Warmup 4/19/16 Write down one of the weirdest dreams you've ever had Objective Tonight’s Homework To learn how our thinking mind functions pp 615: 1, 2, 3

Conscious and Subconscious We’ve spent this entire semester discussing the physical parts of the body, but now we reach something that’s not in a physical location. Your mind and will. Up until the recent era, most scholars thought that your conscious mind was located somewhere in your heart. This is why there are so many phrases in society and the Bible about “giving your heart” to someone. It refers to a choice about your will.

Conscious and Subconscious Your mind and will are unique in that they allow you to somewhat override the functions of your body. While most parts of the body function on their own, you can partially control them with a method called biofeedback. Example: Controlling pain People in extreme pain are told to visualize the pain as a bright ball in their body. They’re then told to visualize this ball shrinking or disappearing slowly. As they do this, the pain diminishes as well. Amazing, but this method actually works!

Conscious and Subconscious There’s more to the mind than direct control, though. We also have a subconscious. This manifests most easily through sleep. Sleep is an especially interesting topic. There’s been a lot of debate over many years as to exactly why we sleep. Current science suggests that during sleep the body reorganizes and stores all the things it learned while you were awake. Dreams are often seen as bits and pieces flashing by while your body organizes them.

Conscious and Subconscious Interestingly, the only dreams you recall are either the ones you have right before you wake up, or the ones that have strong emotional impact. Some people have the ability to stay in conscious thought dreaming. This ability is called “lucid dreaming”. This ability has been researched extensively and has many different intensities. In the most extreme cases, lucid dreamers can control their dreams.

Conscious and Subconscious Another subconscious phenomenon is hypnosis. While this is a real thing, it is important to note that a hypnotized person will never do anything against their deep moral code. Thus, you could never hypnotize a normal person to, say, shoot their own boss. (unless they already wanted to) Otherwise, hypnosis is similar to what you’ve seen on TV and movies. People can be made to do and recall things that never happened. Interestingly, hypnosis can also help people recall details they’ve consciously forgotten. Police have used hypnosis to help witnesses remember key pieces of evidence.

Article on Sleep Let’s read an article about sleep.

Exit Question What is the scientific purpose for sleep? a) So you can see cool things b) Because brains are weird (no one knows) c) To get energy back d) So your brain can sort and reorganize information e) All of the above f) None of the above