A Theory of Dreams (Trying to See)

Although dreams seem mysterious, they may be understood as a natural consequence of the changing states of consciousness that occur as we fall asleep and wake up.

Consciousness is continually changing between two extremes: being fully awake and being in deep sleep. All other states lie somewhere between these extremes.

When fully awake we have maximum awareness of both our surroundings and the continuing events of our lives. Information from our senses is continually processed, allowing us to respond logically to an ever-changing environment. Although life presents many possible paths, our experience usually follows one coherent sequence of events.

As we fall asleep, the brain becomes less responsive to incoming sensory information and less able to process it. Awareness of our surroundings gradually fades. Without the normal stream of sensory information to guide our thoughts, the mind may follow unusual or illogical paths. We experience these as dreams.

Waking is also a transition between two states. Part of the brain is moving towards wakefulness while another part may still be tending towards sleep. During this period the sleeping state continues to suppress sensory input, while the waking state attempts to restore it.

One possible example of this conflict occurs during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. We may be dreaming with our eyes closed while our eyes move as though attempting to look at the dream scene. If this interpretation is correct, similar effects might also occur with the other senses as the brain moves between sleep and wakefulness.