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Dreams
Since the dawn of mankind, man has been searching for the answer to just one question: Why do we dream? I believe strongly that the reason is not clear- cut and as easy to answer as it might seem. I think that dreams range in meaning and importance.
When someone has a dream, there are many possible types of dreams they could have. First of these possibilities is for a dream that involves absolutely no meaning whatsoever. The dream is meaningless and involves a chain or series of events that are unrelated to one another and may be of people or places familiar or not. These dreams are most likely created because of the flash and mixture of chemicals that occurs during sleep. Many times these dreams are actually so bazaar that they have no meaning even to the dreamer. So these dreams are mostly just passed over and ignored.
The second type of dream is one in which the dreamer can comprehend everything that is going on but things seem to have no meaning as before. But in some of these dreams, there are symbols that come into play. When you look at these dreams sometimes they can represent real life events. Often these are predictions about what could happen in the future or are an interpretation of things that have passed. These, like almost all other dreams have significance as a result of bodily rejuvenation processes. This type of dream has a significance I believe in helping the person have the feeling of a good sleep, where things have, if not in some bazaar way, been resolved.
The third type of dream is one which makes great and perfect sense to the dreamer but doesn't have any real meaning. An example of this is dreaming that you are flying. Although you know what you are doing, and are comprehending this, it really doesn't have meaning in your life. Dreams like this can be quite mentally satisfying to the dreamer. Many times a dream like this can be almost a form of entertainment to the dreamer, especially if the dreamer realizes they are dreaming. When this happens sometimes the dreamer will take control of their dream and can do things they would not normally be able to do in real life.
Another type of dream is one where the dream has full meaning and the dreamer can fully realize everything that happens. Dreams like this can show exactly the way things could happen in the future, or ways of dealing with problems that will occur or have occurred.
For years, psychologists have been wondering over the mysterious field of dreams. Dreams have always been mysterious. The content of the dreams can shift instantly, featuring unexplained events or sudden terrifying images (Whitman, Ornstein & Baldridge, 1964). The fact that the content of dreams can be enthralling is what causes many psychologists to believe that there has to be some implication to dreams (Webb & Cartwright, 1978). While many theories are formed to explain the functions and meanings of dreams, there is a lack of evidence on their purpose. In fact, recent researchers such as G. William Domhoff suggested that dreams most likely serve no real purpose (Domhoff, 2001). This research essay considers the whether there are a significant functions and meanings of dreams by responding to the following questions.
My ideas resemble a mixture of Rosalind Cartwright and Sigmund Freud’s theories on dreams. Freud believed that the purpose of our dreams is to attain a
A common definition of dreams according to “Patterns for College Writing” is “the symbolic representation of mental states”, but this sparse definition does not begin to encompass the complex mechanisms behind dreams and its effects on human culture around the globe. Dreams have long been the topics of folklore and urban legends. Since human beginnings, people have sought to uncover the origin of dreams. The ancient Greeks believed dreams came from the God Oneiroi. The Chinese believes that dreams happened when the hun or spirit leaves the body for the land of the dead. The Ishi Indians believed that dreams were sacred messages from the Gods. Yet even now, with the current technological and intellectual advancements, scientists and psychoanalysts have still to find the true reasons and meanings of these dreams. Some argue that dreams are the products of overactive subconscious minds while others argue that dreams are solely randomized emotions from the limbic system during sleep. Despite these contrasting theories, the truth of the matter is that the topic of dreams and the reasons behind them remain a mystery.
Dreams are incredible events that occur to each of us every single night. From lucid dreaming to nightmares, they’ve had a huge impact on life as we know it today, yet we’ve barely scratched the surface on knowing how they work and what they mean. Maybe it’s our brain trying to solve our life’s problems, or maybe it’s just a mess of thoughts and experiences from the past few days. No one really knows, and that’s why they’re so compelling.
There are many theories on why we dream. Some of them fall into the religious aspect of
In Stephen King’s article,“The Symbolic Language of Dream,” he states, “ I think that dreams are a way that people's minds illustrate the nature of their problems. Or even illustrate the answers to their problems in symbolic dreams”(38). Dreams shows the individual unconscious and being to glimpse one's deepest desires and problems that are happening in their life. There are certain symbols that have meaning to them. In Carl Jung “The Importance of Dreams” every object and sign in the dreams represent a deeper meaning than what it actually is. How every individual person has a separate meaning to that object. While dreams can show a person's deepest fantasy and wishes there is also a dark sides to the dream. In the unconscious mind a person's
Dreams are series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. Dreams occur during a certain stage of sleep known as REM. Several different psychologists, including Freud and Hobson, have studied dreams. Psychologists have provided many theories as to what dreams are and the meanings behind them.
