...Dreams can be both fascinating and baffling, which is why they have garnered attention from philosophers, artists, writers and poets for thousands of years. Only fairly recently in history have researchers began to scientifically study the dreaming process. While people still disagree about the exact purpose of dreams and the possible interpretations of dream content, this area remains a topic of interest for both psychologists, researchers, students and anyone who wonders about the reasons behind their dreams. Dream Meanings and Interpretation: Do you often find yourself exactly why you dreamed what you did, especially after having particularly strange dreams? Despite the research and interest in dreaming, no one yet fully understands how to interpret dream meanings. Sigmund Freud’s theory of dreams contributed a great deal to the general interest in dream interpretation. Books and dream dictionaries have helped ensure that the topic remains popular today. Dreams can be mysterious, but understanding the meaning of our dreams can be downright baffling. The content of our dreams can shift suddenly, feature bizarre elements or frighten us with terrifying imagery. The fact that dreams can be so rich and compelling is what causes many to believe that there must be some meaning to our dreams. Theories about Dreams: While many theories exist to explain why we dream, no one yet fully understands their purpose, let alone how to interpret the meaning of dreams. In fact, some prominent...
Words: 659 - Pages: 3
...Interviews with famous psychologists. We asked famous psychologist Sigmund Freud, aged 56, on what he thought of dreams and he believes that they are a formation of repressed feelings, caused by the unconscious mind, which are expressed and released during sleep. Here are some of the questions that we asked him: Do you believe that dreams have some sort of meaning? No. I believe that we create dreams from suppressed thoughts, urges and impulses but overall they have no meaning. All dreams just let us empty our unconscious thoughts so that we can have a free mind. The content of the unconscious is most likely to be of disturbing or harmful images that are repressed for a reason. This shows that dreams have no meaning, it's just the unconscious mind working when we are most vulnerable. This is why when we awake, we have no recollection of our dream state, this is because the superego is working to repress these images from the conscious mind (ego). Are there any other explanations you think proves dreams have no meaning? Yes I do. I believe that there are so many repressed thoughts, feelings and urges that we have different ways of expressing them in the dream state. For example, when an individual is sleeping, if they propel their own wants and desires onto someone else in their dream then they are projecting, which means that they do not want to have these desires and wish it to be upon someone else. ...
Words: 403 - Pages: 2
...Dreams have long exercised a fascination over the human imagination. We spend approximately one-third of our lives in a state of sleep, much of the night filled with dreams. Peculiarly vivid or disturbing dreams leave behind impressions that are hard to dismiss. In Freud Sigmund’s view, the purpose of dreams is to allow us to satisfy in fantasies; the instinctual urges that society judges unacceptable. The part of the mind that Freud called censor transforms the dream content so as to disguise its true meaning. Freud called the censorship process the dreamwork. There is five processes brought into play during dream-work: displacement, condensation, symbolization, projection, and secondary revision. Did you ever awaken from a particularly vivid dream to find yourself having trouble, shaking the eerie, feeling it left behind? Was the dream simply the residue of your hectic day or something far more significant? Dream has always been a fascinating topic. I chose to know more about it because we are living in a world where our mind is a crucial part of our body. At night, we do not really comprehend how our mind works. When we are sleeping, we see images in our dreams sometimes stories or even the future. How does it all work? Where are those images coming from? Sigmund Freud in his book “ Interpretation of Dreams”, states that the dream is composed of two parts; the manifest and the latent content. The manifest content can be thought of as what a person would remember as soon...
Words: 1090 - Pages: 5
...Dream Perspectives Scott M. Standen Helga Parker November 28, 2011 Abstract This paper will explore the three perspectives of dreaming. The psychoanalytic perspective, the cognitive perspective and the biological perspective. The psychoanalytic perspective, as conveyed by celebrated neurologist and founding psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, is examined through his literary work The Interpretation of Dreams. This book serves as the basis of the psychoanalytic perspective which the other perspectives will be set against. The cognitive perspective will be viewed through the writing of David Foulkes in his book Dreaming: A Cognitive Psychoanalytic Analysis and the biological perspective will be discussed through the writings of Drs. Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley of Harvard University. Through these sources it will be shown how the perspectives relate to one another so that a basic understanding of them can exist in the scientific community. The recorded history of dreams dates back to 3100 B.C. through clay tablets describing the story of king Gilgamesh who reported his recurring dreams to his goddess-mother Ninsun, who made the first known dream interpretation (Seligman, 1948). Babylonians and other ancient cultures divided dreams into good ones that came from the gods and bad ones that came from demons (Oppenheim, 1966). Various other ancient cultures believed dreams to...
