• Introduction
• All People Dream
• How-to Optimize Your Dream Experience
• Remembering Your Dreams
• Common Dreams
• Nightmares and Anxiety Dreams
• Prophetic Dreams in Ancient Times

Most of us have heard vivid stories over the years of people who have had prophetic dreams, about loved ones, friends, strangers, or world events, which have come true down to the last detail. While many dreams may be hoaxes, you cannot deny that there are people out there who have had real premonitions of the future.

It is both scary and fascinating. After all, who wouldn't love to be able to see into tomorrow so as to avoid danger? For this reason, dreams have fascinated the human race for centuries, and some cultures even used shrines and oracles to tap into the meaning of their own dreams.

Are our dreams merely reflections of what we go through each day, mirroring our thoughts, emotions, and anxieties? Or are they predictions of what is coming? Knowing the difference can be frustrating, and in this article I will show you simple dream analysis techniques, that I've found to be very effective. I sincerely hope that they help you to find the answers you seek to the visions within your own dreams.

Researchers say that although many people cannot remember their dreams, every person dreams as many as five to 10 times each night, possibly more. So if you're one of the many who cannot recollect your dreams, you are not alone. They also tell us that we sleep an average of a third of each day, which means that by the time we're into our 70's, we've slept for 25 years!

When you go to sleep at night, a lot of things happen. Your heaviest, deepest sleep comes first, almost right away. Then a shorter, lighter sleep occurs. This is when REM (rapid eye movement) begins and you are now watching your dream take place. It goes on about five or six times throughout the night Waking up usually happens after one of these "dream states" and it is the last dream that you had that is usually remembered to most.

For those of you who still believe that you do not dream, tests have shown that when a person is woken up during the REM stage, they are able to clearly remember what was happening in a dream and give blow-by-blow accounts. It's just a matter of when you wake up and what happens at the time.

Are you a restless sleeper? Does it take hours just to nod off at night while your partner starts snoring as soon as their head hits the pillow (annoying, isn't it?). There are ways to battle sleepless nights, and, in turn, help your dreams to come easier.

Food Rules: Do not eat, drink, or smoke right before bedtime. Caffeine and nicotine are ways to KEEP yourself from falling asleep, and that's not what you want. Do not fill up on soda, tea, food, candy, etc., and never eat in bed.

Restful Bedroom: Make your bedroom a place just for sleep, not dining and watching t.v. The only exception to the food rule, are certain foods help induce sleep. Try sipping on some caffeine-free chamomile tea. Or have a banana. There are tons of books (and sites on the Web) that go into herbs and foods that can help you relax

Healthy Diet: The foods you are pouring into your body throughout the day affect everything from your moods to the way you sleep at night, so eat better during the day. That doesn't mean you have to go on a diet. Just try making better choices with food: take vitamins, eat more fruits, veggies, protein, etc. do not fill up on junk all day long and expect to feel good at night.

Reduce Ambient Noise: Buy earplugs. I do not know about you, but any little noise in the room (my husband getting up to go to the bathroom, outside noises, etc.), wake me up. Go invest in some earplugs at the drugstore. It will be the best two dollars you ever spent! If you're afraid you won't hear the alarm to get up for work, test them out over the weekend first.

Sleeping Position: Try sleeping on your right side. Studies have shown that people actually have a better night's sleep on this side, compared to the left.

Help Yourself to Relax: Relaxation Is key. You must let the tension and stress in your body go and stop yourself from thinking, or you'll never fall asleep.

Remember, the more restless nights you have, the worse you're going to feel during the days and weeks to come. The number one reason for people not remembering their dreams is because of not getting enough sleep!

Buy a relaxation tape. I have never fallen asleep fast. It always takes at least an hour of just laying there before I finally nod off. It was frustrating and just made me more tense to see the clock change to the next hour (or hours).

There are meditation/sleep tapes that talk to you, almost hypnotizing you to sleep. They're wonderful (I've tried them) and all I can say is THEY WORK. They help you concentrate on relaxing your body instead of thinking about work, money, family or friends.

Awaken Gently: Try protecting the way that you wake up. If this means locking your bedroom door so the dog or kids do not pounce on you in the morning, so be it. Set your alarm to soothing music instead of a loud, blaring noise. Get a sleep mask to cover your eyes so the morning sun doesn't blast onto your face.

These things will help you to wake up when your body is ready, and not before. Whatever method you choose, there are ways to get a better night's sleep. You just have to make the effort and things will fall into place faster than you can say "zzzzzzzzzzz."

