Do dreams still speak?

Every night, the human brain dreams. This is not a belief or a tradition but a finding of science. Research reviewed in two books, one by J Allan Hobson of Harvard and the other by Michel Jouvet of France, shows that all warm-blooded mammals dream. Dreaming is linked to REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which makes up about 20% of an adult’s sleep. Infants spend up to 80% of their sleep in this state.The physical importance of dreaming has been clearly shown. When REM sleep is suppressed, the immune system weakens, the skin begins to break down, and the body fails to feel rested. In laboratory studies, sleep-deprived rats were even attacked by bacteria from their own bodies. It is therefore agreed that dreaming is necessary for life.A deeper question, however, is raised by these findings. Is the brain a closed system, shaped only by biology and surroundings? Or can it be touched by something beyond the self? Hobson holds that dreams carry no deeper meaning, and the idea of dream interpretation is dismissed by him as fortune-cookie thinking. Jouvet is more careful. It is accepted by him that the absence of proof is not the proof of absence.For many communities, this question was answered long ago. In the Bible, dreams guided Jacob, Joseph and Daniel. In modern times, a German pastor, Martin Niemoller, is said to have been moved by a dream to oppose Hitler publicly. Among the Ojibwa people of North America, a religious society known as Mediwiwin is called a “dreamer society.” In its origin story, the dream was given to human beings as a gift, so that balance and insight could be gained by creatures who were otherwise vulnerable.Similar respect for dreams and visions is found in many communities of the Northeast, including those of Nagaland. Ancestral traditions here have long held that meaning, warning and guidance may be carried by dreams. Such traditions are sometimes treated as outdated, particularly as modern education and lifestyles spread. Yet it should be asked whether something valuable is being lost.Dream meaning cannot be reduced to chemistry alone. To say that a dream is only a firing of brain cells is like saying a painting is only a collection of brush strokes. Science can explain how dreaming works, but why a dream stays with a person for years is not explained by it. Even Hobson admits that this may never be solved.Neither science nor faith needs to be rejected. The detailed knowledge offered by neuroscientists should be welcomed, and the wisdom held in religious and indigenous traditions should be respected as well. A world in which the two are set against each other is a poorer one. Perhaps the lesson is simple. Dreams should not be ignored. Time can be taken to remember them, to talk about them with elders and family, and to reflect on them with an open mind. It may be found that something is still being spoken in the quiet of sleep.