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SCIENCE-RELIGION DIALOGUE
Fall 2003/Spring 2004

INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS

Dr. Fazl-ur-Rehman

Dreams are interesting and complex phenomena of human life. People, from time immemorial, have been in search of interpreting dreams. For this purpose they used to consult priests and other knowledgeable people. Almost all religions laid down guiding principles for interpretations of dreams. Throughout the ages religion has been a sole authority on interpretation of dreams. When emerged, science also paid attention to nature of dreams. This paper deals with both religious and scientific perspectives in interpretation of dreams.

Ancient Egyptian Theories

Originally dreams were thought to be part of the supernatural world. Dreams were messages from the gods sent to the villagers during the night perhaps as an early warning device for disaster or good fortune. From what we can tell, the Egyptians certainly were the first dreamers to attempt interpretation of their dreams, because of the fact that they published a book on some of the conclusions they had come to about dream symbols. In fact, Egypt was where the process of "dream incubation" began. When a person was having troubles in their life and wanted help from their god, they would sleep in a temple, when they would wake the next morning a priest, which was then called a Master of the Secret Things, would be consulted for the interpretations of that night's dreams[1].

Greek Philosophy on Dreaming

The Greeks didn't begin seriously considering dreams until 8th century BC. Homer, in his Iliad, describes a scene wherein Agamemnon receives instructions from the messenger of Zeus in a dream. Greeks also believed that dreams carried divine messages, but they could only be interpreted with the aid of a priest similar to those of the Babylonians and Egyptians. It was from these two groups the Greeks also inherited many occult techniques. Dreams also aided in their practice of medicine, sending sick people to particular temples in those places where the "gods of the body" had their shrines. The ailing Greeks would visit these temples, perform various religious rites, sleep, and hope to have a dream that assured a return to good health. Night after night they would sleep and sometimes this would go on for weeks or even months until they had the "right" dream. The most famous for dream pilgrimage was the Aesculapius at Epidaurus.

It is uncertain whether or not the first dream interpreters were legend or reality. Pliny the Elder suggests that the earliest interpreter was a man named Amphictyon, son of Deucalion. It was Deucalion, who in Greek mythology was the son of Prometheus. Yet, Herodotus, an early historian claimed that the people of Telmessus, which were located in southwest Asia Minor, specialized in dream interpretation. In fact, it was even heard that King Croesus, the last king of Lydia, consulted them for an interpretation of an important dream[2].

The first steps into modern dream interpretation were taken in the 5th century BC when the Greek philosopher Heraclitus suggested that a person's dream world was something created in their own mind. This went against the other philosophers who believed dreams were the result of outside forces, such as the gods. Most Greek philosophers, in that time period, pondered dreams and what they might mean. Plato was one of these philosophers, and realized how much dreaming could affect a personality or someone's life. In the Phaedo, he tells how Socrates studied music and the arts because he was instructed to do so in a dream.

Aristotle finally put an end to Heraditus' idea that dreams were messages from the gods. He began to study dreams and the dreaming process in a rational way. In his De divinatione per somnum, he states, "most so-called prophetic dreams are to be classed as mere coincidences, especially all such as are extravagant," and later includes that "the most skillful interpreter of dreams is he who has the faculty of absorbing resemblances. I mean that dream presentations are analogous to the forms reflected in water." Aristotle's Parva naturalia suggests that dreams are in fact believed to be a recollection of the day’s events[3].

Aristotle also helped advance the theory that dreams reflected a person's bodily health. It suggested that a doctor could diagnose a person illness by hearing a dream that they had. Hippocrates, the founder of modern medicine supported this theory, and is still practiced by some doctors of today. Galen of Pergamum, a Greco-Roman physician, picked up where Aristotle had left off. A patient of his dreamed that his left thigh was turned into marble and later lost the use of that leg due to palsy. A wrestler, he had treated, dreamed that he was standing in a pool of blood that had risen over his head. From this dream Galen concluded that this man needed a bloodletting for the pleurisy which he labored. By this means of treatment the man was cured[4].

