Dreams, what are they, where do they come from and what do they mean? We all dream and I think we are all fascinated and mystified with the experience. Wikipedia provides a basic definition of a dream: “A dream is the experience of envisioned images, sounds, or other sensations during sleep.”

Scientific study examines what goes on in our brains during sleep. But science has not been able to definitively identify the locus of control within the brain that accounts for the generation of the dream state. It has been said that we consciously use only a small fraction of our brain’s capacity. What is going on 24/7 with the quiescent part of our brains?  Science speaks of the parietal lobe activity, brain stem and cerebral cortex activity within the brain and random eye movement (REM) as we dream. It also speaks to long-term memories, semantic memories and memory consolidation as factors that explain what happens to us as we dream.

 When we discuss the psychology of dreams the measures and discussion become even more blurred around the edges. It becomes clear that dreams defy hard science interpretation or scrutiny. It is not surprising that dream interpretation is not an exact science. In my mind the images and interpretation of dreams is as complex and varied as we all are as individual human beings. Each of us experiences life in our own way. We process life events in our own way based on individual temperments. Temperaments that can change from day to day or even moment by moment.

I think dreams are akin to religious experience. Panthesism resonates to my sense of spirituality. It is my belief that all religions embrace a certain universal germ sensibility based on unity and love. Religious thinking that is exclusive and rigid, in my mind, misses the point when it comes to spirituality. I have a similar sensibility regarding the dream experience. I’m not saying that dreams are religious expericnces. Rather that they share a commonality in that they express foundational aspects of the human condition. Dreams are at once, biological, psychological and spiritual.
 

Mark Esposito