Dreams Over Imagination

Just something I've been thinking about, my apologies if similar topics have come up before.

To those who believe that your dreams are a part of your mind and not a travel to another world, realm, etc. - is it not strange just how better your dreams seem to fare at creating things than our own imaginations? Our imaginations can go a long way - we can create worlds and people with our imagination, but we really have to think it through, and tend to get caught up in making things rational or logical.

In dreams however, entire worlds are created right down to the greatest detail. You can examine a blade of grass and feel its texture. Dream worlds very often make no logical or rational sense whatsoever, but unless you're lucid (and even somestimes if you are!) it makes complete and perfect sense to you within the dream. People who you have never seen before are created, and have conversations with you that you likely couldn't make up if you tried in your imagination. Some of the dream worlds I've been in are beyond anything I could think up if I tried.

To some, this is reason to believe that dream worlds can't possibly be JUST your subconscious mind. Since science (wonderfully, I might add) has not yet truly figured out the nature of dreams, I certainly can't deny this possibilty - the amibiguity of what dreams are and what they can be used for is what makes them so exciting to me!

I'm not entirely sure where I'm going with this topic, but I was wondering what others thought. What can possibly be going on that can make your brain (if you believe that theory) create such wonderful, detailed worlds with such interesting people and events that are better than most can imagine in their real life? How strange is it (or wonderful!) that in a dream you can experience something more beautiful (or horrible) than anything on earth?

I think I'm talking in circles, so I'll end here!

i think theres something like more synapse firing when you are asleep than when you are awake

since we use so little of our brain i think dreams are so complex cuz we use extra parts that arent used during non dreaming times

I still think its more plausible that my mind simulates it all, then that my conciousness somehow flies out of my body and does strange and illogical things in another world.

While awake, all of our senses send information to the brain where it is processed. What you perceive as reality is not a direct experience, but what your brain does to organize the information into a whole world model. A model of the external world is generated based mostly on the sensory information, but also on expectation, and memories of past experiences.
(get 10 different peoples' account of an accident they all witnessed!)
I think it's no big deal for the brain to generate models of the world while in the sleep state. There's no sensory input, so the brain creates a world model that reflects your memories, expectations, particular worries or obsessions of the moment, etc.

pcmsurf: there is a great "10 percent" myth that says we only use a small part of our brains. Please peruse http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/10percnt.htm for a good summary and rebuttal to this fallacy.