In this paper I hope to open a window to the vast and mysterious world of dreaming. To most people, information about dreams isn’t common knowledge. In researching this subject though, I found that everybody has and reacts to dreams, which are vital to your mental health. You will also find how you can affect your dreams and how they affect you.
I can only say that I made my observations during normal deep and healthy sleep, and that in 352 cases, I had full recollection of my day-life and could act voluntarily, though I was so fast asleep that no bodily sensations penetrated my perception. If anybody refuses to call that state of mind a dream, he may suggest some other name. For my part it was just this form of dream, which I call "lucid dreams" which aroused my keenest interest and which I noted most carefully.
While the brain goes through the rapid eye movement stage while sleeping, it experiences several different thoughts; whether they be unsettling thoughts, complicated problems, or emotional situations, the brain completes these dreams to reach some sort of balance. This also factors into the fact people dream about past, present and future information. The brain has its way of bringing up the past and capturing the future. Several of the tasks humans do throughout are day are linked to the dreams their brain produce at night and help them create future situations (“Dreams- what really happens when we sleep”). All of these facts factor into the type of dreams the brain produces. One type of dreams the brain can experience is called lucid dreaming: Lucid dreaming is a state of consciousness and happens the human is asleep. Even though the word lucid mean clear, lucid dreaming means more than to just have a clear dream (D’Urso). However lucid dreams are dreams of clarity; this means they have complete awareness that one is dreaming and can change or create the dream the person wants. When a person ha a lucid dream they can experience romantic fantasies or bizarre adventures (Wiley, 217). However lucid dreaming is not the only type of dreaming you can
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, dream is defined by a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring involuntarily in a person’s mind during certain stages of sleep. Dreams have fascinated humans since the beginning of time. The recorded history of dream interpretation dates back to 3000-4000 B.C. with the Sumerians in Mesopotamia. They documented their dreams on clay tablets. People back then saw the dream world as an extension of reality, but that it was a more powerful realm. Furthermore, they believed that when they dream, their souls would leave their body during sleep and travel to the dream world.
What is a dream? Why do we have dreams? Do dreams have deeper meaning in our lives? The answers to these questions have eluded and intrigued many psychologists throughout history and have sparked my interest as well. As an avid and vivid dreamer I have often found myself wondering what the true meanings to my dreams were. So what are dreams? “Strictly speaking, dreams are images and imagery, thoughts, sounds and voices, and subjective sensations experienced when we sleep.”1 Even after thousands of years of research, psychologists have still not come to an agreed answer on why we dream. There are as many opinions out there as there are individual dreams. Some psychologists believe dreaming is simply the minds way of distracting itself from outside information during sleep to allow people to get deep rest. Others such as Dr. Eric Hartman suggest dreams serve almost as a psychotherapy in which the brain can make connections between different emotions and thoughts in a safe protected environment. Do dreams have any direct correlation to everyday events and experiences? Are they meant to aid individuals in understanding and interpreting their world around them?
The Psychodynamic view of dreaming suggests that the content in our dream is symbolic of something. Also, that the content in our dreams are based on unconscious desires as well as internal conflict.
personality and also whatever we want to progress in. It helps us to learn from our mistakes. Steady progression will help in slowly achieving a big goal.So this quality is very improvement. Dreams also help in aiming for bigger goals. Dreaming of big goals are very important and they can even be dreams that change the course of your entire life. It decides your occupation and your inner desires. For teenagers and kids like in the short story ``borders`` the sister left her hometown because she dreamed something and she was following her dreams`` it helps in becoming more studious and makes you more inclined towards studying. It helps you achieve any goal that you want to achieve. It is almost the essential thing in one’s life.So dreams are very important in
All of us dream, several times at night. It is believed by some that we sleep in order that we may dream. Dreams can come true if somebody makes them true, as the saying goes, “A dream is just a dream, unless you make it come true”. Dreams provide us the actual picture of our thoughts. Dreams may tell us about any physical event which took place with us or which is going to happen with us. The dream is trying to inform the dreamer about his condition in any walk of life. Basically, we can dream about anything logical or illogical, fictious or non-fictious and reasonable or unreasonable.