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Review of related literature about dreams
Science behind dreams report
Science behind dreams report
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Recommended: Review of related literature about dreams
Although scientists still argue about why are we dreaming and what are dreams made of, modern science found out that dreams are endless, random stories. In the early century, where the History of dreaming starts, dreams were seen as a message from the gods. The brain plays and replays experiences during the night. Studies found out that there is also a gender difference in dreaming. Dreaming occurs during REM sleep when the brain defragments memories and daily life experiences and turns them into random neverending stories.
The history of dreaming began in the early centuries. “Dreams were often considered prophetic” (Comptons by Britannica). That means that dreams were seen as a message from the gods. Thousands of years ago, “Greek sick people slept in temples in order to receive dreams that would heal them” (Kantrowitz, Babara; Springen Karen). Current dream science started at the end of the 19th century. Dreams were seen as a kind of “desires” (Kantrowitz; Springen) stemming from childhood. Scientists still don’t know for sure why we are dreaming and what are dreams made of; howe...
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.
Exploringn a Neurobiological Theory of Dreaming Neurobiological theory of dreaming focuses on the brain and the nervous system. The activation synthesis theory which is one of the theories put forward by Hobson and Mcarley (1998) said sleep is controlled by mechanism in the brainstem. When activated this inhibits activity in the skeletal muscles and increases activity in the forebrain. This theory seems dreaming as an automatic part of the sleep process that may have no significance beyond the need to organize the material into coherent forms. Hobson points out that injection of a drug that increases the action of acetylcholine both increases REM sleep and dreaming.
Blind, deaf or mute, every single human being dreams. People over the age of ten often dream four to six times per night. As we all know from experience dreams can take us to familiar or unfamiliar places ranging anywhere from your own home to other realms. Dream interpretations vary from person to person. Some believe dreams are meaningful while others believe they are meaningless. Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Calvin Hall, Frederick Perls, Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley were all dream theorists who proposed different ideas as to why dreams exist and how they can be interpreted.
When humans wake up from sleeping, we do not always recollect our dreams, yet the brain is still dreaming of what has actually happened. Dreams are formed through various processes, with the past being transformed into content that is thought to be not creative. Freud mentions in the On Dreams that dreams do not make things up that the psyche has not already experienced. As Freud states our dreams are not creative works, “…dream-work is not creative, that it develops no phantasies of its own, that is makes no judgements and draws no conclusions…” (Freud 162). In his terms, dream-work is known as the transformation process that dream-thought shifts to dream-content; consisting of both latent content and manifest
During prescientific days, dreams were interpreted as ‘manifestations’ of a ‘higher power’. Since the introduction of psychology, dreams have had 4 distinct interpretations. The first interprets dreams as a “liberation of the spirit from the pressure of external nature”. The second interprets dreams as “accidental disturbances from ‘internal organs’. The third interprets dreams as a foretelling of the future. The last interpretation is Freud’s. He interprets dream as an expression of subconscious desires.
All over the world different people, scientists, and civilizations have different dream theories. For instance, the Senoi tribe in Malaysia has a fascinating tradition of dream telling. Every morning the people of the tribe begin their day by discussing and interpreting their dreams with each other. The children, as they grow older, actually learn to control their dreams by simply wishing bad dreams into positive ones. It is observed that, by paying tribute their dreams, the people of the Senoi tribe learn to have faith in themselves. Also, they have very few, if any, mental problems “could working constructively with dreams be part of the answer” to mental issues? (Peirce)
Dreams have always mystified humans. In ancient times, they were held in high regard as foretellers of major events. While some people still hold much stock in dream interpretations, most scientists have a more modern view of dreams. However you view them, it’s certain that we have much to learn about dreams, including why we dream.
All human beings have dreams, since the day that we are born till the day that we die. Dreams come from our minds and they are actually helpful to our body and mind. There are different types of dreams that every person has. Some have dreams of adventures, wild things, animals, food, etc. Some people have deep sleeps where they have dreams where tragic things occur and they cry or others have funny dreams and they start laughing and they would still be asleep. Some dreams may be real or imaginary, when someone thinks about an event or problem too much throughout the day, the person might dream it when they go to sleep. It is very difficult to define what the dream means, you don't know if its a signal or whatsoever. Some dreams feel as if they are real and some people freak out because they don't know if its really happening.
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.
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.
In the novel, Waiting for the Barbarians by J.M Coetzee, the magistrate’s progressive, non-linear dreams are a parallel to his growing involvement with the barbarians and his growing distaste for the empire. The great psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud said, “The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious.” In every dream there is a hidden meaning and when the reader starts analyzing the magistrate’s dreams he reveals that he is oddly attracted to the barbarians and knows he should not get involved and it will be a trial to get close to them.
Some people believe that a dream is nothing more than our mind releasing random thoughts. Whereas, some feel there is a deep meaning to the dreaming process. However, what is strange to both is the fact that we even dream at all. What is the cause of dreams? How do they come about?
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.
Dreams appear in global religions, from Judaism to Hinduism. Most of the philosophy surrounding dreams in religion stems from ancient times, showing
All of us dream, several times at night. It is believed by some that we sleep in order that we may dream. Dreams can come true if somebody makes them true, as the saying goes, “A dream is just a dream, unless you make it come true”. Dreams provide us the actual picture of our thoughts. Dreams may tell us about any physical event which took place with us or which is going to happen with us. The dream is trying to inform the dreamer about his condition in any walk of life. Basically, we can dream about anything logical or illogical, fictious or non-fictious and reasonable or unreasonable.