Roman Ideas

Although the Egyptians created one of the earliest documents on dreams, known as the Chester Beatty papyrus, the Oneirocriticon or The Interpretation of Dreams by the Roman Artemidorus (c. AD 150) is the first comprehensive book on the interpretation of dreams. In this five-volume work, Artemidorus brought out the idea that dreams are unique to the dreamer. He believed that it was the person's occupation, social status and health would affect the symbols in a dream. Although he was a brilliant man, his interpretations were often extremely shrewd. A man by the name of Astrampsychus wrote a second Oneirocriticon, which somewhat resembled the dream books produced by the Victorians. This book contained a few ideas that were somewhat outrageous such as "To wear a purple robe threatens a long disease" and "To hold or eat eggs symbolizes vexation." However, some of the axioms held true to today's interpretations, such as "Sitting naked signifies loss of property."[5]

Middle Eastern Approach to Dreams

The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and Christians weren't the only ones interested in dream interpretation in the early stages. An anonymous Persian writer determined that to truly interpret a dream it must be done during the day of occurrence. The Zoroastrians were a religious group that followed this theory, which set rules for each day of the month, such as, "The second day is that of Bahman . . . Events dreamed of will occur in four days, but the hopes which may be cherished will be disappointed."

Gabdorrhachamn was the earliest and most well-known of the Arabic dream interpreters. He was a strong believer in that dreams were prophetic and could only be interpreted by a person with "a clean spirit, chaste morals, and the Word of Truth." But his dreaming aphorisms are thought to have been based on his own feelings rather than a true understanding of dream symbols. For example, "He who dreams that his tongue has been shortened immoderately will utter much folly and ribaldry.[6]"

Christianity on Dreams

When Christianity came along they revived the idea that dreams were of the supernatural element. The Old Testament of the Bible holds an abundance of dreams. Probably the most famous of these dreams was Jacob's dream of a ladder from Earth to Heaven. Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon who died in 562 BC, had an interesting dream reported in the Book of Daniel. It was in this dream that he dreamed of a beautiful tree with green foliage that the birds nested in and beasts took shelter underneath. But one day a messenger from Heaven ordered the tree to be cut down and the King to be chained to the stump. The King was left alone to feed on the grass as a beast would. Nebuchadnezzar summoned Daniel, an expert on dreams, who told him that the tree represented the King's power and glory. When it was cut down he became nothing but a beast, living off the grass. Daniel explained that this dream was to teach him to acknowledge the heavenly power above him in the same way as he was above the beasts in the field. The dream was, as it turned out, thought to be prophetic.

Many men of Christianity began preaching that God revealed himself through dreams. Among these men was St. John Chrysostom who said that we are not responsible for our dreams, and should be ashamed of what we dream or any images that appear therein. Two other men of the church, St. Augustine and St. Jerome, claimed that the direction of their lives was dramatically affected by dreams that they had. It wasn't long until others came along and went against the ideas that were presented in the past. Martin Luther, the founder of Protestantism, was a believer in the idea that dreams were the work of the Devil. Luther said that sin was, "the confederate and father of foul dreams." Since the church interpreted God's word, revelations made to individuals in dreams could only have been diabolic.[7]

Islam on Dreams

Dreams are mentioned in many verses of the Quran. Every verse has its own significance. Islam considers dreams sign of Allah’s existence and a glimpse into the spiritual world.

Hazrat Ayesha narrates “The commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Apostle was in the form of good dreams which came true like bright daylight, and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him. He used to go in seclusion in the cave of Hira where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him the journey food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadeeja to take his food likewise again till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read.”[8]

Ubada Bin As Samit narrates that the Prophet (saw) said, "The (good) dreams of a faithful believer is a part of the forty-six parts of prophetism.[9]"

Abu Huraira narrates that I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Nothing is left of the prophetism except Al-Mubashshirat." They asked, "What are Al-Mubashshirat?" He replied, "The true good dreams (that conveys glad tidings).[10]"

Sufyan said to 'Amr that some people said, "The eyes of Allah's Apostle sleep but his heart does not sleep." 'Amr replied, "I heard 'Ubaid bin 'Umar saying that the dreams of Prophets were Divine Inspiration[11]. And then he recited the verse: 'I (Abraham) see in a dream, (O my son) that I offer you in sacrifice (to Allah).[12]'

