Understanding Types of Dreams

Everyone dreams, although we might not always remember them. We don't always reflect on them, either, so it may be surprising to know certain circles believe there are several types of dreams.

A lucid dream occurs when you're aware you are dreaming. Due to your level of awareness it is possible to control these dreams. Some people can even decide what their dream will be before they fall asleep; their lucid dream is predetermined.

A telepathic dream involves the living and dead directly communicating. Two living individuals could communicate in a telepathic dream as well. In either case, a person could send or receive thoughts as visions within dreams.

Other dreams may seem to be predictive: one believes the event they have just dreamt about will occur. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes the event occurs and it is coincidental. Other times we dream about an upcoming event because we are anxious. An example of this would be a person with a fear of flying dreaming about a plane crash on the flight they are scheduled for.

Another theory exists regarding these predictive, prophetic, or precognitive dreams. Simply put, this theory states the unconscious mind is able to put together details about an upcoming event before the conscious mind. In this way we see what's coming before we consciously realize what is to happen.

A recurring dream could be your mind's way of telling you something. There is some kind of message you aren't getting, so your mind is trying to make you see it. Some believe that writing these dreams down and reflecting on them will help you get it.

Nearly everyone has had a nightmare at some point. Nightmares make more of an impression than happy dreams, so we may remember them more. Nightmares show us something we've been suppressing or something we're afraid of.

The average person has a tendency to daydream anywhere from 70 to 120 minutes a day. Although we're awake when we daydream, daydreaming is actually somewhere between consciousness and sleep. Daydreams happen when we let our imaginations run away with us.