"Dream interpretation can be a result of subjective ideas and experiences. One study found that most people believe that "their dreams reveal meaningful hidden truths.
Image creation in the brain involves significant neural activity downstream from eye intake, and it is theorized that "the visual imagery of dreams is produced by activation during sleep of the same structures that generate complex visual imagery in waking perception." (according to Wikipedia)
Dreams are a complicated subject when reading all the theories by the psychological Greats of the past. Each theory varies from one another and it is painstaking since there are so many theories by so many psychologists. The complications don't stop there. Dreams are also complicated in terms of religion, for each religion speaks differently of the purpose and meanings of their dreams. The same applies to Ancient Greek philosophy.
Starting with psychology.
Psychology is more a war zone about dreams than either religion or philosophy. There is the battle between whether dreams come from REM or non-REM sleep, if the increase of blood flow in a particular area of the brain causes them, or the numerous neuro-pathways that bring about electrochemical signals to project our dreams. Though I could discuss every single dream-based theory released by the scientific Greats of our time, it would be too painstaking for their numerosity. But one theory does attract my utmost attention to support my previous article, Electricity... Do They Use It?
And if you haven't guessed it already, it concerns that of the electrochemical signals proposed by Luigi Galvani, who believed that there was a relationship between electricity and life (thanks to an experiment that involved a frog leg). Agent Cooper had dreams and he used them to find clues to solve who killed Laura Palmer. The Giant and MIKE both contacted him through dreams. As I stated in Electricity... Do They Use It?, electricity could be a way of how the entities of the Lynch-verse communicate with human beings (or against them like Mr. C to Richard Horne) and travel through space, time, alternative realities, and locations worldwide. The fact we do have electrochemicals in our brains would enable the entities to tamper or enter our dreams to whatever advantage.
Sigmund Freud believed that "Dreams are the GUARDIANS of sleep and not its disturbers." This belief is so far inaccurate to the dreams beautifully displayed by Lynch. Dreams seem to provide fear, warning, possible clues, and advice. Perhaps yes, some dreams could be our guardians if tampered with by the Giant, MIKE, or others like them in the Lynch-verse, but dreams could also be our worst enemies if tampered with by BOB or the one and only Judy. And besides, Lynch-verse aside, some dreams can be so unsettling and fearful that it is impossible to think of them as 'guardians'. In any way, a nightmare would never seem like a guardian, nor have the qualities of ever acting like one. I'd love Freud to say that their dreams were no more than guardians to Laura Palmer, Sarah Palmer, and all those who suffered from the nightmares they endured. Or even to Jeffrey Beaumont of Blue Velvet.
Speaking of Jeffrey Beaumont, two psychological theories could also be suitable to the Lynch verse. In 1977 arose the activation-synthesis hypothesis, proposed by John Allan Hobson and Robert W. McCarley. This hypothesis stated that dreaming could promote some aspect of learning things and improve the learning process. Jeffrey, being the sleuth that he was, improved his intellect about the dark side of life by exposing himself to it and then possibly dreaming about it, making him wiser and more discreet when trying to take Frank Booth down and save Dorothy Vallens. The second theory is that of Ernest Hartmann proposed in 1995. This theory states that dreams enable the dreamer to process trauma in a safe place (which is the mind and possibly also the safe area where the dreamer is sleeping). Jeffrey does relive the trauma he witnessed in his mind and might even dream of it when he was back in his bedroom. He even cries reliving it, and then soon, he becomes strong and builds the courage to confront and kill Frank Booth.
Whether or not these psychological theories could make things easier to understand the Lynch-verse better (except Freud's of course), it still makes a fascinating study. And since Dr. Jacoby was Twin Peaks' therapist, I wonder what his thoughts are of dreams in their entirety.
Now to religion.
Hindus believe that the dream state is one of the three states that the soul experiences - the other two states being the waking state and the sleeping state. Jews depict dreams as a part of the world experience. Hebrews, Christians, and Ancient Egyptians connect dreams with the voice of God/gods/ and goddesses. Muslims believe dreams are part of Islam's history and life, as well as to receive revelations from God.
Buddhists, however, believe that a dream can be dreamt by more than one person at a time, and some of them could transcend time. The Dalai Llama (or Buddha-to-be), must have certain dreams that follow the same dreams as those of the past Buddhas. Those dreams can also be the "signpost" motif that marks certain stages of their life.
