DREAMS

INTRODUCTION:

A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur
involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. The content and purpose of dreams are
not fully understood, although they have been a topic of scientific, philosophical and religious
interest throughout recorded history. Dream interpretation is the attempt at drawing meaning
from dreams and searching for an underlying message. The scientific study of dreams is called
oneirology.

Dreams mainly occur in the rapid-eye movement (REM) stage of sleep—when brain activity is
high and resembles that of being awake. REM sleep is revealed by continuous movements of the
eyes during sleep. At times, dreams may occur during other stages of sleep. However, these
dreams tend to be much less vivid or memorable. The length of a dream can vary; they may last
for a few seconds, or approximately 20–30 minutes. People are more likely to remember the
dream if they are awakened during the REM phase. The average person has three to five dreams
per night, and some may have up to seven; however, most dreams are immediately or quickly
forgotten. Dreams tend to last longer as the night progresses. During a full eight-hour night sleep,
most dreams occur in the typical two hours of REM. Dreams related to waking-life experiences
are associated with REM theta activity, which suggests that emotional memory processing takes
place in REM sleep.

Opinions about the meaning of dreams have varied and shifted through time and culture. Many
endorse the Freudian theory of dreams – that dreams reveal insight into hidden desires and
emotions.[qualify evidence] Other prominent theories include those suggesting that dreams
assist in memory formation, problem solving, or simply are a product of random brain activation.

Sigmund Freud, who developed the psychological discipline of psychoanalysis, wrote extensively
about dream theories and their interpretations in the early 1900s. He explained dreams as
manifestations of one's deepest desires and anxieties, often relating to repressed childhood
memories or obsessions. Furthermore, he believed that virtually every dream topic, regardless
of its content, represented the release of sexual tension. In The Interpretation of Dreams (1899),
Freud developed a psychological technique to interpret dreams and devised a series of guidelines
to understand the symbols and motifs that appear in our dreams. In modern times, dreams have
been seen as a connection to the unconscious mind. They range from normal and ordinary to
overly surreal and bizarre. Dreams can have varying natures, such as being frightening, exciting,
magical, melancholic, adventurous, or sexual. The events in dreams are generally outside the
control of the dreamer, with the exception of lucid dreaming, where the dreamer is self-aware.
Dreams can at times make a creative thought occur to the person or give a sense of inspiration.

ANCIENT HISTORY:

The Dreaming is a common term within the animist creation narrative of indigenous Australians
for a personal, or group, creation and for what may be understood as the "timeless time" of
formative creation and perpetual creating.

The ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia have left evidence of dream interpretation dating back
to at least 3100 BC. Throughout Mesopotamian history, dreams were always held to be extremely
important for divination and Mesopotamian kings paid close attention to them. Gudea, the king
of the Sumerian city-state of Lagash (reigned c. 2144–2124 BC), rebuilt the temple of Ningirsu as
the result of a dream in which he was told to do so. The standard Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh
contains numerous accounts of the prophetic power of dreams. First, Gilgamesh himself has two
dreams foretelling the arrival of Enkidu. Later, Enkidu dreams about the heroes' encounter with
the giant Humbaba. Dreams were also sometimes seen as a means of seeing into other worlds
and it was thought that the soul, or some part of it, moved out of the body of the sleeping person
and actually visited the places and persons the dreamer saw in his or her sleep. In Tablet VII of
the epic, Enkidu recounts to Gilgamesh a dream in which he saw the gods Anu, Enlil, and Shamash
condemn him to death. He also has a dream in which he visits the Underworld.

The Assyrian king Ashurnasirpal II (reigned 883–859 BC) built a temple to Mamu, possibly the god
of dreams, at Imgur-Enlil, near Kalhu. The later Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (reigned 668–c. 627
BC) had a dream during a desperate military situation in which his divine patron, the goddess
Ishtar, appeared to him and promised that she would lead him to victory. The Babylonians and
Assyrians divided dreams into "good," which were sent by the gods, and "bad," sent by demons.
A surviving collection of dream omens entitled Iškar Zaqīqu records various dream scenarios as
well as prognostications of what will happen to the person who experiences each dream,
apparently based on previous cases. Some list different possible outcomes, based on occasions
in which people experienced similar dreams with different results. Dream scenarios mentioned
include a variety of daily work events, journeys to different locations, family matters, sex acts,
and encounters with human individuals, animals, and deities.

