Do dreams come true?

Do dreams Come true?
By Dr P vyasamoorthy

A month ago I had a dream. One elderly Iyyangar Brahmin told me, of course in the dream only, that I have only six months more. Some minutes later when the conversation amongst us turned to death, one young boy asked who would die next in the family. The old man looked at me quizzically and said "I told you?!" It was very vivid when I woke up. Then I started reading about dreams and their import.

For a long time I used to erroneously think that dreams are always black and white (monochrome) and never colorful. I am wrong. There are specific interpretations for each color if that color dominates the dream. As all the dreams I have had contained me, myself, I, mine etc, I thought there could be no dreams where the dreamer is not present. This is true only in the case of children below the age of three years. We can dream just as observers without being involved. That is why spiritualists say that dreams are very close to Reality in one sense.

Most of us forget 50% of the dream within 5 minutes and almost 90% within ten minutes. Dreams are vivid if we wake up immediately after REM phase of sleep, not otherwise.  Everyone dreams, including blind people. Blind persons may have visual images if they have become blind after having had sight for a few years; otherwise their dreams would consist of tactile, smell, sound and similar sensations.

Most common themes in dreams are: Failing in exams that you have already passed, falling down from tall structures, being naked and getting caught, someone chasing you, flying etc.
Wet dreams result in moist private parts though the content need not have been sex. One may have prophetic dreams, nightmarish dreams or situations where one gets healed by a Guru of some chronic disease. Interpreting dreams is a big business as predictors could quiz you almost on anything like: numbers, animals, bugs, places, body parts, birds etc that come in your dreams. Each number has its own significance we are told. I am only reminded of a Homeopathic practitioner querying you in very great detail before coming up with the right drug!

Getting back to the question whether dreams come true, the findings are mixed. As only success stories are reported and all forgotten dreams are never taken into account, we can not say dreams come true. At best they give certain warnings or indications about our own state of mind. The brain has maximum inputs for a better interpretation of a problem situation than when we are awake. To that extent we may take them as signals to future in a broad sense. In my specific case I am told that the dream signifies a change for higher level of consciousness say spiritual upliftment!
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Dr P Vyasamoorthy,
30 Gruhalakshmi Colony Secunderabad 500015 Ph 040-27846631 / 9490804278
http://www.google.com/profiles/vyasamoorthy.