Dreams and Delusions

Dreams and Delusions

‎'Dreams are delusions waiting to be transformed to reality by fiery passion and determination.'
Simple Bear 30.06.2011

Delusions, a term used by the common Man, as indicators of the presence of psychological or psychiatric issues. The German psychiatrist, Karl Jaspers defines three criteria for defining delusions, namely 1) Certainty, the strong conviction that an individual holds with regards to the belief 2) Incorrigibility, the insistence of the individual with regards to the belief despite the presence of contrary evidence or logical reasoning 3) Impossibility, the perceived falsity of the belief which is not acknowledged by others as reality.

I see dreams (in terms of personal ambitions) as having the three characteristics. I assumed the certainty of my dream happening in the near future, despite the current perceived obstacles that runs contrary to the realization of my dreams and I know my dreams are perceived by others as unrealistic and out of the world.

The difference between dreams and delusions, in the psychological sense is the ability to make it dreams a reality through motivational action and plan. I see all of us as magicians, making the seemingly impossible possible. Of course, skeptics will tend to say what if your dreams are proved to be personal delusions after all the time and effort. I say, trying to make your dreams come true is already a miracle in the making. You change yourself for the better in the process and that new, improved self is already a miracle. And sometimes, that change was a previously held delusion.

All of us are deluded to a certain extent; we believe what we want to believe, even though sometimes, such beliefs run contrary to others’ perceived reality or their notion of normative reality. If we are already deluded in the first place, then what are dreams? Just another delusion not accepted in the realm of delusions.

Being Human

Being Human

Sometimes, I refer to myself as a member of the species Ursidae as opposed to Hominidae. To me, it doesn’t make much difference. As much as we want to see our existence on this planet as unique, we are still the products of the evolution process. Primatologist Frans de Waal refers to humans (Homo sapiens) as the bipolar ape. We are capable of the worst aggression against our own kind and others and at the same time, capable of great compassion and empathy for them. Compared to our simian cousins, we tend to think that Humanity is superior. Superiority based on our perceived advantages in terms of cognitive ability inflated our egocentric Homo sapiens culture.

Are we truly superior?

In my humble opinion, we are not superior, just luckier as compared to other primates in terms of our cognitive ability in relation to our duality. Sitting on the bipolar continuum of aggression and compassion, we have the opportunity to consciously make a choice on our position during situations when our innate tendencies swing towards negativity.

Life is all about making choices.

And being human, I think, is about going beyond our inherent, evolutionary archaic tendencies in response to situational stimulus. The realization of the human potential is about being aware of our innate tendencies when they manifest as action-inducing thoughts and emotions, making conscious choices when our induced innate responses are perceived to be on the wrong side of the continuum. Distinctions between right and wrong, positive and negative seem to be necessary to deal with the equivocations of life.

Everyone is perceived to be unique and distinctive, even among humans.