The Interpretation Of Dreams

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What role do dreams play in our lives? Since decades the significance of dreams has intrigued human kind. Many theories exist to explain why we dream, but up until this day the true reasons remain a mystery. From the religious, artistic and/or psychoanalytic point of view it has been assigned as heterogeneous functions ranging from communication with the gods and premonitions, to artistic creativity and various forms of neurosis. However, from a strictly scientific perspective this question is still waiting to be answered. The interpretation of dreams has become a very popular field of study. Some consider dreams as just an epiphenomenon’s of brain activity and argue that dreams have no purpose at all, yet there are many others who believe dreams do have a meaning and significance.
Psychologically dreams are simulations that help us test possibilities, fulfill desires and reflect our concerns and experiences of the everyday life. The psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud suggested in his book The Interpretation of Dreams, that dreams were related to wish fulfillment. He believed the unconscious wishes and desires of a person manifested in the imaginary content of a dream with symbolism. Later on, Carl Jung, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist took Freud’s ideas further and suggested that dreams were messages from our inner selves that could help us solve our emotional problems and fears. Despite that psychoanalysis was the first discipline which became interested in dreams, today, and thanks to technological advances, scientists have become more acquainted with the phenomenon of dreams and have started many researches in brain activity to discover its relation with the act of dreaming. There was a time where it was believed that brain act...

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...c for him, in the other hand, a kid has probably never seen a mommy and the dream can meant something completely different even though it’s about the same thing. Dream dictionaries can offer a general idea of the meaning or symbolism of something but it should not be used as the absolute reference. Dreams and their significance can’t be universal or standardized; rather they should be completely personal and subjective. It is true however that symbolism of places, events and natural elements have been created due to the fact that some dreams are extremely common among people. Some of these common dreams include dreaming about flying, appearing naked in public, getting chased or losing your teeth. Although these dreams represent common themes of the human experience, then again, understanding the meaning behind them is only useful when applied to a person’s own life.

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