Allah's Apostle said, "When the Day of Resurrection approaches, the dreams of a believer will hardly fail to come true, and a dream of a believer is one of forty-six parts of prophetism, and whatever belongs to prothetism can never be false." Muhammad bin Sirin said, "But I say this." He said, "It used to be said, 'There are three types of dreams: The reflection of one's thoughts and experiences one has during wakefulness, what is suggested by Satan to frighten the dreamer, or glad tidings from Allah. So, if someone has a dream which he dislikes, he should not tell it to others, but get up and offer a prayer.[13]”

It is on the record that men from the companions of Allah's Apostle used to see dreams during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle and they used to narrate those dreams to Allah's Apostle. Allah's Apostle would interpret them as Allah wished. There are more than 48 different Ahadith related to the interpretation of dreams in Sahah-e-Sithah. The Apostle of Allah used to educate His companions on dreams.

Allah’s Apostle said, ‘The good dream is from Allah, and the bad dream is from shaytan. When you see what you dislike, spit to your left side three times when you wake up, and seek refuge with Allah from its evil. It will not harm you then, Allah willing.' “Abu Salama said, "I would see dreams which weighed on me more heavily than a mountain. When I heard this Hadith, I was not concerned about it.[14]"

UmmulMu’meneen Ayesha narrates that Allah's Apostle said (to me), "You have been shown to me twice in (my) dreams. A man was carrying you in a silken cloth and said to me, 'This is your wife.' I uncovered it; and behold, it was you. I said to myself, 'If this dream is from Allah, He will cause it to come true.'[15] "

ibn e umer narrates that Allah’s Apostle said, "The worst lie is that a person claims to have seen a dream which he has not seen.[16]"

Science on Interpretation of Dreams

The Europeans were very curious about dreaming around the beginning of the 19th century. Robert Cross Smith was one of the first to start this "dream craze." Under the pen name of "Raphael" he published a book called The Royal Book of Dreams and was immensely successful. But it wasn't until Alfred Maury, a French doctor, came along and led us into modern dream interpretation. It was said that he had studied over 3,000 different dreams. External stimuli are what he believed to be the catalyst to all of our dreams. It was a particular dream that Maury had that suggested to him that dreams came about so quickly that they were almost simultaneous with the stimulus that produced them. He had dreamed that he had been condemned to the guillotine and as it fell, he woke up to find the top of the bed had fallen and hit him in the spine at the exact time the guillotine would have struck him.

However, this idea later was proved to be relatively unimportant, and it was this theory of the unconscious that developed into the modern attitude toward dream interpretation. Maury wasn't too far off with his prediction however. Later, it was discovered that these external stimuli only triggered an earlier dream from the night. Since this would be the last thing remembered from that nights sleep, you believe that the dream you were having when you woke up.[17]

Probably the most well-known of the modern dream philosophers was Sigmund Freud. His theory was that although dreams may be prompted by external stimuli, wish-fulfillment was the root behind most of our dreams. Freud's idea was that our dreams were reflection of our deepest desires going back to our childhood. To Freud, no dream was of entertainment value, they all held important meanings.

Carl Jung, a student of Freud for some time, disagreed on the theory that erotic content was the basis behind most of our dreams. Jung believed that dreams reminded us of our wishes, which enables us to realize the things we unconsciously yearn for, and helps us to fulfill our own wishes. Contradictory to how Freud believed dreams were a product of our desires that were too outrageous for our own belief, and were in our unconscious to help conceal these desires. These dreams were messages, Jung believed, from ourselves to ourselves and that we should pay attention to them for our own benefit.

Today, most psychologists agree with Jung's theory, and it is this theory that makes dream interpretation something that we can use in our everyday lives. If Freud were alive today he would disagree with every theory that says you are able to interpret your own dreams. Jung believed that, although it was difficult, dreams were meant to be understood.

