Are Your Dreams Ordinary or Extraordinary? A Psychological Guide
Dreaming is a universal human experience, but not all dreams are created equal. Some are fleeting echoes of our day, while others are profound, unforgettable epics. Psychology helps us understand the difference between two main categories: ordinary dreams and extraordinary dreams
Ordinary Dreams: The Brain's Filing Cabinet
Most dreams we have are considered ordinary. These "little dreams" reflect our recent waking life experiences—dreaming about grocery shopping, a birthday party you attended, or a movie you just watched. They tend to be relatively forgotten soon after waking up.
The cognitive approach to psychology suggests these dreams are a vital part of our mental functioning. From this perspective, dreaming is how our brains process and store the information we received during the day. This is why a full night's sleep, complete with dreams, is so crucial for memory and learning.
Extraordinary Dreams: Messages from the Deep
On the other end of the spectrum are extraordinary dreams, also known as "big dreams." Unlike their ordinary counterparts, these dreams create entirely new experiences for us. They possess a special vividness and intensity that makes them incredibly difficult to forget.
Freud's psychodynamic approach aligns with this type of dream, suggesting that dreams are a manifestation of our unconscious mind, carrying both an obvious and a hidden, or latent, meaning. By paying close attention to the symbols in these big dreams, we can uncover hidden messages and gain new insights that can help us generate ideas and even prepare for the future.
The hallmark difference is that extraordinary dreams provide profound experiences and insights that "provoke greater consciousness," which is precisely what makes them so memorable.
References
Bulkeley, K. (2016). Big Dreams: The science of dreaming and the origins of religion. Oxford University Press.
Christina. (2020). The psychology of dreams. Owlcation.
Krippner, S., Bogzaran, F., and Percia De Carvalho, A. (2002). Extraordinary dreams and how to work with them. State University of New York Press.
