Dreams - Understanding Your Dreams

The meaning of dreams has been of interest to mankind throughout history. Dreams come to us in a variety of forms that range from frightening to erotic. We experience images, sounds, sensations, and voices in our dreams that we are unable to 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 why we dream, where in the brain dreams originate, or even why dreams occur at all. It is not clear what the neurological cause is, or in what phase of sleep dreaming takes place. Many believe dreams are reflections of the unconscious and some that they are predictions of the future or even messages from God. Dreams often inspire artistic and other forms of inspiration. Many dreams of a bizarre or strange nature have been interpreted by some as divine gifts, messages from the past, or predictions of the future.

According to most scientists dreams occur with equal frequency in most people. The ability to recall the dream varies greatly with individuals however. Most dreams it is believed occur during the (REM) sleep, which is a form of sleep that is experienced in the latter portion of the sleep cycle.

According to http://www.wicipedia.org, both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung identify dreams as an interaction between the unconscious and the conscious. 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 an active censorship against the unconscious even during sleep. They both agreed that the unconscious mind is the dominant force of the dream.

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 by far the most intriguing books are about lucid dreaming. A lucid dream is one where the dreamer recognizes they are in a dream and can take control of it. Lucid dreamers have the power to control their dreams and are capable of creating many fantasies such as making new objects appear, change their form, or even fly. There are many forms of lucid dreams, having in common the fact that at some point in the dream the dreamer recognizes the experience as a dream. 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.