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Posts tagged ‘Dreams’

Apr 27

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Jung Speaks With Mountain Lake

In Jung’s autobiography, Memories, Dreams and Reflections, he describes his encounter with the Native American chief, Mountain Lake, of the Taos pueblos in New Mexico in 1932: Read more

Apr 3

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The Role of Dreams in Evolution

This paper presents an evolutionary argument for the role of dreams in the development of human cognitive processes. While a theory by Revonsuo (2000) proposes that dreams allow for threat rehearsal and therefore provide an evolutionary advantage, the goal of this paper is to extend this argument by commenting on other fitness-enhancing aspects of dreams. Rather than a simple threat rehearsal mechanism, it is argued that dreams reflect a more general virtual rehearsal mechanism that is likely to play an important role in the development of human cognitive capacities. This paper draws on current work in cognitive neuroscience and philosophy of mind in developing the argument.

Source: Journal of Evolutionary Psychology – The Role of Dreams in the Evolution of the Human Mind by Michael Franklin and Michael Zyphur

Mar 16

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New Book Recommendations

Here is the latest round up of books that I’ve read in the past few months:

Feb 22

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The Undiscovered Country

There was a point in my life, a tipping point, when the complexity and insanity overwhelmed the simple and peaceful. It’s hard to point to a single day or moment in time when that happened. I think it probably happens to everyone – some people are just stronger than others and they somehow make it through. Others, like me, don’t make it and they step into the twilight zone where nothing makes sense. Like Pink, I can see their lips move but I can’t hear what they’re saying.

In the final analysis, I was too weak to endure and have selected myself out of the race. The torment that has no doubt plagued my entire paternal bloodline is finally at an end. It is truly a marvel that some random mutation could cause a mismatched base pair on a strand of DNA and therefore cause my brain to hit the accelerator just as I see the wall approaching. That said, biology is not destiny. I chose this path and I alone am responsible. There is nothing anyone could have done or said to make me change my mind.

To my friends and family, thank you. I love you. Any unanswered questions you may have can be found on my website. I started nautis 2 years ago to begin this process of documenting my decline. I have thanked the most important people there and have documented my dreams and adventures. It is a Matthew time capsule and though it’s called “Maybe Matthew” is really is Matthew. It’s all honest and from the heart. I promise any question you could possibly have, can be found here.

Shakespeare called death “the undiscovered country.” I doubt that there are bright lights or tunnels. It must be more like when we fall asleep at night and we finally just lose consciousness … and dream. I wonder what I will dream about?

Jan 2

Reflections on 2005

2005 has been a year defined by transition. I lived in California, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Georgia, and Virginia this year and consulted for 4 different companies – finally taking a full time job in Washington, D.C. I’m as settled as psyche will let me be.

The last part of this year has been defined by the loss of two friends – both by suicide. It makes me realize that as I get older more and more people I care about will die – whether by suicide or natural causes. It’s the natural order of things but the natural order is very painful to those who care. Read more

Sep 5

Why Speak With Symbols?

In our Conversations of a Higher Order, threaded discussion forums, over 25,500 messages have been posted‚—a thousand more since our last featured thread in July! In this featured conversation, Nandu begins:We speak of the symbolism and metaphor of myth. It is part and parcel of any art form, too. Why? What is the universal attraction of symbols? Why does everything (dreams, myth, legends, literature, art) have to use symbols to communicate?

Original post by Joseph Campbell Foundation

Jun 4

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How Does Anyone Know?

GravestoneI’m not sure if I’ve been so aware of consciously being at a cross-roads in my life. The vice grip in my chest is getting tighter and tighter tonight. It’s not just east coast v west coast. It’s not just job v no job. There’s something greater at stake now and I only have the vaguest intuition of what it is. I’ve been delaying becoming an adult for so long now that it just feels natural to prolong it a little longer. How do you know if you’re on the path you’re supposed to be on? How does anyone know? Read more

Jan 28

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Unanchored at Sea

Since I first discovered girls, I have more or less always had one. Without a girlfriend, the past two years have really been all about me. It’s strange. With this freedom comes a tidal wave of choices. I’ve been lucky enough with my career to jump around pretty easily. Last week, I threw a dart at a map of the U.S. and was pretty close to booking a ticket on delta.com and moving there – seriously. Have you ever stood in front the amazing variety of toothpastes at the grocery store and wished there were 1000 less choices? Read more

Dec 22

Give Me a Happy Ending

My friends have always regarded my movie selections as somewhat dubious. I’m sure they feel that they’ve sat through several miserable hours (that they’ll never get back) watching some of the silliest movies every made. Some people call these “B Movies” – I prefer to call them classics.

Among the best of the best are: The Pirate Movie, Electric Dreams, Grease 2, The Groove Tube, and Fletch Lives. In the case of Grease 2 and Fletch Lives, the sequels were truly better than the originals. So, what do all of these movies have in a common? A happy ending. These endings are not just happy, they’ve taken happy endings to a whole new level.

Jan 2

The of Meaning Dreams

Throughout history, human beings have sought to understand the meaning of dreams. The ancient Egyptians believed dreams possessed oracular power in the Bible, for example, Joseph`s elucidation of Pharaoh`s dream averted seven years of famine. Other cultures have interpreted dreams as inspirational, curative or alternative reality.

During the past century, scientists have offered conflicting psychological and neuroscientific explanations for dreams. In 1900, with the publication of The Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud proposed that dreams were the royal road to the unconscious, that they revealed in disguised form the deepest elements of an individual`s inner life. More recently, in contrast, dreams have been characterized as meaningless, the result of random nerve cell activity. Dreaming has also been viewed as the means by which the brain rids itself of unnecessary information a process of reverse learning, or unlearning.

Based on recent findings in my own and other neuroscientific laboratories, I propose that dreams are indeed meaningful. Studies of the hippocampus (a brain structure crucial to memory), of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and of a brain wave called theta rhythm suggest that dreaming reflects a pivotal aspect of the processing of memory. In particular, studies of theta rhythm in subprimate animals have provided an evolutionary clue to the meaning of dreams. They appear to be the nightly record of a basic mammalian memory process: the means by which animals form strategies for survival and evaluate current experience in light of those strategies. The existence of this process may explain the meaning of dreams in human beings.

Full text [PDF] of the Scientific American article, here.

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