Last week, I had a dream that I woke up, took a shower and got ready for work like any other day. But when I walked outside, everything was different. I wasn’t in DC anymore but standing on a mountaintop. The view was amazing and I could see for miles. We were in the midst of a mountain range and there were snow-covered peaks in every direction. The sun began to set and the reds, yellows and oranges of the sky were gorgeous. I looked on either side of me and realized that I wasn’t alone. There were about 30 other people all looking the same direction. Somehow I knew that this was my village and we had all climbed the up mountain watch the sun set. The sun continued to set and the sky darkened. I felt completely at peace with the people around me. And then I woke up.
Laying in my bed and reliving my relaxing, but odd, dream, I grabbed the notepad that lives on my bedside table and jotted the details of my dream. I wanted to keep track of what I was dreaming and try to figure out what it meant. In searching some web sites, I found one that said, “mountains in dreams indicate many large obstacles to overcome but they can be positive or negative depending on the context of the dream”. Since I was on top of the mountain and at peace with the people around me, does that mean I conquered my obstacle? Maybe.
I also looked at some of the theories of why we dream. Some researchers believe that we dream for purely physiological reasons - that dreaming exercises our brain’s connections while we are asleep but they serve no other function. While other scientists believe that dreams focus upon our thoughts and emotions and help us deal with issues present in our daily life or even in our subconscious. But scientists did agree that dreams are such a mysterious phenomenon that it will take much more study to understand the reasons for why we dream.
My suggestion for you is to keep a dream log of your own. Place some paper or a notepad by your bed and write down the scary, happy, weird dreams you have. Do some research on the meaning of your dreams and come up with your own theories about what they mean or why we dream.
Justin – A Lumen
