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| Understanding Your Dreams |
The meaning of dreams has been of interest to humanity throughout history. Dreams come to us in various forms that range from frightening to erotic. We experience images, sounds, sensations, and voices in our dreams that we cannot influence or control. Do our dreams have special meanings? Are they brought on by incidents that have affected our lives today or possibly sometime in the past?
There are many theories on why we dream, where dreams originate, or even why dreams occur in the brain. It is not clear what the neurological cause is or what phase of sleep dreaming occurs. Many believe dreams are reflections of the unconscious, and some are predictions of the future or even messages from God. Some have interpreted many dreams of a bizarre nature as divine gifts, letters from the past, or predictions of the future. Dreams often inspire artistic and other forms of inspiration.
According to most scientists, dreams occur with equal frequency in most people. The ability to recall the dream varies significantly with individuals, however. Most goals, it is believed, occur during (REM) sleep, which is a form of sleep experienced in the latter portion of the sleep cycle.
Both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung identify dreams as an interaction between the unconscious and the conscious. They both agreed that the unconscious mind is the dominant force of the dream. Jung argued that the dream’s bizarre quality is an efficient language, comparable to poetry and uniquely capable of revealing the underlying meaning. While Freud felt there was active censorship against the unconscious even during sleep.
Lucid Dreams
Many books, charts, dream dictionaries and even dream software programs are available today for those wishing to understand the meaning of their dreams. The most popular and most intriguing books are about lucid dreaming. A lucid dream is one where the dreamer recognizes they are in a dream and can control it. There are many forms of lucid dreams, having in common that at some point in the dream, the dreamer recognizes the experience as a dream. Lucid dreamers have the power to prevent their dreams and are capable of creating many fantasies such as making new objects appear, changing their form, or even flying. While lucid dreaming has been proven to exist, frequent lucid dreaming requires much practice and dedication. Many people practice specific techniques of lucid dreaming for personal or spiritual purposes.
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