Ever since the Freud/Jung rivalry, other theories about dreams and dreaming have flourished and are continuing to be developed today. There are some though that believes that any theory on dreams is basically pointless to have a theory on dreaming because it is just another fact of life. Dreams, to some, are meaningless to us and just another one of those things that comes along with life. Then there are others who say that dreams are either the clearing of fragments from our memory banks or that they are the storage of these fragments. Either way they are believed to be unimportant to us and should be disregarded. However, there are the people that argue against this and say that dreams are important to living full and complete lives. Until there is a definite way to study how dreams work and where they come from for sure, we will only have to decide which theory we believe for ourselves.[18]

Dreams in Series

Dreams tend to come in a series. After we have recorded a significant amount of dreams, we will begin to see that a certain dream theme was being dealt with for several nights in a row. Consider this like a school course and each dream a lesson pertaining to our life. If we learn from the dream theme, and alter our behavior or belief system, the series will end. Just like graduation!

Sometimes we aren't as reluctant to pass the first time. We then go on to something else, intending to get back to the other subject at a later date and go over it again, since we need that subject to go further in our life. Our subconscious will try for a long time to teach us something, but if we just aren't getting it, it may be pulled from the dream curriculum for a period of time.

However, sooner or later, we have to deal with it again, and the dream theme will recur, maybe weeks or months later. These dream themes generally pertain to our waking behavior and our actions and reactions to life experiences.

Remembering our Dreams

Before we start interpreting or even recording our dreams, a skill we must learn is dream recall. Once and awhile something that we do during the day will trigger a dream that we had the previous night, but if we are serious about working with our dreams this will not be good enough. The first step that we need to take is to find a way to help us remember these dreams at least long enough to get them down on paper.

Why is it that the contents of dreams, something that we actually see for ourselves, are so hard to remember? We would think that it should be as easy as remembering what we ate for breakfast, or a movie that we saw last week. Perhaps it's because our conscious mind is reluctant to allow us full understanding of our dreams. Most think it's because the events in dreams are usually entirely irrational to our waking minds and finds it difficult to grasp.

Cayce's Experience

When it came to the idea of dreams having purpose, Cayce's theory was a bit different then the others. He believed dreaming to be the body’s way of "self edification," which is the building up of the mental, spiritual, and physical well-being. It was a way of quickening the dreamer to his/her own human potential. By getting good nights sleep, any person could develop more mature values, stretch their thinking, and right one's self.

According to Cayce, there are five different levels that dream's stem from. These different levels are the:

I. body level;

II. Subconscious level;

III. Level of consciousness;

IV. Level of super conscious; and

V. Level of the soul.

What they can do for us is anything from presenting messages of our body calling for aid during sickness to stating problems which must be solved within the conscious.

Cayce believed that if you were to interpret your dreams correctly you must thoroughly study yourself. Once you know how you feel about dreams and what they can do for you can you begin to study your dreams. If you have a dream, according to Cayce, its primary focus is to either solve problems or adapt to external affairs or awakening and alerting the dreamer to new potential within the self. The first step to Cayce's method of interpretation is to determine which of the two major functions of dreams the primary focus of the dream is.

The second step is the process of taking inventory. We need to know your conscious and subconscious mind inside out. Know future plans, goals, interests, stances, and decisions. Know your hidden fears, longings, dependencies, and defenses. Know the cycles, needs, habits, and stresses of the body. Once you finish with these two steps you can begin to interpret your dreams and decide how they can help you better yourself mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Lucid Dreaming

Lucid Dreaming[19] has been around for quite a long time, although it is just now becoming a widely discussed topic. The earliest recorded lucid dreams date back to as early as the fifth century, in fact, the record came from a written letter by St. Augustine in 415 A.D. Another well- known record of lucid dreaming came in the eighth century came from Tibetan Buddhists in their Tibetan Book of the Dead. The Buddhists spoke of a form of yoga designed to maintain full waking consciousness while in the dream state. These ancient dream yogis possessed an unequivocal understanding of dreams, which was said to be more advanced than the knowledge we posses today[20].

In the nineteenth century, after many obscure dream practices took place, such as finding another reality within the dreaming state or trying to conjure spirits from the past through dreaming, people began to look past these practices and accepted dreams as a happening of everyday life. This set off many people into researching the scientific reasons of lucid dreaming.

