Dreams... small or big, dreams during sleep or day dreams, single occurrence dreams or recurring dreams, sweet dreams or nightmares... everybody experiences them. Dreams can be insignificant or they can have profound impact on one’s life. For my five year old child, her dream is mostly repetition of the events during the day, at home, at school or the moments spent with her friends. On the other hand, for some people, dreams are equivalent of ambitions. They possess the skill to visualise future, to visualise what they want to achieve. In a nutshell, dreams have so many facets and, I believe, are still a mysterious phenomenon.
What is a dream? Webster’s dictionary defines dream as ‘the thoughts, or series of thoughts, or imaginary transactions, which occupy the mind during sleep; a sleeping vision’. A SLEEPING VISION – isn’t it an over simplistic definition for such a complex phenomenon? This definition is highly incomplete to explain visualisation of future while being awake or lucid dreaming, where one has control over his/her dream, its characters, its events and so on- even while sleeping, or day dreaming where one is semi-awake. In fact, science always deals with dreams in a very technical manner. It often associates dreams with a neurophysical theory of Rapid Eye Movement (REM). Infants and even foetuses are said to have dreams through REM. But what would constitute the dream of a foetus is beyond my imagination! (Please explain it to me in the comments section if you know the answer). The movie ‘Inception’ went many steps forward and introduced us to a world, where dreams could be switched on and off, anybody could enter into somebody else’s dream at will and there were multi layered dreams (a dream within a dream, which was in another dream, all dreamt by different persons)!!!
Have a good day. Sweet dreams.
What is a dream? Webster’s dictionary defines dream as ‘the thoughts, or series of thoughts, or imaginary transactions, which occupy the mind during sleep; a sleeping vision’. A SLEEPING VISION – isn’t it an over simplistic definition for such a complex phenomenon? This definition is highly incomplete to explain visualisation of future while being awake or lucid dreaming, where one has control over his/her dream, its characters, its events and so on- even while sleeping, or day dreaming where one is semi-awake. In fact, science always deals with dreams in a very technical manner. It often associates dreams with a neurophysical theory of Rapid Eye Movement (REM). Infants and even foetuses are said to have dreams through REM. But what would constitute the dream of a foetus is beyond my imagination! (Please explain it to me in the comments section if you know the answer). The movie ‘Inception’ went many steps forward and introduced us to a world, where dreams could be switched on and off, anybody could enter into somebody else’s dream at will and there were multi layered dreams (a dream within a dream, which was in another dream, all dreamt by different persons)!!!
I believe, dreams are beyond science and not just a technical term. Dreams are reflections of one’s subconscious mind, one’s soul, one’s persona. They can be just repetition of events, as in the case of my five year old daughter and many others. They can be nightmares, if your subconscious is occupied with some fear. If your subconscious is obsessed with someone (or something), you will have fantasy dreams. Your dreams can recur if your conscious mind is unable to interpret what your subconscious mind has to say.
One of the most important factors differentiating visionaries from others is how they exploit their dreams as their guiding force for achievement of a purpose. Even more important is that they are able to instil the same habit in their followers. A dream does not have a copyright; it can be dreamt by anyone. But to succeed, you will have to imprint it in your minds, both conscious and subconscious. You will have to develop a habit of visualising your dream, till it is fulfilled. Mind you, you need not be asleep for that. If you are not able to develop that habit yourself, find some mentor who can help you with this. This habit will come naturally to you with practice and perseverance. Follow what Swami Vivekananda has said:
“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life - think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”
Have a good day. Sweet dreams.
