Dream Analysis

1425 Words3 Pages

The Meaning of a Dream The best part of a long, hard-working day is when you finally get to lay in your bed, close your eyes and let your imagination run free. As you sleep your mind takes you to another place far away from the real world. You begin to dream. Over the night, you may have several dreams. In the morning, you may wake up and wonder what your dreams were suppose to mean for you and your life. By analyzing your dream, it "gives a true picture of the 'subjective state'-how we really feel about ourselves-which the conscious mind cannot or will not give" (Wietz 289). In order to find the meaning of a dream, you have to pick out the most important symbols and define them. But you may be wondering what exactly is a symbol? According to the Oxford English Dictionary a symbol is "something that stands for, represents, or denotes something else (not by exact resemblance, but by vague suggestion, or by some accidental or conventional relation); esp. a material object representing or taken to represent something immaterial or abstract, as a being, idea, quality, or condition; a representative or typical figure, sign, or token." In other words, a symbol is anything with a separate meaning behind it. I had a dream recently that intrigued me to find out the meaning because, according to Lawrence J. Wietz, Ph.D, Associate Professor of Psychology and Director of the Counseling Psychology Training Program at George Peabody College for Teachers, "Dreams not only help in understanding the past, they also offer suggestions as to desirable future activities"(290). To find the true meaning, I investigated three vivid symbols, lightning, a statue, and a shoe, that appear in my dream. I believe the dream occurred because I was stress... ... middle of paper ... ...ue.” Dream Moods Dictionary. 7 October 2002. 14 October 2002 http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/s2.htm. “Statue.” JELLYBEAN - DREAM DICTIONARY. 14 October 2002 http://www.myjellybean.com/dream/pages.html. “Statue.” The Meaning of Your Dreams: A Dream Dictionary. 14 October 2002 http://www.petrix.com/dreams/s.html. “Symbol.” Oxford English Dictionary. second ed. 14 October 2002 Thiessen, Michael, and Elizabeth Thiessen. “Lightning.” Dream Central's Online Dream Dictionary. 14 October 2002. http://www.sleeps.com/dictionary/lll.html. Thiessen, Michael, and Elizabeth Thiessen. “Shoe.” Dream Central's Online Dream Dictionary. 14 October 2002. http://www.sleeps.com/dictionary/sss.html Weitz, Lawrence J. "Jung's and Freud's Contributions to Dream Interpretation: A Comparison." American Journal of Psychotherapy 30.2 (1976): 289-293.

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