We see them on the silver screen, the television, hear them in our songs. And most of us see them every night when we close our eyes.

We all dream. Without the Rapid Eye Movement, aka dream, cycle of sleep, our rest isn't fully restorative. It's a scientific fact. We don't all remember them, though. Nor is it truly necessary that we do. Not all dreams are deeply meaningful. Some are just our mind running a clean-up utility on our brains. Sure, the night after night of filing index cards makes you want to shoot yourself, or at least drug yourself beyond REM sleep, but it's what your mind needs to do right now, so you can get on with the daytime business of learning and growing. You gotta deal.

But what of the other dreams, the "glorious Technicolor, breathtaking Cinemascope and Stereophonic sound"1 self-inflicted movies, starring us?

The wisdom of dreams has been used and abused since earliest times. 1 Samuel 3 tells of the God of the Hebrews visiting Samuel, who was still a child. Stories of ancient Greece and Rome tell of prophesies received in dreams. Father of psychiatry Sigmund Freud believed in the meaning of dreams as messengers from our subconscious. Student of Freud, and a pioneer of the mind in his own right, Carl Jung wrote of the Collective Unconscious, in which a pool of symbols common to all mankind resides. Often it is these symbols which visit us in our dreams.

Dozens of book have been written on dream interpretation. Although many more symbols appear than the codified, personified archetypes of Jung, the theory is the same. Certain symbols inherently carry certain meanings. For the most part, this is true. Otherwise, we would have a much more difficult time learning tarot, or the meanings of traffic control signs. We all kinda know if it's red and octagonal, we need to apply the brake, even if the sign now says "STOP crying, Kobe".

But as we grow and learn, some symbols acquire different, even contradictory, meaning in our personal lexicons. For one person, Mark Harmon is Gibbs of NCIS. For me, he'll always be Ted Bundy. As our personal symbol dictionary changes, we have to be alert for the variable meaning of the symbols of our dreams.

For example, one dream book may state that water is a symbol of change. For those of us who grew up on Jungian meanings, it's a symbol of the subconscious. A flood means the emotional sewers are in dire need of cleaning, not that we're about to come into an emotionally fulfilling time of our lives. Not that snaking the drains couldn't make way for emotional fulfillment. Probably just the opposite, in fact.

So what to do about the dichotomy? Keep your own dream journal, incorporating not just what you dreamed (yes, doctor, there was a sea monster. No, he exploded when he got to Denver. The pressure change from being a mile above sea level, you see.), but what the symbols of the dreams mean to you personally. The sea monster is probably some childhood primordial emotion that couldn't handle the new, improved, more confident version of me.

Once a year, go back through the journal and compile the personal symbolism. Make your own private dream dictionary. Use this, in conjunction with commercial ones, such as Dream Dictionary for Dummies or Dictionary of Dreams, as well as other dictionaries of symbolism, to find the inner meanings of your nighttime journeys.

Dreams can mean many things. They can be brain or emotional maintenance. They can be messages from your subconscious or your higher self. They can be the voice of your God/dess. They can even be friends or family, with or without their bodies currently on. Or they can just be wishful thinking. I love dreaming about Hugh Jackman!Dreams can mean many things. They can be brain or emotional maintenance. They can be messages from your subconscious or your higher self. They can be the voice of your God/dess. They can even be friends or family, with or without their bodies currently on. Or they can just be wishful thinking. I love dreaming about Hugh Jackman!

Our brains are complicated creatures. We can use them to tune in to the universe, the Collective Unconscious, or our own selves. Pay attention to your dreams, and to what they mean to you.

1. Cole Porter, Silk Stockings, 1957

© Copyright 2009 Fran Carey, All Rights Reserved.