We are Professional Dreamers

Dreaming is often associated solely with the strange world of nocturnal sleep, filled with fleeting fantasies and bizarre narratives. But what if we told you that we are all, in a very real sense, professional dreamers? We are constantly engaged in the construction and interpretation of our reality. This article delves into the philosophical concept of dreaming as not just a nighttime activity, but as a fundamental human capacity that shapes our waking lives.

John Locke, a 17th-century philosopher, famously distinguished between primary and secondary qualities (McCann, 2011). Primary qualities, like shape and size, are inherent to objects themselves. Secondary qualities, like color and sound, are subjective experiences produced by our interaction with the world. We can extend this concept to argue that our waking reality is, to some degree, a dreamed reality a mental construct we actively build upon sensory inputs.

The human mind is a remarkable architect, meticulously designing blueprints of the lives we wish to construct through our thoughts and dreams. These dreams span all realms from personal aspirations of finding love, achieving success, or cultivating inner peace, to grander visions of a more just, equitable and sustainable world. Without dreams, we would merely exist, devoid of the ambition and hopes that ignite the spark of purpose within us.

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Consider perception. When we see a red rose, the redness isn't a property that exists independently. Light waves of a certain frequency interact with our eyes and brains, creating the experience of "red." Our brains are constantly processing and interpreting information, weaving a tapestry of experience that we call reality.

Furthermore, our dreams and aspirations shape our goals and actions. Think of a scientist relentlessly pursuing a breakthrough, an artist consumed by a vision, or an entrepreneur building a company from a dream. These individuals are all, in a way, professional dreamers. They translate their internal visions into the external world, constantly refining and reshaping their dream as they progress.

This doesn't diminish the importance of the external world. Our dreams and perceptions are constantly challenged and refined by reality checks. The scientist's theory must be tested, the artist's vision translated onto canvas, and the entrepreneur's idea brought to market.

The concept of professional dreaming encourages us to be more conscious of how we construct our realities. We can be intentional about the dreams we cultivate, both in our sleep and in our waking lives. We can challenge our perceptions, seeking diverse perspectives. Ultimately, embracing our role as professional dreamers empowers us to shape not just the world around us, but the very nature of our experience within it.