Words: 2182 - Pages: 9
...Freud believed that dreams represented wishes in our unconscious mind, and if you were to analyze your dreams you could uncover your hidden desires. Freud split dreams into two parts the first being manifest content “the dream’s surface content, which contains dream symbols that disguise the dream’s true meaning.”(King 161) Latent content is the true meaning of the dream. Freud stated that “manifest consent expressed a wish in a disguised form. To get to the latent true meaning of a dream a person would have to analyze the dream images.”(King 161) Dr. David Maurice developed a concept called the activation hypothesis it states that the reason why humans experience REM sleep is to supply oxygen cornea of the eye. Maurice stated that without REM “our corneas would starve and suffocate while we are asleep with our eyes closed.”(Maurice) Maurice’s views on REM sleep contrast sharply with psychoanalytic view of the dreaming process sense “neuropsychiatrists tend to think of dreaming sleep as "physiologically determined" and shaped by the activation of brain neurons.”(Hobson)...
Words: 561 - Pages: 3
...Of Mice and the Meaning of Life Although some may disagree, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men is a parable of the meaning of life. This novel explores many aspects for this parable including the need for human contact, the motivation of dreams, and the obstacles to achieving happiness. Steinbeck brilliantly portrays these aspects through his symbols and themes throughout the novel. One aspect of the meaning of life that is portrayed in Of Mice and Men is the strong need for human contact, which he establishes through the lonely soles living on the ranch. Curley’s wife, the only woman on the ranch, exhibits her loneliness through her constant need to be around the other men. She incessantly attempts to engage in flirtacious conversation with...
Words: 834 - Pages: 4
...Eric Culpepper February 27, 2012 English 20 History of Dream Interpretation The connection between humans and their existence in this universe is the one thing that can not exactly be proven. There are few spiritual, mystical, and unexplained occurrences that are experienced on earth, but a dream is something that throughout time has been seen as more than it appears to be. Dream’s and their interpretations have been documented throughout history. Dream interpretation is said to be documented thousands of years from present day. From ancient times to present day, people have tried to give meaning to this mystical occurrence in the brain. In early civilizations, dreaming was considered a supernatural communication or a way to communicate with god. Nearly every religion contains a story relating to dreams and communication with a higher power. The process of the mind racing without control, creating emotional and physical sensations has even been theorized by neurologists, scientists, and those who have studied the subject, as a direct line between the conscious, and unconscious. Originally, dreams were believed to be a connection with humans and the mystical world. Dream interpretations have been documented for nearly five thousand years. “The Mesopotamian people (from what is now Iraq) included the Sumerians who left some of the earliest pictographic writings dating back to about 3100 B.C. By 2700 B.C. they had developed a cuneiform type of writing, which consisted...
Words: 1727 - Pages: 7
...How Interpreting Dreams Transformed My Life Do you think your dreams are meaningless nonsense? Or do you have no idea what your dreams mean? Back in 1990, I thought my dreams were crazy without any understanding about their meaning. This changed when I started working with a therapist to aid me with my vivid dreams that eventually healed issues from childhood. Working with my dreams has completely manifested a life filled with acceptance, spirituality, plus knowing who I am. The following are three ways my dreams have transformed my life. Symbols In the early days of learning dream interpretation, I was clueless as what my personal symbols meant; therefore I went to dream dictionaries. What I discovered was definitions of their symbol meanings didn’t ring true for the majority of my dreams, which you can learn more...
Words: 766 - Pages: 4
...In the controversial book “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald one can see that the idea of the American dream is expressed through the simplicity of color. Many have argued that The Great Gatsby is a book of sexual immorality and critically acclaimed thoughts as well as a magnificent book that secretly has deeper meaning than the simply words it offers in its sentences. Such a person is Daniel J. Schneider who is an advocate of the glory behind the cover, he wrote “Color Symbolism in The Great Gatsby” where he puts forward his own point of view on the meaning of the use of Fitzgerald’s color symbolism in each sentence were he expressed an elusive idea hard for the common reader to find. In this mysterious book the color blue is very much present, from describing attire to showing the mode of the characters, blue goes beyond this and elusively states that it is the dream...
Words: 834 - Pages: 4
...The American Dream, dating back all the way back to the colonial era, is the promise of a new beginning, no strings attached. This dream to many people includes the promise of a living wage, retirement funds, and the opportunity for their children to achieve in life and move up the social ladder.The optimistic dream seems to ignore the misogyny, racism, xenophobia, and overall inequality that exists in America. Because of this, the American Dream has become a something that more than half the country believes to be impossible. The American Dream is little more than an illusion—hollow, distorted, and unattainable. Inequality growth in the U.S has caused key elements in the American Dream to become unaffordable to most of the population. To...