Marquis d'Hervey de Saint-Denys was the most popular of the scientists to emerge. In 1867, he published his book Dreams and How to Guide them, in which he documented more than twenty years of his own research into dreams. Marquis described the sequential development of his ability do control his dreams in within this book. First, increasing his dream recall, and then becoming aware that he was dreaming. He was a pioneer to the dreaming field, in that he was the first person to demonstrate that it is possible for anyone to learn to dream consciously.

Next, came the man who we owe the term "lucid dreaming." Frederick Van Eeden, a Dutch psychiatrist and dream researcher. Though he was interested in all aspects of dreaming, he found that lucid dreams aroused his interest the most. His first work was created as fiction, so he could freely present his ideas without concern of the public on such delicate matters; this work was entitled The Bride of Dreams. Then, in 1913, he boldly presented a paper on lucid dreaming to the Society for Psychical Research, reporting on 352 of his lucid dreams collected between 1898 and 1912, this paper was entitled A Study of Dreams.

Several others continued to do research on the topic of lucid dreaming, but none became as popular as Stephen LaBerge who continues to do research on the topic of lucid dreaming today. In September of 1977, LaBerge applied to Stanford University, wanting to study lucid dreaming as part of a Ph.D. program in psychophysiology. This was approved, and he began his work on lucid dreams. He soon gained access to the Stanford sleep lab, where he began his research into lucid dreaming with the help of Dr. Lynn Nagel, a researcher who shared the same interest in lucidity as LaBerge. The research, at first, was not successful, but as he went further he found the answers to a few long unanswered questions, such as "How long do lucid dreams last?" and "When do lucid dreams occur?" To him we also owe all of the recent study into lucid dreams, as he sparked the interest of modern researches with the answers to such questions.

Lucid dreaming is when we become aware that we are having a dream. Lucidity usually begins in the midst of a dream, when the dreamer realizes that the experience is not occurring in physical reality. Often this realization is triggered by the dreamer noticing some impossible or unlikely occurrence in the dream, such as meeting someone from far away in a strange place, flying, or creating objects with their mind. Sometimes people become lucid without noticing having any particular cue. Some lucid dreams are even the result of returning to REM sleep directly from an awakening with unbroken reflective consciousness.

The basic definition of lucid dreaming is becoming aware that we are dreaming. Yet, the quality of lucidity varies. When lucidity is at a high level, we are aware that everything experienced in the dream is occurring in our mind, that there is no danger in anything that we do, and that we are asleep in bed. When lucidity is at a low level we may be aware to a certain extent that we are dreaming, perhaps enough to do an action that would be impossible in waking life, but not enough to realize that we could be hurt, or that we are actually sleeping.

Usefulness of Lucidity

Some people, hearing about lucid dreaming for the first time, often ask, "Why would I want to lucid dream?" If we consider that in dreams, if we know that we are dreaming that is, we are in free to do anything that we want to. The only restriction is our ability to imagine. This can be a very good tool in relieving stress, since we will be able to take all of our frustrations out during dreams, perhaps even acting out what we would like to do in real life.

Lucid dreaming can also help people achieve goals in their everyday life. People have used lucid dreams many times before to help prepare for some aspect of their life. This could include things such as an important rehearsal for trying out a new behavior, problem solving, artistic inspiration, overcoming social problems, or coming to terms with a loss of something, or someone, we cared for.

As we can see, lucid dreaming can be a useful tool. All we need to figure out is our way to better ourselves at this technique. There are many different theories on the best way to go about achieving lucidity, but we must decide what works best for us. After the skill becomes easy for us, we can begin to realize the potential that this type of dream has and how it can benefit us in our life.

Hypnogogic Images

Between being awake and falling asleep, our mind enters the hypnogogic phase. In this stage we begin to lose touch with the world around us without showing the physiological stages of sleep. Pictures form inside our heads like still photographs and although we may have never noticed them, they are there.

If we think we have never experienced this phenomenon, we will probably recall a time when we were listening to a song. Not a song from the radio, but on playing inside our head. We can actually hear the song playing, but once we become aware of this, it escapes us.

