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.
 

There are many, many questions about dreams, dreamers and dream interpretation, and just about everyone who has had a dream has one or more questions about that dream.  This article contains some of the most frequently encountered questions about the world of dreams and dream interpretation.

How many dreams do most people have in a night?
The average person has between four and seven dreams every night.  Between 15% and 20% of the average night is spent sleeping, therefore an eight hour night of sleep will contain up to two hours of dream sleep.

Do I dream every night?
Yes.  Every human being dreams every night, whether they can remember their dreams or not.  The dreams that are easiest to remember are those that take place closest to waking.

Do people dream the entire night?
No. The entire night is not spent dreaming, and it usually takes a person anywhere from 30 to 90 minutes to reach a sleep state deep enough for dreams to occur.  During the final and deepest stage of sleep, the sleeper will cycle in and out of REM sleep.

How long do dreams last?
The average session of dream sleep lasts from 10 to 20 minutes, after which the sleeper cycles back into the deepest stage of sleep.  After a time, the sleeper will reenter dream sleep.  Each session of dream sleep will contain its own unique dream.

Do the dreams of children have the same meaning as adult dreams?
In many cases, dreams are reflections of the concerns and experiences of the waking world.  Since those concerns and experiences are different in children than in adults, the differences are reflected in dreams as well.  Studies have shown that the dreams of young children do not have either strong emotional content or a real storyline.  Children between the ages of 3 to 7 are often troubled my nightmares as well.  These nightmares are often reflections of their own real world fears, like noises, monsters, etc.  The dreams of older children and teenagers more closely match those experienced by adults.

Do young children dream about themselves?
It is interesting to note that children generally do not dream about themselves until they reach the age of three.  Children younger than three do not usually dream about themselves, and are not characters in their own dreams.  This may reflect the fact that most children do not develop a strong sense of self until the age of three.

Can dreams predict the future?
While many people feel that their dreams can predict the future, there is no scientific proof that dreams are predictive.  What many people mistake for prediction may actually be the fact that the subconscious notices many things that go totally unnoticed by the waking mind.  When the dreamer sleeps, the items noticed by the subconscious are incorporated into the dream, and the dreamer may notice many things the dreamer missed during the day.  These unnoticed clues may be misinterpreted as predictions of the future, when in fact they were simply missed clues to present events.

Why do we dream?
The exact function of dream sleep is still a matter of contention among scientists and dream researchers.  One popular theory holds that dreams are a way for the subconscious mind to cleanse itself and make sense of the sensory inputs gathered during the waking hours.  Another popular theory is that dreams are a sort of release valve.  For instance, many people hold back or repress their feelings of anger and resentment during the day.  Dreams, the theory goes, are a handy and safe outlet for those repressed feelings to express themselves.

Dream interpretation as an actual profession goes back at least as far as ancient Greek and Roman society, but informal dream interpretation is likely as old as dreaming itself.  There is good reason to believe that people have been experiencing dreams as long as their have been people, and we know that dreams and their interpretation date back at least as far as 3000-4000 B.C.  We know that because the interpretations of various dreams were recorded on stone tablets and found later by archeologists.

Many scientists and anthropologists believe that ancient peoples were unable to distinguish the difference between the real, or physical world, and the dream world, or the world of the unconscious.  To many of these people, there was no distinction, and the dream world was simply an extension of the physical world.

In fact, many of these ancient cultures, and some modern ones as well, felt that the dream world is more powerful and real than the physical universe, and that dreams are the soul's way of communing with the infinite, and gathering knowledge and wisdom from the past.

While science knows a great deal about dreams and their meaning, in many ways dreams remain as much a mystery today as when the first cavemen dreamed about the thrill of the hunt or the fear of running from faster predators.  

For instance, scientists still do not know why we dream, or what the purpose of dream sleep is, but they do know that people need to dream.  Volunteers deprived of dream sleep experienced all manner of psychological problems, ranging from problems concentrating to visual and auditory hallucinations.

Dream interpretation has a long and storied history, and dream interpreters have been in high demand throughout history.  The interpretation of dreams was so important to the ancient Greek and Roman societies that they rode along with soldiers in battle, and advised rulers on the best course of action.  Dreams were taken quiet seriously in these societies, and a dream thought to be an ill omen was enough to derail a piece of legislation or even put off a long planned battle.

The culture of ancient Egypt also gave dreams great importance, as well as religious significance.  The Egyptians believed that dreams contained messages from the gods, and these messages were to be heeded.  We know about the importance the ancient Egyptians placed on dreams, because dreams and their interpretations were recorded in hieroglyphs.  People who had particularly vivid dreams were given a special place in society, and thought to be blessed by the gods.  Those who had special abilities to interpret those dreams also enjoyed a blessed status and a special place in Egyptian society.

Egypt was not alone in the Middle East as a source of dreams and dream interpretation.  The Bible contains over 700 mentions of dreams, and many dream interpretations as well.  The dreams of prophets, and the interpretations of those dreams, played a large role in Biblical history.

Dream interpretation was often looked upon as a form of prophecy, and dreams were often analyzed to provide clues to future events.  Dreams were seen to be messages from gods, spirits or from departed relatives.