Everybody dreams, even though some people insist that they do not. Approximately 80% of those who wake up during REM sleep remember having realistic dreams. Sleepers awaken during NREM sleep usually do not recall having dreams. Those who are aware describe their dreams as disjointed and incoherent. There are many types of dreams. Here are two of them.

• Fantastic dreams

The content in such dreams is seemingly irrational and not applicable in our world today. Sleeper might dream of parallel dimension, time travel, wizards, dragons and things that defy reason.

Fantastic dreams posses the manifest level and latent level. The manifest level refers to the exterior of the dream. Incidents, items and plot of the dream belong to this category. Meanwhile, the concealed level contains the significance of the dream. Sigmund Freud suggested that a prohibited desire is hidden within this latent phase. And the desires are mostly of hostility or sexual in kind.

Fantastic dreams should not always be interpreted at face value because they reflect worries in our actual world. Incidents and entities found in the manifest level are symbols. They represent actual occurrences and things in our lives. Hence our personal aspirations, anxieties and emotional struggles should be taken into account when symbols of fantastic dreams are decoded.

• Conventional Dreams

Conventional dreams are less complicated than fantastic dreams. Symbols and irrational components do not exist here. Although a conventional dream also involves a hidden desire, the wish is more transparent and not prohibited. In fact, conventional dreams are just embellished manifestations of the yearnings we often encounter in daily life. These dreams are beneficial in the sense that they allow us to fulfil our desires and vent our unhappiness. In interpretation of conventional dreams is straightforward since the connotations are relatively clear.

Source : “Sleep: Our faithful companion in life” by Wong Pui Yee. Featured in Montage Edition – Many faces, One world. Volume 9. Published by Asiapac Books Pte Ltd.