Dreams are crazy. I know that’s not a very profound statement, but it’s the best word I can think of right now to describe them.

I had a nightmare last night and when I woke up, I was relieved it wasn’t true, yet I still felt sad and a little bothered. I find it pretty remarkable that a story my brain conjured up deep in my subconscious can affect me so much in my actual life.

We’ve all had a dream like that, if not many, in our lifetime. Maybe we dreamed that we lost someone we loved, and when we wake up, all we want to do is run and hug that person. Maybe we dreamed that we were bitten by a dog, and don’t we always pull up the pant leg or the sleeve just to make sure that bite mark isn’t really there?

What this all means to me is that our brains are ridiculously powerful. And our imaginations have to be pretty awesome, as well, to come up with some of our dreams. And, what do recurring dreams mean? Those amaze me. My recurring dream is strange and I have it every couple of years or so. If anyone can analyze this for me, let me know.

I’m walking though a zoo and I get to the inside part where they have the aquarium. Except the aquarium isn’t just on the sides, it’s all around me. I am walking on the glass and there are fish swimming below me. There are fish and dolphins and turtles swimming on the sides of me, and then I realize that maybe the ceiling is glass, too. As I look up, there is a shark, mouth wide open full of white, sharp teeth, about to crash through the glass and eat me, and then I wake up.

I have no idea what this means. I don’t go to zoos very often, I’ve never had a bad experience with a shark or other swimming animal that I remember, and I haven’t incessantly watched Jaws. So to me, it really makes no sense. It’s just a dream, right?

I like this clip from Inception, when Ellen Page’s character realizes she’s dreaming. I think we all wish we could have the gift to know when we’re in a dream, and try to control our actions. My Psych professor in college said this is very possible, and he tried to give us some tips on how to do it, but it has never worked for me.

So, are dreams just dreams? Just crazy thoughts swirling around in our brains? Or do they have a deeper meaning? What do you think?