Sometimes back a few of us were talking about dreams. It all began with one guy saying he wanted us to decode a particular and rather lengthy dream for him. Not that any of us had any ‘experience’ in such things, not that we had made reputations as ‘dream code breakers.’ He was so worried about this particular dream he saw and he wanted to talk to someone. By the way he was a family man with kids in their mid and late teens and he has been married for about a quarter of a century. And his was one of those marriages which has managed to go through all the rain and shine over the years and still remained intact with both concerns about each other as they have been before tying the knot. That by itself is sort of breaking news in this age when it seems more divorces than marriages being registered in most places.
Now, when this guy narrated his dream at first it sounded like he was reading an entire chapter from some romantic melodrama where all the wrong things you could think of happen. Then in the same dream things take sudden turn and he finds himself in the most beautiful of places with his family. Nice sounding, wouldn’t you say? But wait till you hear what comes next. His family was a different one! His wife is a lady he has never seen before though a stunning young beauty and his children were toddlers barely learning to walk.
“What do you think it means?” Now this was the kind of dream beyond imagination and very difficult to attach with anything. If it had been the conventional dream where you either laugh or cry and where both emotions don’t come in the same storyline it would have been easy to play the dream decoder role. You stick to the good dream; bad reality, bad dream-good reality ‘dream formula’ and no one would accuse of not knowing what you’re talking about. This guy’s question is still hanging even after a few weeks. Though the guy isn’t given to take things too far, though he never showed signs of being worried about some dream or nightmare this time around he’s worried if something was to happen to his marriage and eventually his family.
Can dreams really predict the future? It seems that when the going gets tough and life becomes almost unbearable we tend to pay more attention to our dreams. We seem to be content with discovering the meaning of our dreams than the real reasons on the ground which make our lives practically intolerable.
“You know, last night I had dream and I’m not feeling comfortable.”
“Why? What did you see?”
“Well I dreamt of driving the biggest limousine you have ever seen. It was so big by the time I woke up I haven’t even been able to see the whole of it.”
“You’re a very lucky guy.”
“I don’t understand…”
“You just told me you’ve dreamt of driving the biggest limousine! Do you know what that means”
“Tell me.”
“You’ll became so rich that you wouldn’t even know the amount of your true wealth.”
“No that isn’t the case. In fact I’d be facing so much trouble that the future would be very tough for my family.”
‘Typical pessimism’ you might say. Of course there might be some dose of pessimism in such statements. Bu then it doesn’t mean the words just fell down from within the thin air!
I haven’t the slightest idea where such a conclusion came from. But for decades we’ve been hearing if you see good dreams the actual outcome would be sad. Sometimes you can’t help wondering why people are attaching so much attention to their dreams; at other times you convince yourself away they might be using it as some sort of therapy to give meaning to their tough lives. The underlying craving seems to be being told of a better future and an end to all the problems of the day. Of course we’re still waiting for research that would dream could predict what might come tomorrow and beyond. It’s written on a certain site;
“At this time there is little scientific evidence suggesting that dreams can predict the future. Some research suggests that certain types of dreams may help predict the onset of illness or mental decline in the dream, however. There are some online reports that Abraham Lincoln dreamt his own assassination. They say also Robert Kennedy’s assassination was potentially predicted by a person’s dream.” Oh!
By the way did you know that researchers say that on average most people dream for around two hours per night? Ok; but does that mean that if you don’t dream for a couple of hours each night there must be something wrong with you?
I know a person for whom every dream was an issue. In fact, ay times she acted upon her dreams. At first there was this village lady, friend of her family, who dissected her dreams for her. Later she started seeing the dreams who did all the heavy lifting for her. She interpreted the young lady’s dreams in the most confident of voices. What’s interesting is she held to age old dream interpretation most of us have grown hearing. Dreams are the exact opposite of what will happen in reality. Say if the love of your life whom you have been trying to impress since two US election ago is seen kissing you. Just a minute! Maybe going to the nearest pub and celebrating might not be a very nice idea. Common dream interpretation had it that the kiss in dreams might be real fights on the ground! The paradise in dreams might mean real hell on the ground! better beat it while you can. It would be hell!
Speaking of trying to get to the meaning of dreams how about this little joke;
- Doctor, I have a problem; every night I dream of rats playing football.
- Take this medicine and this nightmare will stop.
- Thank you; I’ll start taking it tomorrow.
- Why tomorrow?
- Well, today they are playing the final. (Ha! Ha!)
Well, at least he sees rats. If I told you what sorts of creatures I used to see in my ‘dreams’ years back you’d have wondered why I didn’t become a sci-fi writer!
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 25 FEBRUARY 2024