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Dreams are celestial experiences that a human encounters quite frequently. It is a Visual State in mind where things can be seen, voices can be heard and thoughts revolve in the mind. People, things, or circumstances seen in the images can be known and unknown.
The same goes for voices. It can be a very familiar voice, such as that of a family member, friend, or acquaintance, or it can be your voice, too, and it can be a very unfamiliar voice, such as that of a Stranger.
Thoughts can be about what happened in your entire day, what you thought about it before Sleeping, what you say yourself or a very strange or out-of-the-box thought that leaves you thinking about it.
You can’t control dreams. They occur subconsciously in the subconscious mind. Most dreams are Connected to reality, and some people believe that some of our dreams have a connection with our past.
There is also a case that is quite rare. Sometimes, dreams carry a hidden meaning or an instinct for what is going to happen in the future. But this case happens rarely.
Dreams are studied scientifically and philosophically. They can be pleasing or terrifying. It is completely outside of the dreamer’s control to Choose something particular to dream about or to interpret dreams.
The only thing a person can do is to read and think positively before sleeping to have pleasing dreams and baby sleep.
Some people also claim that their dreams are creative. Depending on one’s thoughts and actions, one dreams about different things. Some dreams have a deep meaning behind them.
Dream meanings vary from dream to dream. Some common dreams, such as falling, being chased, flying, and losing teeth, are experienced by a lot of people.
There is a period specified in which dreaming happens, which is declared to be the REM (Rapid Eye movement) state of sleep. 80% of dreams occur in this state. Dreams can be colorful as well as black and white. People forget dreams as soon as they wake up. The only thing they remember is that they had a dream last night.
Dreams may make a person feel awake when they are asleep. Sometimes while dreaming a person knows that they are dreaming but Keeps on dreaming.
Thinking, reading about good things, or being with nice people can give you a positive mindset, and the good and the positive thoughts you think will eventually get Stored in the short-term memory and when you go to deep sleep the Brain will process to transfer the thoughts from short term memory to long term.
You will dream about the information stored in your long-term memory. So feed your brain with positives to get positive dreams.
2. Why Do We Dream?
Many scientific studies have been done to find out ‘why we dream’, but there is still no answer. So, scientific study is still going on in this regard. However, many physiological and psychological theories have a lot to say about dreams.
2.1. Physiological Theory:
The physiological theory focuses on how our body, mainly breathing, functions during the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep. It believes that dreaming occurs to exercise the pathways between the brain and cells.
It is believed that dreams are meaningless and don’t carry any special message. Dreaming occurs just to keep the brain engaged in productive activity so that we can work properly or effectively the next morning.
In short, it boosts our productivity for the next day. There is nothing to pay attention to it. Now, let’s discuss the psychological theory.
2.2. Psychological Theory:
The psychological theory suggests that dreams reflect our innermost desires and wishes1. The emotions you possess will appear in the form of dreams.
Dreams help you become better in real life by making you address the problems in dreams. So now you can better face the problem or can hold emotions in real life. In short, your problem-solving skills get sharpened.
The feelings you may be suppressing may come up in dreams. That’s why we experience negative emotions more frequently than positive ones. The neurological system prepares us to show them in dreams because we don’t deal with them in real life.
It is believed that the dreamer has little or no influence on the dream’s visuals, information, voice, and display.
Note:
Different kinds of dreams carry different meanings to individuals. What most people believe is that dreams do possess some meanings.
People do show up on the internet when they encounter very strange dreams, especially nightmares that make them sweat in the middle of the night. The first thing they do is check or research that particular dream, and there is nothing strange or wrong with that.
It is strongly believed that dreams are connected to our past birth, which is why we don’t remember our dreams.
3. Can We Control Our Dreams?
Psychology claims it is very much possible to have command over your dream. But it’s possible under lucid dreaming, where you are dreaming while knowing you are dreaming. So you can exercise complete control over your dream. You can take control of the actions and behaviors that take place in the dream.
You can even manage to command the content you are encountering in your dream. It’s pretty common among people to wonder if it’s possible to control their dreams2, especially when they go through a nightmare. So now you know dreams are the emotions and feelings that are going on in your mind.
So, the easiest way to control your dreams or take charge of them is by thinking and acting positively. Reading good thoughts and books can contribute to good and pleasing dreams. Changing your sleeping position can also do wonders. People who sleep on their Belly or stomach often claim to have nightmares compared to those who sleep on their back.
Investing in your mattress and bed can surely prove to be a worthy and fruitful investment. Because it gives you a peaceful sleep. So do give it a try. You know what morning exercises and meditation 3are a proven way to sleep peacefully.
4. Types of Dreams
4.1. Recurring Dreams:
Here you will get the same dream repeatedly. It is believed that there is an unheard message behind it, and it will keep on coming until the message is understood by the conscious brain.
4.2. Daydreams:
It is a condition in which a person is not in the position of sleep. He is just in the state of active imagination or we can say that a person is half awake. Here the person is imagining experiences from the past or is thinking about the future.
4.3. Nightmares:
These are scary dreams that can be related to accidents, mishappening, horror, or the death of a person or any loved one. These kinds of dreams leave the dreamer in anxiety, stress, and fear.
4.4. Epic Dreams:
These are dreams that are very different from the usual, and dreamers often remember them as mostly positive dreams.
4.5. Lucid Dreams:
4.6. False Awakening:
It is a kind of dream that is convincing and related to awakening the dreamer from sleep in a dream, but in reality, the dreamer is sleeping. And then, the dreamer starts doing normal chores that they often perform in reality. The tasks are performed here while dreaming only.
