American Dream Bible

You are on a sandy beach, watching the waves crash on the shore as the sun beats down on your face. On the horizon, you notice a small shape gradually getting larger and larger. Suddenly, you find yourself on the deck of a frightening pirate ship – not knowing how you got there. You look around and see a few familiar faces...is that your co-worker in the crow’s nest? Then a pirate with a large hat, presumably the captain, begins to walk toward you in a menacing way. A shock of fear courses through you as the captain growls, “It’s the plank for you!” Unable to resist, you are helplessly led to the plank. As you cautiously take a step out, you look down at the deep, blue water and notice that it’s starting to bubble. With no warning, you tumble
In the past, there were many theories and myths regarding sleep, dreams, and the possible symbolism in dreams. “Ancient peoples, among them the Egyptians and the Greeks, believed dreams were messages sent by the gods to sleeping minds.” (Editors of Time-Life Books, 1990, p. 22) There are many references to dreams as being prophetic or having an important message in the Bible. Famous Biblical dreams include the prophet Daniel’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, Jacob’s ladder and a warning dream to Joseph to flee Egypt. Some North American Indians believed that the soul left the body to roam around the world during sleep and awakening was the signal that it had returned. (Lavie 1996) Themes developed, with variety in each culture, as to the meaning of certain recurring symbols in dreams. For example, in India it was believed that having a dream of riding an elephant was lucky, while riding a donkey was unlucky. (Van de Castle 1994) Beliefs about dreams, their significance and origins, changed over the years. “In later times, people believed that dreams resulted from the effects of physical or external stimuli on the sleeping brain and therefore perceived dreams as having a diagnostic value insofar as the physical condition of the dreamer was concerned.” (Lavie, 1996, p.
This is the un-scientific part of dreams – interpretation. There are common symbols and themes, as shown in history and around the world, but is there truly some sort of dream “code” with which one can accurately interpret his or her dreams? There are general ideas surrounding certain types of dreams, such as the “falling” dream. “Falling dreams...are generally considered to represent situations in which the dreamer feels in danger of losing status, respect, security or emotional stability.” (Van de Castle, 1994, p. 337) Falling generally represents insecurity or lack of control over a situation. Or the common “failed test” dream, where the dreamer finds himself unprepared or struggling to complete a task such as a test in school, a sporting event or performance of some sort, which has manifested itself to many dreamers. These dreams can be a result of anxiety felt by the need for achievement and the pressure of society to meet certain standards. “To understand the precise meaning of your dream, you need to identify that area in which you currently feel deficient or feel that you lack what you need to achieve goals.” (Garfield, 2001, p. 124) In summary, while some dream themes are shared by many, each dream can have a specific meaning to each dreamer, depending on the current situations in the individual’s