The Importance of Day Dreaming

From a very young age, we are told by parents and teachers to stop dreaming, ‘snap out of it’ and get back to earth. However, as more evidence suggests, day dreaming is not the negative activity it is perceived to be and in fact it may heighten one’s creativity, imagination, critical thinking and sense of confidence. The word ‘day dream’ already implies a disassociation from reality since it suggests that it is dream like in some way, however this is not always the case. Our day dreams may consist of important issues such as ‘Where am I going in life?’ or ‘What do I want in life?’. Day dreaming provides us with time to contemplate upon such issues. In Alice and Wonderland, Alice is day dreaming at the start. Her sister is reading her a book devoid of any pictures and Alice, bored of such an activity, descends into a blissful daydream. It is in this daydream that she enters a bizarre and surreal world that transcends logic and instead is replaced with paradox. Through her day-dreaming she is magically transported into a world of pure imagination in which nothing makes sense but also where important lessons are learnt. Day dreaming can be an important tool for self-reflection and contemplation and it is time we learnt this as opposed to stigmatizing it.

In the modern world, we have more information at our disposal than ever before. As our technological capabilities progress, we are provided with more and more ways to distract ourselves through games, television programs and social networking; thus we ignore the time in which we exercise our need for contemplation and introspection. Day-dreaming gives us time to escape the endless noise and bombardment of such technologies and the rush of modern life and instead exercise more of the necessary cognitive functions of the brain. Constant stress is bad for the body as well as the mind and day-dreaming provides a way of letting go of the stresses of existence. Many people fallaciously believe that the minds’ most natural state is that of contemplation, however this is not true. It’s most natural state occurs when it allows itself to wander aimlessly.

Our imagination is also aggrandized by allowing ourselves to day-dream, which in turn can allow us to solve problems more easily, empathize more and make reading a more intense and enjoyable experience. Imagination is an integral part of being human and it is heightened by day-dreaming. By picturing various scenarios and situations, our aspirations and dreams, the part of the brain responsible for the imagination become strengthened and thus we find it easier in the future to tap into it. This may also provide us with a way of mentally preparing for events if they eventually happen, thus making us more confident.

Day-dreaming is also a way by which we are able to become more creative individuals. When are trying to control our thought, we make very tightly connected associations between things, however in a state of day-dreaming, associations become less defined allowing us to explore possibilities that had not previously been conceived. Thus day dreaming is a fantastic way of generating new ideas for a novel, poem, art piece, or piece of music we are working on. Furthermore, daydreaming is similar to a form of psychotherapy since it allows us to tap into the sub-conscious mind. Here, we are able to tap into previously unseen memories or fears and aspirations that previously been suppressed thus allowing us to grow as individuals.

In fact, many great inventions and theories have been created through day dreaming when the brain is able to wander freely and contemplate upon new angles and possibilities. Many musicians say that they unable to create a song when they pick up a guitar and intentionally try write a piece of music. Most of them say they come up with their best pieces of work when they ‘do not think about it’. This is because as soon as we try to analyze what we are working on we limit ourselves to what we think works and we think doesn’t. Day-dreaming gives us a way of escaping the iron grip of rationality and allow us to use our imagination is a more fluid fashion.

Of course, this should not undermine the importance of rational, analytical thinking since it is also highly important that we go through problems logically, however Einstein claimed that he apparently came up with the theory of relativity while he was daydreaming about whether an individual could travel faster than a beam of light, a thought that originally seemed absurd and surreal. Newton was also apparently day-dreaming about an apple, as opposed to being hit on the head with it, falling from a tree. Trevor Baylis, the inventor of the clockwork radio, apparently came up with his idea when he was watching a program about HIV and AIDS, which they said could be helped by the spread of information. He then began thinking about old wind-up gramophones and it was from this that his invention was conjured. The Benzene ring structure was also discovered when its inventor had a dream about snakes biting their own tails.

Thus although, rational, analytical thinking is important, it is also important that we give our minds the time and space to day-dream and that teachers stop telling their pupils to snap out of it. Perhaps the subconscious mind is far more powerful than we believe.

 

 

The Psychology of Modern Architecture

We have been aware for a very long time that space and the organization of it can have significant effects on our general well-being and it is an established fact that the architecture we are surrounded by can alter our mood and this has been exploited by restaurants, cafes and commercial establishments infinitely. Although Feng Sui has been disregarded by most western skeptics as being complete metaphysical nonsense, many people now feel that there are some benefits in the eastern school of thought and that the placement and organization of space can have very tangible effects on human behaviour. There are many articles on the internet showing how to improve the lightness of your house, how to improve its spacious qualities and add more color to your home. In the modern (or post modern depending on your sociological preference) age, we are obsessed with the alteration of where we live and such articles are based on the presumption that the space of the psyche is a reflection of the space in which it is confined.