In ancient Egypt, as far back as 2000 BC, the Egyptians wrote down their dreams on papyrus.
People with vivid and significant dreams were thought to be blessed and were considered special.
Ancient Egyptians believed that dreams were like oracles, bringing messages from the gods. They
thought that the best way to receive divine revelation was through dreaming and thus they would
induce (or "incubate") dreams. Egyptians would go to sanctuaries and sleep on special "dream
beds" in hope of receiving advice, comfort, or healing from the gods.

CLASSICAL HISTORY:

In Chinese history, people wrote of two vital aspects of the soul of which one is freed from the body
during slumber to journey in a dream realm, while the other remained in the body, although this belief
and dream interpretation had been questioned since early times, such as by the philosopher Wang
Chong (27–97 AD). The Indian text Upanishads, written between 900 and 500 BC, emphasizes two
meanings of dreams. The first says that dreams are merely expressions of inner desires. The second
is the belief of the soul leaving the body and being guided until awakened.

The Greeks shared their beliefs with the Egyptians on how to interpret good and bad dreams, and the
idea of incubating dreams. Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams, also sent warnings and prophecies
to those who slept at shrines and temples. The earliest Greek beliefs about dreams were that their
gods physically visited the dreamers, where they entered through a keyhole, exiting the same way
after the divine message was given.

Antiphon wrote the first known Greek book on dreams in the 5th century BC. In that century, other
cultures influenced Greeks to develop the belief that souls left the sleeping body. Hippocrates (469–
399 BC) had a simple dream theory: during the day, the soul receives images; during the night, it
produces images. Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) believed dreams caused physiological
activity. He thought dreams could analyze illness and predict diseases. Marcus Tullius Cicero, for his
part, believed that all dreams are produced by thoughts and conversations a dreamer had during the
preceding days. Cicero's Somnium Scipionis described a lengthy dream vision, which in turn was
commented on by Macrobius in his Commentarii in Somnium Scipionis.

Herodotus in his The Histories, writes "The visions that occur to us in dreams are, more often than
not, the things we have been concerned about during the day."

In Welsh history, The Dream of Rhonabwy (Welsh: Breuddwyd Rhonabwy) is a Middle Welsh prose
tale. Set during the reign of Madog ap Maredudd, prince of Powys (died 1160), it is dated to the late
12th or 13th century. It survives in only one manuscript, the Red Book of Hergest, and has been
associated with the Mabinogion since its publication by Lady Charlotte Guest in the 19th century. The
bulk of the narrative describes a dream vision experienced by its central character, Rhonabwy, a
retainer of Madog, in which he visits the time of King Arthur.

Also in Welsh history, the tale 'The Dream of Macsen Wledig' is a romanticised story about the Roman
emperor Magnus Maximus, called Macsen Wledig in Welsh. Born in Hispania, he became a legionary
commander in Britain, assembled a Celtic army and assumed the title of Emperor of the Western
Roman Empire in 383. He was defeated in battle in 385 and beheaded at the direction of the Eastern
Roman emperor.

RELIGIOUS VIEWS:

1. IN ABRAHAMIC RELIGIONS

Jacob's dream of a ladder of angels, c. 1690, by Michael Willmann. In Judaism, dreams are
considered part of the experience of the world that can be interpreted and from which lessons
can be garnered. It is discussed in the Talmud, Tractate Berachot 55–60.

The ancient Hebrews connected their dreams heavily with their religion, though the Hebrews
were monotheistic and believed that dreams were the voice of one God alone. Hebrews also
differentiated between good dreams (from God) and bad dreams (from evil spirits). The Hebrews,
like many other ancient cultures, incubated dreams in order to receive a divine revelation. For
example, the Hebrew prophet Samuel would "lie down and sleep in the temple at Shiloh before
the Ark and receive the word of the Lord." Most of the dreams in the Bible are in the Book of
Genesis.
Christians mostly shared the beliefs of the Hebrews and thought that dreams were of a
supernatural character because the Old Testament includes frequent stories of dreams with
divine inspiration. The most famous of these dream stories was Jacob's dream of a ladder that
stretches from Earth to Heaven. Many Christians preach that God can speak to people through
their dreams. The famous glossary, the Somniale Danielis, written in the name of Daniel,
attempted to teach Christian populations to interpret their dreams.