Everyone dreams during sleep, even if we do not remember them. If this bothers you, know you are not alone, and that you can learn to remember your dreams. Here are a few simple techniques that will help you to remember your dreams.

Relax: Try deep breathing exercises when you are all snug in bed and ready for sleep. Clear your mind and help your body and mind to feel free of negative tension.

Tell Yourself to Remember: Before going to sleep, tell yourself that you will remember your dreams. Play this message over in your mind while you're in bed. Try doing this every night and try to train your brain to focus. The subconscious is a powerful tool, and if you really want to remember your dreams, you will.

Keep A Dream Diary: A good first start, is to try keeping a pad and pencil, or tape recorder next to your bed for a week. See if you can jot your memories down right after waking from your sleep. Be sure to stay in bed when you first wake up, and stay relaxed and cozy. Then, close your eyes and remember how you felt upon waking and make some notes.

If you do not remember details, always record how you feel. Are you rested? Do you think you had a deep, relaxed sleep, or do you feel tense? Do you feel like you haven't slept and were restless and moving a lot during the night? Any negative feelings upon waking mean something is on your mind and you need to take a look at what is going on in your life to cause stress and tension in your body and mind.

Teaching yourself to remember dreams can be difficult at first, but the key is not getting frustrated. If you cannot remember your dreams right away then focus more effort on learning how to relax and to get a good night's sleep.

Once you've mastered these simple basics, it does become easier to remember your dreams.

To help you identify a common dream, here are some of the typical things we dream of, and what they are supposed to mean or predict about your future:

Death: Dreaming of death can mean a few things. It can mean the beginning of a new chapter in your life, with the old falling away, and perhaps you are anxious about it. Or, If you talk to someone who is dead, it means that good news is coming.

If it happens to be the ghost of one of your parents, this says that you are exposed to danger and to be careful in forming partnerships with strangers.

Someone dying means that a birth will take place, or there is a need to take a look at your life and slow it down some. You may be doing too much and it is time to let some things go or you will become resentful.

Falling: Falling is a symbol of fear and you need to loosen up and relax. You're afraid of failure and you need to start enjoying your life more. You may be too cut off from people and you need affection and support.

Fear: Feeling fear in a dream means that you will be able to figure out your problems and find what it takes to overcome them. It is a sign that your worries will soon be over.

Fire: This says that a time of rebirth and renewal is near, but to be careful of some form of rejection that is coming. Be strong and try to deal with it maturely. If you dream that you set fire to something, you must learn to control your temper. It will cause problems for you if you do not.

Stairs: Going up stairs means that success is on the way, while going down stairs warns that you are too controversial and you need to tone it down. You are upsetting other people and will do yourself harm.

Men: Happiness and good health is what is predicted when meeting a good-looking man. But emotional upset is coming if you meet an ugly one.

Money: Finding some money says that you have been unhappy about something, but not to worry so much. Happiness is on the way. Nighttime means that delays are coming. If the night is star-filled, you are about to make an interesting discovery.

Rain: If you are caught in a heavy rainstorm, you are about to come into some money. If you are just out and about in the rain, a relationship you are in will end soon.

Screams: This one is opposite than what you think! If you are screaming in an angry way, what has been on your mind causing you worry will turn out okay. But if someone else is screaming, bad news is coming.

Women: Dreaming of women means that insincerity is around you and to watch out. Seeing men and women together tells of feeling more secure and confident about things to come.

Weapons: Weapons mean that you need to postpone some decisions for a while, you may be making them too hastily. If you buy a weapon in your dream, be careful. You are being deceived and need to wake up to what is really happening around you.

Our dreams are key in figuring out what is going on in our lives and how to deal with or fix the problems that may be happening around us.

It's a stormy, scary night and you're running down a dark deserted road. It's right behind you, an unknown shape reaching out with its tentacles to wrap around your neck and kill you. You can't get away, it's right next to you! You scream....and then you wake up and realize that it was just a nightmare.

We've all been there. A terrible, scary dream that leaves you feeling anxious and miserable in the morning. Or worse, a really bad one where you bolt awake in the middle of the night, fearing something is in the room with you. Nightmares can be about being chased, about dying, about ghosts, or anything else that can cause you error, fear, and night sweats.

If you have just lost a loved one, have been through a great scare or shock, or just watched a really scary movie, do not put so much into analyzing your nightmare. These things come through loud and clear in your dreams, turning them into nightmares, and it is only natural. Scary things you've been through or seen come to you in a dream. If you can help it, try not to expose yourself to things you know cause you to have nightmares.

