What are dreams? What do they mean? Psychologists have been trying to define and interpret dreams for a long time. According to a popular definition, dreams are night-time reactions to what is happening to you by day. They have a message that your body and mind are relaying to you. So, we see nasty creatures, embarrassing situations, chasing and being chased, flying and crashing, dead people reappearing and horrid sights. Do all such dreams serve a practical purpose?
Dreams are somewhat like movies that play behind your eyes as you sleep. Although you dream for many hours, you are unable to remember most of your dreams. Dreams are very personal in that the dream you see may not be seen by someone else. Therefore, you need to understand those night-time fancies that help you to fly over mountains and travel to exotic distant lands.
A century of dream research has exposed some baffling information. They will help you to know where dreams come from and the role they play in your life. According to the latest research, dreams have a symbolic meaning. However, dreams may not have a universal meaning. Therefore, you have to be vigilant when you read books written on dream interpretation.
Dr. Elizabeth Scott’s ‘Your dreams what they really mean’ is a readable book. The author has deciphered a huge variety of different dreams. Accordingly, a barking dog in a dream might foretell bad news. Modern researchers, however, have cautioned against such simplistic dream interpretations.
Dream symbols
For more than 3,000 years, experts have been trying to interpret dreams. According to Sigmund Freud, snakes are phallic symbols. Dr. Allan Hobson, a psychiatry professor at Harvard University says, “It is nonsense.” Joseph De Koninck, a psychology professor at the University of Ottawa, says dream symbols differ from individual to individual.
Sometimes people ask whether dreams sound an alarm. Patricia Garfield, a psychologist and author of ‘The universal dream key’ recalls a woman telling her of a dream in which her husband shoved her into an oven and turned on the gas. Garfield says the dream shows her dysfunctional relationship with her husband. On this point, we have to agree with Sigmund Freud and his colleague Carl Jung who theorised that dreams are the subconscious’s way of communicating with us. Carl Jung went a step further and said getting to know our dreams was a way to learn about ourselves.
It is useful to keep a dream diary to jot down the main storyline of your dreams when you wake up. It will make fascinating reading in later years. A dream diary is necessary because dreams melt like butter. A dream diary will convince you that dreams are made up parcels of thoughts that your brain wishes you to look at closely. Whatever you dream will leave you with a strong emotion.
Material for dreams comes from what you have seen, heard, read, or thought about. Sometimes past memories will come cascading like a waterfall. The question arises who should interpret your dreams. Although there are self-styled dream interpreters, you are the best person to interpret your own dreams. If necessary, talk to others to find out whether they too had seen similar dreams.
According to a recent survey, about five dreams out of seven are negative and are considered nightmares. Having nightmares mean that you are psychologically disturbed. A colleague told me how a woman levelled a loaded gun at him in a dream. Later, he revealed that he had betrayed her confidence and she had vowed to retaliate. If you see nightmares regularly, you may be having unresolved issues with someone.
A middle-aged film technician had nightmares about being in jail, a concrete bunker with a pretty garden. Such nightmares can be banished forever if you manage to deal with the trauma.
Experts believe that you can change your dream endings by practising lucid dreaming. Another technique is to revamp nightmares. It is called imagery rehearsal which requires you to write down dreams in your dream diary.
While recording the dream, try to modify the details that do not appear to be useful. In short, you can reinvent dreams the way you want.
Never consider that dreams are a menace. They serve a useful purpose. They help us to solve our problems and develop insight. Dreams can help us to get used to new people and surroundings. This is quite evident when a close relative passes away. In such a situation dreams can play a major role in alleviating the suffering during the mourning period.
Dreams have no clear-cut plots and psychological roots. Experts have found that during REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, the brain has low levels of serotonin, important for short-term memory. Low serotonin also explains why we remember very few dreams. Dreams are full of feelings because the limbic system is quite active during sleep. On the other hand, the prefrontal cortex which controls logic is less active during sleep. As a result, you can fly like a bird in your dreams!
Purpose of dreams
At least part of the purpose of your dreams is to retrieve peace of mind lost in the day-to-day affairs. How your brain stores memories is still unknown, but it is clear that it is not in alphabetical order. The best way to get the full flavour of a dream is when you wake up and go over it then and there. However, this may not be possible if you feel sleepy.
Psychologists have come up with five most typical dreams. The first is being chased by someone or a ferocious animal. Children usually see such dreams in which they are chased by bears and elephants. Women may dream being pursued by robbers or rapists. The second category includes sexual dreams. In a recent study, 85 percent of men and 73 percent of women said they had had sexual dreams.
The third category includes falling off cliffs or bed. Such dreams show the natural release of the day’s tension. The fourth category includes school dreams. About 60 percent of university students have anxiety-ridden dreams when they have to sit examinations. Finally, we have flying dreams. When you fly you feel liberated and happy. Such a euphoria-filled dream will make you extremely happy.
It is worth noting that pain is rarely experienced in dreams. Similarly, we tend to forget even colour dreams. Most of the contents for our dreams come from the previous day’s affairs.
Women dream of both males and females. They revolve around relationships. Men usually dream of women. Sometimes their dreams will show aggression, professional success and failure. Whatever you dream there is magic in your dreams!
