While I wasn’t planning to write about dreams this morning, I just woke up from a very vivid one, so I changed my topic for today. As you can tell, I am talking about the dreams we have while we are sleeping. There are also the dreams that we consciously think about and hopefully pursue during the day, but that is a topic for another entry. Right now, I am wondering why we dream and why some of them seem so real.
The dream I just had was a little scary. I was working at the office of one of my older jobs, and for some reason my husband was working there too. I happened to look out a window, and all of the sudden I see this huge, wide tornado develop right before my eyes. It looks a little too close to comfort for me, so I start yelling tornado and finding my way to a safer spot. The big tornado disappears just as quickly as it came, but other, smaller tornadoes seem to be developing just as quickly as the first one. What really struck me was how I profoundly felt the dream – I felt truly scared and in danger. Luckily, of course, I woke up, but I could still feel the fear I was having in the dream. It has definitely set a weird tone for my morning.
Supposedly, dreaming is a part of sleeping, but does everyone remember a dream every once in awhile? Are there people who don’t remember any dreams? Why do I feel like I know I am dreaming sometimes, but other times they seem so real? Do dreams have meaning? If so, what meanings can be attached to them? Although fascinating, this is a world I do not know much about. There are books on what dreams mean, but I think that is an individual choice to decide what (if any) meaning you place on what you dream. It is definitely an area that could benefit from more understanding, and until then, a lot of us are left to wonder about our nightly dreams.