Quote Originally Posted by Ev View Post
I've been thinking about dreams and why we dont act in them the way we do in real life.
Suddenly it occured to me that we may not be "ourselves" because dreams are random events, not connected to real life or each other. An action in one dream will cause no reaction in the next dream. Therefore our minds may process them differently. Have you noticed that your dreamsselves often lack qualities that are almost essential to our everyday survival in the RL. I'm talking about fear, expectations, responsibilites, concern about our future or our past, and many other types of behavior that are associated with linear time. I cant quite put a finger on them all. At the same time the qualities that help us "live in the moment" are increased - confidence, bravery, curiosity, desire to act and experiment. Once again I dont think this is a full list. We are so intensely focused on the moment that we disregard or dont pay attention to the past and that causes us to most of the time overlook the fact that we are dreaming.
Do you think this idea is close to how things really are?
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The next time you are Lucid and think of it, access your Dream Memory -- simply look around and suggest to yourself that you remember the last time you were at or nearby this same Dream Scene. If you are anything like myself, then you will be flooded with memories. You will then discern that the Dream Persona is not just sporadically dreaming, but is constantly and always on the move. During our remembered Dreams, it is as though we visit the Dream Persona for a time, but it is only a visit, and hardly a possession. The Dream Persona is its own Person. We should not be fooled by the 1st Person Experience -- we are the "I" of a Personality that is not entirely identical to our Waking Self. The Memories and Experiences are different and extensive.

But Lucid Dreaming IS different. In a Lucid Dream, the Waking Personality takes full possession of the Dream Persona. For awhile, as long as Lucidity lasts, the Waking Self takes over. What this DOES is that it helps the Waking and the Dreaming Personas to Integrate... it brings the Waking Perspective to Dreaming -- the Morality and the Aspirations, goals and ambitions of the Waking Self give a bit more guidance to the Dreaming Persona that would otherwise tend to be more primitive, sensual, simplistic and violent.

After years of Lucid Dreaming Experiences the Waking and the Dreaming Personas become easier of access to each other... which is what I mean by 'integration'. The Dream Persona no longer needs to be 'possessed' by the Waking Persona and so transitions to Lucidity are no longer experienced so frequently, but the Dream Persona ordinarily behaves as though more in touch with the Waking Persona.

However, there is still the matter of Dreams allowing for a great deal of flexibility in Personality and Persona. When we dream, our 1st Persona Experience may visit a Corresponding Self -- a Dream Persona that seems to be 'one's self' -- that is, if one looked in a dream mirror, one would see one's self. However, this is not always the case. Often when walking by dream mirrors, or reflective glass doors and such, I have been surprised to see 'who' looked back. One naturally supposes that one is 'one's self' when in a dream, but often looking into a mirror shows quite a different fact. One doesn't always 'feel' the difference. One time I saw myself in a reflection and was surprised to see that I was a svelte young lady not more than half my own age. And yet I had thought I was me.