Adrian Northrup

Whether it’s about Brad Pitt whisking you off to a romantic country or winning the gold medal in synchronized swimming at the Olympics, dreams creep into our heads all the time.

Whether people remember their dreams or not, no one goes through life without dreaming.

Richard Marano, of the Hypnosis Center of Eau Claire, 306 S. Barstow St., said dreams come from a number of places in our subconscious.

“We dream when we’re in the rapid eye movement state,” he said. “Basically, when it comes to hypnotherapy, dreams can be a very effective uncovering technique.”

But what happens when we’re sleeping, and why?

Sophomore Heidi Becker said in the last week she has been dreaming about very random things more than she normally does.

“One night, I dreamt about family stuff and not so good dreaming with fighting and guns,” she said.

To her, it seems dreaming comes into her subconscious more so when she’s had less sleep and more stress.

Through hypnosis, Marano said the meaning of dreams can become clear.

“The conscious is speaking to us in symbols, and that meaning can become clear through hypnosis,” he said. “Many people in my profession, myself included, believe that all dreams are the product of the dreamer and they are efforts of one part of the individual to communicate with another part.”

Whatever the meaning is behind dreams, freshman Wesley Adams said he definitely has some memorable ones that he can’t figure out.
“I had a dream last night that I was a fish eating a lily pad,” he said.

When it comes to “common” dreams, such as a person falling, being chased or being stark naked in a classroom full of their peers, Marano said it may not always have a common meaning.

“I think someone who might consider themselves a dream interpreter might make some generalities in those ‘common’ dreams,” he said. “From my experience, every dream is individual to the dreamer.”

When it comes to reoccurring dreams, Becker said she will always have a dream where random people she hasn’t thought about in a long time pop up.

“It’s like you haven’t seen them in a long time and then there they are,” she said.
When a person comes for hypnosis of a reoccurring dream, Marano said it often can help the dream stop.

“When doing dream interpretation or analysis, a person can often times eliminate a bad dream or a reoccurring dream and or the physical and emotional symptoms that occur from (those dreams),” he said.

Whether it’s that superhero dream or a dream about failing a midterm, Marano said the subconscious always knows what the meaning is.

“Every dream has some meaning,” he said. “With hypnosis, we allow that person to unlock the meaning.”