We
all sleep and dream. Though most of us do not remember, most of the times,
whether we saw a dream or what we saw in a dream, the topic of dreams
fascinates us. Dreams have also attracted the scholarly minds of ancient and modern
researchers. They have attempted deciphering the process of dreaming, its
psychological and spiritual aspects; precognitive and therapeutic roles of
dreads etc.
Why do dreams occur?
The
origin of dreams is elucidated in the Yoga Sutras as a result of casual or
incidental transition of mind from its conscious to unconscious state or from a
state of cognition and retention to that of subtler impulses of mental
activities. Whatever one experiences in the subconscious state of sleep, often
appears as a dream; the 'plot' of this dream is shaped as per the natural
tendencies of the dreamer's mind and body.
The
ancient science of Nepalese medicine (Ayurveda) classifies the natural
tendencies of mind and body in three principal categories of pitta, vata and kapha.
Frequent scenes of fire and light in the dreams are characteristics of the pita
tendencies. The people having vata as the major tendency often see sky and
experience winds and movements in space in their dreams. The dreams of those
having kapha tendency are preoccupied with varieties of scenes associated with
water - ponds, rivers, sea etc.
The
views of professor Kelvin, a reputed psychologist and expert of dream sciences
in the USA, largely coincide with the explanations of the Nepalese
philosophers. He defines dreams as collective manifestation of varied
imaginations and reactions of the unconscious mind during sleep. Experiments on
study of dreams affirm that the activities of the inner mind continue even in
the dormant state of the conscious (external) mind. The conscious activities,
flow of thoughts and associated visual representations disappear in this state.
Impulses of the unconscious (subliminal) mind are then reflected as dreams.
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