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A) ALL PEOPLE DREAM Did you know that everyone dreams?  You brother, your mom, your best friend Mary Sue, and your dog all dream.  We go through cycles of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) and NREM (Non Rapid Eye Movement) every time we drift off to sleep.  During the REM period, we dream.  Our eyes move back and forth rapidly and our other muscles are relaxed as we dream of symbolic representations of our waking life. 

B) BRINGING BACK MEMORIES OF DREAMS It may be challenging for a person to remember dreams because, as we awake, something within makes us forget most things that have happened during the night.  Evidence suggests that perhaps the memories of your dreams are not "forgotten," but merely lost in the depths of you mind.  For instance, sometimes people remember their dreams later in the day or even the next day.  If the memory of the dream had simply disappeared, this phenomenon would not be plausible.     

C) COLOR FACTOR People usually dream in color.  Those who are more susceptible to noticing what color something is may remember their dreams' major colors more vividly when they are awake.  Color in dreams may play a key role in deciphering the hidden meaning of dreams.  Red, for instance, symbolizes passion and aggression, and could represent either need for love or pent-up anger. 

D) DREAMS THAT REOCCUR Recurring dreams- especially nightmares -are common in people.  They symbolize an ongoing battle or problem in the waking life.  If you had a recurrent dream of searching for a key to a treasure chest, perhaps you are trying to find the answer to a problem and you don't know where to look.  Generally, most recurring dreams will continue until the problem or situation is settled.

E) EVERY DREAM A PROPHECY? Dreams are not accurate representations of life.  In most cases, they use symbolic messages and are not premonitory of the future.  Death in a dream, for instance, does not suggest the actual death of that person in your waking life, but rather the end of something or a change that you are uncomfortable with.  

F) FULFILLING YOUR WISH OF WHAT TO DREAM Influencing your dreams consciously is not common, but it has been done.  Before going to sleep at night, you can tell yourself "I will dream about this tonight," and hope that it happens.  This is a proven method for some people, but for others, talking to their subconscious is the same as talking to the computer- fruitless and kind of weird.  No matter what, controlling your dream life completely has not yet been done, and is assumed not possible.  If you wanted a play-by-play of your entire life- conscious and unconscious -what would be the fun, anyway?

G) GRUESOME NIGHTMARES Nightmares could be caused by several factors: drugs or medications taken or feelings of guilt, fear, anger, stress, or sadness in your waking life.  A traumatic event such as surgery may also trigger a nightmare.  These dreams do not predict the future, but usually just suggest that you are unsatisfied with some feeling in your waking life and the problem needs to be faced and solved.

H) HAVING DAYDREAMS Daydreams are perfectly normal and natural.  Everyone daydreams. Actually, each person spends a daily average of thirty minutes daydreaming. Just as your nightly dreams, daydreams can easily be interpreted. Most daydreams are directly connected to your feelings and situations in your waking life. As strange as it may sound, worrying about a situation and imagining a bad outcome is also a type a daydreaming. It is proven that when imagining something repetitively, it is more likely for the person to act on the situation- so think positively!!!

I) INSOMNIA Insomnia is a sleeping disorder in which one cannot get to sleep. Everyone will have temporary insomnia at some time or another, usually it is related to stress or anxiety. The actual disorder is harder to treat, but through talking to your doctor and finding a treatment option that is right for you, you will be well on your way to a recovery. Sweet Dreams!!!

J) JUMPING IN DREAMS Okay, you caught us. We couldn't come up with a phrase starting with "J." However, we decided that since we committed ourselves to this page, we would continue and interpret "jumping" for all those curious minds out there. Jumping is probably symbolic in the sense that it represents something larger than life. Perhaps you feel trapped in a situation and want to be released from it. If you are jumping toward the sky, maybe you should look to your religion for an answer. If you are jumping off of something, maybe you feel like in your real life you are taking a plunge and don't know how the outcome will be. The outcome of your dream is representative of your attitude and expectance of what will happen. Most of the time, these dreams (as with most) are absolutely not prophetic.

K) KILLING IN DREAMS We're going for another interpretation here. Many psychologists agree that killing in a dream represents your feelings toward a person or situation in your waking life. If you are the killer, maybe you want to "slay" a problem, or rid yourself of it (or maybe you are really angry at someone in your waking life and wish to seek revenge). If you are the hunted, you feel guilty about something. Chances are, you are not killed right away in the dream- there is a chase first. Chases mean that you feel pressured by something, whether it is your peers pressuring you negatively or your authority figures pressuring you to be honest.

L) LISTENING TO THE WORDS It is important to remember what is said in your dreams, for they may hold relevance later on. For instance, if you dream that your mother turns into a killer and murders your family, maybe the mood changed earlier in the dream and you will be able to see what she is angry about. Perhaps she was kind to you at first, but suddenly storm clouds flew over the house and lightning flashed. "It's all your fault, John. You're to blame," she said to you before reaching for the soon-to-be-bloody kitchen knife. This is a key message in the dream, and although it is unlikely that your mother will actually murder you and your family, it is likely that she is angry at you for some reason. How you solve the problem in the dream (assuming you do) will give you a hint as to how to reconcile with Mom.

