Dreams are a frequent topic in psychology. It’s half science, half mystery.
Science can measure dream length, what part of the brain is active during dreams and what causes a person to stay in REM sleep longer. Research supports that dreams are one way we process our memories of the day.
The mystery is the symbols in our dreams that give us hints to what our subconscious is thinking. Not to mention the fact that many of us have similar dreams. For example many people experience dreams about falling, flying, and being naked in front of people.
Celebrity Nightmares Decoded
How do we decide what the symbols mean in our dream? The TV show: Celebrity Nightmares Decoded tries to explain the symbols of dreams. The host, Lauren Lawrence. hears nightmares from celebrities and tries to decode the symbols and the age they had the dream to figure out what their mind was trying to tell them.
Now I have to admit I was reluctant to watch. Don’t get me wrong, I love dreams and I think that it is a way your brain tries to tell you something that you haven’t put together yet consciously. However, the idea of using a book of universal symbols to make sense of a dream just didn’t feel right. I can see how many symbols would be true but what about taking into account that everyone has a different value or view of the universal symbols.
For Example
- What about phobias? A baby bunny could be cute and represent innocence to some. What about the child who developed a fear of them after watching the killer rabbit from Monty Python?
- What about the fact that time changes our view of symbols?
- What about our ever changing society and technology? People didn’t dream about computers a century ago.
- What about the differences we have due to culture, religion or family
After all my doubts, I was pleasantly surprised with the show. Lauren Lawrence seem to use dream symbols, psychology and some psychic powers or intuition to decode the dreams. I was really surprised at how well she read the dreams.
The show also included some universal symbols in our dreams and their general meaning.
Examples
Dreaming of being naked in public
Most people think it’s due to being embarrassed like walking into class naked.
Lauren Lawrence contradicts that view. She pointed out that most people dream that no one sees them when they are naked. Her view is that people want others to notice them.
What to look for: Whereever you are during the dream is where you feel invisible and unnoticed by other.
Clowns
Clowns can make us feel happy or scared.
Lauren Lawrence believes that in dreams clowns represent powerlessness and not being taken seriously by others.
What to look for: Whereever you are during the dream is where you feel powerless
Further Information
Lauren Lawrence writes an article on decoding nightmares that people email her. The best part is that you can email your nightmares to her and she’ll decode them. Find more information at the bottom of her article.
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