The Resort at al-Oga Nsru'n

Is Dubai officially creepy yet? At some point, after yet another resort, skyscraper, and man-made island, it morphed from Vegas-by-the-Sea into the city from Logan’s Run.

You tell me which is which.

Red States, Blue States, Dream States (Part 1)

According to recent studies, sleep occurs in one of two ways, each of which is distinct and visible on EEG and other brain scans. I call these states “inner-directed” and “outer-directed” sleep, but these are my terms only. I will explain why I use them shortly.

Innies and Outies

Babies choose or learn a preferred, predominant way to sleep before they are one year old. This preferred method continues throughout life, but the preference isn’t set in stone. An inner-directed sleeper can become outer-directed for a night, and vice versa, depending on a range of factors (psychological changes, stress, or even diet).

Most sleepers are inner-directed. It’s the physical equivalent of idling a motor for eight hours, or setting a computer on sleep or hibernate. Brain activity during inner-directed sleep occurs in the same regions as it does during consciousness, although over a smaller area and with less fluctuation in intensity from minute to minute.

Outer-directed sleep is where things get interesting. In this case, brain activity is as intense as during consciousness, but focused almost exclusively in the emotional and pleasure centers. Outer-directed sleepers report feeling more rested when awaking, compared with inner-directed sleepers. They also have better recall of their dreams, which are more vivid than those reported by their counterparts.

Studies place the ratio of inner and outer-directed sleepers at approximately 750 to 1. Outer-directed sleepers are self-reportedly more empathetic and intuitive. Statistically, they are disproportionately represented in the arts and healing sciences.

Messages from the Dark Side

If there is a collective unconscious, as Jung proposed, it would manifest itself most readily in a state where the defenses and distractions of sensory stimulation and the ego are subordinated. This might include mystical states, drug-induced visions, and stress or trauma-related experiences.

However, the collective unconscious is available to most everyone through the dream state. I don’t suggest that every dream is laden with archetypes and links to the collective unconscious. But sometimes a dream is a window into something we feel as a clan, group, or society that we can’t quite put our finger on yet.

I believe those people who achieve outer-directed sleep (for wtap into the collective unconscious more readily. Anything available in the collective unconscious would reach these people more easily and more directly.

Given the statistic cited early, you might think that only one in 750 people could tap into the collective unconscious. That statistic, however, is compiled from sleep studies that examined only short stretches of sleep (no more than a few nights). I think it’s more accurate to say that outer-directed sleep is likely to occur once every 750 sleep-nights across a broad population.

That is, while some might never achieve outer-directed sleep (and a lucky few might experience it nightly), on average a person would awake feeling deeply rested and pondering a vivid, deeply felt dream approximately once every couple of years.

Does this sound like your experience? It sure sounds like mine.

Dreaming of 2008

The Iowa primary is two days away. If you recall the title of this post, you might be wondering what any of this has to do with the election. I’ll expand on that in Part 2.