Becoming aware of these images is extremely difficult, mostly because once we can see we are becoming aware we get excited and drop out of it. So the skill we need to try and develop is to remain relaxed and stay under control while we enjoy these images. The main element to gaining control over these images is to watch the process as it unfolds. Let ourselves drift off to sleep while allowing a part of our mind to watch the process unfold. This tends to lead to prolonged periods of wakefulness in the beginner, so we shouldn't try this every night unless we can afford to lose some sleep.

A lot of people put too much energy into watching these images, so keep your eyes relaxed. Sometimes in the beginning stages we mistake pictures from our own imagination for hypnogogic imagery. But this is a conscious effort, just like we would image something during the day. The point that has to be made about a hypnogogic image is that it just suddenly appears, and there is no mistaking between it and something we put there consciously.

When you realize that something has appeared, don't get too excited, and don't try to hold onto it or prolong it. Just let it appear and go away. This process usually takes a bit of practice. As in most lucid dreams, if we don't remain calm it will probably disappear. Do not think that by observing the hypnogogic images that we are somehow creating this state. It happens every night to every one of us, the only thing is that most of us don't pay attention or aren't aware of them. After a few of these images, we will probably drift off to sleep.

Recurring Dreams

It is safe to assume that a recurring dream will have something important to say to us about the way we are conducting our waking lives, so it will be worth trying to discover what its message is. We may think that the dream is exactly the same each time it occurs, but in fact this is rarely the case. Often there are differences, usually very small, between the dreams. These are the details we should pay attention to, because they hold the clues to the meaning of the dream. Such a dream is usually the result of some emotional weakness in our nature that can, over the years, cause us to hurt. It is when this happens that our dream often recurs, and although the dream may remain the same in its essential elements, in our waking lives it can apply to different sets of circumstances that provoke us to display the same weakness. This type of dream should vanish after we have resolved our original problem.

Nightmares

Everyone at some time in their lives has had a nightmare. What is a nightmare, really? What creates a nightmare? People who record their dreams extensively and actively work on personal dream analysis seldom have nightmares[21].

Nightmares are the way in which our subconscious scolds us and says, "Pay attention!" Anyone who has had a vivid nightmare knows it is very difficult to forget it once you awaken.

If a nightmare occurs, our subconscious is trying to tell us something very important, perhaps something we have been ignoring or refusing to accept as a truth within our life situation. The nightmare may be highly symbolic and very difficult to analyze, but the fact that we brought it to our waking mind is that our subconscious wanted to accomplish. Recurring nightmares usually have some very deep subliminal meaning. To get at this meaning requires patience, dedication, and a desire to know.

Nightmares born of subconscious influences need to be dealt with, one way to do this, is to go to sleep actually "requesting" the nightmare to recur. Why? Because we also program ourselves that when it occurs, we will change it somehow. If we created the nightmare subconsciously, why shouldn't we be able to alter it? Think of a way to conquer your dream. Take it on and defeat it. This same practice also has been portrayed in movies. In real life this could never happen, or course, which is what makes it a good movie rather than a depiction of real life. The point is that, just like in the movies we need to attempt to conquer these nightmares by not being afraid of them and until we step up to our dreams we will continue to have them.

Out of Body Experiences (OBE'S)

What is an OBE and how does it differ from dreaming?[22] An OBE is quite different from any of the other dream experiences. The only difficulty is studying these phenomenons, since no one has had one under the study of a dream psychologist. It is similar to lucid dreaming only in the fact that consciousness is present. It is not uncommon to see the body, as we drift upward and out of it, sleeping upon the bed. Most everyone has heard of people who have been clinically pronounced "dead" but then return to their body. This is referred to as a NDE or Near Death Experience. These two are quite similar except for the fact that during an OBE you aren't clinically dead and neiter are you even close to death.

Many don't acknowledge that OBE's even exist. Those who do believe in them say there is another part of us called the "astral body." This astral body is an energy that surrounds our body, but during an OBE it separates from the body, although it does not disconnect. If the astral body is disconnected from the physical body altogether it is referred to, a term used more commonly, death.

In a normal OBE, one not associated to a near death experience, it is said that the spirit simply departs from the body for a short time. The astral body may not even leave the room. However, speed is sudden, thinking of a place you would like to be would cause you to go there almost instantaneously.

