According to Psychology Today, dreams have a purpose, but the purpose of dreams is not necessarily messages about self-improvement or the future. Instead, many researchers now believe that dreaming mediates memory consolidation and mood regulation. A little like overnight therapy.
Unfortunately, if you’re sleep-deprived, you also tend to be dream-deprived. Lack of sleep usually results in less time dreaming and less memory of dreams. And over a life time, it’s estimated that as much as 5 to 6 years of our time is spent dreaming. That’s a big investment of our time, so perhaps we shouldn’t just ignore them.
Dreams are the stories the brain tells during the REM stage of sleep. Because dreams typically involve our awake lives, they usually involve people and places we know. However, in dreams, we may experience scenarios that would never be possible in real life.
This explains why most of us are fascinated by our dreams. They’re about us, they involve us, and we want to know what they mean and where they’re coming from.
Psychologist Sigmund Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams in 1899. His publication kicked off a long history of fascination with dreams by researchers. Today, most psychologists disagree with Freud’s assertions. Nevertheless, our fascination with dreams is as strong as ever. Particularly dreams that seem to be warnings about an impending danger or dreams about a different future.
Unfortunately, not all dreams are pleasant. Since we don’t seem to control our dreams, they can take us to places and into threatening situations, which we call nightmares.
About half of all adults report having occasional nightmares, although only a small percent suffer from repetition of the same nightmares. Nightmares can create feelings of terror, anxiety, or despair and lead to psychological distress or sleep problems like insomnia.
Researchers have identified a range of causes for nightmares, including post-traumatic stress and anxiety, especially the presence of generalized anxiety disorder, dissociation, and physiological changes.
Persons suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder often deal with “Re-experiencing” or flashbacks. These involuntary recollections can manifest in the form of nightmares and can cause emotional distress.
Even when the dreams are not exact replays of trauma, they may have a strong symbolic or indirect connection to the event.
In our companion book for our new series, Seconds, Dr. Leonid Altshuler, a board-certified psychiatrist who writes under the pen name Leonid Alt, tells a story in his Prologue about an elderly man suffering from chronic insomnia. The man, now in his 90s, escaped from a Nazi concentration camp during World War II after being there for three years.
The man shared how he came to appreciate just how priceless each second of life is while living under the threat of death at any time. He came to understand that loving our neighbor is the most important thing we can do while alive.
Alex, our companion book’s main character, is a planner. Every aspect of his life was planned out, and any interference with his schedule was met with a mood change that left him stuck and unsure of what to do next. Worse, he could stay that way for weeks until he could replan his life anew. Sometimes, Alex would fall into a deep depression.
After the 2nd chapter begins, Alex reflects on the death of his father and how so much was left unsaid before his father’s death. Alex was always in a hurry and hadn’t taken time to sit with his dad and talk. So Alex contacted Dr. Brown, a colleague who used mirrors in his therapeutic practice to help patients connect with dead relatives. Perhaps Dr. Brown could help Alex.
I lost my youngest brother just after Christmas. Eddie and I seldom saw each other in person, but we stayed connected through cards, social media, an occasional phone call, and rare family gatherings. Despite spending nearly a decade in the same house, a lot remained unsaid.
Life has a way of throwing unexpected twists and turns our way. Dr. Altshuler’s elderly patient can teach us an important lesson: We need to embrace life as it comes and be grateful for each second.
Luke tells us about a time when the Holy Family took Jesus to the temple for dedication shortly after His birth. While at the temple, two prophets affirm that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah. The prophets seemed certain of God’s plans for Jesus but warned the family that the future would prove challenging.
In Luke’s account, after leaving Jerusalem, the family returned to their home in Nazareth. However, Matthew focuses on a different part of their story in his gospel.
In Matthew’s telling, a group of visitors travels in search of the newborn King. Stopping first by the royal palace, they raised the curiosity and jealousy of Herod, the reigning king of the region.
Churches around the world celebrate this event as Epiphany. A word that means revelation, Epiphany refers to God revealing Jesus’ birth to persons outside the Jewish community and from far away.
After the visitors depart by another route, Joseph is warned in a dream to flee the country. The Holy family immigrated to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath, where they stayed until his reign ended. We don’t know much about their time in Africa, but Egypt was a center of learning for that part of the world, and Jesus likely had access to this center of knowledge.
The visitors returned by another road after God warned them in a dream not to return to Herod. After the visitors depart, Joseph is warned in a dream to flee the country.
Matthew 2:1-23
Joseph’s dreams continue to guide his family, and they eventually return to Nazareth. Not surprisingly, these events unfolded in accordance with ancient prophecy.
Do you have dreams about a different tomorrow? If so, did actual dreams help shape your hopes? What hopes do you have for the New Year?
One suggestion is to resolve to make every second count. This suggestion isn’t about accomplishing things or staying busy. Rather, making a second count refers to our connections with God, other persons, creation, and ourselves.
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Pastor Tommy
Parts of our series are inspired by Dr. Leonid Alt. The Price of a Second.© Leonid Alt, 2021.
Psychology Today Staff. “Dreams.” © Psychology Today, 2023. Retrieved from: link