Dream and its connection with reality

When I was in college with psychology as one of my majors, our psychology lecturer (though a Muslim) mentioned that from the psychological view point, dreams had no connections with reality.  But we know according to certain information given in the Noble Quran that dreams do at times connote to reality or are symbolic of some future event.  For instance, the dream of Prophet Joseph mentioned at the beginning of Surah Yusuf (12:4) is an indication of his wisdom, quote - "When Joseph said unto his father: O my father! Lo! I saw in a dream eleven planets and the sun and the moon, I saw them prostrating themselves unto me."   Later in life, Prophet Joseph's perseverance, wisdom and insight were the causes of his success amidst very difficult circumstances as we've read in Surah Yusuf.   Thus, this dream as mentioned in Verse 12:4 was a harbinger of what lay ahead of him in his life. 

It's not surprising for psychologists to refute the concept of dreams carrying connotations of the future.   Like all sciences, the science of the mind too has its boundaries.  It can research and analyze only the earthly and perceptible aspects of the mind.  Though this perceptible sphere might be wide enough to study from the human perspective, the reality of the human mind goes farther and deeper into the spiritual sphere which doesn't give access to psychology just as science of the universe can only penetrate and read the physical aspects of the cosmos, not the spiritual ones.  Similarly, medical science can grasp many intricate details of human and animal physiology but it cannot answer a single question about the soul. 

In keeping with the same law of the unseen being beyond the bounds of scientific analysis, though psychology has acquired immense expertise in researching earthly aspects of the human mind including its various neurological factors, it has no idea of the interaction between the human mind and the unseen.  

Psychology has also come up with some remarkable findings on the perception of various animals involving their responses to occurrences around them such as pets recognizing their names, dogs being aggressive toward strangers in their homes and their unconditional love for their masters, cats acquiring a sense of belonging to the place they live in etc. etc.  But, phenomena such as dogs predicting epileptic seizures, wild animals being capable of sensing approaching earthquakes & tornadoes etc. are aspects of the unseen concerning the minds of animals which psychologists haven't been able to confirm inspite of extensive research.

Mostly, dreams are simply jumbled up thoughts that get cramped in our conscious or sub-conscious minds as an aftermath of the experiences we go through in our daily lives.  But suddenly we might experience an unusual dream that feels different from the rest and has no connections with our thoughts or experiences .. sometimes it can even have a clear connection with some future incident in our lives.  This can only be explained by God Almighty, not by the psychologists.  If psychologists try to explain it, their explanation will be based on the perspective of their earthly study which isn't broad enough to cover the unseen.  Thus, psychological interpretations on facts beyond their boundaries can only comprise of presumptions or guesswork that cannot take the place of truth.

Something else worth keeping in mind.   On those occasions when a dream does apparently signify something real in life, it's never that direct.  It almost always comes as something symbolic which, only if reflected upon, can be connected with that future event.   For example, one might suddenly see in a dream that one's home has been robbed and ransacked.  They'll wake up the next morning and forget about it.  Then, later in the evening or the next morning they may get the devastating news that a parent of theirs has passed away which might shatter their lives for years to come.  Thus, seeing something unusual and negative as their home being physically ravaged in a dream can be an indication of the emotional devastation that is to follow.  Only Allah Almighty knows the final truth about all similar events/interpretations, but such a perception as described is certainly a possibility.

Similarly, the example of Verse 12:4 is a very apt one.   The future success of Prophet Yusuf is portrayed in a very subtle manner, in that, the reference is allegorical which one can grasp only after putting aside all skepticism and being focused on the truth about the flawless principles of the Divine Power.

The downside is that the human mind lacks diversity of thoughts with plenty of inflexibility.  There are very few accomplished modern researchers who would be brave enough to admit that whatever they know is very little compared to what they do not know .. and might never know.