The architecture of modern age is unmistakable in it nature and structure. In major cities like London, one is bombarded by sky-scrapers- colossal obelisks of steel and glass towering over the individual. Thousands of rows of windows wrap themselves around endless blocks of monotonous metal and crass concrete. There is some part of the individual’s sadistic brains that wonders, when approached with these impressive monuments to modernity, what would happen if it all collapsed- what if these relics to the modern technological age suddenly fell into a haze of dust a ruble? Perhaps this is why there is so much anxiety within the city. Perhaps somewhere in our unconscious minds as we travel through the matrix of the city, we are aware that everything could collapse suddenly and with it the very foundations of capitalism itself. Modern architecture, many people say, is depressing and this is mostly I assume due to its highly geometric and cuboid nature. Buildings of the technological age are like massive fractals of the bricks they are made of. While the architecture of the past consists of spirals, floral designs, gargoyles, pillars, engravings, paintings, carved panels, modern architecture lacks any of the flamboyancy and grace to be found in such Architecture, say, from the Renaissance period. Instead, the human activity that occurs within the confines of city buildings is reduced to a box.

Architecture in the modernized, technological age is not built for the sake of artistry but is built simply out of a utilitarian desire for space in which the exploits of capitalism can be efficiently organized. Space is severely restricted in modern structures and this reflects the totalitarian regulation upon the individual’s interior space as any human behaviour that occurs behind the macro-cosmic sheaths of glistening glass and steel must be justified in the already pre-existing corporate/capitalistic paradigm. For a closer look at how architecture effects psychology, let us have a look at the architecture of McDonalds-

Since there is no natural light in the building, lamps clutter the multicolored tiled ceiling  and the many advertisements surrounding the area soak the restaurant in an over-bearing glow of commerce that is painful to the eyes. There is no uniformity of color to be found in the scene and instead it appears as if colors are fighting with one another for attention. The spectrum of color bombards the brain and over-whelms it with sensory information. The painting on the wall in the background of the left hand corner is of a natural scene to juxtapose the sterility of the environment, to give some false hint of the natural world. Surrounding the entire place are images of milkshakes, burgers, ice-creams as well as the latest offers available. The space becomes a living-breathing advertisement in which the brain cannot escape the attack of such commercial advertisements on the immune system of the unconscious. Human behaviour in such a context can never seem serious but always seems frivolous and pathetic. The place tries to lend itself to artistry for artistry’s sake but appears ridiculous for it and the scene contains strange arches and walls with odd looking holes penetrating them that look cartoonist and almost malleable as if the walls were made of plasticine of some strange three-dimensional, holographic plasma or ectoplasm. The interior is designed to overwhelm the brain with color, shape and form since it is designed to get people eating and leaving as quickly as possible and not provide comfort. It is designed with instant gratification in mind and the architecture reflects the desire of the company. A child in its mother’s arms looks confused and disorientated as it has moved from the darkness and regularity of its mothers womb to a world in which its premature psyche is attacked by a dizzy array of color and surreal shape. Although it may not have been proven yet, I am sure the structure of such places may explain why more and more children are diagnosed with adhd in the modern world. They are born into a world in which their minds need time to grow and instead they are bombard with a nauseating tidal wave of cheap color and tacky appearance. The wooden panels that curve around the seats also suggest a private, secluded world in which families eat and suggests a privatization of the self as opposed to a sense of community, which buildings like churches suggests-

Such a building suggests community and not a privatization of the self but a willingness to expose oneself to other individuals. The church is uniform in its color, natural looking and instead of relying on a dizzy array of lamps has large windows to let light in. The architecture of. such a building, one can imagine, becomes part of one’s religious experience.

The magickal element of fire

 

Ever since the birth of our species, we have had a primal obsession with fire and its properties. In our collective consciousness resides the archetype of the lone, solitary caveman huddled over a collection of twigs while rubbing two rocks together viciously in the the hope that the slightest spark will provide him with warmth. It could be said that it is what separates us from the animal kingdom in so far that animals have fur to keep them warm but we have had to resort to artificial means of heat in order to survive. Now we take such heat for granted however in the past, a fire would have been relished as if it were a diamond. Fire has also been the basis for much of the foundations of philosophy. Some may say that Plato’s cave analogy was born through looking at fire. According to Plato’s theory, the reality we perceive may be like the shadows on a wall dancing, completely illusory, while the figures behind the fire that create such shadows are the true reality, however we do not have access to them. Thus, perhaps in the flickering of the flames creating dancing, quivering shadows on the wall, Plato saw a symbol for the illusory nature of existence.

