Common Dreams and Other Thoughts re: Dream Interpretation

8/10/2019 Common Dreams and Other Thoughts re: Dream Interpretation

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Interpretation of Dreams:

What do we know so far?

June 16, 2014


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Unconscious wishes are always active and ready for expression whenever

they find an opportunity to unite themselves with an emotion from

conscious life, and that they transfer their greater intensity to the lesser

intensity of the latter.Chapter VII. Sigmund Freud

The Interpretation of Dreams

CONTENTS

I. The Scientific Literature on the Problems of the Dreams

II. Method of Dream Interpretation: The Analysis of a Sample Dream

III. The Dream Is the Fulfilment of a Wish

IV. Distortion in Dreams

V. The Material and Sources of Dreams

VI. The Dream-Work

VII. The Psychology of the Dream Activities

VIII. Literary Index

Typical Dreams

(a) THE EMBARRASSMENT-DREAM OF NAKEDNESS

(b) DREAMS OF THE DEATH OF BELOVED PERSONS

(c) The Examination-Dream
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How did contemporaries of Freud react to the publication of The Interpretation of Dreams?

The first review was published on December 16, 1899. The review was in a literary journal (he

was in fact more appreciated by the lay educated public than by the scientific public), by Carl

Metzentin, and the last paragraph deserves to be quoted: "We now must forsake the pleasure of

following further the astute - and frequently daring - observations of the Viennese physician.Only one more note from the conclusion of his epoch-making work, a note which concerns the

value of dreams for gaining knowledge of future. 'In every respect, dreams are children of the

past. There is a grain of truth, though, in the ancient belief that we can see in them our future.

By showing us our wishes as fulfilled they point to the future. But this future, which the dreamer

mistakes for his present, is modeled by the indestructible wish into the likeness of the past.'"

What are the major mechanisms that Freud postulated of how the mind works in dreams?

Dream-work, as it is called, has four major elements:

*Displacement, which is the way the importance of an idea shifts from one idea to another. (For

example, the most significant ideas or feelings for a person may shift from one idea (in the

latent content of the dream) to an insignificant detail in the manifest content of the dream.

*Condensation, that one idea or image may represent several ideas, which converge on one

dream image.

*Considerations of representability, where all meanings, including abstract thoughts, are

represented through images.

*Secondary revision, which explains how the apparent incoherence and absurdity in the dream

are eliminated by filling in the gaps to make the manifest content of the dream more logical.

http://www.apsa.org/About_Psychoanalysis/Interpretation_of_Dreams.aspx


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Everyone dreams (even if we dont always remember them after the fact) and researchers

have found that the majority of us have dreams with similar themes. For years people have

tried to uncover the meaning of dreamsthe fleeting images that we see when we go to

sleep. Some interpretations are outright bizarre, while others are pretty understandable. This

is a list of the interpretations that the Association for the Study of Dreams has given to the

most recurring and common types of dream. Be sure to tell us whether you think it is

accurate from your own experiences.

Top 10 Common Dreams And Their Meanings

http://listverse.com/2008/10/07/top-10-common-dreams-and-their-meanings/

Car Troubles

In these types of dreams you are usually in or near a car or some other type of vehicle

which is out of control or has other problems that seem insurmountable. For example, the

brakes may have failed, you may have lost control of the steering, or be heading over a cliff

or crashing. You can either be the driver or the passenger.

This is a very common type of nightmare and it

occurs in all peoplenot just those who can

drive. This dream usually means that you arefeeling powerless over something in your life

or that you are heading for a crash

(metaphorically speaking).


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Missed a Boat or Plane

In this type of dream you are rushing to catch a bus, train,

plane, or other type of public transportbut you miss it

usually by a fraction of a second. Rather than feeling fear in

this dream, you usually feel frustration. This dream can alsooccur in a different form, in which you arrive late for an

important performance or sporting event that you are

supposed to participate in, only to find that the event has already begun. This dream usually

means that you feel that you have missed out on an important opportunity in your real life. It

will often occur when you are struggling over an important decision.

Failing a Test

This dream usually manifests itself in people who have been

out of school for a long time. In the dream you are

prevented from passing a test in a variety of different

possible scenarios. In one scenario you find that you areunable to make it to the test on time, often through being

unable to find the test room. In other versions you are

unprepared (either through lack of study) or you are missing

equipment. This dream usually means that you are feeling

tested in some way in your real life. You may feel that you

are unprepared for something or playing the wrong part inlife.


