DREAMS

Table of Contents:

History..02

Introduction.02

Causes..04

Theories..05

Types.06

Cultures & Dreams..09

Psychology of Dreams10

Hypothesis regarding Dreams.11

Facts..12

DREAMS
Dreams are thoughts, emotions and the images, which are encountered when asleep. They are the ways through which our unconscious mind communicates with our self. Technically speaking, a dream is mass hallucination. A dream is a hallucination that is also a fantastical journey in our sleep that either relieves us of stress or tries to detract us from a certain habit or future happening (better known as a nightmare).

History of Dreams:
Dreams have dated back generations ago when mankind first drew scriptures on stones, symbolic of different events that foreshadow the past, present, or future in some way. When further development and intrigue came to place, man has always wanted to know about their meaning and how they affect not only their lives, but society in general. Man has tried seeking these answers from shamans, medical practitioners, religious consultants, fortune tellers, and experts in the occult field. Some of these people told man what he wanted to know. But as time moved forward, the answers that man often seemed to get were pertained to some mysterious knowledge or secret or supernatural powers. Many dream books were written in the future about this experience we have during our sleep, but the language was often difficult to understand unless one was in depth with the occult, supernatural language. It was to say, that most of these dream books did not have much solid evidence in them and the people who written them used them more as a "psychological way" to help human beings that who had troubles with their very existence, hoping that their dreams would review a better and richer future.

Introduction:
On average, we spend about one third of our lives sleeping. During a portion of that time, we are also dreaming. While asleep, we can gain rest and refreshment for our hard day of work. Essentially, dreams are our method of relaxing and letting our minds drift away into a distant world. While dreaming, we can interact with various people, places or things. We all have weird dreams like this not knowing why exactly caused this type of emotionally experience. There are happy dreams that make us feel good. There are dreams that fulfill our needs and wants in reality. There are dreams that unlock our deepest, secrets thoughts that are

DREAMS
never expressed in public. There are dreams that make us miserable or depressed. There are dreams that haunt us from the past. Dream is a series of images, ideas, thoughts or emotions that occur in mind during certain stages of sleep. We observe two types of sleep while sleeping one after another that is Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (REM) and Non Rapid Eye Movement Sleep (Non-REM). Dreams occur while REM sleep which occupies a short time of our sleep just counting for 20% as compared to Non-REM sleep counting for 80% of our total time of sleep. We dream only during rapid eye movement sleep as the other one is a dreamless sleep. We have 3 to 5 periods of REM sleep per night; the one period may be as brief going for 5 minutes or maybe much longer going for over an hour. It means if you sleep for 7-8 hours REM sleep could be for one and half hour. The basic difference between two types of sleep is that during REM sleep we have irregular breathing and irregular heart rate plus including rapid, low voltage brain waves on the electroencephalographic recordings(EEG) while during Non-REM breathing & heart rate are both slow and regular plus the brain waves on EEG are typically slow and of high voltage. Dreams are mainly connected to our actions while awaking or others actions towards us. All humans dream ranging from the sweet dreams to nightmares .If a person didn't dream they would go crazy according to scientists studying REM sleep pattern. Dreaming is involved in learning and memory as the protein-synthesis is highly active during REM so staying in REM is a good move to learning and a good balance between slow sleep (delta or Non-REM) and fast sleep (REM) is important for learning. Sometimes, we want to stay in our dreams because we would rather enjoy the experience there than face wake up and face reality. Other times, we try our best to limit the dreaming experience because we feel like it's a waste of time. Nevertheless, dreams can be an important factor in learning more about our intuitions and help us relate more to our mind, body, and spirit.

