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Decoding Your Dreams

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCD chapter.
The study of dreams is an intriguing subject philosophers and psychologists have studied for hundreds of years. Whether the memory recalls all of the dreams that the brain has, the average person dreams every time he or she sleeps. The dreams you have are unique, often hold great significance, and pertain to what is currently going on in your life. The setting, time, people, emotions, animals, objects, and actions are not random subliminal images, but rather your subconscious’ way of bringing light to present feelings and thoughts. These nocturnal musings can reveal your emotions or deepest fears, help solve problems, or even indicate experiences you may encounter in the future. Dreams delve into a complex world without limitations where the imagination runs wild, and they can be interpreted in many ways. Her Campus takes a look at the different types of dreams humans have and what they mean and offers a few tips to help you interpret those dreams that make you wonder the most.

Different Types of Dreams according to The Everything Dreams Book by Jenni Kosarin:
Release Dreams: Release dreams unveil your regrets, worries, or concerns.
Wish Dreams: Wish dreams portray situations you may fantasize about or hope will happen.
Prophetic Dreams: Prophetic dreams provide a possible foreshadowing of an event to come.
Astral Dreams: Astral dreams bring back someone’s spirit and, often times, assure the dreamer that the lost one is happy.
Problem-Solving Dreams: Problem-solving dreams do just as the name suggests: make puzzling situations less confusing and provide a clear-cut solution to the mystery at hand.

The Dream Glossary
Although certain objects and symbols represented in a dream can vary depending on the dreamer and the context of the dream, this handy dream glossary can help you interpret your dreams and why things appear when they do.

Abduction: If you’re abducted or kidnapped in your dream, it means you’re feeling pressured to do or say something you don’t believe in and don’t want to do in waking life. Abduction dreams often stem from guilt over things you’ve done or are about to do that aren’t typically in your character. If you witness someone else being abducted, it means you’re not acting on the opportunities you’ve been given.
Crying: To dream of crying indicates repressed sadness, usually referring to problems of the heart. It can also signify a release from problems. Try not to analyze this dream. Let your unconscious work it out for you.
Death: To dream that you die is not, actually, as morbid as many people would think. Death in a dream symbolizes inner changes, transformation, self-discovery and positive development that is happening within you or in your life.
Famous People: If you’re friends with famous people in your dream, it’s usually a wish-fulfillment dream. Deep down, you wish some of their success and recognition would rub off on you.
Heaven: If you dream of heaven, it could be that you’re aspiring to new heights in your love life or career. Examine who else is in the dream and what they’re doing there to find the specifics of your subconscious desires.
Jumping: To dream that you are jumping indicates that you need to take a risk and go for the gold.
Killing: A dream of killing someone is not a warning that you might turn into a killer. Instead, the meaning is more likely a symbolic act of aggression. Whom you kill and how that person is involved in the dream may symbolize killing off an unwanted part of yourself. What bothers you about this person?
Language: Hearing another language spoken indicates a desire to meet more people and, perhaps, to travel to foreign lands. It also signifies an open heart—you’re ready for love.
Nakedness: To dream that you are naked denotes the fear of being found out and exposed about your activities or misjudgments.
Thief: To dream you are a witness to a theft signifies that others are wasting and stealing your time, energy, and ideas.

Fun Facts about Dreams
You spend about a third of your life asleep.
Delta, the deepest level of sleep, is beyond the REM stage and too deep for dreams.
Dream researchers say that people can have prognostic dreams—dreams that lead to a remedy for an illness—or pathogenic dreams—dreams that can actually cause sickness, although most experts say that the latter are extremely rare.

Rachael Brandt is your typical collegiette. Her free time, you'll find her roaming the CoHo, nourishing her hourly caffeine fix or rocking out at the campus rec center in Zumba class. Rachael has interned at Acosta/Salazar PR firm in Sacramento, CA --working with politicians and interest groups to aide their campaigns. She now spends her days working at the Events and Conferencing Center, in hopes of saving up for the many goodies she hopes to acquire while studying abroad next year. After cultivating an obsession for Her Campus, she opened the UC Davis branch, and now serves as campus correspondant.