Stickgold, Robert. "The Function Of Dreaming." Phi Kappa Phi Forum 93.2 (2013): 11-13. Web. 20 Nov. 2013.
Dreams can be defined as “a conscious series of images that occur during sleep” (Collier’s, 1984). Dreams are usually very vivid in color and imagery. They are said to reveal to the dreamer different wishes, concerns, and worries that he or she has. Dreams may reflect every part of who the dreamer is. The content of dreams depends on “how old the dreamer is and how educated the he or she is” (Collier’s, 1984). We have no control over that which we dream about, but we do know that they are influenced by situations ...
Throughout our lives we have experienced the activity of dreaming, but have we ever wondered if there was a hidden meaning behind it? We go to sleep, than dream, than wake up and not even remembering the slightest parts of our dreams. After a while we just seem to accept it as a normal thing and not look deeper into it any further. Dreams can be mysterious even frightening because it can change suddenly with unusual elements, but understanding the meaning of our dreams can be very insightful. Like the famous psychologist, Sigmund Freud stated that dreams are a representation of unconscious desires, thoughts, emotions, actions and motivations. I believe that dreams are a road to the unconscious mind and are a way of discovering oneself. Not only do we dream for wish fulfillment, but also to solve problems more effectively in our daily lives.
There are many facts that are unknown about dreams and their meanings. For centuries, philosophers and scientists have tried to understand the meaning of dreams. They have all been fascinated by the fact that the content of dreams may have meanings relating to one's life. Are dreams just thoughts in people's minds, or are dreams in fact representations of different areas in people's lives? Dreams represent many different areas of one's life in physical, emotional, and mental ways. Dreams can relay to people facts about their lives that they are not even aware of. There are also many ways that dreams can help cure different physical, emotional, and mental problems in one's life. This paper will discuss dreams and their meanings, and ways of interpreting a dream using such methods as hypnotherapy and psychoanalysis therapy that can help a person in physical, mental, and emotional ways. The first fact that will be discussed is what dreams are and how they work for people in allowing the person to discover more about himself. Dreams can be defined as "a conscious series of images that occur during sleep" (Collier's, vol. 8). Dreams are usually very vivid in color and imagery. They reveal to the dreamer different wishes, concerns, and worries that he or she has. Dreams usually reflect every part of who the dreamer is. The content of the person's dream is usually made up according to how old the dreamer is and how educated the he or she is (Collier's, vol. 8). Dreams are not planned out or thought up. The unconscious part of the mind brings out bits and pieces of information in the dreamer's mind and places them together. According to Encarta, dreams are almost always visual. Forty to fifty percent of dreams have some form of communication present in them and a very small percentage of dreams give the dreamer the ability to use his or her five senses (Encarta). Dreams allow one to take a closer look into his mind and himself in a quest for self-discovery. Dreams can be used to solve all different types of problems. In Sigmund Freud's book, The Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud states: "As regards the dream, all the troubles of waking life are transferred by it to the sleeping state […]" (Freud 113). They relay things about a person that the person may not be able to see.
Stickgold, Robert. "The Function Of Dreaming." Phi Kappa Phi Forum 93.2 (2013): 11-13. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
...heory, reverse learning theory, and activation synthesis model, others focus on the mental exercise and simulations that dreams bring to us in the evolutionary theory of sleep. While many of the theories agree that dreams are a representation of ideas and thoughts from the unconscious mind, no single theory has been formed as the single primary authority on the matter of dreams despite more support for some of the theories. The fact of the matter is that despite the rampant research and discourse on the concept behind dreaming, these theories are merely speculations. But these speculations feed the curiosity on dreams and will hopefully lead to the expansion of dream analysis to not only better develop the current understanding of dreams, but also to help people around the world by possibly expanding dream analysis to become an early identifier of mental illness.
