The Reality of Dreams

Why should we bother with dreams, let alone with lucid dreams?  It’s not like they’re real –right?

Wrong!

What is Reality?

I’m going to define reality as something that could be filmed and then shown to others.  You can dream of having your home burnt down, but when you wake up, your home is still there (unless you are having a really, really bad day.)  In waking reality, others can see your burning home or take pictures to show to the local news station.  But if you dream about your home burning down, you have gone through all of the emotions of seeing your home burnt down – but no one else has.

Dreams become memories.  These memories can be just as powerful as events that happen in the present time.  Memories (even memories of bad dreams) pop up at inconvenient times.  A particularly vivid memory, like a flashback, is an all-too-familiar reality for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.  Nothing threatening could be happening outside of the PSTD sufferer’s body and yet the body is ready to defend itself.

How the Brain Perceives Reality

The brain and the body can have a hard time dismissing vivid dreams or memories as “not real.”  Dreams or memories trigger real responses in the body that can be hard to ignore. This hurt is compounded when we’re told, “Oh, it was just a dream! Get over it!”   If someone is upset because of a bad dream, please do not dismiss the very real distress that someone is going through.  This person has had a real, albeit confusing, experience.

But the brain’s confusion of dreams, memories and reality can work in your favor.  Pleasant memories can trigger happy physical responses.  This happiness is real even if it is fuelled by dreams.  Lucid dreams often produce happy memories.  I get quite high from lucid dreams when they are really good.  They give me something happy and hopeful to think about when I am disturbed by past memories such as getting beaten up by a boyfriend or watching my home burn down.

Not everyone needs to work with lucid dreams.  If they’re not for you, don’t sweat it.  It’s no big deal.  There are many other therapeutic activities to choose from.