Do dreams really mean anything? Having repetitive dreams mean anything?

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   peeplesposted 8 years ago

   Do dreams really mean anything? Having repetitive dreams mean anything?
   
   Is there any real evidence that dreaming happens for a reason? I have repetitive dreams about someone I haven't seen in 15 years (when I was a teen), have no feelings for, never did, yet I dream about the person at least 3 times a week. It's driving me crazy because I don't know if I should be taking anything from this or just letting it go. All the websites I look at about dream interpretation look like bogus info. Advice or info anyone?

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   ChristinSposted 8 years ago

   From a psychological standpoint, dreams of other people, especially frequent ones are representing an aspect of you.  So perhaps this person embodies some characteristic you are lacking, or they had something that you disliked about them, that you see in yourself, or some quality you wish to emulate- etc. etc.  They tend to be an aspect of you regardless. 
   
   I often have angry dreams of my mother yelling at me (several times a year usually) - it's not really her, she wasn't a screamer - it is likely my "inner critic" taking on the maternal or dominant female role.
   
   Look at this person from a psychological perspective.  Dreams do have meaning and purpose and are your subconscious communicating.  When you learn to listen without all the "mumbo jumbo" you really can learn a lot about yourself

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      M. T. Dremerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      Well said!

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I dream a lot. I also do a lot of lucid dreaming which I have never liked. I don't like having to interpret. It would be much easier if it was self explanatory. I don't understand why I dream about this person so much, more than any other dream.

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   Larry Rankinposted 8 years ago

   Most research has shown dreams do mean something.
   The level of their significance varies widely. Sometimes they are the results of psychology issues. Most often they are just an abstract recap of your day.
   On occasion I've even solved problems in my sleep.

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      I wish the dreams would just be direct and say what they mean. I am not much for guessing games. Thanks.

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   M. T. Dremerposted 8 years ago

   ChristinS may have said it best already, but they do have psychological significance. The trouble with dreams is that people often take them literally, which is why a romantic dream about an ex (or family member) can be particularly distressing. But, once you start to deconstruct the dream into traits and concepts (in relation to you and your present life) it starts to be less scary. Think of it like literary explication. If you've ever had an English class, then you know that the real meat of the story is beneath the surface.

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      peeplesposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      When I break them down all I come to is memories of childhood. I have also dreamed about this person for years. So I am starting to think I am just clinging to something good from childhood, though a bit creepy to dream so much so long about 1 person

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      M. T. Dremerposted 8 years agoin reply to this

      My whole life, any dream I've had that represents fear, did so using a t-rex. Which I think I can blame Jurassic Park for that imagery.

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   MizBejabbersposted 8 years ago

   From a metaphysical standpoint, sometimes they mean something and sometimes they are just the soul casting off junk that you don't need anymore. Your dream sounds like it is trying to tell you something. If I were having a dream such as this, I would tell my higher power to reveal the meaning to my conscious mind or stop the dream. Your subconscious mind probably already knows the meaning, and there is no real use for the dream to go on bothering you.
   I was having dreams involving my cats, mostly those that had gotten old and passed on, but they were not happy dreams. I dreamed that the current cat love of my life was in the street and I was running to save him, but it was too late, his little body was lying in the middle of the street. I woke up screaming in my mind. (I don't ever scream aloud in my dreams.) I was very angry and later when I calmed down, I went into a meditative state and told my soul that my cats were off limits in my dreams. I told Soul that I didn't know what kind of message those dreams were but they were tormenting me and they had to stop. My cats are off limits! That was a couple of years ago, and I've only dreamed of my cats once since then, and it wasn't a tragic dream.
   I have a friend, a newly awakening psychic whose dreams are predictive. Mine are not and I'm so glad that they don't come true. I don't know if I could live with prophetic dreams, knowing that if I dreamed that someone I knew died, they would die soon. My dreams do send me messages, like when I'm under a lot of stress, it shows up in what I call "dreams of frustration."
   Tell your soul that this person is off limits. You may have to do that more than once, but I believe that if your conscious mind is supposed to get a message, it will be given to you in some other way. (I think there is a lot of BS in dream interpretation by the book, which is what these websites do.)

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   chef-de-jourposted 8 years ago

   I don't think there is objective scientific evidence for dreams having a reason per se but there are psychological theories around mostly based on the work of Sigmund Freud, who used dreams to try and untangle the complex inner lives of his clients. Freud more than anyone (other than Jung perhaps) brought dreams into the realm of the every day lives of modern people. He dealt with hysteria, wish fulfillment, repression and trauma, creating the idea of the unconscious,dreams being the road to that strange world. He used symbolism to help his patients but never worked alone with dreams, always using a person's circumstances to help unravel problems.
   Most other theories work on the idea that all characters and objects in a dream represent aspects of the self - your personality revealed in disguise.
   Perhaps Freud is worth looking at in your case because he comes closest to giving dreams a real function in the psychology of modern humans. I don't know if dream therapy 'works' having never tried it but I did have a deep interest in dreams some years ago, using images for art work and story ideas.
   Most psychologists think dreams are a shedding of material we repress in our conscious life, manifesting in images and surreal events as we relax and our brain waves alter during sleep.
   Dream interpretation is an art and I don't think you'll get any joy whatsoever from the popular online dictionaries.Best to find an intuitive listener with an interest in Freud, or a psychology degree!
   As for predictive dreams - well, anything's possible I suppose but if they were a shared and known experience, common to all, the world would be hearing about them for sure. I have never had them so have to go on my own experiences and say that I think they are unlikely.
   Dreams are wonderful. I sometimes fly in mine and wake up so fresh and full of joy I want to fly in real life!! Great! I love the way dreams affect emotions but have to say that. depending on which type of cheese I eat, dreams aresoften just random chunks of life made surreal by the brain.

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