Describing Dreams, remote account by Alex
I tend to only remember the dream I was having right before I wake up. But I know the moment I get out of bed it will start to fade from memory. So I lay in bed and think about it, which sets it into memory. When I think about it I usually hop around the timeline, one thing will remind me of another, and eventually I will have a linear story. Before I shower (which resets my mind) I will sit down at my computer and type it out in story form. This process imprints the dream deeper in memory but it shifts it from the real life feeling of the dream world, to a weird new state, similar to remembering something that happened in elementary school, you know you were there but it doesn’t feel like you.
Vivid dreams are as complex as reality. Trying to describe them does a disservice to their beauty, not that that should stop us. I feel that story form is the best way but trying to convey any experience in story form reduces the resolution. I love story telling but even when you feel like you’ve said enough to make an image in your listener’s minds, they will still never truly feel your experience.
How the brain turns sensory experiences into a single coherent existence is absolutely amazing. I like the kind of science that shows: when you are asked to play a song in your mind while in an fMRI machine, the same places light up as if you had be really listening to a song. But of course this makes perfect sense. How else could it be done? All imaginations hijack the sensory processors to produce the internal experience. But what makes us not see purple dragons flying down the street is because the brain has a “reality first” protocol. You can imagine all you want but the brain will choose to display reality. And that’s why dreams are so great! They are a true reflection of your mind, sans real external experiences.