SPECIAL REVIEW: Dreams
Recently a friend of mine narrated to me how he has been having weird dreams and how he was willing to take a step further and search for a dream interpreter. Today in our special review feature, we take you through the wonderland of dreams and burst off some myths……

A dream refers to imaginary events seen in the mind while sleeping according to wikitionary.   Dreams are perceived differently among different people depending on their cultures, tribes and religious beliefs. Among the ancient Egyptians they believed dreams acted like oracles  bringing messages from the gods. they thought that the best way to receive divine revelation was through dreaming and thus they would induce or incubate dreams a common belief shared by the Greeks. Jews and Hebrews also believed dreams as a way of receiving messages from God as evidenced in  the biblical teachings . Since the death of the last prophet PBUH Muhammad, muslims also believe that the only way to receive revelations from God is through dreams.

In the late 19th century, Sigmund Freud developed a theory that the content of dreams reflects the dreamer’s unconscious mind and specifically that dream content is shaped by unconscious wish fulfillment. He arged that important unconscious desires often relate to childhood memories and experiences. Carl Jung expanded on Freud’s ideas by suggesting that dreams are messages to dreamers and should be paid attention to especially in cases of recurring dreams where he suggested that the dreamer is neglecting an issue related to a dream. He also believed that memories formed throughout the day also play a part in dreaming

Accumulated observation has showed that dreams are strongly associated with a brain activity REM rapid eye movement sleep. Most dreams last 5 to 20 minutes and it remains unknown where in the brain dreams originate. During most dreams people are unware that are dreaming since things that would normally stand out in reality blend in with the dream scenery though in some instances we are aware that is what brings us to know the fact that dreams exist and here are some.

  • Lucid dreams. These occur when you realize you are dreaming and the dreamer becomes an active participant in their own dreams, making decisions in their dreams and influencing the dreams outcome without awakening. In short you become a film star of your dream

  • Dream incorporation. Well u remember those days when you dreamt you were urinating yet in actual sense you are wetting the bed, that moment when you dream your phone is ringing and u wake only to find it ringing, yes that’s incorporation of reality. During sleep many external stimuli may bombard the senses but the brain often interprets and makes them part of dreams.

  • Nocturnal emission informally known as wet dreams, refers to a spontaneous orgasm during sleep that includes ejaculation for males and vaginal wetness &/ orgasm for females common during puberty stage though they continue afterwards. They also occur in most cases when the dreamer is aware

  • Déjà vu. The feeling of having previously seen or experienced something to having dreamed about a similar situation or place and forgetting about it until one seems to be mysteriously reminded of the situation while awake

  • Day dreaming. A visionary fantasy especially one of happy, pleasant thoughts , hopes or ambitions, imagined as coming to pass and experienced while you are awake.

  • Night mares, Recurring dreams, prophetic dreams, life changing dreams and many more others make it to the list

Dreams account for about six years of a human being and some philosophers have concluded that what we think of as the real world could be or is an illusion, in short that we might be living in a dream.
 Sleeping and dreaming are intertwined and though scientists have proved the need for sleep what still puzzles us is the actual purpose of dreaming to our bodies……………


Twin Philemon
Cox Media Ug
2017