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By: Ken
Asselin
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 they
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.
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