Wonder

Dreaming about something impossible and accepting it

Why do impossible things seem normal in dreams?

A second moon. A room that was not there. A dead relative at the table. And no objection at all. The strangeness registers only on waking.

This is the single most characteristic feature of dreaming, and it has a clear account: the prefrontal regions that would raise the objection are relatively deactivated during REM. There is nothing available to be surprised.

It is also the whole basis of lucid practice. Becoming lucid is that faculty switching back on inside the dream, which is why imaging shows prefrontal reactivation at the moment of lucidity.

Where this reads well

Understanding this explains most of what dreams do. It is the most useful single fact on the site.

Where it is harder

Nothing. Accepting the impossible is not a lapse; it is the state working as it does.

Worth asking yourself

What did I accept without question? What would have made me notice?

Dream interpretation is subjective. Nothing here is a diagnosis, a prediction, or medical advice.

Sources and reviewed references

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