What do Dreams Mean?

Go straight to our common dreams page to begin working out what your dreams mean right now!

People have been fascinated with the question, what do dreams mean for Centuries.

In ancient times the Greeks and the Romans believed in the importance of dreams to give information about past, present and future events.

In modern times, since the advent of Dream Psychology in the late 18th Century thanks to Sigmund Freud, researchers have been making advancements in the study of dreams.

So…what do dreams mean then?

Even though we have come a long way, years of research and hundreds of dream books later, the meaning of dreams is still a bit of a mystery.

There are still no concrete answers to the questions “what do dreams mean?” or “why do we have them?.”

However, researchers are generally in agreement that working with dreams can provide some beneficial understanding into anxieties and feelings on personal issues.

Dream practitioners use dream interpretation to facilitate change and self-growth within their patients.

Answering the question “What do dreams mean” is difficult because of the personal nature of each and every dream we have.

Dreams are unique to each individual, and dream imagery is an accumulation of each individual’s experiences, memories and feelings throughout life.

Although dreams have different meanings for different people, the society we are a part of does impact on our dream imagery.

We collectively respond to aspects of life similarly. We are all concerned with our relationships with people, our general survival and dealing with problems in our life.
These are common to everyone.
Thus, when these issues come into our dream life, there are common ways in which we will represent them.

So one could assume that, the meaning behind dreams of being naked would be the same for most people in a society where wearing clothes every day is the social norm.
Unless you parade around nudie all the time, this dream is going to mean you feel exposed in some way in your waking life.

Flying similarly, for most of us will mean that you feel free or “above it all”.

These universal themes that crop up in your dreams are referred to as Common Dreams Themes. And there are many.

The most common dream themes are:

• Chase Dreams
• Falling Dream
• Dream Sex
• Lost Dreams
• Naked Dream
• Dreams of Death
• Teeth Dreams
• Water Dreams
• War Dreams
• Flying Dreams
• Animals in Dreams

So, when asking the question, what do dreams mean? take into consideration the common dream meanings, but always look for the personal meaning behind dreams, first.
A dream about flying could mean you feel free… but it could also mean something far more personal to you.

Return from What do Dreams Mean to the Home Page