§ 1. There are many different theories about dreams; however, the science of dreams is not exact. In ancient times, people believed that when we dreamt we entered another world which was real. As science and medicine became more advanced, different theories started to come out. Some scientists believe that dreams are just verbal, visual and emotional stimuli with no apparent meaning. However, others believe that dreams are important for our mental well-being. The leading psychiatrist, Carl Jung thought that analysing our dreams provides us with a way to think more deeply about our lives and solve problems.

§ 2. For centuries, people have believed that dreams have a deeper meaning. For example, many of us dream that we are falling and suddenly we wake up. Experts say this dream means we are feeling anxious and insecure or we feel we have failed in achieving a goal. Another popular dream is that of being chased; this means we are trying to escape our problems. Also, dreams about losing our teeth are believed to show that we are worried about our physical appearance.

§ 3. There has been a lot of research done into controlling dreams and this has led to the term lucid (осо­знан­ный) dreaming. Lucid dreaming happens when you are aware that you are dreaming and are able to control what happens in your dream. This is an amazing skill but it is also extremely difficult to do and not many people are able to learn it. Lucid dreaming can be a way to experience the strange world of your dreams but it is also believed to help personal development and improve your problem solving skills.

§ 4. Some people are able to see future events through their dreams. There is the case of the man who dreamt that he took his son on a camping trip and his son died near a lake. Some time after he had had the dream, the man and his son were invited on a camping trip. Then, at a certain time during the trip, the man remembered his dream and noticed that everything was the same as in his dream; the boy was standing near a lake looking down at pebbles. The man quickly grabbed his son and took him to safety.

§ 5. There is still a lot of research taking place into dreams, and it will be some time before we are able to really understand the strange dream world that we enter every night. Dreams allow us to experience things that would not be possible in real life, and by analysing our dreams we can learn more about ourselves.