Iain R. Edgar has researched the role of dreams in Islam. He has argued that dreams play an
important role in the history of Islam and the lives of Muslims, since dream interpretation is the
only way that Muslims can receive revelations from God since the death of the last prophet,
Muhammad.

2. IN HINDUISM

In the Mandukya Upanishad, part of the Veda scriptures of Indian Hinduism, a dream is one of
three states that the soul experiences during its lifetime, the other two states being the waking
state and the sleep state.

3. IN BUDDHISM

In Buddhism, ideas about dreams are similar to the classical and folk traditions in South Asia. The
same dream is sometimes experienced by multiple people, as in the case of the Buddha-to-be,
before he is leaving his home. It is described in the Mahāvastu that several of the Buddha's
relatives had premonitory dreams preceding this. Some dreams are also seen to transcend time:
the Buddha-to-be has certain dreams that are the same as those of previous Buddhas, the
Lalitavistara states. In Buddhist literature, dreams often function as a "signpost" motif to mark
certain stages in the life of the main character.

4. DREAMS AND PHILOSOPHICAL REALISM

A Dream of a Girl Before a Sunrise by Karl Bryullov (1830–1833). Some philosophers have
concluded that what we think of as the "real world" could be or is an illusion (an idea known as
the skeptical hypothesis about ontology).
The first recorded mention of the idea was by Zhuangzi, and it is also discussed in Hinduism,
which makes extensive use of the argument in its writings. It was formally introduced to Western
philosophy by Descartes in the 17th century in his Meditations on First Philosophy. Stimulus,
usually an auditory one, becomes a part of a dream, eventually then awakening the dreamer.

5. POSTCLASSICAL AND MEDIEVEL HISTORY

Some Indigenous American tribes and Mexican civilizations believe that dreams are a way of
visiting and having contact with their ancestors. Some Native American tribes used vision quests
as a rite of passage, fasting and praying until an anticipated guiding dream was received, to be
shared with the rest of the tribe upon their return.

The Middle Ages brought a harsh interpretation of dreams. They were seen as evil, and the
images as temptations from the devil. Many believed that during sleep, the devil could fill the
human mind with corrupting and harmful thoughts. Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer,
believed dreams were the work of the Devil. However, Catholics such as St. Augustine and St.
Jerome claimed that the direction of their lives was heavily influenced by their dreams.

6. IN ART

Jacob's Dream, Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld, 1860.

The depiction of dreams in Renaissance and Baroque art is often related to Biblical narrative.
Examples are Joachim's Dream (1304–1306) from the Scrovegni Chapel fresco cycle by Giotto,
and Jacob's Dream (1639) by Jusepe de Ribera. Dreams and dark imaginings are the theme of
several notable works of the Romantic era, such as Goya's etching The Sleep of Reason Produces
Monsters (c. 1799) and Henry Fuseli's painting The Nightmare (1781). Salvador Dalí's Dream
Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening (1944) also
investigates this theme through absurd juxtapositions of a nude lady, tigers leaping out of a
pomegranate, and a spiderlike elephant walking in the background. Henri Rousseau's last
painting was The Dream. Le Rêve ("The Dream") is a 1932 painting by Pablo Picasso.
7.IN LITERATURE

Dream frames were frequently used in medieval allegory to justify the narrative; The Book of the
Duchess and The Vision Concerning Piers Plowman are two such dream visions. Even before
them, in antiquity, the same device had been used by Cicero and Lucian of Samosata.

The Cheshire Cat vanishes in Wonderland.They have also featured in fantasy and speculative
fiction since the 19th century. One of the best-known dream worlds is Wonderland from Lewis
Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, as well as Looking-Glass Land from its sequel,
Through the Looking-Glass. Unlike many dream worlds, Carroll's logic is like that of actual dreams,
with transitions and flexible causality.

