Are your Dreams Prophecies? Answers from Science and Scripture

Dreams are visual images that are viewed while we are sleeping. Sleep studies have revealed that we actually have multiple dreams in the course of the night while we are sleeping. During sleep we travel through various stages of sleep in a continuous cycle until we awaken. The actual recuperation process takes place during Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, which is also known as, stage 5 of sleep. During REM sleep the eyes move rapidly and the brain's activity is almost identical to the activity displayed while one is awake. So what does this mean? Although you are physically resting your brain is still at work.

A part of the recuperation process is making sense of new information. For the many hours you were awake during the day you have taken in loads and loads of new information through your five senses. The five senses are taste, vision, touch, sound reception and smell. During the time of rest you have an opportunity to process the new data. Some theorist may interpret dreams to be a manifestation of the organization process. No longer is a thought processes words but they also become images.

Those analysts that are followers of the late Sigmund Freud may say that dreams are the process of wish fulfillment. What we really desire and long for in our lives is present in our dreams. For example if a woman truly desires to be pregnant she may actually have dreams about becoming pregnant, giving birth or even breast-feeding. Another example may be a person's overwhelming desire to receive a promotion on the job. In this individual's dream they may see themselves meeting with the supervisor for a quarterly review. They may also dream of the future purchases they want to make with the extra income they would get when the raise is received.

In Freud's book, Interpretation of Dreams, he explained his theory in great depth. The images and situations we see in our dreams is the manifest content. What the images really mean, or can be interpreted as, is the latent content because the meaning is not obvious. During the time in which Freud practiced there was an abundance of sexual repression in 19^th century Vienna. For this reason a lot of Freud's interpretations focused latent sexual content in one's dreams.

The important thing to keep in my mind when trying to understand your own dream is the context. During Freud's time sexuality was taboo and not discussed openly hence his hypothesis may have been accurate for the time period and the population. In the 21^st century some dream themes may be the same. But what are the ongoing themes in your life? The dreams you have may not predict the future, but it does show what you are focused on generally. This also includes the supernatural dreams you may have from time to time. For instance, if you dream of flying you may want to be successful and seen as one that is able to accomplish things exceeding what your colleagues are capable of. Perhaps you are already that person.

For those individuals that continuously have frightening dreams, consider what your true fears are. What scares you? What makes you anxious? If necessary make a list and rank them according to what makes you the most fearful. At the top of the list should be what you fear the most on a scale of 1 to 10. Once you have made the list think of the possibility of that fear coming to pass. You may also want to use the Internet for facts and statistical data to put your fear in proper perspective. If you have phobias that you want to address that are manifesting in your dreams consider contacting a mental health professional to seek help.

Depending upon your religious or spiritual orientation, if you have one, you may believe dreams are prophecies. Unfortunately, science has not been able to prove, or disprove, dreams as being prophetic. If you indeed believe your dreams are prophecies of the future seek assistance form your religious or spiritual leader for more guidance. In the mean time maintain an open mind and do not hesitate to educate yourself on the significance and role of dreams in your life.