DREAMS Causes of Dreams:

Dreams come from memories in your mind (usually memories from the past three days). Your brain mixes up the memories and comes up with a dream. Dreams are a accumulation of events that have happened in one's life and is the subconscious' way of possible warning the dreamer of anxieties or as a way to relieve the anxieties. For some people, writing their thoughts out on paper makes them feel better about stress, issues, or events that have happened. This coping is related to the dreaming processes in that the subconscious of the person needs to "sort out" these things as well - thus causes dreams. Our brain is like a giant filing cabinet. Everything we see, hear, taste, smell and touch is remembered by our brain, and put into what we might call a brain file. When we read a book, watch a television show or video, listen to music, eat some ice cream or pet a soft rabbit, it is all recorded in our files. Our brain pays attention even when we dont! We call those files our memories. Usually, we dont even know all those things are in our head! Nightmares, or bad and scary dreams, are often thought to be caused by stress, traumatic events or worries in the dreamers life. Almost everyone has nightmares sometimes. Many people can force themselves to wake up when they have a bad dream. Dream Interpretations: Some people believe dreams all have a deep meaning. Others think dreams are just jumbles of thoughts. There may be some truth to both ideas. Those who think dreams all have meaning, study the situations, places, people and objects in dreams, and then interpret them. They try to figure out what the dream meant to the dreamer. Some people believe dreams can predict the future, but studies have never proven that to be true, mainly because it is difficult to study dreams in a laboratory.

DREAMS Theories of Dreams:

There is definitely value behind dreams nevertheless; nobody knows precisely, that causes them. The General Theory - They occur from subconscious thoughts from our daily thoughts and actions. It is true, things which we underline about the majority; apparently, take a priority in our dreams, though not always. There are two major Dream Theories: 1- Freuds Theory on Dreams 2- Carl Jungs Theory on dreams Sigmund Freuds Theory on Dreams: Sigmund Freud once called dreams the royal road to the unconscious, and that statement will remain true in psychology forever. Freuds classic text, The Interpretation of Dreams, contains some of his finest work. According to the Freudian school, dreams are the result of subconscious thoughts and desires. Freuds opinion was that dreams were an outlet for our hidden desires and in spite of the fact that there were numerous theories regarding this topic but none could actually gain as much ground as Freuds theory. Freud said that our dreams were based on the activities that we do all day long which are combined with our wishes. He was of the opinion that nothing can be made up during the dream; whatever happens in a dream is the result of instincts and experiences in life. Another interesting aspect of his theory regarding the causes of dreams arises from his theory of "id", "ego" and "super ego" which are supposedly the three elements of personality. He said that Id follows the pleasure principle and does not understand any kind of norms and inhibitions. He said that a new born child is a "bundle of ids" since it wants what it desires and would fail to understand reasons. Id stands in opposition to "super ego" which develops in people from the age of five, which is a compilation of what parents teach. "Superego" is the conscience and is in opposition to the desires of the "Id". Now ego stands between Id and Super-ego and it is "repressed Id", it controls the uncontrollable "Id" and also tones down Super-egos tough inhibitions. It mediates between Id and Super-ego. Now Freud said that when the "ego" collapses which occurs when there is a extreme pressure from Id and super-ego and it fails to balance both, that is when mind comes up with a defense mechanism called dreams.

DREAMS
Carl Jungs Theory on Dreams:
Perception:

Perception is that dreams are determined by the way we perceive and how our imaginations guide us. These perceptions are also shaped by an individual's personal experiences. Jung said that dreams were result of not only ones personal experience but one part of it is also associated with the collective conscious which is part of the mind. It consists of the impressions of the processes occurring in the world. He was the one who said that the dreamer could interpret the dreams by forming combined image of all the dreams and finding the common element among them. Once the common element is found, it can be related to a real incident that might have happened and that would give the cue to the interpretation of the dream.

Types of Dreams:
1) Revelatory: This category speaks of things to come in a form of revelation and prophecy. It may involve words of knowledge about a condition or situation you or a friend may be in. We wake up with the knowledge that "decisions" we thought were made artfully and wisely on our own are actually due to our childhood, our upbringing, the war zone nursery. Idea, that at us never would be children, the direct exhibit of never wants what to be the child meant for us when for us we were the child, football, an emotional bag of blows by a fist, and the Freudian stage for display of immaturity for two who probably should was think twice (or more) of generation. 2) Directional: It is as its name implies, directional in nature, specifically for the dreamer. It may make you aware of conditions or blind spots in your life. This would also include warnings of danger in choices made or show calling in ones life. This category also includes inventions and ideas that God may be communicating to you.

3) Cleansing: This type of dream - a way of Spirit to clean you from negative things, you have been exposed, visually, chemical or spiritually. The dreamer can receive disposal and healing through this type of dream.