Other fictional dream worlds include the Dreamlands of H.P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle and The
Neverending Story's world of Fantasia, which includes places like the Desert of Lost Dreams, the
Sea of Possibilities and the Swamps of Sadness. Dreamworlds, shared hallucinations and other
alternate realities feature in a number of works by Philip K. Dick, such as The Three Stigmata of
Palmer Eldritch and Ubik. Similar themes were explored by Jorge Luis Borges, for instance in The
Circular Ruins.

8.IN POPULAR CULTURE

Modern popular culture often conceives of dreams, like Freud, as expressions of the dreamer's
deepest fears and desires. The film version of The Wizard of Oz (1939) depicts a full-color dream
that causes Dorothy to perceive her black-and-white reality and those with whom she shares it
in a new way. In films such as Spellbound (1945), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), and
Inception (2010), the protagonists must extract vital clues from surreal dreams.

Most dreams in popular culture are, however, not symbolic, but straightforward and realistic
depictions of their dreamer's fears and desires. Dream scenes may be indistinguishable from
those set in the dreamer's real world, a narrative device that undermines the dreamer's and the
audience's sense of security and allows horror film protagonists, such as those of Carrie (1976),
Friday the 13th (1980) or An American Werewolf in London (1981) to be suddenly attacked by
dark forces while resting in seemingly safe places.
In speculative fiction, the line between dreams and reality may be blurred even more in the
service of the story. Dreams may be psychically invaded or manipulated (Dreamscape, 1984; the
Nightmare on Elm Street films, 1984–2010; Inception, 2010) or even come literally true (as in The
Lathe of Heaven, 1971). In Ursula K. Le Guin's book, The Lathe of Heaven (1971), the protagonist
finds that his "effective" dreams can retroactively change reality. Peter Weir's 1977 Australian
film The Last Wave makes a simple and straightforward postulate about the premonitory nature
of dreams (from one of his Aboriginal characters) that "... dreams are the shadow of something
real". In Kyell Gold's novel Green Fairy from the Dangerous Spirits series, the protagonist, Sol,
experiences the memories of a dancer who died 100 years before through Absinthe induced
dreams and after each dream something from it materializes into his reality. Such stories play to
audiences' experiences with their own dreams, which feel as real to them.

TYPES OF DREAMS:

1.DAYDREAMS:

You spend an average of 70-120 minutes a day, daydreaming or fantasizing from a perspective
that transcends normal perception. Between consciousness and the sleep state is an area that
allows the imagination to wander. As your level of awareness decreases, you lose your sense of
self. You may revisit the past, or explore the future, and in doing so, approach the border of the
dreamscape. All the while, consciousness keeps pulling you back into the present.

2. LUCID DREAMS:

Lucid dreams occur when you ‘wake up’ while dreaming. Sometimes this sudden sense of
knowing you are dreaming allows you to do fantastic things like fly over the houses you see. Many
people actually wake themselves up within the dream to remain in this lucid state to explore how
they can influence dreams. This ability to achieve the lucid dream state is an important initiation
into mastering the power of thought and its ability to influence events.
3. NIGHTMARES:

The nightmare often causes you to wake up in a state of panic with your heart racing. Not wanting
to go back to sleep, the memory of the dream appears all too real. Sometimes a dream can reflect
actual trauma or an unresolved crisis, although the nightmare is always a WAKE UP CALL to learn
to let go. Whether you are attempting to overcome a real life crisis, or to transcend non-rational
fear, dreaming is a ‘safe place’ that allows these difficult ideas to be explored. Perhaps you cannot
recognize that ‘you are on the wrong path,’ and so, the nightmare may recur until the situation
is resolved. Nature appears to empower the strength of all of its creatures. In keeping you
authentic and open to growth, it asks only that you let go of what can no longer serve you.

A nightmare can be as simple as ‘leaving something behind’ while you hurry to your destination.
It can be as frightening as actually experiencing death or dismemberment as you awaken to the
idea of letting go. More than any other dream, the nightmare will disturb you so profoundly, that
it cannot be forgotten. It is a natural mechanism, which forces you to confront the truth about
how you are hiding from life. Once these fearful feelings are transformed into authentic power,
the nightmare will not recur. More information on nightmares is available in the Dream
Dictionary.

