What is a dream?
Dreams are the stories brains tell during rapid eye movement sleep, commonly referred to as REM sleep. During this period the area of your brain that controls logic and censorship is less active and the area where memory and imagination occur is much more active than while you are awake. This allows the dreamer to have usual thoughts and concerns, but these feelings are expressed in a much more visual manner rather than in a logical manner.
Your brain brings memories together that are loosely related and creates a story with these memories that evokes a reaction from the dreamer, allowing the dreamer to make sense of the world through dream.
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What are the common types of dreams?
Daydreams
These are dreams that happen while we are awake. The American Psychological Association refers to these dreams as “a waking fantasy,” during which time, “wishes, expectations, and other potentialities are played out in imagination.”
Epic dreams
These are dreams that are extremely vivid and are considered to have long lasting, life changing potential.
Lucid dreams
These dreams happen between dream and wake states of consciousness. The dreamer has the ability and awareness to control the story that is playing out in their dream.
False awakenings
These are dreams that are common as you are transitioning from REM sleep. In these dreams you imagine doing something in your waking life and it feels very real, but you are still asleep. An example is making your morning coffee, going to the bathroom, or starting the laundry.
Nightmares
During these dreams you experience frightening or disturbing situations evoking the emotions related to fear and sadness. Oftentimes, the dreamer will awaken suddenly and will vividly remember the occurrences of the dream.
Prophetic dreams
These dreams carry a sense of purpose, predicting the future. The dreamer is able to see future events unfold before they have actually happened in waking life. Some people believe these dreams are a means for the subconscious to prepare you for a likely outcome.
Recurring dreams
These are dreams that we experience repeatedly during a single sleep session or multiple sleep sessions. They repeat the same imagery, situations, and emotions as in previous dreams with the dreamer often having an unmet need or facing an unresolved issue. Recurring dreams may come from avoiding unresolved issues and internalizing fears.
How do you use a dream journal to interpret your dreams?
Asking questions about your dreams can help you learn about yourself since they are based on memories and emotions. The dreamer can gain insight into thoughts and why those thoughts are present. During REM sleep, short term memory is active, so it may be more difficult to remember dreams, to counteract this, before going to sleep, tell yourself to remember your dreams, this will encourage your mind, setting an internal intention.
Pay attention to:
1. Feelings
2. Characters
3. Recurrences in your dreams
Feelings
Pay attention to the feelings and emotions you experience in your dreams. Take note of how these emotions present themselves. Think about when you experience similar feelings while awake. Write down the emotions you experience in your dreams as soon as you wake up. How do the feelings in your dream mirror the feelings your waking life?
Characters
The people that you dream about are important. Do you know them, or do they have characteristic that remind you of someone you know? Do they show up continuously in your dreams? When you interact with these characters how do you feel? Do you enjoy being with them and seeing them? Are you happy and having a good time with them or are you upset and having a disagreement with them? How does the feeling of the situation in your dream and that person in your dream relate to your waking life?
Recurrence
Who do you dream of most often and what is your relationship lie with that person? What type of situation plays out in your dream, how does it begin, how does it end and how do you feel when you wake up? When you reflect on the people and situations that reoccur in your dreams how do those situations and characters relate to your waking life?
Share your dreams with your friends and see how they interpret the feeling, emotions, situations, and characters. Getting an outside perspective can be valuable in interpreting that which is yours. Perhaps you are too close to your dreams to be able to clearly see the nuances and interpret the true meaning.
Dreaming is a form of therapy while you sleep, perhaps dreams are just that, dreams and are not meant to have meaning or perhaps we can find relationships and juxtapositions between our waking life and our dream life.
A dream journal is a wonderful tool to explore your mind and the intersection of the waking life and the dream life.
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