by Maurice Sassoon

Created on: October 03, 2008

Dreams are pictures and stories that go through our minds when we are asleep. All of us have dreams at one time or another. Sometimes, we can remember exactly what we dreamed, and at other times, we know that we dreamed but are at a loss to remember the dream. No one is exactly certain how long dreams last., Dreams may continue for a long period of time. There are those that believe that dreams are really short and take place just before a person wakes up. Dreams usually seem real when they are happening, which is why some people have been interested in them for many thousands of years. Many people are under the impression that certain dreams foretell the future. We are fully aware today that such a belief is, in fact, a superstition.

Scientists believe that dreams reflect the things that we think about and desire in our waking moments, and instead of foretelling the future, dreams tell us something about our past, as a result of which, they conclude that they can learn a great deal about a person from his dreams. For example, if a person is unhappy about something or the other, he or she may have an unpleasant dream, that may be called a nightmare. By this, scientists get a clue about what exactly is disturbing that person during the day, which makes him or her so unhappy.

Many hypotheses have been advanced with regard to the mechanism of dreaming. Dreams are sometimes believed, either directly or symbolically, to be events that would take place in the future; even visitations by ghosts or other spirits. Modern explanations of dreams are associated with psychoanalysis that relates to the activity of the mind that is known as the unconscious, the theory being that dreams represent the imaginative fulfillment of wishes and desires that are repressed in the conscious mind during periods of wakefulness. In young children, the wish-fulfillment of dreams is apparent. For example, a child would dream that he or she has been given a box of candy or a new toy, but, as far as adults are concerned, repressions are stronger and more deep-seated, in which case, the wish or desire becomes symbolical.

It is difficult to observe dreams objectively. Psychologists have arrived at certain conclusions, one of which being that dreams are frequently considered to be nothing but interpretations of troubling experiences in the course of the day when a person is wide awake. Some psychologists believe that all human beings dream when asleep, although many people do not remember what they dream, or recall mere fragements of the dream that make no sense. By systematically attempting to remember dreams, an individual can be trained to remember the greater part of the dream.

In conclusion, dreams are nothing but idle fancies of the mind and are considered to be out of the domain of reality.

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