On the other hand, if none of the above applies, and you've woken up in a cold sweat feeling scared, this is from a severe anxiety dream. Whatever was going on in the dream, it was too overwhelming to be kept contained in sleep.

You really need to take a deep look at these kinds of nightmares because your mind is trying to tell you something very important and you must listen. Do not look so much at what was happening, but how you were feeling. You are probably going through those same fears about something during your waking life.

What many people do not realize, is that death and ghosts in dreams often mean that a part of your life is ending and it is hard for you to face or let go of. As much as it hurts, you have to learn/ realize that endings are a part of life and can't be helped. Stay strong and focus on your strengths, without replaying failure and loss. It is coming through to your subconscious and causing you to fear the inevitable: change.

If you dream you are scared, what is frightening you in life? Do you think that your relationship is ending? Are you about to be fired (or quit your job)? Is your mom sick and you're afraid that she will die? Try to take an honest look at yourself and face what really is scaring you and try to find a solution in a calm, rational manner. Coming up with solutions to problems helps the nightmares to go away faster, too.

Sometimes nightmares repeat themselves and these are very important. They are showing you things that you are in denial about during the daylight, waking hours. They are also showing you parts of your life that haven't been dealt with, a problem that hasn't been put to rest (like mentioned above). Again, you must face it or you will be faced with these ongoing nightmares.

Our deepest anxieties, fears, and regrets are expressed in our dreams and nightmares. If you can analyze them, write your thoughts down, talk to someone who you trust, you'll find that letting these fears out into the open will go a long way toward helping you to have happy dreams again.

Dreams have fascinated man since the dawn of time, and many records have been found showing accounts of dreams and the role they played in ancient time. Many thought that dreams were a way to keep in close contact with the gods, or even a way to predict the future. Others visited medicine men or soothsayers to find out their dreams' meanings.

Throughout the ages, priests and wisemen from every culture around the globe have been looked toward to help with troubling dreams. The lamas of Tibet and the elders of Africa used dreams to help analyze a sickness or disease and help find a course of treatment. Looking at dreams was also a way to see if a person was ready for a ritual or initiation, such as with priests and cultists.

Dreams were though of as a "threshold" from the daylight to the darkness, life and death. And the barrier that was in between, was man's fear of death. Throughout history, figures in dreams have been thought of as "souls of the dead," and messengers from the spirit world here to open up your spirit to guidance and divination. If you were able to accept the messages that came to you in your dreams, you were at peace with death and could accept what comes.

Many groups and cults have focused on dreams, as in the Celtic world, where shrines and sleep chambers were built where offerings could be made to the powers that be. Priests would sleep in specially made hides in these chambers, hoping that their dreams would bring answers to a particular question he had. Even many rulers in China would sleep in temples, hoping for advice and guidance to come from the spirits of the city that they ruled.

The most famous of the dream cults was the cult of Asklepios. Asklepios was the son of Apollow, the god of prophecy, and was supposed to be a mythical healer. He was associated with the power of the underworld and healing powers of water, trees, snakes, music, and art. Dream shrines of this cult were found all throughout the Mediterranean and clusters of the dream centers were set in beautiful, open places. Rituals and cleansings were performed, followed by sacrifices and prayers to the god.

In North America, a special type of spirit protector, or incubation area was made for a "Vision Quest." It was hoped that powers would come to protect and nourish the tribe or group, and great success would be found in hunting, recovery from illness, as well as helping to exact revenge on enemies. Even the naming of a child was looked at in the Vision Quest, in hopes that the gods would bring luck and prosperity.

A usual procedure for a Vision Quest, as with the Crow Indians, was to enter into solitude that might last for four days. Visions would usually come on the fourth night, usually with a mythical figure appearing with an answer to the person's questions and hopes.

Whatever the culture, one thing is definitely a common thread: Dreams were revered and looked at for cures, healing, and ways to obtain prosperity. Maybe it is one of many links that ancient (and modern) cultures share, and with each new day, we find more and more information that reveals just how common all cultures really are. Maybe it is through our hopes and dreams we will find the thread that ties and binds us all together.

Whatever you have been dreaming about, one thing is for certain -- pay attention to your dreams whether or not you think they are prophetic. This is because at the very least, they are telling you what is most on your mind, and issues that need confronting. Or, they may just be giving you prophetic insights into the future! If so, the final interpretation is for you to decide because our dreams represent a very personal and intimate experience for each of us.

© Shari Gerson