Dream States - Why Do We Dream?

                              

The theory states that dreams don't actually mean anything. Instead, they are merely electrical brain impulses that pull random thoughts and imagery from our memories. The theory also suggests that humans construct dream stories after they wake up, which (experts claim) is a natural attempt to make sense of it all. Hmm, I'm no so sure about the constructing dream stories part.

 What Do Dreams Mean?

Who among us hasn’t wondered if dreams actually have any meaning? While dreams may be a way of your subconscious mind telling you there is an issue, fear or worry you need to examine within yourself, they are generally thought to be nothing more than a hodgepodge of mental or visual tidbits stored in our brains from various experiences throughout the day or throughout our lives. We have all had those crazy dreams that make absolutely no sense. Personally, I’m not big on trying to delve too deeply into them. I think it best to just accept them for their entertainment value and nothing more.

There are, however, some dreams that may bring us subtle, or not so subtle messages; standing naked in a group of people, being late for an appointment, not being able to find something, missing that final exam, etc. Those kinds of dreams, if frequent, might be worth thinking about. For example, the dream about being naked in a group of people could indicate a fear of public speaking or that the dreamer is self-conscious about his/her body. Dreams about being late could indicate concerns about  frequently being late or not being prepared for something. The dream about missing a final exam or appointment is pretty obvious. The dream may be reminding us that we do tend to be frequently late or unprepared for something, or that we are worrying about being late or unprepared. As if we don't have enough to think and worry about during the day, our dreams may just be another way of worrying about the things we worry about during our waking hours. If we frequently have a certain type of dream, it may be time to address certain issues.

Teeth Dreams
Throughout my life, I have had several recurrent dreams. The earliest I can remember is about being chased by the big bad wolf from Little Red Riding Hood, a typical young child dream or nightmare. As I grew older, I had recurrent dreams about losing my teeth. In the dream, I would be talking and my teeth would start falling out, one by one, making it difficult for me to speak without spitting out teeth.  As a teenager, I was not comfortable speaking in front of my class. As I became a young adult, my job required doing a lot of public speaking, which often caused me to became anxious prior to my speech. I also have a tendency to fly off the handle and blurt things out, uncensored. And lastly, I  have a thing about having nice teeth. It’s probably the first thing I notice when meeting someone. And bad teeth would be the first and final nail in the coffin of a relationship for me. So, as you can see, the falling out teeth dreams have some pretty significant meaning for me.

Precognitive Dreams
With some people, and I stress some as in very few people, dreams may be precognitive or warning dreams. But don't go jumping to conclusions because these types of dreams usually only apply to people who have a highly developed and proven sense of intuition, are gifted in that area or are psychic. If you happen to fall into one of those categories, you may experience precognitive or warning dreams. Otherwise, I wouldn't dwell on them.

Precognitive Dreams are psychic dreams that are said to foretell the future.

Warning Dreams are dreams that alert us to possible danger or problems ahead. But I want to stress that only a minuscule number of people have those types of dreams. So don't go off the deep end trying to give meaning to an unpleasant dream that probably doesn't mean much.

Lucid Dreaming
Lucid dreaming is another interesting type of dreaming. During a lucid dream the dreamer has the ability to consciously observe and control his dreams. The person knows he is dreaming and can control the dream and do whatever he imagines. It is the art of becoming self aware of the dream world. Pretty cool, huh? You cannot do this during a normal dream state.

How It Happens
Lucid dreaming occurs during altered states of consciousness when you realize you are dreaming and your brain switches into waking mode inside the dream. During a normal dream, your self awareness shuts down, causing you to feel fuzzy and distant. During lucid dreaming, the conscious brain wakes up during sleep. Lucid dreaming is a safe and natural state and there is nothing paranormal about it and anyone can experience it. Some researchers believe that out of body experiences are actually the result of a person being in a lucid dream state.

It's Not Daydreaming
The lucid dream state is not to be confused with daydreaming. During a lucid dream the dreamer is asleep, but aware he is dreaming. During a daydream, the daydreamer is totally awake. During a lucid dream the person is always asleep in bed and if he wants to, he can wake himself up.

It's Fun
Lucidity occurs during altered states of consciousness when the person realizes he is dreaming. During a lucid dream the person has the ability to consciously observe and/or control his dreams. His inner dream world is transformed into a living alternate reality where everything he sees, hears, feels tastes and smells is as authentic as as real life. I have had many lucid dreams during my life and they have always been wonderful. In fact, I had one really great lucid dream recently when I was interrupted by someone walking into the bedroom. Fortunately, I was able to continue in the lucid dream state and continue the dream.

Is Lucid Dreaming Real?
Lucid dreaming is not the latest and greatest new age fad. This type of dream state has been scientifically confirmed by electroencephalography (EEG) testing which monitors the electrical activity in the brain during a dream state. In fact, lucid dreaming is nothing new. Tibetan Buddhist monks have been practicing lucid dreaming for at least 1,000 years.

How Do You Do It?
So, now you're curious and wondering how to get yourself into a lucid dream state.  It usually just happens naturally, but the dreamer needs to be very aware he is in a lucid dream state. There are also methods used to induce lucid dreaming. But that's a topic for another blog post. So stay tuned.

A Little Folklore
Native American Indians hang  a dream catcher over the bed of a sleeping person. It is believed that good dreams will fall upon the sleeping person, while the dream catcher will snatch up the bad dreams so they will not effect the dreamer.

Dream Catcher

A Clinical Perspective

According to researchers, the rear portion of our brain gets pretty active during REM sleep, the time when most dreaming occurs. Some researchers think that it's just the brain winding down for the night and that dreams are random and meaningless firings of the brain that we don't have when we're awake.

I generally view dreams as a form of entertainment and occasional inspiration. I tend to attribute the bad ones to an overly active imagination and my nature to worry about every little thing. But sometimes, dreams can bring inspiration. Once, in a dream, I wrote an entire script for a movie. I saw every scene with absolute clarity. It had a great plot and  I think it would have been a great movie. But instead of writing it down immediately when I woke, I dawdled, and then forgot it. Another time I wrote music in a dream which I was able to put on paper and play on the piano. So, it might be worthwhile for creative types of people to pay special attention to their dreams. 

While there may not be a definitive answer about what dreams mean. But it can't hurt to hang a dream catcher over your bed and let your sleeping imagination run wild. But remember to keep a pad and pen next to your bed.

Feel free to share your dreams or have and let's have a conversation about them.