Originally Posted by
Sageous
Floatinghead:
Though I would like very much for WakingNomad and Raven Knight's experience to be true, if only for the many things it would add to the very nature of consciousness and the physical world (i.e., consciousness transcends the body, faster-than-light communication would exist, there is some sort of astral "web" that allows minds to find each other and understand each other, etc.), keep in mind that their story could very easily be faked. The Internet allows creative people to claim the most amazing things most convincingly, especially when their audience wants to believe what they say. I'm not saying that Nomad and Raven faked anything, or that they believe anything they've shared to be false at all... how could I know? What I am saying is that if two people felt like empowering themselves by creating an elaborate hoax on these forums, doing so would not be difficult.
Again, I too want to believe, and have had more than my share of moments that I could and often do chalk up to shared dreaming. But, as Nomad himself has said, to base your belief in something like this purely on what someone else tells you is a fairly risky business. Keep in mind that one in a 1,000 people say a lot of things (like there are aliens among us, the rapture is coming, leprechauns and the Starship Enterprise are real, Elvis is alive, Justin Bieber can sing, and so much more); humans are wont to make claims, and claims make for a lousy statistical base.
Also, for what it's worth, in my opinion there are probably more amazing things to experience than encountering another person in your dreams. Sorry, not probably, definitely. Don't sell the other stuff short.
You don't seem the oversensitive type, Floatinghead, but just in case: I am not saying this to piss you off, or even argue with you about shared dreaming (I honestly don't care enough about it to do so -- I have to talk to enough people in waking life, I sort of like to have dream time to myself). I'm just offering a caveat to you and others here: If it is real, shared dreaming would by its nature be a very, very huge thing. Yet to date every ounce of its proof lies solely in what people tell you to accept on faith. Enjoy the stories, but, until the International Directory of Shared Dreaming is published, with specific log-in instructions, you might do best to rely on your own experience, and judge even that with some skepticism.
I just thought this needed to be said, especially given the recent revival of two WakingNomad threads. I hope you understand where I'm coming from here.