Trapping the bad ones in the web A famous man once said: “Dreams are today’s answers to tomorrow’s questions” (Cayce, E). Without dreams in people’s lives, getting through a rough day would be impossible. However, what happens if all the dreams they have are nightmares? Obviously, their whole life would be upside-down until a good dream brightens their days. Good dreams can be motivating to people, relaxing to some, and even protector to others. One way to avoid having bad dreams is by hanging a small antique object over the bed called a “Dreamcatcher”. The dreamcatcher is a beautiful hand-made object that origins from the Native American culture of Ojibwe people (Callahan, K). By and large, dreamcatcher is a wooden circle, tangled with strands from inside in such a way that it resembles a spider web. By the bottom of the circle, additional threads are attached. They can be decorated with wooden beads, stones or nodules. However, the most common variant of decoration is with wooden beads and feathers. The beads are often used to decorate the web as well by careful placing them so that a …show more content…
pattern could be seen. People believe that dreamcatchers protect their owners from nightmares.
When looking at a dreamcatcher, the circle represents the moon and the sun when defeating the darkness in the world. The bad dreams can also be seen trapped in the threads as if they were little bugs trapped in a spider’s web, while the beautiful dreams flows around and passes through the middle hole and delivers hope and spirit to the owner. The dreamcatcher feels delicate, but the energy that flows from the inside really fascinates people. When the wind passes through the dreamcatcher, the soft sound makes people feel like being in the middle of the forest surrounded by the leaves. The mixture of the flowers scent, the wood smell, and the feathers all remind a person of the beautiful nature. The feathers actually symbolize both contact with the animal world and the ease of a flight, the serenity of a
dream. Finally, everybody need good dreams in their lives, and if there is a way to have them and avoid the bad ones, why not try it? To the believers of dreamcatchers, their lives can be affected by a small beautiful object, a dreamcatcher. Dreamcatchers may seem small and weak, but in fact, they are surprisingly strong. Indeed, dreamcatchers are considered one of the necessities in some people’s lives.
In “To a Mouse”, Robert Burns views dreams as if they are fragile things that are broken easily.
A dreamcatcher comes from the culture of Native Americans. It is a very popular tradition that has been around for generations. The outer part of the dreamcatcher is typically made from a willow tree, most likely a branch, something strong. The idea behind the webbing inside is supposed to look like a spider’s web. Then the decoration part is made from everyday findings in their environment, like beads, feathers and arrowheads. Mostly items that can be used for any symbolic meaning. Lastly, there are the feathers hanging from the bottom. Depending on what kind of representation is wanted, that is the kind of bird that the Native Americans obtain the feathers from. All the materials have to be natural to create more meaning and
Dreams are a part of each person’s life that allows them to set goals for their future. One dream may be simple, but others allow them to achieve the impossible. There is that one goal that anyone and everyone wants to
Oprah Winfrey once said, “The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” But, what actually is a dream and what do dreams really have to do with one’s everyday life? In essence, a dream is a series of mental images and emotions occurring during slumber. Dreams can also deal with one’s personal aspirations, goals, ambitions, and even one’s emotions, such as love and hardship. However, dreams can also give rise to uneasy and terrible emotions; these dreams are essentially known as nightmares. In today’s society, the concept of dreaming and dreams, in general, has been featured in a variety of different mediums, such as literature, film and even music. While the mediums of film and music are both prime examples of this concept, the medium of literature, on the other hand, contains a much more diverse set of examples pertaining to dreams and dreaming. One key example is William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While the portrayal of dreams, in general, plays a prominent role in Shakespeare’s play, the exploration of many aspects of nature, allows readers to believe that dreams are merely connected to somewhat unconventional occurrences.
During prescientific days, dreams were interpreted as ‘manifestations’ of a ‘higher power’. Since the introduction of psychology, dreams have had 4 distinct interpretations. The first interprets dreams as a “liberation of the spirit from the pressure of external nature”. The second interprets dreams as “accidental disturbances from ‘internal organs’. The third interprets dreams as a foretelling of the future. The last interpretation is Freud’s. He interprets dream as an expression of subconscious desires.
In this paper I hope to open a window to the vast and mysterious world of dreaming. To most people, information about dreams isn’t common knowledge. In researching this subject though, I found that everybody has and reacts to dreams, which are vital to your mental health. You will also find how you can affect your dreams and how they affect you.
Where do dreams come from? What actually are dreams? Do they mean something that is related in our real lives? All these questions can be answered by learning about the history of dreams in various cultures throughout time.