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Ill or Dying

In this dream, you (or a loved one) are ill, injured, or

dying. It is a moderately common dream and, not

surprisingly, occurs often at the onset of an illness. Aside

from becoming ill, this dream can mean that you are

emotionally hurt or are afraid of becoming hurt. The

dream may also be warning you of an upcoming

physical risk to yourself or a loved one. When it is someone else in the dream that dies, it can

mean that you feel that part of yourself (that you see represented by that person) is dead. It

may also mean that you wish the person would go away, or that you fear losing them.

Being Chased

Dreaming of being chased can be a truly horrifying

experience. Most often the chaser is a monster or some

person that is frightening, and occasionally it may be an

animal. You may be surprised to know that this is the most

commonly experienced nightmare theme. The meaning ofthese dreams is that someone, something (possibly

something as obscure as an emotion) is making you feel

threatened. One way to determine the root of the threat is

to ask yourself who or what in your real life most closely

resembles the creature or circumstance in your dream. It

is also worth noting that sometimes this dream is a replayof an actual event in your life.


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Bad or Missing Teeth

Teeth dreams are fairly common and they usually

involve the discovery of extremely decayed or missing

teeth in your own mouth. Sometimes you will dream

that you open your mouth and your teeth begin to fallout. The fact that the majority of people today have

reasonable teeth, it is not surprising that we feel so

emotionally disturbed by these dreams. So, what does it

mean when we dream about missing teeth? At the most basic level it means that we are

afraid of being found unattractive. At a deeper level, it can signify a fear of embarrassment or

a loss of power in real life. Dream Nudity

In this type of dream you are in a state of undress, partial

undress, or inappropriate dress (for example wearing pajamas

to work). Occasionally you are the witness of another person

who is naked while you are clothed. This is often

accompanied by feelings of embarrassment and shame, butoccasionally with the feeling of pride or freedom. The

meaning of this dream is that you are feeling exposed,

awkward, or vulnerable, or you are afraid that you have revealed too much of yourself (such as

a secret or a very personal feeling) in a real life situation. An interesting fact about this type of

dream is that it occurs much more frequently in people who are involved in a wedding

ceremony in their real life.


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Falling or Sinking

We have all had falling dreamsit is such a

common dream, in fact, that myths have arisen

over them; the most common myth is, of

course, that you will die if you hit the ground

in the dream. I can assure you, having hit the

ground in more than one falling dream, that

this is not true at all. In the falling dream we

are usually falling through the air and

frightened. Occasionally we may be sinking in

water (and in danger of drowning). Typically a person having this dream is feeling insecure or

lacking in support in their waking life. These dreams often occur when you are overwhelmed in

life and feel ready to give up. If you have this dream you should evaluate your current situation

and try to locate the problem that is overwhelming you. Deal with it and this dream should go

away.


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Dream Journal Project

Complete a dream journal and writea short report analyzing yourdreams.

Dream Journal Before falling asleep, DECIDE

you are going to rememberyour dreams. Be patient; itmay take a night or 2 foryour unconscious to get themessage. The mostimportant thing to

remember is that EVERYONEdreams and that once youbelieve you will rememberthem, you will!

Keep the journal and a penclose to your bed and writedown dreams you recallimmediately, without

interpretation. You mayhave more than one entryper night (everyone dreamsbetween 4 and 6 times) ofvarying lengths (REM sleepgets longer, therefore, yourdreams get longer later onin night).

Salvador Dali, Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee Arounda Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening(1944)


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Dream Journal

What should you record?

- Basically everything, uncensored, as youremember them... do not worry about

proper English for this part. To be morespecific write down: dialogue or any words

the number and types of people(friends, strangers, relatives)

objects

the mood of the dream (happy, sad,scary, etc.)

settings

themes

events

timing in the dream relations to the dream and you (are you

an observer, participant, seeing yourselfas player?)

If it's too difficult to record a part of thedream in writing, sketch a picture.


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Tips for dream analysis:

Ask yourself the following Questions:

Were there any common threads, commonideas, running through the journal?

Are your dreams bizarre? Mundane?

Which dreams are most disturbing? Why?What do they mean to you?

What common symbols or objects did yourecord? What do you think these symbolsmean?

Were you able to control your dreams as youremembered more and more of them?

How are your dreams relevant to your waking

life? Was the content of both journals identical on

any days? What does this tell you?

What seems to be the main function of yourdreams?

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Common Dreams and Other Thoughts re: Dream Interpretation