Essay, Research Paper: Dreams

Since the dawn of mankind, man has been searching for the
answer to just one question: Why do we dream? I believe
strongly that the reason is not clear-cut and as easy to answer
as it might seem. I think that dreams range in meaning and
importance.

When someone has a dream, there are many possible
types of dreams they could have. First of these possibilities is
for a dream that involves absolutely no meaning whatsoever.
The dream is meaningless and involves a chain or series of
events that are unrelated to one another and may be of people
or places familiar or not. These dreams are most likely created
because of the flash and mixture of chemicals that occurs
during sleep. Many times these dreams are actually so bazaar
that they have no meaning even to the dreamer. So these
dreams are mostly just passed over and ignored.

The second type of dream is one in which the dreamer
can comprehend everything that is going on but things seem to
have no meaning as before. But in some of these dreams,
there are symbols that come into play. When you look at these
dreams sometimes they can represent real life events. Often
these are predictions about what could happen in the future or
are an interpretation of things that have passed. These, like
almost all other dreams have significance as a result of bodily
rejuvenation processes. This type of dream has a significance I
believe in helping the person have the feeling of a good sleep,
where things have, if not in some bazaar way, been resolved.

The third type of dream is one which makes great and
perfect sense to the dreamer but doesn't have any real
meaning. An example of this is dreaming that you are flying.
Although you know what you are doing, and are
comprehending this, it really doesn't have meaning in your life.
Dreams like this can be quite mentally satisfying to the dreamer.
Many times a dream like this can be almost a form of
entertainment to the dreamer, especially if the dreamer realizes
they are dreaming. When this happens sometimes the dreamer
will take control of their dream and can do things they would
not normally be able to do in real life.

Another type of dream is one where the dream has full
meaning and the dreamer can fully realize everything that
happens. Dreams like this can show exactly the way things
could happen in the future, or ways of dealing with problems
that will occur or have occurred. Many people believe that a
dream of this kind could be an actual depiction of the way
things will happen. Many people swear to this belief. I
personally do believe in this possibility.

Basically, I believe that people have not even begun to
realize the potential of the human mind. I think that even with
as much as we know about technology, it cannot even compare
to the power and unlimited ability of the human mind. I
believe that many times, our dreams can actually be predictions
about the future. Also, I personally believe that the mind can
actually solve problems while in a sleep state. I know that
sometimes I have gone to sleep with a problem planted in my
mind, and would awaken having dreamt of an answer. Many
times this would help me to more clearly confront the problem
and resolve it.

I don't really believe in any one of the theories about
dreaming myself, but rather think that a mixture of all of them is
true. What it comes down to is that dreaming is a chemical
process that at the same time generates a side-effect that we call
dreaming. But the brain itself actually will control this so that it
sometimes has meaning to us. I believe that subconsciously we
have areas of the brain that are in-tune to things beyond
normal comprehension. These areas develop the real meaning
of dreams and their significance in our lives.