What Does It Mean To Dream

What does it mean to dream? Well, I believe dreams will always remain a mystery of phenomena that science will never be able to explain. However, we can interpret dreams in our own way and many different aspects. In his The Dream of Life, philosopher Alan Watts, interpret dreams in an interesting way, such as it being an adventure. From this, I’d like to think of dreams as adventures in our minds; we’re subconsciously wandering to a new adventure every time we decide to rest our eyes. Actually, I wander often to Watts’ piece — an audio file, I have kept for years of his voice and he’s reading what it means to dream, along with his reading, the file contains ambient noises which is re-rendered by an artist named Nuages. With this file, not only am I wandering physically, but my mind also wanders and drifts to all the possibilities that can come for me. I often wander about what it would be like to try new things, especially the things I fear the most, such as climbing buildings, going for a swim in the ocean, or even asking to go on a date with someone I find attractive. Believe it or not, Watts’ voice and the ambient echos actually help me feel calm about the things I fear the most about, but most of all, it let’s me wander and tap into the things that I never would’ve imagined before.

And wishing, also means to dream, so “what you are basically, deep, deep down, far, far in, is simply the fabric and structure of existence itself” (Watts). I believe that the structure of existing, specifically humans, is for us to keep dreaming. Dreaming allows us to be free of our thoughts and to recognize, explore, identify, and lastly to observe who we are as people. Wandering within our dreams may help us not only unearth something strange or unusual, but it may help us locate what we are curious