Dream interpretation - the meanings of dreams

Sleep and dreams are vital to all forms of life. Whether or not you accept Darwins theory of Evolution, there is no doubt that life in the animal world is a constant struggle for survival of the fittest.

And so no doubt it was for early human beings. Yet we all switch off for a large part of our time, and leave ourselves totally defenseless. This can only mean that sleep is VITAL for our survival
Think of the bird; eyes darting all over, wary of approaching predators, yet it calmly puts its head under its wing and goes to sleep

So do animals dream while they sleep? Certainly any pet owner knows that cats and dogs definitely have dreams. Research at MIT has shown that rats have dreams - researchers have been able to monitor rats brainwaves during REM sleep (when dreaming takes place) and correlate that with similar activity when the rat has been running through a maze.

Of course, we can't tell what else animals might dream about.

During dreams, our subconscious mind is communicating directly with the spiritual plane, astral plane, super-conciousness, or whatever you choose to call it.

The visions we see are provided by our subconscious mind in an attempt to represent this direct communication in a way we can make sense of, i.e. visually, or by sounds or smells. This is why images in dreams are often nebulous and shifting - our subconscious is continually struggling to come up with appropriate images to convey this non-visual direct communication.
What does lost look like? What does shame look like?

Clearly we supply imagery that we relate to in some way, which is part of our culture. This is why dream interpretations change in different societies and at different times (although there are underlying archetypes and themes - some things more constant across different societies than others).

Dream imagery thus is directly associated with the society and culture that we live in.

But can dreams predict the future, do they have significant meanings? We all know from our own experience that some dreams relate directly to what has happened to us during the day. Yet others seem to bear no relationship to our daily lives.

In past times, sleep and dreams were accorded more importance than now - in the modern world we tend to view them more like the advertising breaks in the middle of a television program - an interruption unrelated to the actual thing you are watching, whereas we should look at them as a vital integral part of our existence.

Take the time to learn about your dreams and what they mean - there is a vast amount to be learned from dream interpretation