ESSAY

Dreams Mean Something, Don’t They?

A psychological approach to dreams.

Early civilizations thought dream worlds were real, physical worlds that they could enter only from their dream state. The Greeks and Romans were convinced that dreams could predict the future.

I’m not a spiritual person at all, but for some reason, since I was a kid I was always interested in the meanings of dreams. That may have faded over the years but I still believe, up to a certain degree, that dreams have their meanings. Not such ludicrous as predicting the future, but they could help us realize certain things about ourselves and what is going on in our lives. If nothing else, they could give us a cause to stop for a minute and think: “What the hell that red vibrator means?”

According to researchers, theories fall into two categories:

· Dreams are only physiological stimulations

· Dreams are psychologically necessary

“Dreaming is a thinking process. In fact, it is a continuation of your thoughts from the day. That chatter in your head that goes on all day long continues as you drift off to sleep, and, once you enter REM sleep, when dreaming takes place, those thoughts continue in symbols and metaphors instead of in words.”

“Your dream-thoughts are actually more focused and significantly more profound because your dreams provide you metaphoric commentary on yourself.” — Lauri Quinn Loewenberg, professional dream analyst.

Is that pretty exciting or I went completely mental here? I mean, for what it’s worth, as a writer and lover of storytelling, how great is that that our brain, while we sleep, makes up profound thoughts and metaphors along with a storyline. That’s pretty much what I crave to do for a living and all I need to do is… dream, apparently? God, I wish it would be that simple. Hold on, someone just shouted at me “But I don’t remember my dreams, in fact, I don’t even dream most of the time.”

Firstly, calm down. Secondly, you’re wrong. According to the Big Brains, you may not remember them, but everyone dreams several times a night. During a typical lifetime, we spend about six years dreaming.

Six goddamn years. That’s almost as long as my most lasting relationship was. Or maybe I dreamt that? It might have been a nightmare. Speaking of relationship, Freud said, “Dreams allow the unconscious mind to act out unacceptable thoughts and desires”. Carl Jung kicked it up a notch and said, “Dreams allow us to reflect on our waking selves and solve our problems or think through issues.”

I think they are both partly right, but it’s up to our mindset and own thinking how we interpret those possible meanings into our lives. Recently, I had a dream about scratch cards which represent: “Feelings about taking chances with luck by intentionally not treating something special. Hoping that if you compromise, ignore, or are purposefully reckless with something that you might get lucky with something you desire.”

Let’s just say that I play poker regularly and I’m not exactly on a winning streak lately. Of course, that’s my interpretation and I could be exteriorizing that meaning in a way that fits into what’s going on in my life. However, when I recklessly try to bluff someone off the pot, I’m hoping that I might get lucky even if I didn’t necessarily play the hand well. All I’m saying is, there might be a connection and it’s worth to stop for a second and try to find the issue here — if there is any. And usually, there is.

Nietzsche went crazy on the subject, as one would expect from him and said, “Without dreams, mankind would never have had occasion to invent such a division of the world. The parting of soul and body goes also with this way of interpreting dreams; likewise, the idea of a soul’s apparitional body: whence all belief in ghosts, and apparently, too, in gods.”

“Sleep helps us to hold onto our memories and to learn facts and skills faster and dreaming has the potential to help people de-escalate emotional reactivity.”

On that thought, according to researchers, the only dream that matters is the recurring one. It doesn’t have to be identical every single time, but if there is a pattern you spot, there is a fair chance you find something worth examining. I have recurring dreams about certain people who are not part of my life anymore (we drifted away, went separate ways, and moved to different countries), but what they represented in the past was essentially important to me. There is a real potential that my brain is still seeking for that particular feeling that is missing.

“Another model proposes that dreams function as a form of psychotherapy. In this theory, the dreamer is able to make connections between different thoughts and emotions in a safe environment.”

Even therapists often ask their patients about dreams and what they might represent, because usually there is a connection. In fact, to cite an example, from one of the most famous TV shows that aired, The Sopranos has several takes on the subject. Either when Tony Soprano is in therapy, or while he is dreaming that he is with his therapist, whom he’s admittedly attracted to. Without giving away anything, I highly recommend watching these dream sequences because they have an interesting effect on the characters and on the series itself. Not to mention the fact that the creator of the show, David Chase, was in therapy for years.

Recently, I started to jot down my dreams — at least, what I remember from them — and check out their meanings in two different languages. First of all, it’s unusual to see that they barely have the same meanings in different languages (which has something to do with culture, I guess) second, they always lead to a refreshing brainstorm and potential interpretations which are actually can be helpful as self-therapy. Or simply as an inspiration for contemplation, writing, or doing anything artistic.

To back that up, here is some trivia about famous authors who got inspirations from their dreams:

“Edgar Allen Poe got inspiration from a dream featuring large luminous eyes for his story, “Lady Ligea”.”

“Paul McCartney, Billy Joel and Beethoven, have found inspiration for their music from their dreams. Some hear musical arrangements in their dreams, while others hear lyrics.”

“Mary Shelly, the author of “Frankenstein,” got the idea for the story from a dream.”

It’s worth to give it a try, especially if you’re in a dreadful mood, in desperate need of motivation.

Dream on!

(Sources: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu, https://www.dreams.co.uk, https://www.luciddreamsociety.com, https://science.howstuffworks.com, https://plato.stanford.edu).

If you’d like to read more from me, sign up for my monthy newsletter here.