When you dream about people you know, Stout explained that you’re not actually dreaming about them. Rather, the people in your dreams actually “represent aspects of yourself.” Stout explained further, writing, “If you dream about a close friend, then think about their strongest character traits.

What are some modernist themes in The Old Man and the Sea? Hemingway reflected modernism in that he presented the modern themes of nihilism and meaninglessness in an arbitrary universe which neither punishes vice nor rewards virtue.

He dreams his sweet, recurring dream, of lions playing on the white beaches of Africa, a scene he saw from his ship when he was a very young man.

“When you dream about someone, it means they are missing you.” Although a nice sentiment, it isn’t exactly a true one. There is a chance that the person you have just dreamed about DOES miss you, but there’s a bigger chance that the person is a reflection of something in your own life.

If someone around you is experiencing stress or tension, their energy is affecting your body so it responds in kind. If no one is around you, then it’s more likely someone is thinking of you. They might be feeling tension while you’re on their mind, which causes you to feel the tension even from far away.

Studies show that your dream consciousness is very similar to your waking consciousness, so dreaming about someone you don’t talk to anymore points to daily emotions you’re currently feeling (and may need to process). You should also take note of how people from your past are acting in your dream.

A lot of the times, dreaming of a specific someone (a friend, relative, or ex) is your minds way of telling you that you need to come to terms with something related to that person. Their appearance in your dream simply means that you’re feeling confused about something related to them that may be unresolved.

If you remember your dream, it could be that you simply woke up during it, so it’s fresh in your mind, says Deborah Givan, MD, sleep specialist at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Or remembering could mean that you’re remembering the very last dream you had rather than the dream in full.

The theory states that dreams don’t actually mean anything. Instead they’re merely electrical brain impulses that pull random thoughts and imagery from our memories. This is why Freud studied dreams to understand the unconscious mind. Therefore, according to Freud, your dreams reveal your repressed wishes to you.