My Essays

Do dreams have meaning?

In my experience most people believe some dreams have meaning. There are book shelves full of material on where dreams come from, different symbols and there implications, how to tell which ones have meaning and how to remember them. The idea of meaning in dreams is very old. The oldest example of dreams having meaning comes from the Bible. Seeing visions of angels, and witnessing cataclysmic events of the future fascinates us. A specific example from the Bible is about king Nebuchadnezzar who was the ruler of Babylon. This ancient power existed from 1867 BC to about 700A.D. For those not familiar with the Old Testament one of his dreams was about the future ruling kingdoms that would come to reign. In his dream he saw an immense image. Paraphrasing from the Book of Daniel: it's head was made of gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of brass, its legs of iron, and its feet made of iron and clay. To put it shortly, each body part signaled that a different empire would be conquered by the one below it starting with the golden head which was Babylon.

Probably the more recognized Biblical dreams were those related to angels. One such dream that is pretty well known concerned Joseph the husband of Mary. In his sleep he saw an angel telling him how the Holy Spirit would make Mary with child and that he was to name him Jesus and that he would save God's people from their sins. Later on he was instructed by an angel twice more; one to flee to Egypt and another to go to Jerusalem.

What is the case today? Reoccurring dreams are usually thought to bear importance. One book I've read said dreams reflecting sayings or generalizations have real connotations. The term "missing the boat" was reflected in a reoccurring dream where she was sitting on a bench while a boat sailed away and she woke up screaming and perplexed. Reoccurring nightmares are by far the most seriously taken. Some are the result of repressed memories and sometimes they indicate a dire and usually threatening situation.

When you analyze your dream with the aid of a source or have it analyzed for you, remember that there are a lot of people who make grandiose and outlandish surmising. Sometimes a dream is just a dream.