DREAMS

4) Spiritual Warfare: Dreams can be a spiritual field of fight, the things won in dreams often, is won in a life. These dreams of struggle can mean also, that you petition for you directly or others.

5) Dark dreams: Are false dreams coming from negative spiritual forces. False dreams or sometimes nightmares usually come in black and white or sepia coloring. These dreams are meant to intimidate you or bring fear into your life.

6) Recurring dreams: They repeat themselves with little variation in story. They may be positive but often, they're nightmarish in content. Dreams may recur as a conflict in the dream might not be resolved. Once you have found a solution to it, your recurring dreams will stop. Other dreams may have a message for you but you tend to forget it. But with recurring dreams, the message might be so strong that it just will not go away. I have had this happen to me but back to the topic. These dreams are so frequent, that they force you to notice. It desperately tries to tell to you something. These dreams are extended and could be caused a situation of a life or a problem. They can come back often, but there is a little change to history. It usually specifies in personal weakness or fear in your life, to be it the past or the present. 7) Epic dreams: They're so compelling and vivid that it's hard to ignore them. The details of such dreams remain with you for years as if you dreamt it last night. When you wake up from such a dream, you feel like you have discovered something amazing about yourself or the world. It'll feel like a life changing experience. 8) Healing dreams: Many experts believe that dreams can help to avoid potential problems of health and to help to begin to live. Dreams of this nature could speak to us to go to the dentist or the doctor. They serve as messages in relations to our health.

DREAMS

9) Lucid Dreams: When we are awake, we associate this with being who we are. It is the part of us in charge of the entire decision making we do in the day. It is who think we are as an awake human. But in a dream state, our waking consciousness is normally turned off, so all the important faculties such as analytical abilities, logic and questioning tend to be dormant. But in a lucid dream, you literally walk a door from physical reality into one of pure mental existence. Your thoughts effortlessly paint the dreamscape and you have full mental faculties as you would if you were awake. Lucid dreaming is probably one of the best forms of dreaming that I can think of. You extend your conscious existence into a realm where you are the creator. Your abilities to imagine are increased to quantum levels where the very thought of a building can create architecture unlike anything imagined in our physical world. This is a place where you discover just how real and unlimited your imagination can be. The level or quality of the dream is yours to command. The rules of conduct are yours to decide. Anything imaginable can be expressed in fluid graceful motion in this dreamscape. It also opens up a great avenue for your curiosity. 10) Precognitive Dreams: This is where time and space no longer seem to fit any rational logical meaning. These dreams will put the twist on any logical thinker. Precognition is an ability to know and experience a future event before it ever occurs. Not everybody has had a precognitive dream that they remember, but many do. And dj vu is the shadow of such colossal events in human consciousness. A part of you just skipped the time/space continuum to check out what it will be doing in some later date. Seldom controlled, these dreams are spontaneous, faint and ghost like. You may wake up having full memory of them, but that quickly fades. And in the thoughts that a dream might be precognitive, such clear memory tends not to hold any precognitive value. These ones from my opinion are the hardest, and stealthiest of the dreams for our consciousness to behold. And for probably a good reason as we probably aren't ready for that knowledge until something in us decides that we are. If you have ever observed your waking state, you'll notice that your body with all of its senses records your reality and stores this recording into memory as time progresses.

DREAMS
Occasionally for a precognitive dreamer, it is like a record has just skipped and you are playing the same verse over again. If you remember the dream, and have a clear memory, the accuracy can scare you. These dreams can hold an eerie 100%accuracy down to the finest of details. Even to the details we think are totally spontaneous like our own inner contemplation and emotions. Precognitive dreams can come once in a life time, or in an assault of unrelenting waves. The fact is, people have them whether they want to or not. You may be one of these people. And they are part of the tip of the iceberg for a much deeper spiritual you. If you have them, that's normal and actually there is nothing to be frightened of.