Fire also plays an important part in mythology and could be considered a Jungian archetype of Man’s self-consciousness. In the well known tale of Prometheus, the god Prometheus steals fire from the gods and gives it to man so that he can acquire knowledge of the world however for this act he is severely punished by the gods. This tale is very similar to the Christian tale of the Garden of Eden in which instead of fire, the apple of knowledge s given to man, and humanity is punished. Thus, fire in this tale is a symbol of the evolution of humanity and the transition from innocence to self-consciousness. The Greek myth could even be seen as a metaphor for how fire played an integral part in our evolution and how with this evolution came also the ability for contemplation, self-awareness, and a sense of right and wrong. Fire is also massively important is religion. Fire is considered an extremely sacred element in Hinduism and all creatures are thought of as consisting of fire is some sense or another. Fire also accompanies all Hindu rituals and ceremonies as a witness of the divine. Fire in Christianity is also a symbol of the holy ghost and in the Bible we have the story of the Burning Bush in which Moses is spoken to by god through a burning bush. In this story fire becomes an archetypal symbol of spiritual and celestial illumination. Fire is also seen as the symbol for kundalini. Kundalini is apparently a snake like energy that resides at the bottom of the spine and through regular amounts of meditation and particular forms of yoga can be awoken. When it awakes, it apparently causes the individual to feel as they are one with the divine and eternal consciousness of the universe. Thus once again, fire is seen as a symbol for spiritual illumination, knowledge, self-awareness as well as power and activity. In fact, in the Chinese symbol of Yin and Yang, fire is the active while water is the passive.

Of course, for most of us find fire an object of terror and threat, however there are a small percentage of individuals labelled as pyromaniac who take great pleasure in fire and lack the impulse control to stop burning objects or even buildings. For them fire is an never-fading source of fixation- they have a burning passion for it (excuse them pun). Many children who suffer from such a condition apparently lack a father figure in their lives. However some psychologists claim that pyromaniacs have access to a suppressed part of the brain buried in the unconscious that lives on from when we first built fire and acquired a primal fixation for it.

There is even such a thing called fire scrying in which one can apparently see various people, places, animals as well as spirits and demons when one stares into the flickering flames for long enough. Such a practice has been performed for thousands of years by pagans and us usually practiced with a black mirror. By staring into a black obsidian mirror with candlelight, ones subconscious mind begins to override one’s waking consciousness and various images that have suppressed within the depths of the unconscious are projected onto the mirror so that we can visualize (sometimes quite vividly!) the repressed tapestry of images that are usually released in dreams.

Much like any other fundamental element, fire has been a never-fading source of fixation for us ever since our neolithic ancestors first learnt how to utilize it for survival and like any other element, we have tried to exercise control over it. Ever since the dawn of our species, we have tried to control the weather and other natural phenomenon and fire is no different.

The Power of Sound

We are constantly surrounded by noise whether we are conscious of it or not. Even when we think we are in silence, we find that we are are surrounded by a tapestry of sounds whether it be the subtle drone of traffic outside or the creaking of a floorboard. Sound bombards our lives constantly and most of the time we do not realize it. Sound can be highly frustrating at times when it is repetitive, loud, discordant or unnatural. The sound of an out of tune violin or nails against a blackboard can create instant feelings of angst within the individual hearing them. Or sound can be beautiful and create a sense of pure, untainted bliss. When we hear a song, our emotions are instantly charged and we can enter a state of happiness or melancholy. It can instantly conjure up a memory of love, passion, hatred or apathy through the slightest note. The entire spectrum of our emotional being can be invoked through the ritualistic use of music. Thus throughout history we have had a preoccupation with sound and how it can effect the neurology of our psyches.

Looking at religion, we can see that sound has been seen as a source of mystical experience. Buddhist have mantras that they will vibrate in a drone like way in a repetitive fashion. Through performing such a mantra, the mind is stilled and one’s consciousness is placed in a cosmic state of pure being allowing them to come closer to what Siddhartha called ‘enlightenment’. Buddhists will also use singing bowls which similarly produce a continuous stream of sound that allows one to enter a meditative state more easily. Although mantras have not been studied massively, there is evidence that there is some neurological basis for such a phenomenon and that mantra can help attention disorders, depression and even cleanse the brain in a physical fashion. Through the use of repetitive prayer one can also attain a state of mysticism and meditation and in churches monks will repeat religious phrases over and over again to worship their deity but also enter a state of gnosis. At a music concert, many people claim to have an almost mystical experiences as the loud repetitive playing of instruments mixed with flashing lights brings on a sense of frenzy and almost sexual, semi-mystical hysteria. When we look at the Beatles performing in the sixties we see that girls in the audience were induced by the music into some of psycho sexual frenzy. The doors in fact treated their performances as almost religious rituals. Thus the link between sound and religion is clear.

