Imagine a weird dream. You are attending a formal banquet with many people in a luxury hotel ballroom. Everyone ate happily, dancing and chatting together. But when it comes time to leave, your wallet is gone. As you anxiously search for your wallet, an extremely fast-flowing river suddenly appears, dividing the room in two. Your wallet is floating on the river, but you can’t reach it, it’s moving too fast. When you wake up, you panic.
If you put your dreams into an online dream analyzer, you will find that wallets are symbols of wealth and resources, hotels represent transitions, and rivers represent emotions. Since you’ve been remodeling your kitchen recently with some financial stress and turmoil, this dream reflects and amplifies everything that’s happening to you in real life.
1. What is a dream
We all dream, and scientists believe that most mammals and some birds also dream. At its most basic level, dreams are images, sounds, or other sensations that you imagine while you sleep, an internal mental process that is actually much more than that.
Sigmund Freud theorized that dreams are an expression of repressed thoughts during waking hours. According to Carl Jung, dreams provide information about the “lost” or “neglected” parts of our self that we need to rebuild.
Many dreams arise simply from focusing on everyday activities. But some dreams offer rich symbolic expression—the interface between the conscious and the unconscious, filling in the gaps in our self-perception and providing information and insights.
Robert Moss writes in his book, “Dreams are open prospects full of possibilities that push us beyond the beliefs and behaviors of our everyday self-limiting. In what we think we are dreaming When a lover, a dream home, or a dream job doesn’t come true, we want to take a closer look to see if our dreams can help us manifest this vivid vision.”
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
2. Reasons for dreaming
Everyone dreams every night—even if we don’t remember our dreams.
Scarmel, MD, associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, says no one knows why we dream. One possibility speculated by the research community is that dreaming gives us the opportunity to practice things we might or might never do, such as escape or fight off predators.
A night of about 90 minutes of sleep, called REM sleep, occurs 3-4 times a night. During REM sleep, the brain is more active. According to Scammell, REM sleep is suitable for “more storytelling” dreams that are action, complex and emotional.
“If you wake up at the end of REM sleep, you’re most likely to recall a dream. People who are chronically sleep-deprived may miss some REM sleep. bring stress.
Therefore, you may experience more REM sleep and more intense dreams when you catch up on sleep.
3. The value of dreams
Scientists have long debated whether dreams are meaningful. However, those who interpret dreams independently or with the help of a dream interpreter believe that understanding dreams can provide meaningful clues about feelings, thoughts, behaviors, motivations, and values.
Artists, entrepreneurs, inventors and scientists often get their ideas from dreams. Nobel Prize-winning scientist Wolfgang Pauli called dreams his “secret laboratory”.
Kelly Sullivan Walden is a certified clinical hypnotherapist and dream coach. In her writings, she classifies dreams into eight categories:
processing;
Vent;
Integration;
Breakdown/Breakthrough;
recurring;
Foreknowledge;
Foreshadowing;
Wish fulfilled.
She says the most common category is recurring and venting dreams.
Some of our dreams are realistic perspective miniatures of what’s going on inside our bodies. A friend saw her dead father appearing in front of her in a dream, next to a doctor shouting ‘Go to the doctor now! You have breast cancer! ’, she went to the doctor based on the dream, and she felt that the dream saved her life.
A West Coast media manager at a law firm feels pregnancy has added to the tension and vividness of her dreams, “Last night I dreamed that I was standing at the airport cordon and couldn’t find License. I woke up in extreme panic and it took a while to realize the dream wasn’t real.”
4. Worry about weird dreams
How to understand the crazy dreams of adults?
Duke University professor and cognitive scientist Irving Flanagan wrote: “The more you think, the more bizarre your dreams become.”
The former president of the International Association for the Study of Dreams said that all dreams are a bit strange according to the standard of awakening the mind. “But we call the dreams of artists and scientists bizarre or unthinkable because they are verypositive, fun, or creative potential.”
Crazy dreams can be very devious, using wild drama and special effects to make us remember and notice what we’ve been blocking, or just to relax.
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
5. Interpreting dreams
We can all recall weird dreams. But interpreting and understanding dreams can be a little tricky.
Some of the most common dreams include losing teeth (indicating possible fear of aging or death), falling (loss of confidence or security threats), or being exposed in public (feeling vulnerable or showing weakness). These are examples of archetypal dreams that span time, culture, and human existence.
But most dreams are very personal. Dreams reflect the dreamer’s underlying thoughts and feelings. Dreaming of a lion, for example, may mean different things to a circus performer than a teenager who claims that the lion is her favorite stuffed animal. The meaning of the dream can be deciphered by examining the elements of each dream and looking for similarities between the associations.
You can explore dreams alone, with a peer-led dream group, or with friends. “We often turn a blind eye to our own problems and connections. But others can see it objectively”.
Another tip is to be aware of puns and double meanings. If in a dream there is a train on the rails, it may be that you are thinking about which ‘track’ you are on and which ‘route’ you are following.
6. Repeated dreams
Repetitive dreams can last for days, weeks, months, or even years. Most people have a recurring dream throughout their life, and these dreams are more important than other dreams. It could be that your subconscious is trying to tell you something.
The most repeatable dreams are post-traumatic dreams, in which you relive what happened while you were awake. Soldiers or victims of violence may have these repetitive dreams.
Another type of recurring dream is a trauma you haven’t experienced in real life. “These dreams include monsters and bizarre impossible scenarios that are more metaphorical.
Should we worry about recurring dreams? This is only a concern if the content of the dream is disturbing. Seeking help from a therapist is recommended for disturbing post-traumatic stress dreams.
7. Improve dream memory
Some people can remember a few dreams at night, while others have only occasional recollections of dreams or no dreams at all.
Dreams vary widely in content, including intensity and recall. Interestingly, women, younger adults, and those who slept longer had better dream recall.
Dreams are by their very nature uncontrollable. But there are a few things we can do to improve dream memory:
Get enough sleep: The longer you sleep, the more REM sleep you have, so you will have more dreams and are more likely to remember them.
Use the power of suggestion: Experts recommend reminding yourself to remember your dreams before you fall asleep.
Keep a journal: Keep pen and paper or a tape recorder by your bed so you can jot down your dreams when you wake up without getting out of bed. If not recorded immediately, dreams can become forgettable and difficult to remember.
Stay curious: When you wake up, lie still and keep quiet to see if you can recall the dream. Keep an open mind, read books about dreams, and have active discussions with friends and family.
Limit drug and alcohol intake: Sleep and dreaming can be affected by alcohol. Medications, including antidepressants, can induce frantic dreams and even nightmares.
Image source: Zhanku Hailuo
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