what your dreams reveal about you

 what your dreams reveal?   can you learn from your dreams ?do your dreams reflect real people?   places and ideas psychologists have gone back and forth on this question some belief dreams   are gateways into your abstract mind others say dreams are nothing but subconscious garble   a random collection of sights sounds and emotions but whose rights where do your dreams come from   and what do they mean in the mid-1900s Calvin s hall was one of the leading experts in   dream research paul conducted several famous studies on the meaning of dreams one study   conducted in 1953 analyzed over 10 000 individual dreams ,  one of Calvin hall's greatest contributions is the cognitive theory of dreams in his theory hall   redefines dreams and where they come from your dreams he says reflect elements of your reality   but not in linear straightforward ways alright let's say you dream about the richest person on   the planet that doesn't mean your dream is going to come true but even unrealistic dreams can teach   you important lessons about yourself about the world and your direction in life because   dreams according to Calvin hall embody your thoughts the dream is a collection of images   and stimuli a dream is a subconscious projection that you imagine when you sleep but dreams may   also, transform your thoughts into sensory stimuli images and landscapes so what exactly can we learn   from our dreams what do individual dreams teach us about our own cognition number one the dream?   mirror in hall's theory he compares your dreams to a mirror when you dream your subconscious   reflects your selfhood at you but there's a catch your subconscious isn't always true to life ,  that reflection isn't your real self it's your dream self now your dream self represents your   own conceptions of who you are it's constructed from all kinds of ideas misconceptions and biases   it shows your personality the way you perceive it okay let's say you dream of falling into a   the deep ocean you try to swim to the surface but it gets farther and farther away the next night   you dream of a dark road you take turn after turn but every road leads you deeper into the darkness   and then the night after that you experience the same feeling this time you're trapped inside an   the endless hallway you see a light at the end of the tunnel but no matter how fast you run you never   get there what do all these dreams have in common each dream shows you a perception of yourself   in the ocean, on a dark road, and in the endless hallway you see yourself as one thing powerless   in these dreams, you have lost control you have become overwhelmed you're unable to overcome   the challenge that's standing in front of you ultimately these dreams show you your weakness   now of course this is just one example some dreams show strength some show courage and confidence  others show fear and insecurity the possibilities are limitless but hall argues that nothing   presents a more honest view of yourself than your dreams number two social reflections what   do you think of your friends and family according to Calvin hall your dreams reflect?   more than just your selfhood they also reflect your honest opinions of the people in your life   if you're harboring deeper issues a dream will bring that conflict to the forefront of your mind   dreams can turn emotional turmoil into stories images and sounds imagine for example your best   friend you've known your friend for most of your life maybe you grew up together maybe you played   the same sports you two are almost inseparable but one night you have a dream about your friend   and in that dream you and your friend are running a marathon you try to keep up but your friend   pulls ahead of you they get further and further away and you can't catch up the first time you   don't think much of it but you have similar dreams for the rest of the week eventually you notice a   pattern patterns like these could represent deeper conflicts maybe your friend has taken a new job or   started spending time with new people you may be scared that you're going to lose them so that fear   manifests in your dreams alright let's try another example let's say you've been dreaming about dogs   all week in your daily life you like dogs if a dog runs up to you your smile and scratch its head   but in your dreams, you're being chased and attacked every one of these dreams feels like   a nightmare deep down you may be afraid of dogs even if that fear has never come to the surface   according to Calvin hall patterns or dream series are windows into your thoughts just   like your dream self dreams create dream friends and dream family members these people represent   your conceptions of them sometimes you discover love and trust and other times   you discover fear or intimidation but you have to identify these issues before you can fix them   number three nervous nightmares what do your dreams tell you about your personality   a 2010 study from the international review of neurobiology discovered something interesting   about your dreams specifically about your nightmares we've all had nightmares at some   points like dreams they vary wildly from standing naked in a crowd to monsters in the woods  but they all have one thing in common every nightmare is colored by negative emotions   fear anxiety humiliation a nightmare cooks up a stew of negativity which may haunt you   throughout the day but why did researchers take a special interest in our nightmares they found   that certain personalities have more nightmares than others on average people who have frequent   nightmares are worriers and overthinkers people with this personality type are prone to guilt   and frustration and they experience significant stress regularly sometimes that tension   comes from their environment or their lifestyle but most of the time it's all in their head  worry and stress may affect your subconscious when you fall asleep your negativity may seep  

into your dreams so instead of happy exciting stories you may conjure up a nightmare  number four strange experiences how well do you remember your dreams dream recall is a rare talent  

most people forget their dreams within seconds of waking up  

hours of images slip out of their brain like those dreams never happened now a handful   of people do remember their dreams and their dreams may have a positive impact on their life  they remember the lessons they learned so they carry those lessons into their lives according  

to our 2010 study, this talent is correlated with one personality trait openness is your   receptiveness to new experiences do you try things you've never tried before do you value unique   opinions and perspectives if you have a strong dream memory you may rank highly in this category   you're open to new experiences so your brain is receptive to the strangeness of your dreams   number five worldly interpretations dream worlds are nothing like the real world you may dream of   a mountain made of ice cream or a city floating on the clouds but you can't experience anything like   that in real life does that mean our dreamscapes have nothing to teach us let's say you're dreaming   of your hometown suddenly you hear a storm brewing in the distance that storm sweeps across   your neighborhood picking you up and swirling you in the air maybe you dream of a desolate   battlefield explosions burst all around you and for the mile, after mile, you see nothing but wreckage   neither of these dreamscapes reflects your reality but your dreamscapes may mean something according   to Calvin hall, they're created by your opinions of the world around you now in both of our examples   you saw chaos and destruction in your dream you stepped into a dangerous environment so in reality  your world may feel like a dangerous place the emotions are the same only the images have changed   not all dreamscapes are dangerous or scary some are uplifting and beautiful  you may dream of a cool breeze blowing across a flowering meadow you see the sunset   over the ocean, if you see these dreamscapes your world may seem like a majestic place   you may feel happy and calm in your environment so those emotions may be reflected in your dreams   number six persistent obstacles do your dreams repeat themselves do you run   into the same obstacles time after time, these patterns may not be a coincidence   Calvin hall says that persistent obstacles represent greater conflicts in your life   locked doors are a common dream obstacle whether you're chasing something or running away from a locked   door stops your story in its tracks there's no key there's no way around and suddenly you feel stuck   authority figures are another common obstacle let's say you're dreaming about your future career   you're about to accomplish a lifelong goal when an authority figure steps in your way   it could be a king a parent or a teacher it may be someone from your past or someone you've   never met before either way this person prevents you from accomplishing your goal   if you encounter dream obstacles there may be conflicts you need to resolve   you may be facing a roadblock in your career you may feel trapped by a job relationship or   the lifestyle you may not realize anything's wrong until you see that obstacle in your dreams   dreams aren't always accurate some dreams may be meaningful and some may not   the truth is most stream research is theoretical dreams may be useless collections of stimuli   but they may also reflect your thoughts and emotions even if your dreams are meaningless   you can still learn powerful lessons from your sleeping brain .