Dreams are used by Buddhists as teaching tools and metaphors for perceiving the true nature of life and the Universe and removing denial and ignorance from the self. Every day experiences of life are compared to dreams. From what we saw of Agent Cooper's love and fascination with dreams, we know dreams play a very important role in Buddhism. The Buddhists in Myanmar further reveal Cooper's dream logic, as they believe that dreams are the source of visionary knowledge and are part of the world behind the wall of our perception. Buddhism views dreams as illusions of everyday life rather than just random illusions.
Now for Dr. Albert Rosenfield, who I assume is into Hinduism, due to his following of the teachings of Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. In Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, he doubts Cooper about his dream of a high school girl who would be killed. Dreams in terms of Hinduism are depicted far more differently than Buddhism. To them, the dream state (known as Swapna) resembles "loss of touch" or "ignorance". This, of course, conflicts with the beliefs of Buddhists who state that dreams are the way of removing "ignorance". Now, we can understand thoroughly Albert's doubting of Cooper's dream, as much as he is a skeptic.
And finally now to good ol' philosophy.
In the 5th century BC, Antiphon was the first of the Ancient Greeks to write a book on dreams. He claimed that dreams are the journey of our souls after they depart from our sleeping bodies. Our souls go to possibly another realm to wander, if not the real world since Antiphon doesn't really specify where our souls wander. (I've always been curious that if the soul left our body for a short period of time, wouldn't that mean our bodies are 'dead'? Since the soul isn't present to keep the bodily functions going, it would seem unlikely that our bodies would be alive in this situation. In the Chinese version of this theory, the soul is divided into two: one for the dream world and the other to remain in its owner, which to me would make more sense in a more realistic sense).
Other philosophers, just like psychologists, varied in their claims as well. Plato believed that within ourselves we harbor dark desires (rape, incest, adultery, etc.) that we all know are wrong and prevent ourselves from doing. This pressure of controlling those desires builds up in our brains during the day, and when we go to sleep, our brains find that dreams are the only way to release that pressure. In the secrecy of dreams, no one sees us committing our dark and evil fantasies, and nor will we be punished. Then, when we wake up, the cycle starts again. Laura Palmer did have dreams, as we also read in the Secret Diary of Laura Palmer by Jennifer Lynch, and I bet Plato were her therapist, he'd diagnose her by her dark secrets and desires (which she did have).
Since I mentioned Plato, I know we can't dodge the views of his disciple and philosophical rival, Aristotle. Aristotle's claim was more psychological since we all know he was more of a scientific academic than just a philosophical thinker. In his view, dreams are caused by activity in the brain that is psychologically incomplete. He found this statement to be true to himself, due to watching how our eyes move behind our eyelids (REM) as if to see.
Cicero, one of the greatest ancient orators and public/political speakers of all time, believed that previous conversations and thoughts were the key developers of our dreams.
Herodotus, the writer of The Histories, thought that dreams were made by our deepest concerns during the day and all that worrying and stress from those concerns would cause dreams to occur. Laura Palmer could've indeed had this as well, for she was always concerned about her final outcome in life.
Philosophy might not be the most reliant source of theorizing, since most of the claims are probable of fallacy. But few could be useful in examining mostly Laura Palmer and worth further exploration.
Sadly, no psychological, religious, or philosophical theory states that we all live in a dream. This should be labeled as the Lynchian dream theory, which is up to us to decide whether to believe or not. Could Lynch's definition of a dream be the truth of all knowledge of the Dream and the Dreamer? Could the Dreamer be Cooper himself, since he has the dream connection with the Dalai Llama, who is the Dreamer of the Buddhas before him?
It is up to us to further investigate the purpose of dreams and the Dreamer. Without dreams, we can never break the code.
Thank you for reading this article. Feel free to share your thoughts, theories, and debates in the comment section below. If interested, there is Twin Peaks... From Another Place group on Facebook and Discord to join. Also, feel free to check out my Twin Peaks: Chasing A Blue Rose fanfic series prequel, Twin Peaks: The Birdwatcher, published here and on Archives Of Our Own. Thanks again!!
Thanks again. See you in the trees.
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