The Incredible Hulk

Why is it that when we wake up we remember (if we do in fact remember) being scared or being excited or being part of an intricate story? Why sometimes do we wake up not feeling rested because we have been running around in our brains all night? There are several theories on why we dream and I want to share a couple as an introduction to my new blog.

One theory is the activation-synthesis theory of dreams. Basically, neurons fire in your brain causing different sensations or experiences in your dream. For instance, if neurons fire in the area of your brain that deals with balance you may dream of falling. The brain is trying to make sense of neural activity. (Makes me think of how people say that when you dream of falling you always wake up before you land because if you didn’t you would die... ha ha)

Another theory is the computer model of dreams. It says that sleep is the time your brain gets cleaned up and better organized. During sleep all the junk you don’t really need gets thrown out and important things get filed with other memories. Dreams serve to clean up the clutter in the mind. This model also says that REM sleep is important for you to retain things you are learning. So if you are trying to learn something difficult, make sure and get some rest!!

I am not a neuro-scientist or even a brain knowledge junkie, but both these theories on dreaming seem like they could plausibly be contributing to some people’s dreams... but my dreams are so wild that it just doesn’t make sense that these theories could explain them. From time to time though, even I have a purposeful dream.

I think that sometimes God gets in your brain and starts firing neurons or doing what he needs to do to show you something. It’s happened to me. Most recently I had a dream that someone was working against me to make me look bad, possibly bad enough to really damage my credibility. I found out two days later that my dream was exactly true. Wow.

Like I was saying, most of my dreams though are so wildly random that I have no idea how to explain their cause. However, I can tell you about them and that is one reason I decided to start this blog. Let’s begin...

I signed up to compete in a race through an obstacle course. On the way to the race, I was a little bit anxious about how I was going to perform. Would I look like a fool? Would I finish last? Would I trip and fall? I AM pretty klutzy!

When I arrived and took in the competition I knew I was going to win. It would be no contest. I was surrounded by a few somewhat fit looking people, some really old people and a few people who were having problems just walking. I also felt stronger than I would in real life- like I could run faster and jump higher.

At the height of cockiness I got put in check. In walks Lou Ferrigno. For those of you who don’t know who he is (and I am not sure why I know...) he is best known for playing The Incredible Hulk. He walked over and with a kind look on his face said, “I guess this is really only between us.” Oh no... I don’t stand a chance. I smiled and then he put his hand on my shoulder and sincerely wished me good luck.

The race began. There were many different obstacles. Some like military training exercises and some like football practice drills. It was difficult, but not too much for the faster, stronger me. I found myself neck and neck with Lou with only one other contestant, a woman, within sight behind us. I could actually pull this off.

It was close the entire race. But in the end, I was beaten by less than a second. I was so proud of my finish. Lou walked up to me and said, “You better hit the showers because you gotta get out of here.” Yikes.

Sigmund Freud’s theory of dreams suggested that dreams are representations of unconscious thoughts and desires. In his book The Interpretation of Dreams, Freud wrote that dreams are "...disguised fulfillments of repressed wishes." What part of me secretly wishes to race The Hulk? I have NO idea. Apparently I have a need for some tough competition!