why do we dream?

it's funny how people hold dreams as this divine alter sense where a person's every wish comes true. my dreams are mundane. i barely remember them. the most vivid dream i remember is me walking under a tree while snakes (thick boa constrictors, mind you) are falling out of the branches onto me. i hate snakes.

• needless to say, my dreams have never shown me my heart's desires. they're more of snippets of my everyday life with some sort of slight twist. now my take on the question of why we dream might be different than scientist's. i like to think of it as the brain taking a break and just coasting - surfing the net, as it would be. flipping through scenes that it often experiences, scenes that occur in my life. and when it gets bored of this -- surprise! nightmare! sort of like how i lay on the couch browsing through tv channels to find something interesting, the brain is browsing through memories while the body rests in sleep.
• anyways, that's my take on it. i'm sure there are better explanations but that's how i like to think of it :)
• ~ jay