Unlike lucid dreams, a person who is experiencing an OBE will sometimes hear a loud roar, described as the sound of a speeding train, a howling wind, or a thundering waterfall. What is happening is that as the astral body lifts from the physical, the energy level is raised suddenly, like a burst of power and since the body is still connected by a thin line of astral matter, this is transferred to the mind as "sound." Nevertheless, once the astral body reaches it's higher vibratory frequency level, the sound disappears, through the sensations of speed, enhanced clarity of vision, sound, and sight take over. The main point is that there is no mistaking a lucid dream for an OBE and you will know, when you wake, if you have had an Out of Body Experience.

ESP in Dreams

Extrasensory perception, better known as ESP, is response to external stimuli without any known sensory contact. Many scientists refuse to accept the existence of ESP, along with OBE's, mostly because they go comprehensively against the laws of nature. Yet, many people have claimed to have dreams in which they have predicted future events, learned about a subject that they had no previous knowledge of, or even met up with a friend in a dream only to find upon awakening that their friend also dreamt about the meeting. These are all cases of ESP in dreams.

Precognition

This is one of the most common types of dream ESP people talk about. Apparently, they seem to dream about an event before it happens in reality, and in startlingly accurate detail. Some do not even realize that their dreams are precognitive until the event starts to happen in real life exactly as they had in the dream. If these dreams really do predict future events, this could have great implications. It may be that the future has already been decided and that we are just following a set path in our life. There are people without a precognitive dreaming background that believe this as well, but even though it may sound a bit strange, it could confirm their beliefs if ESP in dreams in found to be factual.

Dream Psychometry

This is the most uncommon of the three areas of dream ESP. These too, are accounts that cannot be proved because they are based purely on what the dreamer experiences. Dream Psychometry is gaining information about an object in our dreams of which we know nothing about in waking life. The easiest way to do this would be to take a picture of a person we don't know and think about this person before we go to sleep at night. Then, when we wake up in the morning, record our dream and analyze them for any meaning that could relate to the picture. We may even want to try this with a book, such as calculus, the night before we have a test on the subject and see if we learn anything. This is not suggested unless we have no other options, this is referred to as osmosis, when we aren't in the dreaming state.

Synchronous

These are dreams in which the dreamer encounters another familiar character in a dream, and upon awakening and talking to that person they also recount the same dream experience during the night. If shared dreams are possible, it could prove the astral projection theory that goes along with OBE's. Even though most people are skeptical about this idea that is the way we have been brought up, especially in western culture, which is not believing something unless there is sufficient scientific evidence to back it up. We may never be sure whether any of these theories will be proven, since the study of these rare occurrences is very difficult, so the only thing we can do is keep dreaming and know what we believe for ourselves.

Having Some Fun

We may ask, "How can I dream creatively? Isn't dreaming creative by itself?" Well the answer is "yes" and "no." We see, dreams are part of the mind creating sometimes completely different worlds. However, there are ways of teaching ourselves a few techniques. These would let to have a little fun with our dreams, as well as possibly learning something we never knew before or rather that we never knew that we knew. Dreams can sometimes help us out in ways that we don't realize, but those who have realized it have benefited.

Saving Some Time

One of the biggest occurrences of creative dreaming that we can relate to is a dream of Lewis Carroll's. The complete story of Alice in Wonderland came to Carroll in a dream he had. Although Carroll's dream occurred during a period of sickness, the fact is that anyone can have a dream which could become what his did. All one needs in the creative imagination and the ability to put your dreams down on paper.

Do you realize what this could mean to all of us dreamers? This could mean that we don't have to spend our waking lives trying to think of a blockbuster idea for a movie or story. All we have to do is remember what we have dreamt and perhaps it will just be crazy enough to become a legendary story. The thing is that our dreams are usually closer to representing real life than we could imaging ourselves, since our subconscious mind tends to pick up a few of the little details our conscious mind leaves out.

