Here's what I've found out:
Prophetic dreams, also referred to as precognitive dreams, are dreams that seemingly foretell the future. One rational theory to explain this phenomenon is that our dreaming mind is able to piece together bits of information and observation that we normally overlook or that we do not seriously consider. In other words, our unconscious mind knows what is coming before we consciously piece together the same information.
We are advised not to take our dreams too seriously, but rather to enjoy them for what they are – an essential part of our sleep process.
However, it is also true (or at least it is my belief that this is true) that most dreams are caused by what happens in our subconscious. Everybody has memories, thoughts, and feelings that they repress. We do this because the things we are repressing are not pleasant to us or because we can’t deal with them. One of the theories of why we dream states that the subconscious needs to “empty itself out”, but this cannot happen while we are awake because that would defeat the whole point of repression. We dream in symbolic form because if we dreamed literally what we were thinking, we would be so disturbed that we would wake up. By using symbols, your subconscious tries to protect your sleep. Also, if you do not understand the symbolism in a dream, you usually do not become aware of what it is that your subconscious is releasing. In some cases, this can protect your happiness (and sometimes even your sanity).
People also repress wishes. Many dreams are direct wish-fulfillment dreams. However, most people can’t consciously harbor a wish to get ready of somebody because this is not socially acceptable. (This happens most often with people we feel we’re supposed to love, like parents or siblings.) The wish becomes repressed and manifests itself in dreams.
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Two roads divereged in a wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
