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Over the past few weeks, our three-part series, Meditating Between Creation and Becoming Ancestors, has generated a great deal of interest and discussion. We expected strong reactions because the subject touches on questions that have occupied human beings for centuries.
The responses have been fascinating. Some readers agreed with our reflections, others disagreed, and many shared personal experiences and beliefs of their own.
That, in many ways, is the beauty of such conversations. There are some subjects that do not end when an article is published. Instead, they continue around dinner tables, during walks with friends, and in those quiet moments when we find ourselves thinking about life’s bigger questions.
As my co-writer and I reflected on the many comments we received, our conversation naturally moved in a different direction. If we had spent time thinking about creation, existence, and what it means to become ancestors, perhaps it was time to consider another mystery that visits each of us every single night.
Dreams.
This article marks the beginning of a new three-part series exploring one of humanity’s oldest and most intriguing mysteries. In Part One, we examine what dreams are, how different cultures have understood them, and why they continue to fascinate both science and spirituality.
Every night, millions of people close their eyes and enter a world that can be familiar, strange, frightening, comforting, confusing, or sometimes unforgettable. We meet people who are no longer with us. We visit places we have never seen. We experience joy, fear, hope, and sadness, all while lying asleep in our beds. But what exactly are dreams?
Why do some disappear the moment we wake up, while others stay with us for years?
Why do certain dreams seem meaningless, while others feel so real that we continue thinking about them long after the morning has arrived? Are dreams simply the mind sorting through the events of the day, or are they something more?
As these questions came up during our discussions, I began to feel that perhaps this part of the conversation should be led by someone younger. My co-writer, Onyia Melissa Chidera, belongs to a generation that still looks at the world with fresh eyes and endless curiosity. Young people often ask questions that older people have stopped asking. They are less concerned with having all the answers and more
willing to explore possibilities.
So, as we begin this new journey into the world of dreams, I am happy to hand over much of the discussion to her. After all, dreams belong not only to those who sleep, but also to those who still dare to imagine.
Dreams are among the few experiences that are shared by every human being, regardless of age, nationality, religion, education, or social status. Long before we learn to speak, long before we understand the world around us, we dream. We dream as children, we dream as adults, and we continue dreaming into old age. Yet despite spending nearly a third of our lives asleep, we still know remarkably little about what happens when the mind slips from the world of waking reality into that strange territory where the ordinary rules of life no longer seem to apply.
Across cultures, continents, and centuries, people have wrestled with the same question: what exactly are dreams? The answers have varied depending on where one lives and what one believes. In parts of Africa, dreams are often treated with seriousness because they are seen as messages, warnings, or encounters with forces beyond ordinary sight. In many homes, a disturbing dream is not quickly forgotten.
It becomes the subject of discussion over breakfast, at family gatherings, or during conversations with spiritual leaders. A dream about a deceased relative may be interpreted as a visitation. A dream about water may carry a particular meaning. A recurring dream may be viewed as a message demanding attention.
Elsewhere, different explanations emerge. In Japan, people often keep dream journals, recording details before they disappear into the fog of memory. In parts of Latin America, dreams have long been associated with family history, spiritual inheritance, and ancestral presence. In Europe and North America, dreams are frequently discussed in psychological terms. They are explained as products of memory, emotion, stress, desire, fear, or unresolved experiences. Yet even among those who reject spiritual interpretations, dreams retain an unusual power. Few people completely dismiss a dream that feels exceptionally vivid. Most of us have experienced waking up from a dream so real that it follows us throughout the day, lingering in the mind long after the details should have faded.
Perhaps this is because dreams occupy a curious position between reality and imagination. They are neither fully one nor the other. While dreaming, the impossible becomes perfectly reasonable. A person can speak with the dead, travel across continents in seconds, revisit childhood homes that no longer exist, or hold conversations with people and creatures that would seem absurd in daylight. During the dream itself, nothing feels unusual. It is only upon waking that we begin to recognize how strange the experience truly was.
Anyone who has spent enough years on earth accumulates a collection of dreams that refuse to be forgotten. Some dreams fade within minutes of waking. Others remain vivid for decades. There are dreams that comfort us and dreams that disturb us. There are dreams that appear meaningless and dreams that seem to reveal something about ourselves that we had not previously recognized. There are even dreams that appear to anticipate future events, a phenomenon that has fascinated humanity since ancient times and continues to provoke debate among scientists, philosophers, and religious thinkers alike.
The ancient Egyptians believed dreams could carry divine messages. The Greeks often sought guidance through dream interpretation. In many African traditions, dreams have long been viewed as a meeting point between the visible world and the unseen one. Generations before psychology became a recognized field of study, communities were already developing complex systems for understanding dreams and their significance. These interpretations differed from place to place, but they shared one common belief: dreams matter.
This belief has survived into the modern age despite all our technological progress.
We have built computers capable of performing billions of calculations in seconds.
We can send messages across the globe instantly. We can look into distant galaxies and study the smallest particles of matter. Yet every night we close our eyes and enter a world that remains largely beyond our understanding.
Modern science has undoubtedly helped us understand part of the puzzle.
Researchers have discovered that dreams occur most frequently during a stage of sleep known as REM sleep, when the brain becomes surprisingly active.
During these periods, parts of the brain associated with memory, emotion, and imagination are hard at work. Scientists suggest that dreaming may help us organize experiences, process emotions, strengthen memories, and even prepare for future challenges.
