The people in our dreams

[Magical Realist]

"Although we dream anywhere from two to five times per night, we rarely recall our dreams. According to Matthew Walker, a neuroscientist and author of Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams, people have their "most vivid, hallucinogenic, narrative, memory-laden dreams" during the REM stage of sleep. We don't always remember them, though, because we may not be waking up at the right time, Walker revealed to Business Insider. Still, most of us remember at least a few dreams — and some of them may be downright confusing. This is especially true when we're dreaming of someone other than ourselves.


Since the days of Aristotle, experts have been looking into the meaning of dreams. But, it's not exactly a hard science. "Like the wonderful diversity of dreams, there is a diversity in thinking about dreams," Meir H. Kryger, a physician and professor at the Yale School of Medicine, penned in an article for Psychology Today. "There may not be a right answer." Nevertheless, today's leading experts have offered their best guesses on the meaning behind specific dreams. Here's what they think your subconscious is trying to tell you when you have a dream about another.

Carder Stout, a licensed psychotherapist and dream analyst, believes dreams play a significant role in our lives. "There is a shared understanding among therapists in my field that dreams are compensatory, meaning that they are not arbitrary and meaningless but have a distinct intention and purpose, which is to bring material from the unconscious into consciousness," the expert revealed in an article for Goop. Of course, much of a dream's meaning depends on what the dream was about. 

When you dream about people you know, Stout explained that you're not actually dreaming about them. Rather, the people in your dreams actually "represent aspects of yourself." Stout explained further, writing, "If you dream about a close friend, then think about their strongest character traits. If you think of them as being humble then you are dreaming about the humble side of yourself." Yes, even in our dreams, we're all a little self-obsessed.

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[Leigha]

That's really cool! When I dream about familiar people, their faces are either blurred or they're not the faces of the people I know. But, they're the people I know...if that makes sense.

And usually, we're ''meeting'' under odd circumstances...like my grandmother will be present in a business meeting scenario (and in the dream, I'll be thinking to myself, what is she doing here?)...or my sister will be the cashier at a grocery store, and so on. They're familiar, but they're in different ''roles'' than in my conscious state.

Dreams are fascinating, yet a little strange.

[Magical Realist]

That's really cool! When I dream about familiar people, their faces are either blurred or they're not the faces of the people I know. But, they're the people I know...if that makes sense.

And usually, we're ''meeting'' under odd circumstances...like my grandmother will be present in a business meeting scenario (and in the dream, I'll be thinking to myself, what is she doing here?)...or my sister will be the cashier at a grocery store, and so on. They're familiar, but they're in different ''roles'' than in my conscious state.

Dreams are fascinating, yet a little strange.

Sometimes the people in my dreams are composites of several people I have known. Sometimes they are complete strangers. I guess they represent qualities in myself I need to cultivate per the Jungian interpretation.