4. RECURRING DREAMS:

Recurring dreams are story lines or themes that repeat themselves over weeks, months and even
years. Sometimes they leave you feeling puzzled because they seem irrational. Dreams ever seek
to wake you to what you are not facing and the hero's journey of wellness through the
dreamscape is explored in The Mythology of Sleep: The Waking Power of Dreams. Dreams have
a way of forcing consciousness into perplexity, as an important aspect of transformation. At
times, a recurring dream can be extremely frightening. Since dreams are suggesting what you fail
to acknowledge in daily life, whatever you are avoiding or not facing will continue to be the
subject matter of your dream, until it is resolved. Like nightmares, once the puzzle is solved and
the aspect is integrated into consciousness, the dream will not recur. Even the most frightening
dreams are meant to awaken you to your real nature.

5. DREAMS ABOUT HEALING:

Many times vehicle doors, or lower and upper rooms of a house will depict aspects of the body,
offering a message about your health and well-being. The front door can suggest arms, while the
back doors can represent legs. Lighting or electrical circuitry can be neurological, while water
problems can suggest psychological, vascular or ‘plumbing’ issues. The top floor of a building can
represent the head, while the rooms below can suggest various parts of the lower body.

Protecting a ‘treasure’ can signify repression at the root of illness, while searching for a key is
often the clue to wellness. If you are experiencing ‘dis-ease’, where it is taking place in the body
is as important as why. If the left leg is suffering, look for its representation in dreams of ground
floor doors, or lower left portion of a structure or vehicle. Sometimes before a physical
manifestation will appear, you are warned in advance of over indulgence or things that can
impact your wellness. Many therapists recognize repression at the root of illness. Since dreams
portray what you are repressing, they are a profound tool in achieving wellness and balance.

6. PROPHETIC DREAMS:

The ‘dream cycle’ is a lot like ‘myth cycles.’ In our ancient stories, the hero is tested in exotic
landscapes, finding clues in fantastic places. The adventure allows them to uncover the truth
about both, their identity and destiny. Similarly, the changing landscape and clues within a dream
cycle captures the essence of why we dream. When a dream is observed to ‘morph’ into different
landscapes, the dream is described: ‘it seemed like the same dream, but then it changed…’The
dream cycle usually presents the idea of transormation in three stages:

a) The first shows you as ‘the hero’ facing a current life challenge.

b) The second shows the past and the part it played in creating this condition.
c) Finally, you are given a bizarre clue as to how you can transform to meet the future. This
portion has unusual images that will allow you to discover your real identity and therefore, your
destiny. In the first portion, you explore the conflict at hand and are given the symbolism that
can help you understand it objectively. The second landscape usually portrays family members
and symbolism from the past, describing how the current crisis was created. The third portion of
the dream is usually the most bizarre, as the transforming aspect of the psyche pushes you
beyond your static sense of self. This portion can be prophetic or when compared against future
events, will portray actual information that can be validated.

Dreams can be called The Mind’s Mirror because they have a special predisposition for reflecting
aspects of you in a way that is puzzling or strange. The ‘newness’ or bizarre imagery of the
dreamscape provides the innovative perspective that is necessary to achieve transformation. The
third portion of the dream offers information about the ‘missing link’ in overcoming conflict or
crisis.

Understanding your dreams will make more sense to you when once you recognize how dreams
have an uncanny way of breaking through the walls of consciousness. The synchronistic aspect
of the final setting may simply be the result of how your unconscious mind knows what is coming,
before you consciously piece the information together.

7. LIFE CHANGING DREAMS:

During periods when you are actively undergoing transformation, you will experience Great
Dreams or Cosmic Dreams, which are rich in mythological associations. They often portray a
meeting with universal archetypes such as The Great Mother or Wise Man. These dreams affect
you with such emotion and appear so vivid that you remember them for years. In many ways,
you would call them life changing. Revisiting these dream themes to contrast the symbolism
against ancient mythology can present you with a more profound understanding of its message.
See The Mythology of Sleep: The Waking Power of Dreams.
CHARACTERS:

Studies have examined the "characters" that appear in dream reports and how they the dreamer
identifies them.

