I think the answers to this question is the key to everything. This is aimed specifically at science experts I have a few questions that I want to know sciences answers. Is the imagination concious in its own right? What role does imagination play in our survival? Is the imagination responsible for dreams and how does it conjure them? What role does the DMT molecule have with imagination? Do people who have near death experiences have an increased over active imagination? These questions are vital for me at this moment in time.
Are you sure you don't mean the subconscious? I've had two NDE's of the 'life flashing before you' kind. I have a normal imagination level. The role of DMT was exaggerated by Strassman in his book. The imagination is you, thoughts fed by other thoughts. It has no mind of its own. It will, as you do, still be biased based on previous experience to act or think in one way or another,but it has no independent life so to speak. Imagination isn't really the focus of dreams, they're to help you information that you've learned during the day. Imagination and survival: imagination is us playing with different ideas to find a suitable outcome. However, when you're in danger you are far less liable to use imagination to get out of it, rather instant animal reaction. Whether this gets you out of trouble or not is another thing, but it may be better to short-circuit imagination when we're in danger as over-thinking would get in the way.
What do you mean by the imagination being me? Is it part of my conciousness? I had a near death experience where I went through all these tunnels, to the place where you go where you die and I realised I was god, got lonely and then re entered this world again. I just observed all this, I didn't enjoy it and in no way did I feel I was making this happen, it was as though me from outside of reality was doing it, who was separate to me but told me telepathically that I was in fact him. Basically I'm trying to work out if this was my imagination that caused it or if it was a genuine experience like it felt like. If it was my imagination which is what science says then why did it make me think all of this? what was the point of it all? It was horrible so it wasn't like I did it to enjoy myself.
This is interesting, I study various experiences for one reason and another. This is a science forum and I'm not sure discussion of this subject here is relevant, but I would be happy to talk to you in PM. MelT