Dreams: The Unconscious Wishes or Impulses

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of dreams.”-           Roosevelt 

In Shakespeare’s play ‘Julius Caesar ‘, Caesar’s wife Calpurnia had dreamt that her husband would be killed the following day. President Abraham Lincoln had a dream shortly before he was assassinated and the structure of benzene was revealed in a dream to German chemist FA Keule. So what exactly are dreams? For many, it is the most dramatic aspect of sleep. They are usually some kind of jumbled but vivid images that fill our sleeping minds. To be more technical, they are cognitive events which occur during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep and are mostly vivid but disconnected. What are exactly these images and why do they occur? 

According to many psychologists including Sigmund Freud, dreams express unconscious wishes or impulses. Freud in his book, “The Psychopathology of Everyday Life ” clearly stated that dreaming is a useful way of probing into the unconscious, thoughts and impulse that lie outside the realm of conscious experiences. He believed that our dream expresses those impulses and desires, which we find unacceptable to be expressed during our waking hours. Thus we dream of gratifying illicit desires or of inflicting pain to somebody for taking revenge of some sort. However, Freud’s belief was not supported by any convincing scientific evidence and so at present only a few psychologists accept this view. 

On the other hand, if dreams are not active brain takes off. Yet, all said and done, psychologists are highly skeptical as to why we actually dream. EEG records indicate that each one of us dream during REM sleep. Everyone dreams. Visual imagery is variable for those who lose their sight between ages five or seven. People who lose their sight after seven years of age almost always have some level of visual imagery present in their dreams. Memory of specific aspects of dreams usually degrades very rapidly after awakening. If the dreamer does not make note of color information right away, it just evaporates, and is no longer accessible.  

Do dreams foretell the future? Probably not. There is no scientific basis to such belief. There are some common dreams. Dream of falling teeth is a very common one. So what does this dream mean? There are many interpretations of this dream, but the most valid one suggests, that since teeth are used to bite, tear, chew and gnaw, the loss of teeth may stem from a sense of powerlessness. Many dreamers have described the ability to fly in their dreams. If the flight is a smooth one and the landscape below is idyllic, it suggests that you are on top of a situation. You have risen above something. It may also mean that you have gained a different perspective on things. Flying dreams and the ability to control your flight is representative of your own personal sense of power. Having difficulties staying in flight indicates feeling a sense of lack confidence in controlling circumstances. Things like power lines, trees, or mountains may further obstruct your flight. These barriers represent a particular obstacle or person who is standing in your way in your waking life. You need to identify who or what is hindering you from moving forward. If you are feeling afraid when you are flying too high, it suggests that you are afraid of challenges and success. 

Falling dreams are another theme that is quite common in the world of dreams. Falling is an indication of insecurities, instabilities and anxieties. You are feeling overwhelmed and out of control in some situation in your waking life. This may reflect the way you feel in your relationship or in your work environment. You have lost your foothold and cannot hang on or keep up with the hustle and bustle of daily life. Falling dreams also often reflect a sense of failure or inferiority in some circumstances or situation. It may be the fear of failing in your job or school, loss of status or failure in love. To dream that you are taking an exam indicates that you are being put to the test or being scrutinized in some way. Such dreams highlight your feelings of being anxious and agitated. 

You may find that you cannot answer any of the questions on the test or that the time is running out. These dreams usually have to do with your lack of self -esteem or confidence. You may harbour some guilt because of your neglect in preparation for a school exam, meeting, business project or some challenge .Most of the time, though, people who have such dreams are unlikely to fail a test in real life. This dream goes back to their fear and own anxiety that may not meet others’ standards of them. To dream being caught in gale, indicates that you are losing control of things or that you never had control of it, in the first place. You need to find another way to approach and solve your problems. Alternatively, the dream may also be telling you that are too serious. You need to lighten up.