M) "MY DREAMS ARE THE WEIRDEST IN THE WORLD." If I had a penny for every time I heard that one, I'd have about thirty cents (it's not a lot of money, but I have heard that phrase about thirty times). Your dreams are not weird. They are your brain's way of letting you know what is wrong, what is right, and how you can solve problems. Think of them as a gift. In this dreamer's opinion, it is actually a bit flattering to have odd, hard-to-interpret dreams, because the more symbolic they are, the deeper your thinking was (at least at the time of the dream). You are talking to a pro in the field of "weird" dreams- I have had them, my friends have had them, and my parents have had them. Everyone does, and it seems that everyone feels awkward about sharing them. Don't. Dreams are a package waiting to be opened, and when you get a package that you cannot unwrap by yourself, you don't just put it on the shelf and admire the paper. You ask for help. The same holds true with dreams. Ask for help, and you won't be disappointed.

N) NARCOLEPSY Narcolepsy is a sleeping disorder in which the sleeper sleeps- constantly. The person will fall asleep at random moments (even sometimes mid-sentence) and have strange, dream-like sequences during their waking life. It is a scary disorder which is shrugged off by the media as a joke. However, narcolepsy is no joke- it is serious. If you think you may have narcolepsy, talk to your doctor. If you fall asleep in his/her office, you'll probably be diagnosed. He/she will help you treat this potentially harmful disorder.

O) OH NO! MY CHILD IS HAVING NIGHTMARES ABOUT ME DYING! Relax. I would like to stress once again that dreams almost never tell the actual future, and though odds are that you will eventually die, your child is not prophesizing. Your child is probably just releasing emotion targeted at you. If you die a terrible death and he is sad, he's probably worried about you in his waking life. If he kills you himself, he's- surprise -angry at you. Work things out with him.

P) PEOPLE IN DREAMS Depending on the person you dream of (famous, friends, relatives, or strangers), there is almost always symbolism in people. Famous people mean you want recognition, friends usually represent parts of yourself (especially if you do not know who they are), relatives could also be parts of yourself or they could mean that you are worried or angry at them, and strangers represent you or, as before, parts of you.  It is thought that a stranger against a fire is a dead relative trying to make contact with you.

Q) QUIET Dreams with no dialogue are telling you to pay close attention to the actions portrayed. Try to remember everything you can about the dream, as in most cases silent dreams are the most symbolic.

R) REM REM is an important stage of sleep. So important, in fact, that this stage is the one in which dreams are dreamed. Heart rate and breathing increase during this stage and your eyes move back and forth vigorously. For more information on REM, visit the REM page.

S) SYMBOLISM Obviously, symbolism is mentioned frequently on this site. However, that is not going to help you if you do not know what symbolism is. Symbolism is the representing representing things by means of symbols or of attributing symbolic meanings or significance to objects, events, or relationships, or, in English, stuff in your life represented by stuff in dreams. Does that help you a little?

T) TOTALLY IN CONTROL Believe it or not, there are ways of controlling what you dream. I've heard ways from repeating to yourself over and over what you wish to dream right before you go to sleep to looking at old photographs. What I find works best, however, is to lie in the bed and repeat what you wish to dream and who you would like to meet.

U) UNDERGOING DREAM TRAVEL I've heard that dream travel is possible. Dream travel is deciding to meet with another real person while in the dream state. This is all just theory and speculation, and it has never worked for me, but maybe you will try it and it will work for you. First, repeat to yourself the mantra: "Tonight in my dreams I will meet _____." (Insert the person's name in the blank.) I have heard that it helps to discuss the details of your meeting with the person you are going to meet with. That way, you can both decide to go to a library in your dream and will actually be sharing the same dream. An exciting prospect, isn't it?

V) VICTORY! Finally, you have learned to successfully interpret your dreams. Now what? DUH! You put your findings to work for you! Say you have discovered that your dream of dying means a rebirth of you- more specifically, say that it means you have chosen to get involved with acting and feel it is unlike you. If you decide that your dream contains a feeling of sadness, you can talk to your friends about it or decide to still stay involved in sports. See how helpful dreams can be?

W) WITH OR WITHOUT CLUES Always remember- some dreams do not contain symbolism, so not everything can be interpreted. For instance, one night I had a dream that I was with Barney the Dinosaur and his "friends" and I were singing with him. I awoke to find the T.V. blaring Barney music and my sister watching the show. My dream had not contained symbolism, it had simply been my environment seeping into my subconscious. Nothing to worry about there.

X) X-AMINING THE FACTS What are the facts? Well, the facts are that many dreams contain symbolism. This is the main purpose for this site. You dream during REM and normally don't remember it. In a nutshell, that's it. Mostly everything else is simply speculation.

Y) YOUR PETS AND DREAMS "So, Alexis and Katie," you may say. "I know about my dreams, but what about Sparky's?" To that we say, "We don't care, but we'll tell you anyway." It is unknown whether or not pets dream. They cannot tell us what or when they dream, so we really have no way of knowing if they do. Evidence shows, however, that all signs point to yes, as pets have been proven to have active and passive stages of sleep. Humans have these as well (we dream in the active stage). Who knows what ol' Sparky could be dreaming about- world peace? Curing cancer? Maybe he's just dreaming about the cat next door.

Z) ZEN AND DREAMING Sometimes people look at meditation as a controlled form of dreaming. This is not true.  Just to "clear" the air, meditation is a typically Buddhist practice in which people try to clear their minds of all outward distractions in attempt reach a higher level of thinking called Nirvana. This isn't dreaming.

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