Last night I had a dream about a friend I haven't spoken to nor really thought about in quite some time. I won't go into the details of the dream other than the exchanges between myself and this person weren't pleasant in it. This really left me puzzled when I awoke because I'm not at odds with this person, and as I said before, I haven't really talked to or even thought about this person in quite some time.
I know sometimes dreams can be triggered from what is dominating our thoughts. Often I've fallen asleep deep in thought, only to have those same thoughts and themes be part of some dream sequence. While science doesn't offer much of an explanation in the phenomena of dreams, it is relatively easy to draw a line connecting ones' immediate thoughts to things that might appear in a dream. This, however, does not explain the appearance of things not on ones' mind entering into a dream. Essentially, this is like saying the mind is involuntarily pushing thoughts and images to the forefront.
That's all scientific, though, and of course there's always a spiritual element to be looked at when it comes to dreams. As someone of faith and a believer in Jesus, I definitely can acknowledge both the significance and purpose of dreams. In the Bible there are many times where God spoke to people through dreams, and if we are to believe things can/are the same today as they have always been then it's not far-fetched to say this can and is still going on today, and that God could speak to any of us through dreams.
While this offers some insight on dreams, I still don't think it totally answers this question in the title, "What are dreams?"
I don't know if everyone experiences this, but I feel as though I have dreams most nights - some nights even multiple, separate dreams because I'm a restless sleeper. If I were to go with, "God speaks through dreams," as the only answer, does that mean that there literally has to be a message in every single dream I have? If so, that seems a bit far-fetched to me, or is it I am missing something in thinking that? This also seems like a bit of a stretch because of the nature of some dreams I have. For instance, does this mean my nightmares have meanings, too? Are dreams just some representation of inner spiritual battles or grander things going on in the world around me?
If there's no spiritual explanation, then what of a scientific one? How does the mind produce images it doesn't know? How can people and places I haven't been actively thinking about appear in a dream?
What are your thoughts on dreams?
Years ago, I spoke with someone from a School of Metaphysics. Everyone in your dream represents some aspect of yourself, she said. So this friend in your dream may represent a side of yourself you're struggling with? She also said when we dream of lost loved ones who do not speak in the dream, we are being visited by the spirit of whoever died. I want to believe this! I often dream I walk into the old house and there Grandma and Aunt Malita are, smiling, and I'm always so happy to see them, and so pleasantly surprised. They never speak! Ever! (Oddly, Grandpa does not show up with them in these dreams. Ever. And I don't like to think about what that means in Christian theology.)
That's a very interesting concept. I've had dreams before where there literally multiple versions of me in them that I had to "overcome" so it certainly wouldn't seem too far-fetched from a metaphorical perspective either. I also have a lot of recurring dreams that take place in my childhood home, but I imagine that's common for most people as it is a familiar place. It's really fascinating when you think about these things!
Our brain tends to get lazy, so we dream about the things we first knew. The people we first met.
Mothers represent inner authority, Fathers represent external authority (so I'm told),
Animals = Bad Habits (ever dream your house is over-run with cats, rats, bears, lions?)
Snakes, however, represent wisdom.
Or something like that.
I do have dreams where there are definitely animals (usually they're hostile towards me). This sounds strange I'm sure but a common one are alligators, which is odd because I don't live in an area where they are common.
Well, there must be other interpretations besides bad habits... otherwise, you might have to face up to just how bad your bad habits may be :wink: