Dream interpreters, from the earliest Greek and Roman societies, to Sigmund Freud, to modern therapists and dream researchers, have long recognized the symbolic nature of dreams. Unlike the real world, in dreams things are often not as they appear. What appears to be a normal, everyday object in your dream world is often anything but ordinary.
Learning to recognize and interpret these objects, and learning about your dreams can be an exciting and fun exercise as well as a great learning experience. Since dreams and their symbols are often manifestations of real fears and anxieties, dreams can provide much help in working through these serious issues.
Let's examine a few of the most common dream symbols and scenarios.
Dreaming of school
Dreams of school, including taking tests, forgetting about a test, showing up to school without your books, and they like are among the most common of dreams for students and non students alike.
For those currently in school, dreams about school can be reflections of anxiety about grades, peers, social issues and other concerns. For those who are not in school, dreaming about school or taking a test is often a manifestation of anxiety about work, or even your personal life. Dreaming about school is often related to your latest lesson in life.
Dreaming of a car or other vehicle
Dreams of driving in a car or other vehicle often symbolize a desire to escape. Cars and other forms of transportation represent freedom, and dreaming of driving, especially of driving fast, can symbolize a desire to get away from an unpleasant or undesirable task.
Dreams about car crashes or near misses can symbolize the feeling of being out of control. Such dreams often occur when you are feeling overwhelmed by pressure and unable to cope with the stresses of everyday life.
Dreams in which you are the passenger instead of he driver can also symbolize this sort of lack of control. This is especially true if the vehicle in the dream seems to be out of control. Such dreams may signal a need to relax and avoid additional stress.
Dreams about houses
Dreams about a the house you grew up in can represent a desire to go back in time to when life is simpler. These dreams often occur at turning points in our lives, such as just after college graduation, prior to a marriage, or during or after a move.
Dreaming about an unfamiliar or threatening house can represent a fear of the unknown or an unwillingness to change. Again, these dreams often take place during times of upheaval or change, and they can be your unconscious mind's reaction to such sudden change.
Dreams about tornadoes
If you live near an area prone to tornadoes, or if you have been the victim of such a force, then a tornado can simply be a tornado. Unpleasant experiences can be relived through dreams, but most of the time the tornadoes we dream about are symbolic and not literal.
Most of the time, a tornado represents an emotional turmoil. People in such a state are often described as being whirlwinds of emotions, so a tornado is a fitting symbol of that state. Dreams of tornadoes often accompany sudden upheavals or changes in life, such as a sudden career change or cross country move. A dream about a tornado can indicate that you feel your life is spinning out of control. Those experiencing tornado centered dreams may want to take a step back, meditate and concentrate on the positive aspects of change.
Dreams about telephones
Dreams about telephone often carry important messages that the dreamer needs to pay close attention to. When interpreting a dream about a telephone, it is important to pay attention to the details. For instance, did you initiate the call, or did someone call you? Was the voice on the other end of the telephone friendly or threatening? Can you hear the other party or is their static on the line? These details of a telephone dream can give you valuable insights into just what is being communicated.
Dreams have been around for at least as long as human beings, and dreams are universal, experienced by men and women, young and old, and people of all cultures and ethnicities. In some ways, dreams are a universal language, and there are certain themes, such as falling, flying, taking a test and finding yourself naked, that show up in dreams throughout the world. Dreams, it could be said, represent a kind of universal human language.
Dreams have been studied throughout history, and dream interpretation is an old art form indeed, dating back at least as far as 3000-4000 B.C. Even today, dream interpreters are highly sought out for their help untangling the sometimes puzzling world of dreams.
You may think you know everything there is to know about dreams and dream interpretation, but did you know that:
* A third of our lives is spent in sleep, and a good amount of that time is spent in dreams.
* The average person dreams from between four to seven times every night. That means that by the time you reach the age of 80, you will have had between 116,800 and 204,400 dreams.
* That number may be even larger, since there is evidence that dreaming begins even before birth. No one deigns to know what unborn babies dream about, but there is evidence that they do dream.
* In the average lifetime, a person will have spent approximately six years in dream sleep, equivalent to more than 2,100 days of dreaming.
* There are records of dream interpretation, written on clay tablets, dating back more than 4,000 years.
* Those who could interpret dreams were held in high regard in Roman and Greek societies, and their counsel was sought before making significant political and military decisions.
* Everyone dreams every night, even though only a tiny fraction of those dreams are remembered upon waking.
* Many animals dream as well, although no one has been able to ask them what they dream about.
* People have to dream, though no one really knows why. What we do know is that preventing people from dreaming can cause irritability, mood changes and even hallucinations.
* The average person spends about one quarter of his or her sleep time in dream sleep, and dreams an average of four to seven times during that time.
* The average episode of dream sleep lasts about 10 to 15 minutes.
* Dreams slip away very quickly upon waking. It is estimated that as much as half the dream's content is forgotten within five minutes, and after only ten minutes up to 90% of the dream can be gone forever.
* Men dream more about other men than about women, but women tend to dream about men and women equally.
* The brain is actually more active, not less during dream sleep than during wakefulness.
* People who are awakened during dream sleep are able to recall their dreams vividly and in great detail, while those who wake normally generally are not.
* Both men and women experience sexual arousal during most dreams, regardless of whether the nature of the dream was sexual or not.
* Smokers who are quitting often experience more intense dreams than either non smokers or current smokers.
* Babies and toddlers dream just as adults do, but studies have revealed they do not dream about themselves. Toddlers generally do not appear in their own dreams until they are at least three or four years old.
* It is not possible to dream and snore simultaneously.
+ Nightmares are a common trauma of childhood, with the first nightmares usually occurring by the age of three, and typically lasting at least until the child is seven or eight years old.
* Many people report having experienced Déjà vu in their dreams, but dreams involving Déjà vu are more common in women than in men.
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