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Revision of the theory of dreams
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Understanding Dreams
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.
The word dream has many meanings most people know dreams as events that play in people's minds that occur during sleep. The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary describes it as, “A series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.” In the ancient times, many civilizations thought of dreams as omens of the future, while others believed that their soul would travel (Rathus 158). Dreams are like movies they range in characters, the impossible can happen, and sometimes they are in black and white or seem to be in slow motion. Dreams occur mostly during the REM (rapid eye movement) stage of sleep. During this stag...
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...rized that dreams were unconscious wishes and urges, he also thought that dreams were a way of preserving sleep, however it was debunked later on. The next theory, is that people dream of thoughts and activities of the day. This theory seems to be the most prominent theory of why people dream. The last theory is that dreaming is a biological process, and nothing more than emotions combined without physical stimulation or rational thought. The last theory states that there is no reason and no real meaning of what the person dreams of; however, many dream researchers disagree and believe dreams reflect one's personality and true desires. None of theses theories are definite though, only more research can tell. Although dreams are not fully understood, there are many types of dreams that people commonly share like: nightmares, lucid dreams, normal dreams, and daydreams.
A New Kind of Dreaming is a novel written by Anthony Eaton, about a teenage boy, Jamie Riley, being referred to rural Western Australia where, he meets new friends, enemies and also discovers a shocking secret about the towns head police officer. The pressure to find out the secret puts Jamie in a great deal of trouble, from being frightened by the police, blamed for a fire and vandalism offences and even going missing in the desert. The characters have authority or are defenceless.
What is a dream? A dream is number of events and sensations that pass through the mind while sleeping. Sleep is not a break for your mind, but it is a state of consciousness (Turner, 2012, 1). People may lose their sensor skills when they are unconscious, yet the mind is running with full ability until the end of time. What is sleep? Sleep is a natural period in which one loses complete consciousness (Turner, 2012, 1). An average human spends one third of their life sleeping. Sleep is a basic need for the health of the human body, yet our mind does not truly rest like the rest of our body. Dreams have always been a mystery in the historical world, but it has been known dreams can be understood as events in another objective world. Dualism is
Dreams have long exercised a fascination over the human imagination. Many people have questions about them. Dreams over time have captured the interest of many. They have continued to intrigue the simplest of people because of their meaning, their occurrences and their different styles and patterns. One of the most common questions that come up about dreams is how they occur. The theory of REM explains this. REM stands for Rapid Eye Movement. Dreaming is simply the early stage of sleeping. It takes place during REM, using a portion of the brain called pons, which generates signals to the brain (Lewis 3). It is a known fact that everyone dreams, and that REM occurs every 90-100 minutes as stated by Deming (4). The process of dreaming is not a psychic activity but rather a somatic process, which makes itself known as psychic (Crisp 45). Dreams most commonly concern themselves mainly with the future. They are visionary wishes of fulfillment. When a person dreams they may dreams about a certain part of their day, or something that they would like to happen. It is true that everyone dreams however, remembering a dream is often not possible (Uchida 119). When looked at closer it is quite interesting to see how many people actually remember their dreams. 15% say that they never recall their dreams, 5% remember one a night and the average person recalls his/her dream 2-3 times a week (Shafton 350). It is also important to take a look at the different meanings of dreams.
...n and development throughout history. After the research, I learned that while most dreams are fairly coherent, patterned, which include everyday settings, people, activities, and events, they may involve relatively unusual and perhaps bizarre aspects. Altogether, these images would allow people to have the most revealing and distinctive view of who they are and what they know in daily life by telling stories in the brain. However, while I still feel that no theory can exactly interpret what dreams’ meanings really are, it is interesting to know more how human brain’s activity (dreaming) function when people sleep. Moreover, I have decided to see my dreams as a television show with different episodes at night. That way, I will be able to enjoy the dream without ruining the fun that my brain offers because I would love to see what and how my brain wants me to see.
Dreams are series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. Dreams occur during a certain stage of sleep known as REM. Several different psychologists, including Freud and Hobson, have studied dreams. Psychologists have provided many theories as to what dreams are and the meanings behind them.
In this paper I hope to open a window to the vast and mysterious world of dreaming. To most people, information about dreams isn’t common knowledge. In researching this subject though, I found that everybody has and reacts to dreams, which are vital to your mental health. You will also find how you can affect your dreams and how they affect you.
