps i've also got a screw loose (literally).