So if you have not already watched the movie "Inception" you are missing out on one good movie and I would go so far as to guess that you are probably caught in a dream within a dream that is within a dream and it's time to wake up and watch the movie.
Personally, there are two concepts in the movie that I find really interesting. First, is the idea of being completely sentient and "conscious" in a dream. I don't know if people can actually be dreaming and have a consciousness that is not separate from their "awake"-self. Usually when I dream, some of my awake-memories become part of the consciousness of my dream-self but then there are also the dream-memories. For example, if I have a particular dream where I am a superhero, I just know that I am superhero. I am aware that I can fly and I have powers because of my dream-memories. The movie presents the concept of people using technology to go inside a dream with their awake-memories intact and thus are able to be in full consciousness whilst unconscious (sleeping). Paradoxical, I know. That's why it's so interesting.
Anyway, what I really wanted to talk about is the second interesting concept and that is the idea of the shared dream. Through the device they use in the movie (that thing in the briefcase), the characters enter the same dream and in essence experience a shared fantasy - a collective illusion. Everyone is aware that they are in a dream world and they undergo experiences in the dream as a collective group. They all know that the dream world is fake, but while they are in the dream, the dream becomes their reality for the time that they are in it.
In the past few months, me and some of my NTU Caregroup mates have come to the conclusion that many people go through an "Inception" experience and they might not even realize it. We believe that people often experience the second concept: Experiencing a shared imaginary reality.
You have probably experienced this. No? Ask yourself, when was the last time you experienced an imaginary "reality" with a group of other people? If you think you have never experienced such a thing, let me ask you another question. When was the last time you played a game?
One game that is trending right now for some reason that is beyond me is Monopoly Deal. Ever heard of it? Monopoly Deal is a card game and players win the game by being the first person to complete a certain number of property sets. In essence, everyone is pretending to be a wealthy person who goes around buying property. They collect imaginary rent from imaginary properties and gain imaginary moolah. They even have imaginary birthdays!
What about chess? A two-player game where the objective of each kingdom is to defeat the other kingdom by chasing the other king around a "battlefield". For the moment that the two players play the game, they experience the imaginary reality that they are the strategists of the white or black kingdoms in a never-ending battle. Ever since the game was created, the black and white armies have fought numerous battles and until now, as people continue to play the game, the battle continues. Oh, poor black and white kingdoms.
Just today, along with some of my NTU CG mates, we were owners of a deep sea treasure hunting company in a game called "Key Largo" and later on, Musketeers in the service of the King of France in a game called "Mousquetaires du Roy". On some days I am a Sheriff, Deputy, Outlaw or Renegade in the wild west themed game "BANG!".
If you ever played a board game, computer game, card game, or even some physical games (Freeze and Melt, Dog & Bone, etc.) then you have had a kind of "Inception" experience where you go through a imagined, pretend, make-believe, or what have you reality. Although the degree of a person's immersion into an imagined reality varies from game to game (or even person to person), it is the essence of experiencing a collective, imaginary reality that comes close to the "Inception" experience.
Have you had an "Inception" today?