Since the dawn of our existence, humans have wondered about the nature and significance of dreams. For many years, people considered dreams as experiences accumulated by the dreamer’s traveling soul or revelations conveyed to the dreaming individual from the spiritual world. Dreams are considered story like
The content and the purpose of dreams aren’t known yet, though they have been a scientific discussion about it. Though it’s not only scientific discussion about for example, some people say/said that dreams are like visions and if that you have a bad dream something bad is going to happen. Or In Judaism, dreams are considered part of the experience of the world that can be interpreted and from which lessons can be garnered. The scientific study of dreams is called Oneirology. In modern times dreams have been seen as a connection to the unconscious mind. Dreams can vary from normal to ordinary, to really bizarre and surreal. Dreams can differ from meaning like; frightening, exciting, magical, sad, adventures or sexual. The events happening in the dream are generally out of control of the dreamer and the only thing the dreamer can do is watch and feel.
Oprah Winfrey once said, “The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” But, what actually is a dream and what do dreams really have to do with one’s everyday life? In essence, a dream is a series of mental images and emotions occurring during a slumber. Dreams can also deal with one’s personal aspirations, goals, ambitions, and even one’s emotions, such as love and hardship. However, dreams can also give rise to uneasy and terrible emotions; these dreams are essentially known as nightmares.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, dream is defined by a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring involuntarily in a person’s mind during certain stages of sleep. Dreams have fascinated humans since the beginning of time. The recorded history of dream interpretation dates back to 3000-4000 B.C. with the Sumerians in Mesopotamia. They documented their dreams on clay tablets. People back then saw the dream world as an extension of reality, but that it was a more powerful realm. Furthermore, they believed that when they dream, their souls would leave their body during sleep and travel to the dream world.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, a dream is “a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. Dreams are much more complex than the definition makes them sound. The definition leaves out the how and why the thoughts, images and sensations in dreams occur. There are a great number of theories relating to dreams, but very few questions are answered. There are many ongoing studies relating to dreams.
What is a dream? Why do we have dreams? Do dreams have deeper meaning in our lives? The answers to these questions have eluded and intrigued many psychologists throughout history and have sparked my interest as well. As an avid and vivid dreamer I have often found myself wondering what the true meanings to my dreams were. So what are dreams? “Strictly speaking, dreams are images and imagery, thoughts, sounds and voices, and subjective sensations experienced when we sleep.”1 Even after thousands of years of research, psychologists have still not come to an agreed answer on why we dream. There are as many opinions out there as there are individual dreams. Some psychologists believe dreaming is simply the minds way of distracting itself from outside information during sleep to allow people to get deep rest. Others such as Dr. Eric Hartman suggest dreams serve almost as a psychotherapy in which the brain can make connections between different emotions and thoughts in a safe protected environment. Do dreams have any direct correlation to everyday events and experiences? Are they meant to aid individuals in understanding and interpreting their world around them?
Despite the large amount of time we spend asleep, surprisingly little is actually known about sleeping and dreaming. Much has been imagined, however. Over history, sleep has been conceived as the space of the soul, as a state of absence akin to death, as a virtual or alternate reality, and more recently, as a form of (sub)consciousness in which memories are built and erased. The significance attributed to dreams has varied widely as well. The Ancient Greeks had surprise dream encounters with their gods. Native Americans turned to their dreams for guidance in life. Shamans dreamed in order to gather information from the spirits.
Dreams are conventionally known as mental experiences during REM sleep and are very realistic for individuals while dreaming, making up an “imaginary world” subconsciously. Theorists such as Sigmund Freud, Rosalind Cartwright, J. Allan Hobson, and Michelle Carr all study different aspects of dreams and even create theories regarding them. As said before, dreams most commonly take place in the REM stage of sleep, but are also capable of occurring in other stages too. Results from these studies show that dreams are not always retained, making it hard to understand them fully. Dreams vary on cultures and societies, but people generally
Dreams are necessary. Without dreams, there will be no ambition to chase. There will be no goal to reach. We won't have anything to aim for. We will all be nothing without dreams. Not having dreams is like chasing a traceless murder. It is like following an invisible shadow. It is a dreadful goose chase. We must know what we want to do and follow that ambition. We can’t achieve anything in life without goals, and for these goals, we need to dream.