Brittany Humphrey

The Definition of a Dream:

A goal or want

a subjective experience of usually involuntary imaginary images, sounds, voices, thoughts or sensations during sleep.

Ancient Egyptians-

Earliest attempt at interpreting dreams.

published a book on their conclusions.

originally thought dreams were messages from their gods to warn of disasters or good fortune.

Greek Philosophy-

also believed dreams were messages from gods, but could only be interpreted with help of priest.

dreams helped in medicinal purposes: ailing people would go to a temple, perform various religious rituals, sleep then when they had a dream that assured good health, leave.

Aristotle-Greek philosopher- put an end to idea that dreams were from gods. Stated that most prophetic dreams were coincidences.

Christian Beliefs-

many years later Christians revived idea that dreams were supernatural elements.

God revealed himself in dreams.

wasn’t long until Martin Luther, founder of Protestantism, came around and went against those beliefs.

Luther claimed dreams were works of the Devil.

Freud’s views:

Dreams are a reflection of our deepest desires.

dreams reveal our unconscious.

no dream is for entertainment purposes.

Jung’s views:

dreams remind us of our wishes-enables us to realize what we yearn for.

messages to pay attention to dreams for our own benefit.

Other’s views:

some say having a theory of dreams is pointless because dreams are just a fact of life.

dreams are either clearing or storing fragments of memory.

dreams complete lives. They are very important to living.

Scientific Theory:

Neurological- The brain tries to interpret random impulses from the pons as a sensory input.

Rapid Eye Movement aka the R.E.M. cycle- most people think you dream during the R.E.M. cycle, but dreams generate in different parts of the brain than the R.E.M. cycle.

Other Theories:

Dreams are just a collection of a vivid series of images over which we have no control.

Dreams usually last between 15-90min.

While dreaming you are paralyzed so you don’t act out the dream.

Sleep walking and talking in your sleep occur during deep sleep, not while you’re dreaming.

You must dream to be mentally and physically healthy.

Some people can control their dreams. This is called Lucid dreaming. The dreamer is fully aware that they are dreaming.

Lucid dreaming is often practiced for personal or spiritual gain.

Lucid dreaming occurs spontaneously, especially during youth.

Thesis:

Dreams are an everyday part of life that have been examined and interpreted for centuries in an effort to better understand the human condition.

Works Cited 

Campbell, Joseph. Myths, Dreams, and Religion.New York, New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. 1970. 

“The Dreams Foundation”1995-2004GoogleOnlineSeptember 25, 2004www.dreams.cal Fonda, Marc.“Freud, Faerie Tales, and Dream Interpretations:Towards a Practical Hermeneutics of the Instinctual Disruption of Texts.” 1995GoogleOnlineSeptember 25, 2004www.clas.ufl.edu/users/gthursby/fonda/text.html Hudson, Liam.Night Life: The Interpretation of Dreams.New York, New York: St. Martin’s Press, Inc. 1985. Kelsey, Morton.Dreams: A Way To Listen To God.New York, New York: Paulist Press 1978