Dreaming means different things to different people. For some it is a state of unconsciousness which they tend to drift into each night as they sleep. For others to dream means to day-dream and to drift off to a tropical island somewhere in their imagination. Some people dream happy and idealistic dreams whilst to others their dreams may seem more like nightmares. This can be true of both night time dreaming and casual day dreams.

One thing for sure is that whether you think you dream or not you do. You may ask why I can be so sure of this. At night when you dream your brain waves alter and you access an REM state. In this state your brain performs a very vital function - that of conflict resolution. If this function were not executed on a regular basis you would become psychotic. Therefore you can be certain that you do indeed dream at some point during almost every night as you sleep, even if you do not remember your dreams.

The hypnotic state also allows you to access this altered brain wave pattern and this explains why it is so conducive to conflict resolution and change in general. Whilst in hypnosis your creative mind comes to the fore and if you give this part of your mind a goal, it will almost always find a way to achieve it. You merely have to trust in the natural and restorative powers of your subconscious and creative mind. The word hypnosis of course comes from the Greek "Hypnos", the God of sleep.

Dreaming is so very important to us in every way. At night the dreaming state is when your brain naturally and instinctively resolves unconscious conflicts; most of the time you don't even consciously know that this is happening. But also in your day to day logical reality, to have a dream is also mightily important. Dreams lead to you learning and creating and inventing. Unless you dream, how can you focus or picture your goal? Without dreams the world would stagnate.

It is worth noting that the only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking. Everything is possible so long as you dream, and allow your imagination to come up with answers to your conundrums. Your thoughts are the place where everything starts within your reality. As you direct your mind to imagine the goals which you want to achieve, and to effectively dream about your goals, your subconscious mind will naturally offer you perfect solutions. Without a dream your mind would not know to carry out such a task.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in hypnosis for change.