There is no one theory on why we dream. We're not the only species that dreams, and dreaming begins at least in infancy if not before that. Perhaps dreams are just the mind going over thoughts and feelings or shuffling through thoughts to figure out which to keep and which to toss. 

Or perhaps they are, as believed among many cultures since antiquity, that dreams are the symbolic language of another realm, and that in sleep, we access the spirit world. 

For those of us who had prophetic dreams, tapping into this world is exciting, whether pleasant or frightening. Of course, it's hard to know the message if you don't remember your dreams. There are a few things you can do to remember your dreams:

  1. Get into the habit of keeping a dream journal. When you wake up, wrote down everything you can remember. Don't try to make sense of it. Just write.
  2. Meditate before bed with the intention of remembering your dreams. Tell yourself that you will dream when you sleep, and when you wake up, you'll remember. Don't hope, and don't worry. Know that it's set and go to sleep.
  3. Try lucid dreaming. The instructions will be in a later blog post, but the best way to remember a dream is to be in control of it.