Overloading Your Mind

[SinisterDezz]

Quick little idea right here. I'm not saying our minds work similar to computers, but if they did, wouldn't it be cool to try and overload the processor(s)? I mean, without killing yourself. A computer will start to lag, or even completely shut down, when processing too much information at once. What if your mind worked the same way in a dream? I'm talking about something like sensory overload in a dream. Events are happening to the point that you can't focus on everything at once. You overload your mind. What would happen? Do you think you would just wake up? Or perhaps it can't be overloaded? Has anyone tried this? If you haven't, I finally have a new lucid goal. Post speculation below. Cheers! -Dezzy-Pooh Dezz

[PercyLucid]

Never tried, but I can give it try, I have good dream control. So do you mean, like to start to summoning stuff in the dream and creating an overwhelming busy dream scenario?

[Barry]

Probably wake up, I assume!

[SinisterDezz]

Never tried, but I can give it try, I have good dream control. So do you mean, like to start to summoning stuff in the dream and creating an overwhelming busy dream scenario? Exactly.

[Sensei]

Even if you have a extremely busy area, it wouldn't need more processes unless you are able to focus on all. I would recommend some form of scan or multiple focus points at the same time. With scan I can focus on about a half a mile radius of information (all the people and buildings, ground, sky, everything really is part of my focus)

[Sageous]

I once wanted to do the opposite of this, yet still the same thing. When I began my lucid journey, I somehow concluded that, since in a dream my mind was creating "a thousand things at once," if I could lucidly connect to the processes doing this creation and be able to think a thousand things at once -- and become truly mentally powerful... a power that would tap and control that overload, I guess, though the concept or fear of actual system-crashing overload never occurred to me. I also believed -- and still do believe -- that our unconscious is completing several tasks at once, and processes a great amount of information simultaneously, and tapping that process might make things like learning or retrieving complex memories much much easier. In time I came to learn that my dreaming mind was actually just presenting one thing at a time, and simply because, regardless of the apparent complexity of what my unconscious was processing or presenting, I could still only consciously perceive of one thing at a time. So in truth my dreaming mind only needed to give me one thing at a time as well. Don't worry, I'm getting to my point... I think our minds are designed to do just one thing at a time (yes, even you multi-taskers out there are really only processing one piece of input at a time, no matter how many machines you have on or how sure you are that you are focusing on multiple tasks -- so don't text and drive! ). This natural single-mindedness could well be a defense mechanism of sorts meant to prevent cognitive overload, and the confusion or error that might accompany it. But: There is still that possible connection to voluminous unconscious activity. As it seems to do with so many things, LD'ing might offer an ability to mentally multitask, and potentially focus on many things at once, perhaps inviting that overload. Why? Because LD'ing has the unique quality of perceiving without necessarily using the standard tools of perception... a good LD'er might be able to sidestep that one-thing-at-time mechanism, and actually generate and perceive many things at once. I think Sensei's "scan" might show this very thing in action. Personally, I am working in the opposite direction these days, looking to pare down my perceptions and increase the quality of what I am perceiving, but I can see the possibility of heading in the other direction. So LD'ing might just open the door to limitless perception, Dezz. But be careful, because you might just get what you wish for, and then there might be some serious cleaning up to be done!

[docKnubis]

Full sensory overload would be rather Interesting. The closest things i can Think of are the extremes of pain and Pleasure. For example an orgasm. Or If youve experienced so much pain you See stars. But those are just one area Touch. You still have sight smell taste And hearing. To get all of them would Be a big effort.

[Laurelindo]

Apparently, of you try to imagine the value of Graham's Number then it would be too much information for your brain to handle and would make it literally collapse into a black hole. I guess that's the limit.

[SinisterDezz]

I once wanted to do the opposite of this, yet still the same thing. When I began my lucid journey, I somehow concluded that, since in a dream my mind was creating "a thousand things at once," if I could lucidly connect to the processes doing this creation and be able to think a thousand things at once -- and become truly mentally powerful... a power that would tap and control that overload, I guess, though the concept or fear of actual system-crashing overload never occurred to me. I also believed -- and still do believe -- that our unconscious is completing several tasks at once, and processes a great amount of information simultaneously, and tapping that process might make things like learning or retrieving complex memories much much easier. In time I came to learn that my dreaming mind was actually just presenting one thing at a time, and simply because, regardless of the apparent complexity of what my unconscious was processing or presenting, I could still only consciously perceive of one thing at a time. So in truth my dreaming mind only needed to give me one thing at a time as well. Don't worry, I'm getting to my point... I think our minds are designed to do just one thing at a time (yes, even you multi-taskers out there are really only processing one piece of input at a time, no matter how many machines you have on or how sure you are that you are focusing on multiple tasks -- so don't text and drive! ). This natural single-mindedness could well be a defense mechanism of sorts meant to prevent cognitive overload, and the confusion or error that might accompany it. But: There is still that possible connection to voluminous unconscious activity. As it seems to do with so many things, LD'ing might offer an ability to mentally multitask, and potentially focus on many things at once, perhaps inviting that overload. Why? Because LD'ing has the unique quality of perceiving without necessarily using the standard tools of perception... a good LD'er might be able to sidestep that one-thing-at-time mechanism, and actually generate and perceive many things at once. I think Sensei's "scan" might show this very thing in action. Personally, I am working in the opposite direction these days, looking to pare down my perceptions and increase the quality of what I am perceiving, but I can see the possibility of heading in the other direction. So LD'ing might just open the door to limitless perception, Dezz. But be careful, because you might just get what you wish for, and then there might be some serious cleaning up to be done! Always love reading your posts. You have had quite a few experiences in your time As far as cleaning up, do you mean my brain all over the wall? Also, not to derail the thread, but I read up on the posts you have on delta sleep. Very interesting, and I want to study it closely. Sounds kinda... Tranquil. I finally had my first WILD experience today, after 5 years of lucid dreaming. It's not like I have been trying for 5 years, though. Also, docKnubis, I like your idea on sensory overload. Using all 5 senses (and more) at once would be the closest thing I can think of to overload. If that doesn't work, I don't know what would.

[FryingMan]

I've experienced "brain lag" several times in LDs. 1) standing close facing a wall, running my hands quickly over the surface to feel it, I notice my hands update "at a jerky framerate" like a computer game scene that is too complex to draw smoothly 2) summon a DC who appears directly in front of me as a flat-shaded red person-shaped blob, the "paint" gradually filled in to make it look like a person 3) quickly looking down at my hands in a LD (I wasn't looking down at my hands on purpose, I wanted to summon an object by taking it off of my 'utility belt' and my hands just happened to be there of course so I could "pick up" the object), and I notice my hands are like 3D wireframes in black with white sparkles covering them, then the correct "skin paint" color quickly started covering them.