ABSTRACT
Dreaming is the initial and quintessential expression of primordial consciousness activity. Its neurological underpinning, REM sleep, commences around the beginning of the third trimester of fetal development, at the same time that the capacity for hearing comes on line. The language of primordial consciousness that develops between mother and infant beginning with the transmission of her vocalizations has been called motherese and it continues to develop during infancy until maturation of the brain and social development based on secure attachment facilitate the emergence of reflective symbolic thought and its language, and the beginnings of separation and individuation that go along with it. Primordial consciousness and its language does not disappear, however, and the two forms of consciousness coexist in potential and contribute to a variety of phenomena in adult life in varying proportions depending on each individual’s development and the mores of the culture in which they function.
