Dreams Blog

Dreaming of dogs is a normal occurrence especially if the dreamer is a dog-lover. However, there are times that the scenario being dreamt varies – there are dogs being treated well while others see the so-called “Man’s best friend” being treated harshly. The dreamer then comes up with a worrying question – what do these contrasting situations mean?

According to dream experts, dogs or puppies specifically symbolize babies.

Thus, this dream usually occurs to those who are about to be parents or are already parents. This symbolizes responsibility because once the child is welcomed to the world, there’s a choice whether to treat the child well and fairly or otherwise.

This serves as a challenge for parents out there to be the best influence for their children. This is not an easy task especially with the harsh environment that they may live in.

If you are interested in dream interpretations, you may want to take it another step higher by earning a doctorate degree out of it.

In Saudi Arabia, a school is offering an undergraduate and doctorate degrees for the aforementioned topic.

Dream interpreter Yusuf al-Harthy said that he’s planning to set up this course in his institute. He said that he will be offering bachelors, masters and doctorate degrees for those who want to explore the realms of dream interpretation and deciphering the images seen by the people in their sleep.

This development was announced by al-Harthy in a magazine interview last weekend.

The dream interpreter said that he’s been managing an instructional site in deciphering the meaning of dreams. He said that his academy will be linked with a known Arab university. He said that he won’t mention the name for now until final negotiations have been straightened out.

Radio talk show host Doug Grunther of Woodstock, New York has been gaining listers as more and more people are getting interested in dream analysis which he usually discuss at his radio shows such as “The Dream Show” and “Woodstock Roundtable” at WDST Radio.

He said that dreams are said to provide practical advices. This could serve as an avenue for self-awareness and inspiration for creativeness.

Grunther has been an active dream facilitator for the past decade. He has helped several individuals understand the dreams that they had via private consultations, group activities and of course, over the radio.

He encourages enthusiasts out there to venture in dream work because this can be therapeutic. In Grunther’s case, it helped him overcome his chronic depression.

A great fact for everyone, every night a person dreams about four to six times.

For those who study dreams, this report may be an important piece of information.

According to a recent research conducted by experts, catnaps or short term sleeps may help one’s memory or for one’s brain to function more effectively. In a way, it reboots one’s brain.

This development was explained by CBS News Medical Correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton during the “Early Show” program.

Thirty-nine respondents took part in the study and it has been discovered that short naps aid them in memory exercises. The respondents who napped performed 20 percent better than those who did not.

The researchers believed that a part of the brain called the hippocampus – storage of short-term memories – tends to be rebooted during these short naps. This leads to the brain making room for new information and learning.

This development may be good for students who are preparing for an exam, that sleep can actually improve their studying because more information relevant to the exam can be stored in their brains.

We dream in several stages of our sleep, and it doesn’t necessarily have to occur during the REM (rapid eye movement) stage. However, constantly depriving ourselves of the REM stage due to losing the last couple of hours of sleep means losing the opportunity to view the images that may have significant definitions in how we live our life.

According to experts, dreams are there for a reason and have some purpose in a way. Images could serve as clues for solutions that we may need to implement to live a more meaningful life.

Certain patterns may be discovered when we dream. In fact experts have linked those who dream often to have productive tendencies during their waking moments – such as writing more creative stories.

Despite these admirable observations, dreams are useful to all people regardless of their profession as these images have significance only to the individual.

Interpretations on the actual definition of dreams can be made but the answer always lies to the dreamer.

For those with severe sleep apnea, there’s a silver lining, there’s a lesser occurrence of bad dreams based on the research conducted by medical experts.

Dr. Jim Pagel, one of the lead researchers of a medical study that was published in the Feb. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, said that they discovered that patients with severe sleep apnea have fewer nightmares. He added that this is one of the first studies that clearly support the findings. This gives the medical experts more understanding of this condition.

Pagel is the director of the Sleep Disorders Center of Southern Colorado and he is optimistic that further studies and research will be made in the topic of sleep apnea.

He said that sleep apnea becomes more interesting now that it has tie-ins to dreams and nightmares and they will explore more on this aspect in their upcoming researches.

Studying dreams can take a lifetime or in fact a career choice for many but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to get at least a vague idea on the meaning behind the dreams that we make.

Dreams can be interpreted in several ways. What one sees and interprets may not necessarily apply to the other because after all we are unique. Finding an actual meaning on the visions that we see during our sleep may be frustrating. It is best to go with the flow and see how things go.

There are several aspects of the dream that we need to consider such as how we can inculcate these so-called “messages” in our everyday lives. If we see a gun in our dream, does this mean that we need to buy one? Not necessarily, it may be a symbolism that we need to gun down negative thoughts and continue in our life’s journey with optimism.

There are several instances where people fear their dreams. Here are some common fears:

- dreams reveal sexual longings and a desire to fulfill sexual fantasies. This is due to the Freudian analysis.

- people tend to distrust or fear dreams due to the belief that we should be in control of our lives and messages or images from the dream should be ignored and should not be enacted at all .

- people think that their dreams depict future events that can take place far away. These dreams may leave them immobile since they don’t have a concrete answer as to how to deal with it.

- people fear dreams because they could be messages from the higher being and that presented with such dreams mean that their faith is being tested.

However, experts said that finding out what dreams mean should not be feared upon since shutting them out means inhibiting ourselves to find opportunity or to take part in something that could make a change in our life.

School of Metaphysics Director and Dream researcher Dr. Daniel Condron said that recurring dreams are just one of the types of dreams that we encounter everyday. He believes that dreams represent a message or question. This is usually related to a person’s fear, doubt, habit and many more.

The dream expert said that once the dreamer has an understanding as to what he or she is dreaming about, there’s a big chance that the resolution will be enacted.

The thing about dreams, he says, is that the dreamer and the interpreter can be both right or wrong with the perception behind the images seen during sleep. No one can really be sure if the meaning is right. Even experts are honest enough to admit that there are no exact interpretations in our dreams because we are unique in every way. The best bet is that there’s always a common denominator which we can work on as we try to find the resolutions behind our recurring dreams.

He also believes that although it is hard to influence dreams you can make sure you have comfortable nightwear and a comfortable bed to sleep in.

Experts say that it is normal for us to have recurring dreams. The question is how do we find the meaning behind these dreams and why do they occur regularly? Does it have significant implications on how we live our lives today?

Recurring dreams have been categorized into two: full-on nightmares and stress related dreams. Most of these dreams reflect our anxieties and fears.

• Being chased: This is a common dream for most of us. There are instances where we are being chased by someone or something and we feel that we cannot move. Experts believe that the meaning is that there’s something that we should be doing but we may have opted not to.

• Falling: We’re falling into a deep abyss without end, an indication that an undertaking that we’ve been doing may not be going well.

• Haunted house: This may have something to do with the environment that we’re in. There might be hostility that needs resolution.