Why do we think a dream is real at the time...

[Nick]

There are certainly a lot of books on dreams and lucid dreaming. A couple of good books are: Lucid Dreaming and Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming both are by Stephen LaBerge.

He has a website that has lots of good links on dreaming and lucid dreaming, a frequently asked questions section, and a forum among other information. The website is:

http://lucidity.com/

In regards to your question as to dreams being just as real as life on earth, you are probably right. They may be just different types of reality, although nonphysical ones.

Very best,

[Links Shadow]

In order to accurately say that dreams are more real than the waking life we first need to determine what exactly real is, we need a working definition.  In my opinion, being real is simply what we can perceive in some way whether it be physical, emotional, or whatever.

[coral1]

Hi Beavis

I agree with you. A simple answer to your original question is that we live in a culture that confuses the real with the physical.

Happy Trails

[Lasher]

I am incredibly naive when it comes to dreams.  I'll believe whatever I see, no matter how outrageous, and never for a minute ask myself if I might be dreaming.  As a matter of fact, I practically never have sexual fantasy dreams because I always feel like I would be cheating on my wife.  I always walk away from sexual "opportunities" presented to me in my dreams.  Then, when I wake up, it's a major, "DOH!"  [:O]

Lasher

[no_leaf_clover]

lol, lasher. you're a good guy. []

maybe this will work for a working definition: if someone was to shoot you in the head with a shotgun at point blank, and you went into the astral never to return to that particular body again, you can assume what you just experienced was 'real'. of course, now it's just a matter of telling whether you're awake or dreaming *before* you are shot. []

[James S]

quote:Originally posted by Links Shadow

In order to accurately say that dreams are more real than the waking life we first need to determine what exactly real is, we need a working definition.  In my opinion, being real is simply what we can perceive in some way whether it be physical, emotional, or whatever.

This ties in very closely with my thoughts. They are, that when you get past all the lower brain functions that provide input from the five senses, you get into the mind area - the thought processes, consciousness, etc. Wether you are dreaming or awake, neural activity is still going on in these higher brain areas. Your consciousness is still taking in this neural activity and processing it as sight & sound & touch.

Dreams, from a purely clinical view, can be thought of as the replay button in our minds, effectively running along the same neural pathways, recreating the same kind of signals as comes from the input of our waking state, but reassembling the information differently before presenting it to our consciousness.

This area of consciousness is where I would say our source of perception is. As OBEs have shown, this source of perception is not at all limited by the bodies physical inputs. It sits on the other side of the neural processors and filters that we have built up ourselves by years of living, experiences, taking in what is around us and thinking about it in our own way.

For these reasons I would agree that to our sources of perception, there really is no difference between dreams and reality. It is only to our physical body that there is a difference, and sometimes even that gets confused.

James.

[beavis]

Some dreams or parts of them are only in a brain. The rest are real.

[James S]

Ok Beavis, I'm hooked![?] Reel me in - share your thoughts.[?][?]

[]
James.

[beavis]

Dreams can be the brain interpreting its own knowledge. Real dreams are when it interprets what the other bodies see in the astral, or are the other bodies seeing it directly. The main reason I think this is that the way I do telekinesis on earth is the same way I sometimes control dreams. Other people have given good examples for this too: being able to turn on and off streetlights with just a thought, after not sleeping for days. Squeek saw "ethereal" animals similar to a spider and bat come out of a hole-less ceiling with red flashing eyes while awake.

[James S]

Got it! It just depends on what your "source of perception" is tuned into at the time, i.e. internally - dreams, externally - a reality.

Cool!
James.

[PlanarLeap]

when i am in a dream, and ask myself "am i dreaming", the answer is always a clear "yes".

[beavis]

I dont ask that question anymore. If I'm "awake" or "sleeping", the answer is always yes.

[beavis]

...and when we wake up think its not real? I think dreams are AT LEAST as real as life on earth. If you dont agree, give a reason other than they are not similar.