Why do we dream?
The purpose of dreaming has many possible theories dating from ancient times to modern day.  In Ancient Egypt, dream temples were established and believed to be places of healing.  Dream analysis was used to determine what treatment a person would need.  Dream analysis for medical diagnosis was also used by Hippocrates, whose theory was that the soul could produce images during sleep.

In addition to 'regular' dreams you may experience, there are special types of dreams such as Lucid Dreams and Shaman Dreaming.

Lucid dreaming is almost like having your own “virtual reality” system within your brain. When you are having a lucid dream, you are able to control your dream’s scenario and your actions within it – so you are limited only by your imagination. For that reason, lucid dreaming is said to reveal your deepest identity – who you really are inside.

Shaman dreaming involves learning to make conscious dream journeys across time and space and into other realities.  The purpose for this is to gather information on possible futures, to encounter spiritual teachers and to find keys to healing.

The first step in dream therapy is to remember your dreams.  If you currently struggle to remember what you dreamed the night before, try this easy self-hypnosis technique: just before you fall asleep, say to yourself “I will remember my dreams”. Do this regularly and your subconscious mind will begin to take notice!  Once you are able to remember your dreams, you must record them.  It is very important to do this as soon as you wake up because your waking mind could distort the memory of the dream as the daytime hours pass.  Keep a notepad and pen next to your bed so you can write the dream down as soon as possible after waking up.

Symbols in dreams can vary considerably from one culture to another, e.g. a coconut can mean food in one culture and comedy in another. However, Sigmund Freud was a firm believer in dream symbols.  Some of Freud’s dream symbols are hats (representing genetalia), nudity (representing memories from childhood, when nudity was acceptable), falling (representing either sexual desire or parental comforting).  He believed that dreams are a disguised fulfilment of a repressed wish.  In other words, he believed that all dreams are based around wish fulfilment.

Dr John Kappas developed a method of dream analysis called Kappasinian Dream Therapy. He believed that each person has unique dream symbols, simply because each person is unique. He believes that dreams occur in three stages – the wishful thinking stage, the precognitive stage and the venting stage. The wishful thinking stage is usually full of the preceding day’s stimulations. During the precognitive stage, dreams are useful for working out your problems. This is the time when the brain tries to offer solutions and dreams from this time should be considered part of a troubleshooting process. If the dream takes place during the venting stage, it is just an expression of what cannot be resolved, or something that doesn’t need any more attention. It can represent something that is weighing on your mind. Recurring dreams at this stage can be an indication of unresolved issues.

• You can work through online Kappasinian Dream Therapy at the Dream Diary & Interpretation Project online.
  

It’s important to keep a dream diary because it will end up being the most important book on dreams you will ever read! Giving yourself the ability to look back over your dreams will give you an extra perspective on your life and you’ll be able to create your very own dream symbol dictionary.  You might even find that you are having prophetic dreams – dreaming about events, small and large, before the event takes place.

(Hub 9 / 30 for 30 Hubs in 30 Days Challenge)