Dream Consciousness And Self Identity

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Sleep takes up a substantial part of our lives where approximately eight out of the twenty four hours is spent on sleeping. Scientists are still researching the reason behind the body’s automatic need for sleep. What makes sleeping even more unique is the frequent by product emitted from sleeping. During the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep many of us if not all experience a movie with storylines as vast as the ones in the cinemas we visit. These movies are dreams and it varies from person to person often based on their wakeful experiences. Generally, dreams are quickly forgotten and attempted recalls can be difficult. We may remember some dreams or fragments of some dreams but it is rare that our memory can provide smooth…show more content…
They deliberately repress certain aspects of their memory in order to change their self-representation to one that is more in line to the norms of the society (Connerton, 2008). However, we cannot say the same for when we forget dreams. We simply unwittingly forget dreams or just do not recall them on awakening. Dreams seem to be forgotten on their own accord and require greater personally effort in retrieval. Given this difference in memory reconstitution and spontaneous dream deletion, it would be incisive to ask what the relationship between dream consciousness, memory and self-identity is. We can first approach the problem of dream consciousness and memory. There are many methods to dream recall such as lucid dreams where it is considered as a type of dream control. It is also thought that culture is an important factor in understanding dream consciousness and the accessibility of dream memory. In the premodern cultures dreams were not always dismissed as irrelevant to waking behavior. Many cultures belief dreams were used as a medium for communications between God, ancestors and at times other human beings (Raymond,…show more content…
Retrieving dreams also implies the use of dream memory to reinterpret personal actions in waking life. Recording dreams and reviewing them is a way to counter myths and promotes a reenchanted consciousness of dream reality. The modern use of dream consciousness and memory is largely secular and focuses on self-directed renewal rather than oneiric relations with gods. Yet, the New Age belief in numerous worlds introduces new ideas about dream journeys to alternative levels of existence. Conscious dreamers may claim that their experiences and recall of otherworldly intervals offer a means for seeing themselves in different

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