I have always had strange dreams so the fact that I dreamt that I was telling a mischievous spirit to move into the light by banging these rolled up cloth sticks in order to open another dimension comes as no surprise.
But, the profoundness and vividness of this dream got me thinking today. Where do our dreams really come from?
Dreams were actually the first way in which people diagnosed medical conditions. In the Ancient times, those suffering from sickness would be taken to dream chambers and then ‘doctors’ would analyze their dreams in order to discover what was wrong with them.
Many felt that dreams were the way in which the gods connected with humans however, as the scientific age dawned, many put dreams down to nothing more than subconscious manifestations that had little meaning.
The Freud/Jung dream theory stated that dreams simply come from within our psyche and expose the unconscious mind. They believed that dreams held no messages or prophetic guidance but instead, just revealed the many thoughts going through the mind.
It’s hard to ignore however, how many great ideas came from dreams. Many objects, songs and stories were birthed through dreams such as the sewing machine, the melody for the Beatles song, “Yesterday”, The Periodic Table and many of Stephen King’s novels.
Whether we admit it or not, dreams can not only change our moods but they can also change our lives and the way in which we perceive the world.
Whether we remember them or not, the average person dreams four times a night with the most intense dreams occurring in the REM stage of sleep.
A recent study published by the Neuro-imaging Lab at UC Berkely, found that dreams help us to understand complex emotions and are crucial for overall health and social functioning.
While there is no scientific proof on the deeper purpose of dreams, many believe that they offer a look into a different dimension and reveal subconscious thoughts and patterns that hold clues to enhance your life. This is because when you are sleeping you are completely relaxed and therefore you become more open to messages from your spirit guides or God.
Some also believe that when you dream, your spirit leaves your body or astral projects.
While scientists do not believe that astral projection is real, many practicers swear by it.
Astral projection is very similar to an out of body experience where you can lift up out of your body and then experience the world from an ethereal perspective. Many people believe that through astral projection they have been able to travel to different planes and encounter other entities.
“Dreams are one of the greatest mysteries of mankind,” states John Paul Jackson, a dream interpreter. “Understanding dreams can give answers to life’s problems, if you learn to grasp their meaning.”
While there are many “dream dictionaries” I have found that dream analysis is completely unique to each person. Often, objects appear just as symbols and our individual interpretation of these symbols are often clues to what the dream may mean.
If you are interested in learning to decipher your dreams, I highly recommend keeping a dream journal. By writing down your dreams you can look back at patterns and relate it to your waking life to see how it all fits together.