Words: 610 - Pages: 3
...Dreams: What are dreams and what do they mean? Shanice Monteith The University of West Florida Abstract Dreams that take place while we sleep are one of the most fascinating aspects of human consciousness and are common among all of us. We all ask the same question, what is a dream? A researcher by the name of Sigmund Freud’s theory of dreams gives us a good insight about dreams. His theory is one of the best-known models of dream interpretation. There are also other types of theories that suggest to us what a dream is. Some say that dreams are simply random firing of memory neurons. Others say differently. I will try to show both sides of this controversy. This paper will examine what a dream is and what people interpret a dream to mean. It should also give you a broader perspective of dreams, go into detail of different theories regarding dreams and give you more insight of such a fascinating but complicated topic. There is also the case of nightmares which will be discussed briefly and why they occur when we dream. What are dreams and what do they mean There have numerous studies on what is a dream. A lot of controversy has happened because of this. Some people say it could be just simply random firing of memory neurons as stated earlier but not everyone thinks the same way. Others say there is a lot of detail that could go into finding out more about this topic so they begin to do more research to come up with different ideas about such a debating issue...
Words: 2233 - Pages: 9
...Report: Dream Psychology by Sigmund Freud Yvette R. Gibbs Grand Canyon University: Personality Psychology June 27, 2014 Dream Psychology Chapter Summaries Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, was a physiologist, medicinal physician, psychologist, and instrumental intellectual of the 1900’s. Freud said dreams are windows into our unconscious mind where the angsts, longings, and feelings exist that we stifle in some type or another to conceal from conscious thought. In other words, we do not want to realize them so they get constrained into the alcoves of the subconscious. Thus, with respect to the concept of wish- fulfilment and dreaming, we desire that the thing that concerns us in the subconscious, expressed by means of the dreams. Consequently, on this basis, both “undesirable” and “positive” (things we wish do happen) dreams are the result of wish-fulfilment. Chapter I: Dreams Have a Meaning Freud was a true believer that all dreams had some meaning. Dreams are our unconscious feelings. Whether good or bad thoughts we have and do not act on manifest into our dreams; they are usually indirect clues. Freud (1920) states the basis on “a peculiar state of psychical activity”. Some spectators recognize the dream may be capable of exceptional successes in selected areas (e.g. Memory) (Freud, 1920). Some medical writers believe that dreams are merely stimuli from the body; contrary to their beliefs, dreams do have some meaning (Freud, 1920). Reading one’s dream the...
Words: 1669 - Pages: 7
...Consciousness is usually defined as awareness of our selves and our environment. We can have different states of Consciousness meaning different levels of awareness and they occur naturally or be induced by external factors such as heroin and other drugs or internal factors such as our own mental effors and other mental skills. The stage range from alertness to sleep and everything in between. Alertness is most people think about it when they think about being Conscious. When you are alert, you are awake, aware of who you are, where you are, and what is going on your environment. You can focus your attention, encode information and memory engage in conversation all stuff you normally do. Daydreaming occurs naturally. Sometimes you can find...
Words: 758 - Pages: 4
...Dreams Dreams have been objects of boundless fascination and mystery for humankind since the beginning of time. These nocturnal vivid images seem to arise from some source other than our ordinary conscious mind. They contain a mixture of elements from our own personal identity, which we recognize as familiar along with a quality of `others' in the dream images that carries a sense of the strange and eerie. The bizarre and nonsensical characters and plots in dreams point to deeper meanings and contain rational and insightful comments on our waking situations and emotional experiences. The ancients thought that dreams were messages from the gods. The cornerstone of Sigmund Freud's infamous psychoanalysis is the interpretation of dreams. Freud called dream-interpretation the via reggia, or the royal road to the unconscious, and it is his theory of dreams that has best stood the test of time over a period of more than seventy years (Many of Freud's other theories have been disputed in recent years). Freud reportedly admired Aristotle's assertion that dreaming is the activity of the mind during sleep (Fine, 1973). It was perhaps the use of the term activity that Freud most appreciated in this brief definition for, as his understanding of the dynamics of dreaming increased, so did the impression of ceaseless mental activity differing in quality from that of ordinary waking life (Fine, 1973). In fact, the quality of mental activity during sleep differed so radically from what we take...
Words: 2592 - Pages: 11
...Dream Interpretation Jami Hoffner Psychology 131 Dr. Deadre Holmes March 7, 2013 Dream interpretation is widely studied by a vast amount of people. The article includes different types of methods used by psychologist. As well unique theories of what a dream is or means, or if a dreams mean anything at all. The article talks about how people interoperate dreams into real life and how dreams effect our actions. Dreams more heavily influenced our judgment than when we are conscious stated by the article. Its funny to think that in our dreams we are more honest and truthful then in reality. This is because we are scared of what society is to think, and the effects our actions could have. In real life you can't just wake up and start over as you can do in a dream. In dreams we have more control of "our world" but when awake were in Gods world. God is the controller of our fate and we are the control of our actions. Our dreams are more like a test run to see how something will or may play out. They give you the sense of what to do, what to think, and who to be. As the article states if a woman were to wake up from a dream where her husband had an affair it could affect the way she thinks, and may lead her to start panicking and becoming curious. Leading to conclude that our internal thoughts can stimulate external actions. This article even states that dreams can some how predict what is to come or to happen, such as a death in the family or house burning. Its been...
Words: 1187 - Pages: 5
