Dream Theorists
There is no proven fact on why we dream, which is why there are so many theories on the topic. There is Freud's theory that dreams carry our hidden desires and there is Jung's theory that dreams carry meaning, although not always of desire, and that these dreams can be interpreted by the dreamer. After these theories, others continued such as the Cayce theory in that dreams are our bodies means of building up of the mental, spiritual and physical well-being. Finally came the argument between Evans' theory and the Crick and Mitchinson theory. Evans states that dreaming is our bodies way of storing the vast array of information gained during the day, whereas Crick and Mitchinson say that this information is being dumped rather than stored. Whichever theory is true, we may never know, but from these following theories we can decide for ourselves what we believe to be true and further help us into understanding our dreams.
Freud's Theory
Out of all theories before his, and all of those today, this is the one that stands out the most. He believed that a dream represented an ongoing wish along with the previous days activities. They may even portray wishes that have been inside us since early childhood. In fact, he believed, every dream is partially motivated by a childhood wish. Another interesting idea was that nothing is made up during a dream and that they are biologically determined, derived completely from instinctual needs and personal experiences.
Probably one of the most interesting ideas among these theories is his theory of dream occurrence. Dreams occur in a state of "ego collapse" when the demands of the Id (imperative bodily needs) and Superego (conscience ego ideals) converge upon the Ego (personal desires and mediator between the Id and Superego). In easier terms, a dream will occur when the unconscious wish is bound to the preconscious instead of just being discharged.
Many of Freud's theories still stand true today, but most of all in the area of defense mechanisms our body uses while we dream. If our minds have been dealing with too much denial, regression, or repression, it causes an internal conflict, a dream in this case, to take place. This prevents us from building up intolerable states of psychological tension in waking life. This is why, if you become too emotional, it actually works to "sleep it off."
According to Jung
Jung, disagreeing with Freud's theory, quickly developed his own which contradicted Freud's. Jung believed the most effective method for dream interpretation was the use of series correlation. Freud didn't even believe interpretation was possible by the dreamer and that dreams could only be interpreted by a trained psychologist. Jung was the one who gave hope to all dreamers who were looking for the meaning in our dreams without having to hire a "professional."
Series correlation is a process involving the analysis of dreams over time. Jung suggested taking similar dreams from you dream journal and merging the dream images together forming a larger dream. Try and gather these images into your head, he suggested, and from these images determined if there are any waking situations that might be related. From this information write out a physical action that could be taken based off of the information learned through using this technique.
Like Freud, Jung categorized the mind into three parts: the collective unconscious, the personal unconscious, and the conscious. The collective unconscious consists of imbedded deposits of world processes. It does not depend on personal experience, only the images which are prefigured by evolution. The personal unconscious is a receptacle or storage mechanism for that which is not contained within the consciousness. It holds forgotten association, unnoticed experiences, observations, moral questioning, repressed and discarded thoughts, half-thoughts, seemingly irrelevant details, and incongruities. Finally comes the consciousness, wich develops through sensing, thinking, and intuition.
When Jung interpreted dreams he found that the most important thing to do was ask yourself questions about the images in your dreams and from these questions, write down all of the associations you can think of. Here are the questions he would ask himself:
What is the shape of the image?
What is the function of the image?
What alterations does the image go through?
What does the image do?
What do you like and dislike about the image?
What does the image remind you of?
(http://library.thinkquest.org/)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Freud and Jung: Why We Dream?
Dream History: Modern Philosophies
Probably the most well-known of the modern dream philosophers was Sigmund Freud. His theory was that although dreams may be prompted by external stimuli, wish-fulfillment was the root behind most of our dreams. Freud's idea was that our dreams were reflection of our deepest desires going back to our childhood. To Freud, no dream was of entertainment value, they all held important meanings.
Carl Jung, a student of Freud for some time, disagreed on the theory that erotic content was the basis behind most of our dreams. Jung believed that dreams reminded us of our wishes, which enables us to realize the things we unconsciously yearn for, and helps us to fulfill our own wishes. Contradictory to how Freud believed dreams were a product of our desires that were too outrageous for our own belief, and were in our unconscious to help conceal these desires. These dreams were messages, Jung believed, from ourselves to ourselves and that we should pay attention to them for our own benefit.