Pythagoras was a Greek philosopher and mathematician. Pythagoras believed that the whole world was devised of mathematics and the entire cosmos could be understood by learning this language of the universe. He was also obsessed with sound and what is now called the Fibonacci sequence. He connected mathematics and music to show that music was essentially mathematical in nature and pieces of music could be ideally created through knowledge of mathematical harmony. Many of the works of Beethoven and Mozart are highly mathematical and there is even evidence to show that Mozart was a Freemason, a group that is obsessed with geometrical proportion and mathematical harmony. There is even evidence to show that listening to music of Beethoven can help children become better at maths and other subjects. Someone even once said that ‘music is the enjoyment of counting without knowing it’. Thus mathematics is linked to sound

In the modern world, we are bombarded by sound constantly and are victims of what some may call ‘noise pollution’. It almost seems like there is a systematic conspiracy to abolish all natural silence and instead replace it with the beeping and burping of industrialized white noise. We are the victims of telephones screeching, mobiles screaming, cars droning, lawnmowers eating away at the grass, the whirring of escalators, the frivolous frequency of human conversation. The rise of technological innovation has also meant that we are also victims to more noise than ever. In fact, science has shown that noise pollution is responsible for almost 3,000 deaths a year (this is just what I have heard) and can increase anxiety, blood pressure and increase the chances of hearing problems. Some have even claimed that some cases of domestic violence are due to noise pollution. In a forest, above in the mountains, on top of a hill– In these natural, organic places we find ourselves amidst a silence that we have been craving and a silence that resonates with the soul. Silence can be intimidating and awkward at times, especially between strangers but also blissful, especially with someone you know and in nature we overwhelmed with the bliss of this silence. However, as such organic worlds are destroyed to be replaced with shopping malls, flats and industrial warehouses, we also lose the beauty of their silence. It has even been proven the people in cities tend to be more depressed more than those living in cities.

Music is a drug and causes a chemical reaction in the brain. It can swamp the brain in endorphins and much like a drug leaves the individual addicted and wanting more. We keep going back to the same songs over and over again to get back to the original place in which we first heard it. Through music, memories of love, hatred, passion and heart-break are invoked with powerful and potent imagery in the brain. However, how it does this completely is still not known( and even if it does, it is still amazing). Sound is a mystery and has been ever since the first sound that ever was- The sound of the big bang- the first primal, cosmic scream to give birth to time, space and being.

The Magick of Water

Ever since the beginning of our species, we have had a primal fixation with water and its healing properties and its ability to purify. In Greek philosophy, Thales believed that water was the source of everything to some extent he is right. As we search for life on Mars and other planets, we inevitably search for water in such planetary areas since life can only be born through the presence of water. In a sense, the origin of water can be seen as the origin of life. We consume around 14600 gallons of water in a lifetime and it is true that our bodies are around seventy percent water. We are reliant of water to live but also to wash, feel refreshed, clean clothes and even power engines to some extent. Water can be seen as the fluid by which things are powered and because of this we constantly hear of water crises, especially in countries like Africa, where it is not available. It is a valued and precious substance- an alchemical elixir of life.

The religious significance of water has been around for thousands of years. In Christianity, water plays an essential feature and is seen as purifying the individual during baptism and cleansing the persons soul of sin. Although this is seen more nowadays as a declaration as an individual’s faith, water is still seen as a religious signifier of the purity of the soul and because of this Jesus described himself as ‘living water’. Holy water that has been blessed can also be used to apparently banish demonic spirits and in western ceremonial magic, it is important for the magician to cleanse the temple by sprinkling water in each corner of the temple. Although this may be seen as being ridiculous, it may provide some sort of psychological benefit. In Hinduism also, water is seen as being highly sacred and many Hindus bathe in the river Ganges since it is thought of providing some spiritual power and potency and the dying are given a sip in order to apparently cure them. Again, water is seen as an alchemical elixir that can cure, purify and contains spiritual power.

In the modern world, we still look for the spiritual power of water. Even during our morning showers, we find a place where our dream-soaked minds can seek refuge in the hot steaming waters of the shower and contemplate in solitude while feeling refreshed and rejuvenated before putting our ties on setting off to work. Website like rainymood.com also provide people with the sound of rain, which many people find relaxing and there has even been evidence to show that the sound of rain can help alleviate stress. In floatation tanks, we are surrounded by water and deprived of sensory stimulation and many people claim that they regress back to a ‘womb like state’. Once again, though in a modernized context, there is a link between the life giving properties of womb and the water it contains.

Water is important and there is much to learn from it. Unlike solids, it is pragmatic, versatile and moves in correspondence with a change in environment. The qualities of water, some may say, are the qualities we should try and emulate. In the book by Herman Hesse Siddhartha, Siddhartha finds enlightenment by staring at a stream and in the slow trickle of water, he sees the ever-changing cosmic flow of the universe, never fixed, but forever changing in a state of universal flux.