Where do dreams come from?

After many years of studying dreams and consciousness, one of the most common questions still asked of me is "where do dreams come from?". Historically, there have been many suggestions of where the dreaming mind originates with basically two explanations arising: 1) dreams come from outside of the dreamer's mind or, 2) the dreamer creates the images while sleeping.

From the studies of consciousness we know that the mind is a vast and boundless entity that is constantly active during the waking day and then continues to be active during sleep. During sleep the mind assimilates and consilidates information that is stored with new information that has been acquired. Studies have shown that during sleep, the mind does not become dormant but rather, it becomes busy and more productive than ever. It is in this essential and active state of sleep that the dreaming mind is activated.

It is here that events of the past, present, and future come to life and play out in the nighttime images. It is here that the true inner self of the dreamer is revealed in many ways. The images are personalized with all the elements created from the dreamer him or her self. The images are produced from the consciousness of the dreamer-the conscious, unconscious, waking life experiences, and the very matter that makes one alive. So where do dreams come from? From the very place that makes a human life alive and that, is still a mystery.

Why Bother With Dreams?

As the new university year starts up I see the students piling back onto the campus. While on campus earlier this week I ran into a student who had taken my 3rd year dreams and dreaming course last year. Part of the course entails doing dream interpretation on one's own dreams over the course of 12 weeks. This student told me that she still uses the dream interpretation methods that she was taught in class and that her dreams now make sense to her. She was happy to report that her dreams have a message for her and that the messages are relevant to her waking life. Of course I was delighted to hear that my teachings are being practiced and that they are helping people, however, the most important message for me was that dream interpretation is doing the work that it is meant to do: it brings conscious awareness to one's waking day.

The whole point of dream interpretation is to bring thoughts, feelings and behaviours into the conscious mind. It is with this awareness that one can live a life more fully and certainly more clearly. Awareness is the path to living a fulfilled life. Awareness stops the unconscious patterns and reactions that bring forth the same results. Awareness is what bring's one's life to it's purpose. If this can happen with dream interpretation, then this is work that is well worth the effort.