4.7. Healing Dreams:
These are the dreams that hold the capacity to heal the dreamer’s problems. There are things in the mind that are suppressed and require healing. So, these healing dreams have the power to heal the unattended feelings, maybe by some spirit.
4.8. Catharic Dreams:
These are the dreams that feel very good to the dreamer. They hold the power to cleanse dreamers’ inner fears and insecurities, helping them get rid of the toxic weights lying in their minds.
4.9. Prophetic Dreams:
These are the dreams that anticipate a future event. Sometimes, a dream is felt by the dreamer, which states that a dreamer encounters something in a dream and later finds the same thing happening in real life.
5. Facts about Dreams
5.1. You can take charge of your dreams:
This particularly happens in lucid dreams when you know you are dreaming but continue to dream. Here, you can take charge of your dream and hone your problem-solving skills with the help of it.
We are more prone to negative dreams:
A study claims that we encounter bad dreams more often than good ones. Stress, anxiety, fear, and insecurities are some of the reasons for it.
5.2. You get static while dreaming:
Your brain doesn’t pass any commands, making it impossible for your body to move. So you can’t act out of your dream while it’s happening. This happens to prevent injury that may be caused if you act out of your dream.
Chances of remembering the dream are less:
There is quite a high chance of you forgetting your dream. The dreams that are encountered during the REM state or just before waking have a high possibility that the dreams can be remembered.
5.3. Gender-specific dream:
We encounter all sorts of dreams, which are based on the thoughts that revolve in our minds in day-to-day life. However, a study shows that men have dreams about anger and aggression, while women have dreams about fears like getting rejected.
5.4. Dreams depend upon our thoughts:
If we are experiencing stress in our daily lives, we are more prone to having negative dreams. Try being positive throughout the day to have positive dreams. You can even try meditation or any other medical consultation if you are having a hard time dealing with stress.
5.5. Morning dreams:
Dream analysis says that there are quite high chances of dreaming in the morning and longer dreams happen in the morning than at midnight.
5.6. Dreaming in pics:
Most of the dreams we see are in the form of pictures and visuals.
5.7. Dreaming in Color:
Most people claim to dream in colors or colorful visuals. However, approximately 12% of people claim that they have dreamed in black and white.
6. What Does It Mean When You Dream About Someone
When one hears the above line, they just gotta remember one of the famous facts, which says that ‘if you are dreaming about someone, chances are that they are also dreaming about you’. But that isn’t true.
Dreams are completely based on our feelings and emotions and can also have some hidden meanings. If a person appears in our dream, there are chances that that person must play a role in our current life.
The other case is if we have talked to that person over a call or have seen them publicly, on social media platforms, or anywhere else, the brain starts collecting memories related to that person with you or anyone else. Sometimes, these memories get collected in a corner, and later on, the brain processes them in the form of a dream. Someone’s death can also be one of the reasons.
There are also some other reasons why someone appears in our dreams. When someone appears to be attractive, when we find comfort in someone when we spend a lot of time with them when we find the particular person interesting when we think about them all day long, it can be a loved one, or it can also be the one whom we hate.
Wait a second! Dream psychology has something to say about it. It says that there is a concept of dream telepathy, which says that when we dream about someone, there are chances that that person might be thinking of us. Thus, dream telepathy allows us to communicate telepathically.
When you dream about someone, you hold that person in your mind. Your emotions can be positive or negative, or they can be hybrid. Dreaming about someone signifies that you are emotionally attached to them.
You dream about the person because you can’t keep your eyes off them when you meet them in real life. So your brain is showing you the images of that person even when you are asleep.
Most of the time this happens when you are in the initial stages of love, have strong feelings, or are intensely in love. Dreaming also shows that you admire that particular person or suppress things for that person.
The feelings that we suppress in our minds in real life tend to show up in our dreams. Thinking plays a major role in dreaming. And you know what! Here’s an interesting fact that says that you can find out if someone is thinking about you.
And now, the answer to this is quite simple. You will get a subconscious smile on your face. This is a smile that happens without you knowing about it. It happens when someone is trying to connect with you positively.
Dreams about a person also depict that you care for that person or want to be with them. If you are suppressing your feelings about any person and they show up in your dream, then you must express your feelings.
Because these dreams work as a warning, you better express your feelings than lose that person.
Some people claim to have dreams of their loved ones; the next morning, they find them to have left the world. So, dreams have meanings behind them if you continuously have a recurring dream of the same person.
Then you must look into it because there is quite a high chance that a dream is trying to convey a message and will keep on coming until your brain understands it.
7. Conclusion
In conclusion, Dreams are like the magical movies that are played in our minds when we fall asleep! The dreams can be scary, confusing, and exciting too. Scientists believe that dreams help our brain to process emotions and stay healthy.
Above, we discussed a lot of psychological and scientific factors associated with dreaming. Note that every dream is a unique adventure. So, close your eyes and get ready to start the epic journey to the lucid world of dreams!
- Dichter, Ernest. The strategy of desire. Routledge, 2017. ↩︎
- Woolley, Jacqueline D., and Elizabeth A. Boerger. “Development of beliefs about the origins and controllability of dreams.” Developmental Psychology 38.1 (2002): 24. ↩︎
- Harinath, Kasiganesan, et al. “Effects of Hatha yoga and Omkar meditation on cardiorespiratory performance, psychologic profile, and melatonin secretion.” The Journal of Alternative & Complementary Medicine 10.2 (2004): 261-268. ↩︎
Last Updated on by Namrata