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"I dreamed I got a job at an office, said Michael E. "Other employees were working in cubicles at desks and computers. But when I came in every day, I took big Lego pieces out of a duffle bag, assembled them into a piano and entertained the staff all day. Soon, the others were giving me dirty looks. I began to get paranoid and frustrated and it was becoming harder and harder to put my piano together. One day, I just couldn't do it. And my boss told me he was letting me go. I was fired."

What did the dream mean?

"For most of human history, dream wisdom has been a revered and sought-after means of interpreting life," says David CLohff, author of Dream Coaching: Achieving the Life You Were Meant to Lead by Understanding Your Dreams. Dreams have played an important role in many cultures, from the ancient Greeks to Native American tribes; the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament include stories of significant dreams.

Why do we dream?
Everyone dreams, most of us for at least two hours each night. The scientific explanation is this: No one knows for certain why, but the brain functions in a special way during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. REM periods occur about four times each night and last about an hour and a half. And that's when dreams typically occur.

A 1999 National Institutes of Health study showed that the brain increased activity in its visual area while decreasing the processing of outside images - the brain is "seeing" but not seeing, The emotional part of the brain became more active while the logical part became less active. As it receives the fragmented signals of REM sleep, the brain may be interpreting them by linking emotions, vision and memory to create a story, similar to waking life. A dream.

Lohff, a pastor, dream therapist and faculty member at George Washington University Medical School, believes that, through dreams, your soul guides you, warns you, shows you and encourages you. You may decide through the guidance of a dream to leave a bad relationship, change jobs or join a gym.

What did the dream mean?
The piano-playing dreamer was a recent graduate who had moved to New York to begin his career in publishing. Asked to analyze his dream, Patricia Baker, psychotherapist and dream analyst for 20 years, said, "It's an important dream. One of its messages is that he is feeling a lack of authenticity and he needs to get in touch with that.

"He may have insecurities that he's not aware of. As an entertainer in the center of a busy office, he seems to be a fish out of water. He's not doing what people are supposed to be doing in an office. He may feel that he doesn't fit in. He may be questioning his skills. He seems to have concerns about whether he should be where he is, whether he even wants to be where he is.

"The dream doesn't necessarily mean that he must take action. But he needs to look within himself for guidance. He may want to consider whether he is in the right profession but the wrong place, or vice versa. The dream is telling him that it's important for him to reevaluate."

The dreaming mind is not redundant, says Baker. It will not tell you something you already know. And, it doesn't work in sentences. Rather, it puts symbols together that form a language. "We've been taught to disregard our dreams," says Baker, "but they almost always have bearing on our lives today. We need to pay attention to our dreams and ask ourselves how they are related to our life right now."

Tips for interpreting your dreams
Here are guidelines from Baker and Lohff to help you learn from your dreams:Clear your mind before falling asleep by recalling the events of the day to bring the day to a close.

• Keep a dream journal. Jot down your dreams within the first few minutes after waking to help you remember the
• Ask, how does it relate to my waking life?
• Write down details Note the environment in which the dream takes place.
• Note how the dream ends.
• Use your dreams to consider what decisions you face and what choices you have.
• The guidance of a professional can help you gain more benefit from your dreams.
• Consider joining or forming a dream group where dreams are shared and input is contributed.
• Look for classes, books and DVDs about learning from your dreams
• To find a qualified dream therapist, ask at local colleges or metaphysical bookstores; check the Internet.

Not all dreams have significance, say both Baker and Lohff. "Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar," said Anna Freud, Sigmund Freud's daughter.

Related articles
I can't sleep
Journaling for growth and healing

Sources
Patricia Baker, psychotherapist and dream analyst for 20 years
David C Lohff, Dream Coaching: Achieving the Life You Were Meant to Lead by Understanding Your Dreams.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)

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