Dreams can be bizarre, one moment the dreamer is being chased by a killer in the jungle, when suddenly the dreamer is in Paris sitting with friends having a cup of coffee. Most people dream every night while they are sleeping, yet they have no idea why they are dreaming what they dream. Dreams are a fascinating and puzzling topic, since the ancient times people have analyzed and researched dreams. Although an extensive amount of research has been collected, no one has found enough concrete evidence for a definite reason people dream what they dream and in fact why people dream at all. A major reason being that only the dreamer can experience and retell the dream. There are many theories, most scientists agree with. Dreams are visual images that occur usually during sleep, moreover; there are many theories on why people dream and types of dreams, ranging from thoughts of the day, to fear, to the desires and emotions of a person mixed without rational thoughts.
In society, dreams can evoke lots of fascination; furthermore for many years philosophers and scientists have tried to resolve the riddle; why do we dream? As human beings we devote so much time to dreaming, so much so that we don’t remember many of our dreams that get disoriented in the realms of us sleeping. Chances are of those dreams we do remember, tend to be difficult to understand; therefore, leading us to wonder why we even dream at all? Throughout the progression of time, many theories have been presented, the two most famous ones being: the psychoanalytic theory of dreaming and the activation synthesis model of dreaming. The psychoanalytic theory of dreaming by Sigmund Freud’s suggests that dreams are nothing but our unconscious longing, judgment, and incentive. On the other hand the activation synthesis model of dreaming by J. Allan Hobson suggests that dreams are a result neural impulses that occur during your dreams, that trigger different areas in the brain which result in dreams that he claimed to be the “most creative state” we as human beings take part in. Based on my own series of dreams, my own personal theory is very similar to that of Sigmund Freud; conversely, I believe dreams strive to do what we as human beings struggle to do, which is make up our minds. Dreams serve as little flares that clarify our conflicts; likewise to Sigmund Freud our dreams do include our unconscious desires, but these are only present to show us as human beings that the answers to our conflicts are already present; present in the back of our minds, secluded from everything else.
Stephen King’s perception in “The Symbolic Language of Dreams” gave me a new, profound insight on dreams. On the other hand, his interpretations also made me realize how little is known about them and their significance to our lives.
Have you ever wondered why you dream and how you can sometimes direct it? Maybe you have wondered if your dream has any true meaning to it. You are not the only person who has these questions. These questions come up a lot when psychologists discuss the topic of dreaming. The topic of dreams and lucid dreaming has been around for hundreds of years. There have been many books and journals solely devoted to dreams and how they affect people today. The goal for this paper is to answer and explain the questions (Why do you dream? Can you direct your dreams? And do dreams have meanings?) using journals, books, and other resources written by widely known psychologists such as Sigmund Freud.
dreamer experiences in life, and that the function of such dreams is to facilitate the emotional
Having that exhilarating dream, or terrifying one makes me wonder about dreams. The wonder of dreams grows by the day. I continually ask myself why do I dream; what causes me to dream? Where do our dreams originate and occur? Do my dreams have meaning? The answers to these questions are a little complex. The answers I have to give are very sophisticated and need to be thoroughly thought out.
After a friend told me about some weird dreams he had been having I decided to research the meaning of dreams. I will focus on Sigmund Freud’s idea that understanding our dreams can help us to understand ourselves, and live a much happier and fulfilled life. Freud was known as “the father of psychoanalysis” and in 1899 he wrote his most famous work, The Interpretation of Dreams, and switched his main focus to analyzing dreams. Sigmund Freud was very aware of the importance of our dreams, and always referred to them as a “royal road” to interpreting the unconscious state of mind. He considered dreams to be a window into our unconscious. He believed “dreams as manifestations of our deepest desires and anxieties often relating to repressed childhood memories or obsessions”
During prescientific days, dreams were interpreted as ‘manifestations’ of a ‘higher power’. Since the introduction of psychology, dreams have had 4 distinct interpretations. The first interprets dreams as a “liberation of the spirit from the pressure of external nature”. The second interprets dreams as “accidental disturbances from ‘internal organs’. The third interprets dreams as a foretelling of the future. The last interpretation is Freud’s. He interprets dream as an expression of subconscious desires.