Dreams are basically our subconscious, pushing their way to the thought processes in our conscious minds. Either to express something we deeply fear, or something we greatly desire. There's also speculation that they are there to give us insight, be it to the future or something that had been left unresolved in the past.
I could take a decent handful of my remembered dreams and tie them in with the subconscious theory. I don't recall ever having a dream that turned out to be some incredible premonition, but I guess it could happen.
I'm not sure how I feel about dreams. I know they can be affected by events that went on during the day, in your mind before you fell asleep, the food you've eaten, movies you watch, and probably subconscious thoughts. I personally have a little trouble putting much faith in dream dictionaries, though. If you take into consideration the vast difference in personalities, brains, and the way different people think - it's hard to imagine that every person's mind is able to be defined and laid out that way.
So, I'd like input. Tell me about your dreams, how you feel about their role in our conscious lives, and what you think about people putting a box around the possible meanings.
