| Actually, this is my view on other theorists' theories on what night-time dreams "do" and how to interpret them. Even then, it's not truly original because Dr. Ann Faraday holds a very similar view (see especially The Dream Game--a really good book that explains, in layman's terms, these theories and includes examples). Anyway, this is what I think dreams accomplish: 1) Probably one of the first psychologists to discuss dreaming was Freud. I'm just going to mention what I AGREE with in Freud (there's a lot I don't agree with). According to Freud, dreams are mainly for wish-fulfillment: allowing us to accomplish goals that we are somewhy unable to unwilling to in "real" life. I agree with dreams sometimes being wish-fulfillment, but I don't think that's their main or primary function. Also according to Freud, once the dreamer understood the dream's message, they also were expected to "abreact": not just intellectually understand the meaning, but emotionally take it to heart and work on it. I agree with this because I've "understood" many dreams intellectually, but not really taken them to heart. When that has happened, I keep dreaming about the theme over and over again--as I haven't really worked through it. 2) The next theorist, Jung, I tend to agree with a bit more...so I'm just going to mention the bits I agree with... (Part of the reason he broke away from Freud was their disagreement on what dreams do!) He thought that the main function of dreams was to serve a "compensation function." By this he meant that your unconscious was telling you what you needed to do in order to balance your personality. Again, I agree that sometimes dreams serve a compensation function--probably more often than a "wish-fulfillment" function. He also thought that dream dictionaries were useless because symbols would obviously hold many different meanings across people. (I.e., if you were mauled by a wolf, a dream wolf would hold an entirely different meaning for you than someone who'd never even seen a wolf or only saw them in zoos.) However, he believed we also had a "collective unconscious"--which closely resembles a "ancestral memory"--which contains similar symbols. How Jung would interpret a dream depended on a number of factors. First, he would ask you if you had any association to the symbol (so you might say, "yes, I was attacked by a wolf last week"). If you do NOT have a personal association, then he would go to the collective unconscious (so he might point to Grimms' fairy tales or the European ideas on wolves). He also thought that sometimes dreams were referring to the outside world, but could also be referring to the state of your personality. He would define a dream image as relating to the outside world if you've had immediate contact with that person/image (i.e., if you just had a huge argument with your mom, it is really about your mom). However, if you have not had immediate contact with that image (say, your mom's been dead for 20 years), then he'd interpret it as a part of your personality (that part of you like your mom). He also seemed to indicate that dreams might be from some higher source (see #5 below). He also disagreed with Freud about dreams being disguised, as he thought that your unconscious just has a different--more symbolic--language. (Just as most modern Americans would have a hard time understanding hyroglyphics, your conscious mind has a hard time figuring out the unconscious language.) Jung also thought that the dreamer should have an "ah-hah!" feeling if the interpretation is correct--if not you need to look again! Consequently, dreamers have a very active role in deciphering their own dream symbols--then your could make your own personal dream dictionary! 3) Edgar Cayce, a self-proclaimed psychic, only had a couple of things to say about dreams, but I again agree that sometimes dreams do what he said. The first function he discussed was that dreams connect us to some supernatural force...this would explain religious dreams with greater messages (such as in the Bible) and "psychic" dreams (i.e., when Mary Todd Lincoln dreamed of President Lincoln's death). He also said that our unconscious mind knows when something is wrong with our body, so we may have "warning" dreams before our conscious mind has any inkling of a physical problem. I believe that both types of dreams happen, but they are rare compared to compensation/wish-fulfillment dreams. 4) Dr. Faraday (as mentioned before) believes most of the above theories...in some circumstances. She also discusses "pun" dreams...these are dreams where our unconscious mind uses an obvious symbol to make a statement that is an obvious pun. For example, a man who dreams of riding a cow really wants to be a "cowboy." (Freud thought it showed that he wanted to have sex with his mother--a good example of where I disagree with Freud!) She also thought that dream dictionaries were only useful as a "guide" to help nudge you toward what an image means to you. However, you should NOT take dream dictionaries as THE answer to what it means to you. Only you can know for certain what a dream image means, so others (even "experts") can only help you go down the right path. Finally, she said that the same dream may have many different functions/meanings: that is, that dreams are often layered. For example, if you dream of making love to someone that you find really attractive, both Freud and Jung may be right: you are fulfilling a fantasy (Freud), but also may need to consider what characteristics of that person you need to incorporate into your personality (Jung). 5) More recently, I have been reading about the religious functions of dreams (from Kelsey, Sanford, Savary, and others). This view sees dreams as communications from God--though some also imply the devil might also speak through dreams (which I don't hold to be true). These views tend to point to biblical dreams and, to a lesser extent, even dreams in other religious texts. I have added this possibility to my dream theory, especially as I have recently had dreams that at least indicate some contact with numinous forces. It's amazing to think that God can still speak to us through dreams: it is inspiring and uplifting to think of how much He does want to relate to us! At least one theorist in this school of thought also thinks that every dream is probably related to the physical, psychological, and spiritual realms. Another points out how often individual dreams are actually of cultural significance--though usually not realized. I believe it was Joseph Campbell who said "myths are cultural dreams and dreams are individual myths." So, I have a very eclectic theory, but I mainly just love dreaming! My dreams are often great, sweeping stories--some storylines may last years--that I love remembering and writing down. I must admit that I often don't even try to interpret them, but I just love the stories my unconscious comes up with. When I have interpretted my dreams though, they definitely make an important statement...that's why I believe dreams do mean something. Anyway, I think dreams perform many functions and agree (for the most part) with the theories mentioned above. |