8 Types of Dreams and What They Mean

“Dreams are road signs along the nighttime highway of sleep.” - Astrid Alauda

Dreams come in an endless variety of styles and types. There are people that find themselves in wild fantasy landscapes with mind-blowing narratives, but there are also those who find themselves never being able to escape their office due to reoccurring dreams surrounding their workplace. Dreams can cover the entirety of someone’s imagination leaving them scared in a nightmare or happy after being visited by a deceased relative.

Everyone dreams differently, but there are a few specific types of sleep experiences that dreams can fall into. Some dream types have very specific functions, and it can be beneficial for you to know if your dream falls into these categories. Additionally, there are phenomenons that show up through dreams that you might not even realize exist.

If you want to explore the world of dreaming, start by learning these popular dream types.

Nightmares

Unfortunately, the question of why we have nightmares still does not have an answer. Children tend to have nightmares more than adults, and eventually grow out of this stage. But no one is ever completely nightmare-free and they are a natural part of the dreaming experience. These dreams can happen to individuals that went through traumatic events and emotional disturbances as a way to explore the past and open up a way to begin healing. We tend to believe that if we know the cause of the unwanted dreams, we can begin to remove them from our experiences. However the very consistency of nightmares, whatever their cause is, implies that they are a necessity. We might not know exactly why they happen, but they are probably tied to something important about the fitness of our mind and the psychic equilibrium we need to function effectively in our waking life.

Compensatory Dreams

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The majority of dreams you have will fall into this category. Compensatory dreams help us make up for emotional and psychic inequities in our daily waking lives. Each time we dream we are enacting experiences that help us to process the information that we have been bombarded with during the day. These dreams are helping us to assimilate new information that we are attempting to learn, whether that information is about the algebra we are going to be tested on or the mysteries of how to be a better person. This occurs unconsciously, regardless if we remember our dreams or not. The language of dreams is symbolic, and not literal, and therefore it might not always be clear what is being addressed. For example, one might have a dream of getting a kiss from their favorite movie star. While this represents a wish fulfilled, it might also be compensating for an underlying lack in the dreamer’s self-esteem.

Recurring Dreams

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These are those pervasive dreams that trouble us from time to time in which we are falling, are naked in public, and the like. If a dream is coming again and again, it is trying to attempt something very specific and get the dreamers attention. Stress is a constant companion to most of us and we are constantly presented with obstacles and obligations. One way people can cope with these high levels of stress is through dreaming. While the stress we deal with may be different, the way our unconscious mind uses dreams to regulate our stress is not. Our brain will often turn to a recognizable image that has worked in the past to convey certain types of emotional states. For example, you may have a reoccurring dream of losing control of your car on a windy road. It doesn’t matter what in you waking life is inspiring the dream, it may be an argument with a friend or a large credit card bill, because they all can elicit the same dream of losing control of the car. While the circumstances causing the dream are very different, the dream that helps you restore your psychic balance is the same.

Lucid Dreaming

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Lucid dreaming is a general term that refers to dream experiences that feature an extra sense of conscious perception while in the dream state. Sometimes this might be as simple as becoming aware that you are currently dreaming. While we do not have the ability to understand the phenomenon of lucid dreaming from a scientific perspective yet, it has been reported by enough dreamers to be considered a genuine dreaming experience. A second type of lucid dreaming is more active, where the person has the ability to influence movement within the dream landscape. This type of awareness can allow the dream to become more elaborate and deepened with respect to its capacity to heal psychic wounds, expand psychological self-awareness and offer guidance. Lucid dreaming can directly impact the quality of a waking person’s life when done correctly. The need to practice mindfulness and meditation in order to develop the capacity for lucid dreaming cannot be overlooked. Maintaining a quiet, open mind during waking hours will increase your ability to bring that same mindfulness in your dream state.

Shared Dreaming

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While this type of dream experience is very rare, it does occur. The experience of shared dreams, where two people have the same dream at the same time, may sound completely impossible but it does happen. The two people in question usually have to be very close and share a powerful connection. The details of the shared dream may not be exactly the same, but reports remain that the experiences exist. There is no scientific explanation for a shared dream, but people who have experienced it do not need evidence to validate what happened to them. The mysteries of the intuitive mind and the psychic connection that many people tap into should not be ruled out during dreams.

Visitation Dreams

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One staple of dream experiences is the appearance of ancestors in the dreams of those still living. These dreams are the very first platform on which the idea of afterlife was built. The phenomenon of connecting with loved ones who are deceased is very much still a part of the human experience today. It is common for people to report that after someone closed to them has passed away, they experience a dream that feels more like a visitation than a typical dream. Such experiences can be vivid and powerful enough to actually make a person a believer in an afterlife. These dreams can be very uplifting and are often a significant part in a person’s grieving process. It can be hurtful, then, for those that do not get a visitation after a painful loss. There is a widely held view in New Age circles that visitations only occur when there is some deeper need for a connection to be made, such as unfinished business to attend to.

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