Solving Problems

We may not be aware of it, but we always have the answer to a problem. Sometimes we just don't know where to look. Other times we think we know the answer, but it ends up not producing an effective result. So what are we supposed to do? We take a look at it from the dreaming perspective. Often times we look too far into a topic when we can just "sleep on it." Yes, these sayings were created because they actually work. Some of the time we can get a direct answer from our dreams, by acting them out how we would in waking life. The other incidences we get a dream which we must interpret. Either way we have the answer to our problem.

Perhaps you have had an argument with a friend. That night you dream where you were acting a certain way, in could be that action that got you in the argument in the first place. If the cause of the problem doesn't present itself in this way, it will in another way. You just have to be able to notice and decipher what you dream is trying to tell you. We do have dreams for a reason, and that is to keep our bodies healthy. Whether it's coping with stress or plainly resting us up for another day’s activity. It's up to us whether we want our dreams to help us, or if we want our dreams to entertain us. Hopefully, we can find a comfortable medium.

Conclusion

The mystery of life and death, sleep and dreams, is a fascinating enigma, of which the solution is perhaps beyond the ken of man. A vast mass of superstition as well as imaginative and psychological literature has grown up about it. But the simplest and truest religious doctrine is laid down here in a few words. “It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death: and those that die not (He takes) during their sleep: those on whom He has passed the decree of death He keeps back (from returning to life) but the rest He sends (to their bodies) for a term appointed. Verily in this are Signs for those who reflect.[23]”

In making contrast of religion and science, one comes to the conclusion that both admit the existence and validity of dreams. Science has tried to solve the mystery of dreams logically, but it fails in giving all the answers. Religion solves the mystery spiritually. For instance science argues that sleep is simply the cessation of the working of the nervous system. Obviously the mental processes (and certainly volition) are suspended in sleep, but in ordinary dreams there is a medley of recollections, which often present vividly to our consciousness things that do not or cannot happen in nature as we know it in our coordinated minds.

Then there is another kind of dream which is rarer-one in which the dreamer sees things as they actually happen, backwards or forwards in time, or in which gifted individuals see spiritual truths otherwise imperceptible to them. How can science explain this? Our soul or personality, is then in a plane of spiritual existence akin to physical death, when we are nearer to Allah.

Islam has considered the world of dreams as a separate knowledge. The verses of Qur’an indicate its significance as “O my Lord! Thou hast indeed bestowed on me some power and taught me something of the interpretation of dreams and events O Thou Creator of the heavens and the earth! Thou art my Protector in this world and in the Hereafter take thou my soul (at death) as one submitting to Thy Will (as a Muslim) and unite me with the righteous.[24]”

There are some 60 places in Qur’an and Hadith where dreams are mentioned. (18 in Qur’an, 18 in Al Bukhari, 3 in Sahih Muslim, one each in Al Muwatta and Fiqhus Sunnah and the remaining in other books of Hadith). The narration of Abdullah ibn Umer clearly shows that interpretation of dreams was an institution in the days of the Holy Prophet (SAW). He says: “Men from the companions of Allah's Apostle used to see dreams during the lifetime of Allah's Apostle and they used to narrate those dreams to Allah's Apostle. Allah's Apostle would interpret them as Allah wished.” Then Islam consider “The (good) dreams of a faithful believer as a part of the forty-six (in some places 43 and 70) parts of prophetism." These good dreams are considered as Al-Mubashshirat. Ibn-e-Khaldun tries to search relation between Wahi (revelation) and dreams. He opines that in both the cases soul and personality is released from the bondage of the flesh. However he differentiates revelation from dreams as he considers revelation as ‘Divine inspiration’.

The most authentic book amongst the Muslims on the interpretation of dreams is ‘Kamil-ut-tha’beer’ compiled by Sheikh Abul Fazal Hussain bin Ibrahim Muhammad Taqleesi in 555A.H. The most prominent interpreters of dreams in Islamic history are six. They are Hazrat Daniyal, Imam Ja’far, Imam ibn-e- Sirin, Imam Jabir, Imam Ibrahim Kirmani, and Hazrat Ismail bin Ash’ as. All belong to our past history. Due to degeneration of Muslims in modern technology, we failed to show progress in this fascinating field of knowledge. West has shown remarkable progress in this field and now dreams are used very vast in psychoanalysis.