What is the true difference between dreams and wake experiences?

A man dreamt that he was a butterfly, and he questioned; "How can I be sure I'm a man dreaming that I am a butterfly, or a butterfly dreaming that I am a man?" (Buddhist teaching).

Answer to your question; At the time of experiencing the event, your mind cannot distinguish between dream and wake experiences. There's a scientific explantion to this, which I read or watched sometime ago.

I think I learned this from the movie "What the Bleep do we know." I'm not sure though..

I'll come back to your question if I locate the source of info..

==new answer== Our waking experiences happen with the conscious mind. Dreams are messages to the conscious mind from the subconscious mind and is related in the picture language, the universal language of mind also referred to as language of the soul, during sleep. By learning this language and interpreting your dreams you can see how you are doing as a thinker. Dreams will normally relate to the previous day's experiences.
http://www.som.org/1dreams/usedictionary.htm

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