What is reality? It is the state of being actual or real. Or the state of the world as it really is rather than as you might want it to be.
What is then actual or real?
 
 
It is being or occurring in fact or actuality or having verified existence, not illusory. I look up the dictionary to find the meaning of dream and out of several vetted definitions this is what appealed to my mind; a state of mind characterized by abstraction and release from reality.
Hmmm!! Abstraction!! Release from reality?
The dream is always comprehended in exact opposite to the real world. It is abstract they say.
 



“They”? Who are these “they”? I do not know. Nor do I want to find out.
What is abstract exactly I want to know. And the irony begins since the meaning of abstract prevailing in texts is as abstract as the term itself.
Something which is conceptional not having a practical purpose and separated from embodiment does not quite convey it’s meaning.
 
Deriving from my own existence and experience, I can say that abstraction is a term loosely used to define anything which pushes the mind into exploring the unexplored. It is mostly the artists; painters, dancers, designers, writers whose works are labelled abstract. We often hear abstract painting, abstract art on the wall etc. We never hear of a doctor performing an abstract surgery or a corporate executive assigned an abstract set of duties. An abstract lawyer sure sounds intriguing.
Perhaps it is letting the mind to wander into uncharted territories after successfully crossing the fence of convention. Or not to follow the established but take chances for greater satisfaction. Artists are spirits, not bound by guidelines nor governed by customs.
But it is still the mind which is working. Mind is everything. Every creation, every idea, every thought and every action and reaction stems from the mind.




 
So how does that make the dream unreal? Who deciphers reality and release from reality? For the longest time I have believed that dreams are a parallel reality. If I dreamt that I was walking in the dream, then I was really walking. With the same set of legs. It was me in the dream and I verify that existence. Often times I have woken up remembering the dream with the minutest of details. Sometimes the dream feels so real that reality appears questionable. And if one thinks Nolan’s inception helped solving this riddle, it didn’t. There is a point exactly where these parallel universes meet. When we dream of falling from the edge, we will wake up just before hitting the ground. Because our guards are up even when we are asleep. That point, that split second just before waking up is where dream intersects reality.
 



Dreams should never be shunned since the alternate mind tries to communicate with us. Sometime back I dreamt of a huge dark dinosaur roaming in the city and people running around in panic. While I was in the dream it felt so real that after waking up I exactly knew how I felt in the dream. For anyone this dream would mean nothing at all as there is absolutely no chance of ever encountering the extinct species but for me it was a manifestation of inner fears or the threats facing mankind today. May be.
 
It has fascinated me to get behind the making of dreams and find out how the alternate mind creates unusual visuals and arranges them in a coherent manner that at one point it all makes perfect sense.