Today, most psychologists agree with Jung's theory, and it is this theory that makes dream interpretation something that we can use in our everyday lives. If Freud were alive today his would disagree with every theory that says you are able to interpret your own dreams. Jung believed that, although it was difficult, dreams were meant to be understood.
(library.thinkquest.org/)
PHILOSOPHY OF DREAM
One dreams many things that are never to be experienced in this life such as “He dreams he
is flying in the air.”
A dream is not an entirely new experience, because most often it is the memory of past
experiences.
In the waking state the light of the self is mixed up with the functions of the organs, intellect,
mind, external lights etc. In dreams the self becomes distinct and isolated as the organs do not act
and the lights such as the sun that help them are absent.
The dreamer is not affected by whatever result of the good and evil he sees in the dream
state. No one regards himself a sinner on account of the sins committed in dreams. People who have
heard of them do not condemn or shun them. Hence he is not touched by them.
The dreamer only appears to be doing things in dream but actually there is no activity The
Sruti says, “He sees to be enjoying himself in the company of women.” (Bri. Up. IV. iii. 13.) He
who described his dream experiences uses the words ‘as if’; “I saw today as if a herd of elephants
was running.” Therefore the dreaming self has no activity in dreams.
An action is done by the contact of the body and the senses, which have form with
something else that has form. We never see a formless thing being active. The Self is formless.
Therefore it is not attached. As this Self is unattached, it is untouched by what it beholds in dreams.
Hence we cannot ascribe activity to it, as activity proceeds from the contact of the body and the
organs. There is no contact for the Self, because this infinite Self is unattached. Therefore it is
immortal.
Doctors say, “Do not wake him up suddenly or violently”, because they see that in dreams
the self goes out of the body of the waking state through the gates of the organs and remains isolated
outside. If the self is violently aroused it may not find those gates of the organs. If he does not find
the right organ the body becomes difficult to doctor. The self may not get back to those gates of the
organs, things which it sent out taking the shining functions of the latter, or it may misplace those
functions. In that case defects such as blindness and deafness may result. The doctor may find it
difficult to treat them.
Dreams are due to mental impressions (Vasanas) received in the waking state. The
consciousness in a dream depends on the previous knowledge acquired in the wakeful state.
The dreams have the purpose of either cheering or saddening and frightening the sleeper, so
as to requite him for his good and evil deeds. His Adrishta thus furnishes the efficient cause of the
dreams.
Even in the state of dream the instruments of the self are not altogether at rest, because
scripture states that even then it is connected with Buddhi (intellect). “Having become a dream,
together with Buddhi it passes beyond this world.”
Smriti also says, “When the senses being at rest, the mind not being at rest, is occupied with
the objects, know that state to be a dream.”
Scripture says that desires etc. are modifications of the mind (Bri, Up. I-v-3). Desires are
observed in dreams. Therefore, the self wanders about in dreams together with the mind only.
The scripture in describing our doings in dreams qualifies them by an ‘as it were’. “As it
were rejoicing together with women, or laughing as it were, or seeing terrible sights”. Ordinary people also describe the dreams in the same manner. “I ascended as it were the
summit of a mountain, I saw a tree, as it were”.
Dream creation is unreal. Reality implies the factors of time, space and causation. Further,
reality cannot be sublated or stultified. Dream creation has not got these traits.
Dream is called ‘Sandhya’ or the intermediate state because it is midway between waking
and the deep sleep state, between the Jagrat and the Sushupti.
Dreams, though of a strange and illusory nature, are a good index of the high or low spiritual
and moral condition of the dreamer. He, who has a pure heart and untainted character, will never get
impure dreams. An aspirant who is ever meditating will dream of his Sadhana and his object of
meditation. He will do worship of the Lord and recite His name and Mantra even in dream through
the force of Samskara.
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