I dream every night, and my dreams are vivid to a degree where I often find myself unable to distinguish dream-life from real-life. While I’m not particularly spiritual, the lucidity of my dreams makes me wonder if there exists a connection between individuals as a sort of cosmic linkage that manifests in dreams, much like the Hungarian film On Body and Soul. In the film, a psychologist is hired to test the personalities of a company’s employees following a workplace incident. As part of the test, employees recount their dreams, and the psychologist quickly realizes that two workers report the same dreams. An unconventional love story ensues between the connected dreamers, and while I don’t believe in the concept of “soulmates”, it would nevertheless be epic if there was someone somewhere experiencing the same nightly visions.
This potential connectivity between the minds of separate individuals reminds me of Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious. He believed that this is part of the mind housing memories and impulses that are shared by all of mankind. According to Jung, the universality of religions as well as archetypes appearing in dreams represented symbols that meant similar things to separate individuals.
While neuroscience and spirituality seem to be at odds, we may discover insights into both realms while studying one. Scientists have researched parts of the brain used in dreaming with significant implications of the purpose of dreams and ultimately consciousness, noting that the dreaming brain and waking brain are more similar than once imagined.
Images from top to bottom: dreamers from On Body and Mind, Carl Jung, a visualization of the collective unconscious
Works Cited:
Blackmore, Susan. “What Happens When We Dream?” BBC Science Focus Magazine, www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/what-happens-when-we-dream/#:~:text=The%20whole%20brain%20is%20active,(rapid%20eye%20movement)%20sleep.&text=The%20limbic%20system%20in%20the,is%20especially%20active%20during%20dreams.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Collective unconscious". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Feb. 2020, https://www.britannica.com/science/collective-unconscious. Accessed 13 May 2021.
Davis, Nicola. “Scientists Identify Parts of Brain Involved in Dreaming.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 10 Apr. 2017, www.theguardian.com/science/2017/apr/10/scientists-identify-parts-of-brain-involved-in-dreaming.
Mcleod, Saul. “Carl Jung.” Carl Jung | Simply Psychology, 1 Jan. 1970, www.simplypsychology.org/carl-jung.html.
Wikipedia contributors. "On Body and Soul." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 10 May. 2021. Web. 15 May. 2021.
Hello Rafaela, I really enjoyed how you talked about dreams and how there could possibly be an external connection between people and there dreams that we just don't know about yet. I personally find dreaming extremely fascinating, as waking up in the middle of an intense dream can almost make it seem real. Overall, I like how you expanded upon dreaming and how there may be a link to others through dreams.
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