Dreams have always been a mystery since the beginning of time. Though out time there has been many guesses behind the reasons for dreaming. Some say that our dreams are messages from our unconscious mind to our conscious. The messages are able to guide us and lead us in the right path. Others believe that a dream is just a dream with no real significance behind it.
Many have gone as far to think that our dreams are prophetic that are set from higher powers. As far as dreams and dreaming goes your guess is good as the next person. Dream interpretation and symbolism is a popular subject, and some dreams seem to permeate our society. Whatever they are, dreams are still a mystery to scientists. What is their purpose, if they have one? Why do we dream at all?
Scientists are just beginning to learn about the function of sleep, and dreaming. Some researchers suggest that dreams serve no real purpose, while other believe that dreaming is essential to mental, emotional and physical well-being. Ernest Hoffman, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Newton Wellesley Hospital in Boston, Mass., suggests that “a possible (though certainly not proven) function of a dream to be weaving new material into the memory system in a way that both reduces emotional arousal and is adaptive in helping us cope with further trauma or stressful events.”
Why Do We Dream?
Psychoanalytic: There are several popular theories surrounding why we dream: psychoanalytic and activation-synthesis are the most popular.Consistent with the psychoanalytic perspective, Sigmund Freud’s theory of dreams suggested that dreams were a representation of unconscious desires, thoughts and motivations. According to Freud’s psychoanalytic view of personality, people are driven by aggressive and sexual instincts that are repressed from conscious awareness.
While these thoughts are not consciously expressed, Freud suggested that they find their way into our awareness via dreams. Freud wrote that dreams are “disguised fulfillment’s of repressed wishes.” He also described two different components of dreams: manifest content and latent content. Manifest content is the actual images, thoughts and content contained within the dream, while the latent content is the hidden psychological meaning of the dream.
Activation-Synthesis: According to this theory, circuits in the brain become activated during REM sleep, the brain synthesizes and interprets this internal activity and attempts to find meaning in these signals, which results in dreaming. Basically, the brain will interpret the meaningless signals and imposes a story on top of them — resulting in the fragmented and nonsensical nature of some dreams.
This model suggests that dreams are a subjective interpretation of signal generated by the brain during sleep. This does not mean that dreams are meaningless; in fact, a by-product of this process may be the development of new and unique ideas. The idea of dreams contributing to new ideas has merit, as there have been several notable dreams that contributed to inventions:
Frankenstein Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was inspired by a dream: “I saw the pale student of unhallowed arts kneeling beside the thing he had put together. I saw the hideous phantasm of a man stretched out, and then, on the working of some powerful engine, show signs of life, and stir with an uneasy, half-vital motion. Frightful must it be; for supremely frightful would be the effect of any human endeavor to mock the stupendous Creator of the world.”
The sewing machine Elias Howe invented the sewing machine in 1845. He had the idea of a machine with a needle which would go through a piece of cloth but he couldn’t figure out exactly how it would work. In his dream cannibals were preparing to cook him and they were dancing around the fire waving their spears.
Howe noticed at the head of each spear there was a small hole through the shaft and the up and down motion of the spears and the hole remained with him when he woke. The idea of passing the thread through the needle close to the point was a major innovation in making mechanical sewing possible.
Benzene The scientist Friedrich August discovered the seemingly impossible chemical structure of benzene (C6H6) when he had a dream of a group of snakes swallowing their tails.
Yesterday Paul McCartney claims to have composed the melody for the Beatles’ song “Yesterday” in a dream; the song has since become the most recorded song in the history of popular music.
Dream Interpretation
Dream interpretation has been a popular practice in spirituality for millennia. It was practiced through most of the world, and most religions have some semblance of dream interpretation.
Dream interpretation was taken up as part of psychoanalysis at the end of the 19th century; the perceived, manifest content of a dream is analyzed to reveal its latent meaning to the psyche of the dreamer.
One of the seminal works on the subject is The Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud. At Dream Dictionary we can analyze all of your dreams and dreams symbols.
Here at dreamdictioanry.org we offer thousands of translated dream words to help you tune into your unconscious. Opening the mysterious door will lead you into a world of truth, fantasy and a connection to ‘the self’.
I had a dream about I was at my house but on the street. I was trying to fly, but while I flied I almost moved like a jellyfish. Trying to propel myself through the air. I had no idea why I couldn’t fly. I got up like 20 feet after a lot of struggling but then basically just hung in the air trying so hard but getting no where.
