Social Question

wundayatta's avatar

Do you like the life of your conscious or unconscious mind better?

Asked by wundayatta (58722points) September 26th, 2011

I think most of us know our unconscious mind best through dreams. I think a lot of people enjoy dreams a lot and pay a lot of attention to them. Others don’t remember dreams at all. Still others try to pay attention to other parts of the unconscious mind unrelated to dreams.

Then there is the conscious mind. Most of us experience the world primarily through the conscious mind. It is how we perceive and analyze and remember what is going on. It seems to be very important in that it keeps us safe, whereas the unconscious mind is more in a fantasy realm.

Which life of the mind do you prefer? Let me stipulate that assuming you are equally safe in either mind, which would you rather spend more time in? Do you like the surreality of the unconscious mind more? Do you like the greater orderliness of the conscious mind? Do you not care?

Why do you prefer what you prefer? What is it that you like about the life of that particular mind?

Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

12 Answers

28lorelei's avatar

Oh geez… It depends on what the dream is. I get some really weird ones occasionally, like once I dreamed that I was from some sort of fantasy thing and all I ever had to do was touch a certain crystal and all my wishes would be granted…
Another time, I dreamed that I had composed a symphony and would conduct the concert.
Another time, I dreamed that a tornado, earthquake and hurricane all hit at the same time.
It depends on what’s going on in life, and what is going on in my dreams. I guess dreams are less predictable.

nikipedia's avatar

Conscious, definitely. My dreams are usually chaotic and confusing.

Blackberry's avatar

I think most of us prefer our conscious mind simply because we spend more time in it and we know what’s going on with it. We can’t make a good decision when one is naturally more hidden and more mysterious. But would I like an opportunity to spend a lot of time in my subconscious? Yes.

Nullo's avatar

My unconscious mind never tells me anything, so I am forced to assume that it’s having a rollocking good time in there without me.

smilingheart1's avatar

Your unconscious mind is your life stock pile of your perceptions, the way you have uniquely processed what you have been subjected to. If we likened the human mind to an ocean swimming with jellies and each jelly representing your “snapshot” or internalization of something you’ve processed over the course of your life, we can see it as necessary and kind that we have these daily lives refreshened after a quality snooze to go out and lurve some more in the jelly tide of the day.

GabrielsLamb's avatar

Unconscious… Much better. I think our conscious lives are somewhat impacted by others a bit too often.

Paradox1's avatar

Wow, great question!
I have often wondered about this very topic myself to the point of excess. I have smoked MJ and I believe that it greatly puts you in touch with your unconscious mind, far greater than could ever be achieved without. Why do you think “stoners” have memory loss? I think it is related to the lack of consciousness.
I think there might be some powerful benefits to get “in touch” with your unconscious mind this way or through dreams, whatever the case may be.
That being said I prefer the conscious mind… I believe it is necessary to survive in our world and it truly makes everything easier to comprehend as well as prevents us from seeing that which we should not see (in ourselves or others).
The unconscious for me has had some major benefits, but any realizations of thought must take place in the conscious realm, and this is why I would suggest to explore the unconscious every now and then, but be cautious and stick to conscious action and thought most of the time…

As a side note and fun fact, Steve Jobs said that taking LSD was one of the most important things he’s done in his life. But he wasn’t tripping every day, he only did it a couple times!

flutherother's avatar

My unconscious mind sees things very brightly and vividly and experiences more powerful emotions than I do in waking life. However I have no control over what happens in my dreams. I find it impossible to answer your question, the one is no use without the other.

Neizvestnaya's avatar

Definitely my conscious mind! My dreams when I can remember them are absolutely horrible.

Berserker's avatar

Since I drink, most of my dreams are forgotten. Still, fragments come here and there, and on the rare occasion, I remmeber whole dreams. I most definitely like my Wonderland better, even if it’s full of zombies and floors made out of metal. My real life sucks, cuz if it didn’t I wouldn’t drink lol.
And I still liked my subconscious mind long before the booze problems. Maybe it’s because they’re so ephemeral that they seem real, unlike all the real stuff that just drags the fuck on. It’s a whole comfort issue, for me anyways.

PhiNotPi's avatar

Hmm… hard choice. A lot of my dreams are sad or scary. Nothing particularly scary or sad happens in them, but it is just this indescribable, horrendous feeling. An example would be when I was stuck in a house full of mirrors with a really powerful laser pointer that won’t turn off. On the other hand, I get to do some really cool stuff in my dreams. Have you ever built a nuke out of legos? Or gone on a magical quest? Or escape off of a sinking ship using yoyo’s and welding torches? I think not.

everephebe's avatar

I like when they meet. Oh yes.

Answer this question

Login

or

Join

to answer.
Your answer will be saved while you login or join.

Have a question? Ask Fluther!

What do you know more about?
or
Knowledge Networking @ Fluther