Where do we go when we dream?

Each time we go to sleep, dreams carry us to a new world. Sometimes our nocturnal adventures are beautiful, mysterious and full of excitement. Other times, the new realm in which we enter is absurd and frightening.

Dreams have fascinated humankind since the beginning of time. They have been studied and worshiped in almost every culture. Our ancestors believed that dreams are extensions of our reality and that they have profound meaning. They looked at dreams as visions from above.

Shamanic cultures believed that dreams are portals to parallel realities, which allows us to connect to higher level of consciousness. Shamans saw dreams as a possibility of inner transformation and healing. Through dreams we could receive guidance from higher levels and have access to sacred knowledge.

According to Hindu mythology, everything that happens in our reality is a dream happening in Vishnu’s mind. All the people, even us are only manifestations that come alive only in a dream. When Vishnu’s dream will end, so will our world. Vishnu is one of the deities from the Hindu trinity - Trimurti, which includes Brahma the creator, Shiva the destroyer and Vishnu the preserver.

In more modern times, dreams were analyzed by Sigmund Freud which gave life to a new branch of psychology dedicated to open the unconscious mind through the understanding of dreams. Freud believed that dreams are gates to the unconscious mind and that in the dream world our ego’s shield is diminished. He also thought that dreams are showing us repressed memories. He believed that there is a part of the dream that we remember and another part which is latent, what dream symbolizes. In the same time, he also considered that symbols are personal and not universal.

Some of Freud’s ideas were challenged by Carl Jung. Jung agreed with Freud’s basic structure and the idea of interpreting dreams through associations. He rejected Freud’s idea that dreams are a product of taboo sexual impulses.

Jung believed that we dream in a collective unconsciousness and he also coined the term synchronicity. The feeling of synchronicity that we all have could be explained by a shared space, a collective unconsciousness.

Jung believed that sometimes dreams are showing us what we are trying to achieve and other times what stands in our way.

“The dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and secret recesses of the soul, opening into that cosmic night which was psyche long before there was any ego consciousness, and which will remain psyche no matter how far our ego consciousness extends.” ~ Carl Jung

Carl Jung thought that dreams carry emotions hidden from our conscious mind and that every character from our dreams reveals a different part of us. Dreams could be the beginning of self-analysis and help us uncover aspects of our personality, our authentic feelings and emotions.

If you are interested in Jung’s reflection on dreams and how to interpret, the symbolism and mystical meaning behind our inner world, you can read Jung’s Dreams, Myths and Reflections, his autobiography.

For most of us, dreams are “just dream” because we tend to remember just parts of them and have no sense or meaning, so we don’t give them that much importance. We have been conditioned since childhood to look at dreams like they have no meaning. Maybe we should consider them as possible ways of revealing our emotions, possible gates to our deepest feelings.

Some artists had some really inspiring dreams in which they accessed amazing things, translated later into musical compositions, writings or paintings.

One of those is Paul McCartney who one day woke up with the tune of “Yesterday” in his head. He composed the entire song in a dream and was initially unsure of its originality: “I couldn't have written it because I dreamt it.”

You can hear the song here:

Either we look at dreams as means of knowing our hidden emotion, or we see them as “just dreams” without any meaning, they are part of our human experience. Dreams could be incredible journey through magnificent eerie worlds full of mysteries and wonder.

One of the main inspiration materials for writing this post is this book, along with multiple other sources: 1 2 3 4 5

Image sources:

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Thank you for reading!