Dream Interpretation

December 7, 1999

It Was Only a Dream

She awakens in the night, the visions from her mind still vivid. The dream was amazingly realistic. A long hallway stretched before her. Several doors lined the hallway, each with a padlock. A ring full of keys weighed heavily in her hand. What did it all mean? Did this hallway symbolize her life? The doors could have meant many things, possibly the choices she faces daily. As she drifts back to sleep, thoughts of the dream cloud her mind. She hopes to remember it in the morning and search for answers.

The description of this woman could match any number of people. Years of research have produced findings that everyone dreams. While not everyone may remember his or her dreams, sleep studies have shown that each person does dream as he or she progresses through the stages of sleep. Whether or not these dreams contain any significant meaning for the dreamer is a source of arguments today, as well as in years past. An in depth study of dream interpretation will reveal the benefits of exploring the meanings behind dreams.

To begin this study, it is helpful to first understand the different aspects of sleep. In Atkinson's Introduction to Psychology book, she states that sleep contains five stages, including "four depths of sleep and a fifth stage, known as rapid eye movement (REM)" (193). In various sleep studies, most adults go through all stages during their normal sleeping hours. While they drift from one stage of sleep to another, activity in the brain increases and decreases. However, this study is interested mostly in the fifth stage, REM sleep. Individuals incur a great amount of details during the course of any given day, including dates, places, times and people. "During REM sleep, the brain creates a story line that allows this large volume of events to be stored and remembered in a coherent form, albeit at an unconscious level" (Chopra 107). REM occurs at different times throughout an individual's time asleep, and consumes from thirty minutes up to two hours of an individuals non-waking moments.

Every individual is subject to REM sleep, and some suffer from REM Sleep Disorder. The disorder involves a severe attachment to a person's dreams. Dotto reports that while sufferers consist mostly of men over fifty years of age, it can affect anyone. She also states that research has discovered that 60% of the disorder is due to aging, while 40% can be blamed on neurological problems (119). This disorder is no laughing matter. "One case in England resulted in a man shooting his new bride to death while he was dreaming of being pursued by gangsters" (Maas 161). The severity of this problem is treatable with medication; but sufferers are encouraged to sleep in protected surroundings, with no sharp objects in the room, and no open windows.

With a better understanding of REM sleep, progression can be made toward the history of dreams and the study of their meanings. In Restful Sleep, Chopra relates that dreams were first believed to tell the future of entire communities (102). The Bible also gives evidence of the importance to dreams. Joseph was told about Mary carrying the Christ child during a dream. "At the beginning of recorded history, and for the millennia thereafter, dreams were considered divine messages in virtually every religious culture" (Maguire 2). Thus, the importance of dreams to a vast array of cultures was made quite evident from a very early time.

However, not everyone believes in the importance of dreams. "Some scientists today attach almost no importance to dreams. They are only random thoughts drifting into our minds during sleep, no serious relationship to our waking life" (Kavey 33). While some of the arguments presented may have validity, the benefits of dream study and interpretation far outweigh the possible conflicts these studies uncover. For instance, the Journal of Mental Health Counseling published a study concerning ways dream interpretation could benefit individuals with mental health disturbances. "The elements of a dream should be examined in detail for two reasons. First, the dream is a symbolic depiction of something in the client's inner world. The second reason for exploration is that the dreamer often does not remember all of the dream's elements at its first telling" (Barrineau). By delving into the contents and meanings of these dreams, the mental health professional may be able to better understand the patient's underlying problem, thus allowing more appropriate and effective treatment.

Additionally, exploring children's dreams can be very beneficial when a child begins having problems in his or her daily life. "Children's dreams often hold clues to the same anxieties and insecurities that plague their parents" (MacGregor 69). Children can gain approval of dream sharing when encouraged to do so by the adults they live with. In The Everything Dreams Book, MacGregor states "If they live in households where dream sharing is simply a part of the family routine, they'll be more apt to remember and relate their dreams" (69). Therefore, parental encouragement is key to helping unlock the mysteries contained in a child's dream. Dream study can also give the counselor or parent a handle on what type of dreams the child is experiencing.

For example, nightmares make up one element of dreams. A person suffering from a nightmare may wake up scared, experiencing heavy breathing and a racing heart. Chopra states this person will recall the dream in its entirety with a lot of detail. He also writes that themes are frequent in nightmares (109). Often, nightmare sufferers experience the feeling of pursuit, of falling, or of dying. Perhaps a person exposed to frequent nightmares will find a study in dream interpretation especially helpful as a start toward a smoother nights sleep. A person tormented with repeated nightmares may wish to end them because "nightmares can influence how you feel and how you behave the following day" (103). Thus, putting an end to the torment would be essential to that individual's well being, both personally and professionally. Nightmare sufferers could benefit from the knowledge of how to begin exploring those dreams.

The first step to dream interpretation is vital. It concerns actually remembering the dream. "Many people say they don't remember dreaming when, in fact, they forget them" (Dotto 36). When the dreamer first awakens, the dream may be vivid and fresh in his or her mind. However, these impressions fade quickly, seemingly in seconds. An article in