A study of 320 adult dream reports found:

 Forty-eight percent of characters represented a named person known to the dreamer.

 Sixteen percent were not recognized

Among named characters:

 Thirty-two percent were identified by appearance

Elements of bizarreness were reported in 14 percent of named and generic characters.

Another study investigated the relationship between dream emotion and dream character
identification.

Affection and joy were commonly associated with known characters and were used to identify
them even when these emotional attributes were inconsistent with those of the waking state.

The findings suggest that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, associated with short-term memory,
is less active in the dreaming brain than during waking life, while the paleocortical and subcortical
limbic areas are more active.
THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF DREAM:

1. DREAMS HELP YOU MAKE SENSE OF YOUR DAILY EXPERIENCES:

Some researchers think that dreams serve as theatrical reenactments of real-life situations,
allowing us to digest what’s going on in our lives. In a paper published in the journal Dreaming,
dream researcher G. William Domhoff analyzed 143 reports written by a widower who, over 22
years, had documented his dreams about his deceased wife.

The widower noted that some of the dreams, such as those reenacting marital disagreements,
allowed him to reflect on the couple’s relationship and issues they had struggled with. As
Domhoff pointed out in the study, this is also why dreams could be useful in psychotherapy:
“They provide a platform for talking about painful issues that the client finds difficult to discuss
without first recalling how they were dramatized in a dream.”

2. DREAMS MAY ACT AS SLEEP GUARDIANS:

According to a theory proposed by Freud, dreams may prevent sleep disruption. Other
researchers have tested the famous psychoanalyst’s hypothesis by comparing the frequency of
sleep issues in brain-damaged people with anoneira—loss of the capacity to dream due to the
injury—and in brain-damaged individuals who retained their ability to dream. Indeed, in line with
Freud’s premise, it turned out that the former group tended to experience more slumber
disruption than the latter, wrote the authors of a paper published in the journal Frontiers in
Psychology. (Are you getting enough sleep? Take our sleep deprivation quiz to find out.)

3. DREAMS HELP YOU REMEMBER:

Plenty of research has shown that sleep helps you absorb new information, and there is some
evidence suggesting that dreaming also strengthens memories. In a study published in Current
Biology, researchers asked 99 people to play a virtual reality maze. The investigators tested the
people’s memories by asking them to remember objects in the maze. Half of the participants
then took a nap, and once they woke up, the scientists retested all of the people’s memories of
the maze. The people in the napping group improved more on the test than those in the non-
napping one. However, those who had dreams of the maze during the nap improved 10 times
more than the other participants in the napping group.

4. DREAMS MAY PREPARE YOU TO FACE THREATS:

Researcher Antti Revonsuo claims that dreams prepare us to face real-life threats. In a paper on
the topic, published in Behavioral and Brain Sciences, he cited previous research examining 500
dream reports, which showed that the vast majority of emotions experienced in people’s dreams
were negative. Around half of these emotions fell into the category of “apprehension,” whereas
the other half were labeled as “sadness,” “anger,” and “confusion.” Other studies yielded similar
results, suggesting that negative emotions prevailed in people’s dreams. As counterintuitive as it
may seem, negative emotions, such as fear or panic, actually prepare us to deal with dangerous
scenarios. Dreams that trigger such emotions may, in turn, prime our minds for coping with
threatening situations in real life.

5. DREAMS CAN EVEN PUT YOU IN A BETTER MOOD:

Dreams may be able to regulate one’s mood, according to a study published in Psychiatry
Research. Scientists evaluated the moods of 60 people using a psychological questionnaire twice:
before and after the people got a night’s sleep. The researchers also awakened the participants
from time to time, asking them whether they had any dreams, and, if so, what those dreams
were about. The investigators wanted to see whether sleep and dreams would affect the
participants’ moods. They found that those people who had been in neutral moods at the start
of the experiment did not experience significant changes in their disposition overnight.
REFERENCES:

 https://cafeausoul.com/dreams/inspired-by-dreams/dream-expert-kari-hohne/types-
dreams
 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/284378.php#forgetting-dreams
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dream
 https://www.saatvamattress.com/blog/why-dreams-are-good-for-health/