Why must we be cursed with dreams?

[Little lunch]

I'm leaning towards dreams being an accidental by-product of the brain.
Fairly recent studies in mice have shown that the brain has these canals that widen during sleep allowing cerebrospinal fluid to flush though.
I'm thinking it's something to do with that.

Professor, I think the way in which a person interprets their own dream is the part that may give you insight into your inner status, not the dream itself, and can be just as easily accessed during meditation or deep self analysis.

That being said, who really knows what the fuck is going on up there. :-)

[bennyboy]

I'm pretty sure that dreams are highly interactive and allow role-play, rehearsal in a safe environment, etc. Dreams cause us to face our demons and our insecurities. Highly useful.

[Little lunch]

I'm also thinking that because we weren't designed, dreams don't necessarily have to be useful.
I have never had a useful dream.
Anyone else have an example?

[Violet]

I'm also thinking that because we weren't designed, dreams don't necessarily have to be useful.
I have never had a useful dream.
Anyone else have an example?

I'm dreaming when I wake, and I fall into sleep still dreaming.

It can be good for artistic inspiration, and it can also be maddeningly useful for getting out of where you are (falling down the rabbit hole, so to speak).

It's an insanely (and I mean crazy) useful curse... when it's not trying to kill you.

[Amalynne0]

In the best dream I ever had I was a Jedi playing frisbee in the galactic senate.

I'd like to think I have far happier dreams than dark ones. The worst are the ones where you go through the motions of a work day and have to do it afresh when you wake up.

[Elskidor]

Man, I've had so many dreams that I never wanted to wake up from. I still remember a dream I had when I was 6 about He-Man and She-Ra, and at 10 with Wolverine and Gambit. I still randomly dream of an ex in a world where we stayed together, or about characters I've created in fantasy stories I've written. Although they are sometimes bitter sweet I never consider them a curse. I love dreams and the more vivid they are the better, even if I die in them and wake up scared shitless.

[ShaMan]

I began lucid dreaming at age 5.

I prefer it to 'reality'.

[c172]

I have remembered my dreams in the past quite a bit, and have woken up rather refreshedf when that happened. My dreams tend to mimic possible reality fairly closely, but a few details may be just a bit off. I don't remember anything offhand. But an example could be:

I drive down the 805 freeway in a white Toyota Celica, eating a burrito. Joe Jackson was playing on the CD player. A ladder truck from the fire department passes me, and the driver is making siren noises over the microphone. He appears to have laryngitis. I proceed to put the pedal to the metal and take the next exit off the freeway at top speed, shouting the words to "Inagaddadavita".

[Lemonvariable72]

Dreams can give you insight on your inner status.
I remember those dreams of flying when I was a kid, awesome.
The scary ones were a signal of hidden fears that needed to be dealt with.

You ask,"Why.......dreams"?
I suspect they are both for an early warning system and to cause us to have a sense of awe and wonder at ourselves.
We are fearfully and wonderfully made.
Where did I hear that before?

If we are so wonderfully made how come half the people out there can't even figure out a debit machine.

[ShaMan]

I drive down the 805 freeway in a white Toyota Celica, eating a burrito.

Which year Celica?

What kind of burrito?