I had a dream last night where a black figure was driving me up this hill I was in the back seat a memorable part was that the figure was on the right side when normally you drive on the left. The hill was getting steeper and the road was getting smaller I kept screaming and trying to open the door but it was closed I remember feeling like I couldn’t breathe. We were approaching these woods and then it all stopped. But I didn’t wake instead the plot changed. I got up from my bed next to my dog.… Read more »
I would like to try to say a few things that comes to my mind. I am not a pro, but generally I understand my own dreams, and I have a read number of very solid books on dream interpretation in the past, though many years ago. I use this dictionary to try to better understand the symbolism that often manifests itself. There are some archetypical symbols that appears in your dreams, like the number “12”. The number 12 to me represents something complete, and could also a have religious/spiritual meaning. There are 12 months in a year. That’s a… Read more »
I really didn’t mean to sound too confident, some people will probably disapprove, and dream interpretation is not my business for sure.
I think you really did an amazing job. Don’t sell yourself short, and even if you are wrong, it’s fine!
I have weird dreams like that me and my old girlfriend who passed away became cops and world hero. Is that normal?
My interpretation is that you wanted to do so much with her. Now that you are not able to, your mind is trying to cope with her loss, trying to put you in a situation where you do big things with her. Something you can’t do now.
Both my parents are dead. I keep having the same dream where my dad or mom come back alive and we are talking and the situations are different but the same ending where they are going to die again. I go through the grieving process and then they die again.
It probably means, Your parent are watching over you and protecting you in your waking life. They are sending you messages.
I had a dream that I lived in my church and i could shape-shift so i shape shifted into a girl and I found out (in the dream) that i had permanently disfigured a man when I was five by dropping some sharped pencils on him by accident.
It could be that you are unhappy with some aspect of yourself. That you want to be someone else. The disfigured man could relate to this, your own mind shaming you for who you are, that you are not a good person because you hurt the man.
I dreamt that I was in the Garten of Banban. Somehow it was different and the entities actually acted like actual mascots and teachers
I dreamt about plants that were alive and had teeth and that turned people into plants like themselves if they bit them.
I dreamed an old lady was trying to kill a little girl. I saved the little girl but killed the old lady and stuffed her in a suitcase.
I am totally not an expert, but I think If I had to guess. I think the old lady and the little girl represent you and your past or younger self. Your older self is now trying to eradicate and erase aspects of your younger self, but you don’t want to. You want to keep several aspects from your younger self and/or life.
So I had a dream my grandma took my uncle somewhere she told me don’t cause trouble. I was at the center ended up at a store on a small wagon car driving inside causing trouble. And people who where shopping there just look at me weird with a smile finally the workers try catching me chasing me away and I drive spin around outside in circles and left. I ended up in another store and I was driving around workers trying to chase after me dropping stuff and finally after chasing me tryna catch me I ended up outside… Read more »
I had a dream 3 days ago that I came home and I was told that a strange person is scaring my family. I then saw myself and 2 others turned into hunters. I was about to hunt down an antelope and pig but I was told not to kill the antelope and the pig, I was told to use net to catch it. Walking up, I received a message that my dad has few hours to die and at night, he died. And last night, I saw that me and my hunters group helped a missing person find his… Read more »
I dreamed my life partner was walking crooked towards me.
First I’ll say I normally only have two types of dreams: one normally happens down the road in tell life and the other are normally strange but also normally signs. I’ve never had any dreams of rats before except for last night. I’m sitting in my house then all of a sudden my daughter who is 6. Starts screaming “there’s a rat” I run and chase it and catch it with my hands. I think I go to throw it outside but I’m not sure.
Today I had a three-sided dream in one sleep I was at an extremely nice academic center where I was on the top floor and there were two doors with the name “Dave” on them and I only peeked inside one door in which I saw a 30+ guy talking and then I transitioned to my next dream In, the “second” dream I was a drug dealer in a magical school where the 7 proctors who could do real magic were searching for the perpetrator and one of them dressed in blue and was very empathetic, the other dressed in… Read more »
I read that dreams with snakes represent the hidden parts in our life. Our subconsious mind associates snakes with fear and hidden things.So when we have hidden fears in our waking life these can present themselves in dreams with snakes.
Today is July 21st, 2022. I had a dream of a two-headed white snake. when I got up it was sharp 5 am. I saw a two-headed white snake, huge like a python, and making a circle. It was in my bedroom just in front of the door. My mother was near to it. So, I pulled my mother out of the room thinking it might bite her. It has a blunt tail like its body. and its tail was a few inches folded inside. Then I took a big glass bottle of Olive oil and smashed its one head.… Read more »
I had a dream that a big black snake was across me while i was sleeping then i wanted to strangle it but all of a sudden my brother came to me and stopped me and he said the snake was not harming me or showed any sign of wanting to fight me and i let it go what could this dream mean