The Dreamcatcher is a very important part of the Indigenous culture as a whole, as it is a symbol of unity between all tribes. The legend of this cultural piece dates back to stories of a supernatural “Spider Woman” who aided the Ojibwa people, and was a motherly figure to all the children. Eventually, this mysterious woman could no longer take care of the nomadic tribe due to their constant relocation, and therefore created the very first dreamcatcher for them. The origin story is not nearly as popular as the item, which has been constantly appropriated since. It is no question that the Indigenous culture as a whole is often appropriated and mistreated, with others offensively believing they can incorporate the object into their own lives. Dreamcatchers today are constantly used as only a decorative item or a beautiful tattoo by those who do not know the cultural significance and are a part of other ethnic groups. Learning about the significance of this item should be emphasized, as it will prevent others from trying to carelessly adapt it as their
Many people suffer from bad dreams, often referred to as nightmares, every night. It is not uncommon to experience fright filled slumber from time to time, but some people are inclined to suffer more often than an occasional bad dream. While some mental health professionals believe nightmares reduce mental tensions by allowing the mind to act out its fears, new research suggests that bad dreams are more likely to increase anxiety in everyday life. In addition to life’s anxieties, what other factors contribute to nightmares and why?
Starting with pre-school, we are taught how to be proper. We talk with surface-level pleasantries ["how are you?" "I'm great."] and proceed with the sequiturs we are expected to follow. Take this away from us, and we are flailing fish on dry land. Furthermore, drifting off this path to one with high risk [high reward is often diminished by the risk of what others think] scares us.
“Hold fast to dreams for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly” - Langston Hughes. Dreams play a large part in every humans life. From the very first breath, babies see colors and shapes while they sleep, children have nightmares that jolt them out of their slumber, and adults have stress dreams about work and their children running across the road. Dreams appear in every person's life at some point, as does a connection with the so-called powers at be, or the divine. Even if a connection is not felt with the divine, the influences are still greatly felt throughout the world.
Lucid Dreamer, a device which will show the dreams according to your choice. A lot of people have an experience, when they see dreams; they feel that they see dreams and their dream also continue with this feeling. This condition is known as lucid dreaming. Dreams in this condition are clear, bright and lucid. In lucid dreaming, understanding can be found at this level that the person in sleeping state feels its dreams as reality.
Even though dream catchers are a common part of modern society and can be found almost anywhere, whether it is an actual dream catcher or just the image; however, it has not always been this way. Dream catchers are web-like objects developed by Native Americans that are believed to catch bad dreams in their web and allow only the good dreams to flow through making their way to the person sleeping below. But how did this object originally intended to prevent nightmares from occurring reach the state of popularity that it has achieved today? Not only do dream catchers provided a hopeful alternative to the fear suffered through during a nightmare, but each one is a beautiful work of art. The beautiful protectors install a feeling of safety that
What is a dream? Why do we have dreams? Do dreams have deeper meaning in our lives? The answers to these questions have eluded and intrigued many psychologists throughout history and have sparked my interest as well. As an avid and vivid dreamer I have often found myself wondering what the true meanings to my dreams were. So what are dreams? “Strictly speaking, dreams are images and imagery, thoughts, sounds and voices, and subjective sensations experienced when we sleep.”1 Even after thousands of years of research, psychologists have still not come to an agreed answer on why we dream. There are as many opinions out there as there are individual dreams. Some psychologists believe dreaming is simply the minds way of distracting itself from outside information during sleep to allow people to get deep rest. Others such as Dr. Eric Hartman suggest dreams serve almost as a psychotherapy in which the brain can make connections between different emotions and thoughts in a safe protected environment. Do dreams have any direct correlation to everyday events and experiences? Are they meant to aid individuals in understanding and interpreting their world around them?
In some Native American cultures, a dreamcatcher is a handmade object based on a willow hoop, on which is woven a loose net or web. The Ojibwe people have an ancient legend about the origin of the dreamcatcher. Storytellers speak of the Spider Woman, she took care of the children and the people on the land. Eventually, the Ojibwe Nation spread to the corners of North America and it became difficult for her to reach all the children. So the mothers and grandmothers would weave magical webs for the children, using willow hoops and sinew, or cordage made from plants. The Ojibwe believe that a dreamcatcher changes a person's dreams. According to Konrad J. Kaweczynski, "Only good dreams would be allowed to filter through...