Cultures and Dreams:

Some people realize that events in real world can affect their dreams, but few believe that events in their dreams hold any significance for their waking life. Although a small minority of individuals takes their dreams seriously, in western cultures dreams are largely written off as insignificant, meaningless meanderings of the unconscious. In many non-Western cultures, however dreams are viewed as important sources of information about the future, or about the spiritual world. In many cultures dreams are seen as a window into the spiritual world, permitting communication with ancestors or supernatural beings. People in some culture believe that dreams provide information about the future- good or bad omens about upcoming battles, hunts, births and so forth. In Modern western Societies where little significance is given to dreams, dream recall tends to be mediocre. Many people remember their dreams very infrequently. In contrast, dream recall tends to be much better in cultures that take drams seriously. In regard to dream content, both similarities and differences occur across cultures in the types of the dreams that occur. Some basic dream themes appear to be nearly universal. However the content of dreams vary some from one culture to another because people in different societies deal with different world while awake. Shared systems for interpreting the contents of dreams also vary from one society to another.

DREAMS Psychology of Dreams:

Sigmund Freud had proposed that dreams are the means of one's expressions of his/her unconscious wishes. He had said that bad dreams allow the brain to gain control over the feelings that are a result of distressful experiences. Carl Jung, a Swiss psychiatrist suggested that dreams compensate for one-sided feelings borne in consciousness. According to Ferenczi, a Hungarian psychoanalyst, a dream bears something that cannot be expressed outright. Some theories say that dreams involve one's repressed emotions that are fantasized during the sleep while other theories suggest dreams to be an outcome of the cleaning-up operations of the brain. Hartmann believes that dreams give a person an opportunity to organize his/her thoughts. Blechner's theory of Oneiric Darwinism, which attributes the generation of new ideas to dreams, is quite supportive of Hartmann's analysis. Griffin, through his recent research has proposed the expectation fulfillment theory of dreaming, according to which dreaming completes patterns of emotional expectations. According to the theory of emotional selection by Richard Coutts, dreaming is a way to modify one's mental schema. The theory of emotional selection is about a process of executing a set of dreams during the non-REM sleep. A second set of dreams is executed during the following REM sleep in the form of test scenarios. It defines an accommodation as the process of reframing one's mental representation of the external world to fit new experiences. If the accommodations performed during the preceding non-REM dreams reduce one's negative emotions, they are selected for retention, else they are abandoned. Thus emotional selection says that the psychology of dreams is usually about the enhancement of mental schemas, its about increasing one's social abilities. Have you wondered about the significance of the content of your dreams? Dream psychology believes that the elements of the dreams are closely related to the environment and the experiences one is exposed to. Presence of colors in the dreams is the result of long years of exposure to colored media, which is evident by a study that shows people of the olden times to be having black and white dreams. Colors, which appear in the dreams, carry the emotions represented by those colors. Dreamer often watches the incident in the dream as an onlooker. Mostly, the visual and auditory senses form a part of dreams. It is seldom touch or taste that are experienced in the dreams. Although dream dictionaries give meanings to dreams and various ways of dream interpretations exist, dream psychology believes that the association between objects dreamt and their meanings is subjective. What is indicated by a particular dream depends on what the dreamer associates the elements of his dream with. It is suggested to write down your dream and decipher what each of the constituent of the dream conveys. It is important to understand what you associate with a particular thing you dreamed of. The thought or emotion that you get in relation to a certain color, object or a person in your dream, can serve as a clue to

10

DREAMS
interpret your dreams. After having a dream, you can make its write-up, identify your psychological associations with the dream images and link all of them. More than what the elements of your dream symbolize, it is about what the elements mean to you.

Hypothesis Regarding Dreams:

There are many other hypotheses about the function of dreams, including: Dreams allow the repressed parts of the mind to be satisfied through fantasy while keeping the conscious mind from thoughts that would suddenly cause one to awaken from shock. Freud suggested that bad dreams let the brain learn to gain control over emotions resulting from distressing experiences. Jung suggested that dreams may compensate for one-sided attitudes held in waking consciousness. Ferenczi proposed that the dream, when told, may communicate something that is not being said outright. Dreams regulate mood. Hartmann[ says dreams may function like psychotherapy, by "making connections in a safe place" and allowing the dreamer to integrate thoughts that may be dissociated during waking life. More recent research by psychologist Joe Griffin, following a twelve year review of data from all major sleep laboratories, led to the formulation of the expectation fulfilment theory of dreaming, which suggests that dreaming metaphorically completes patterns of emotional expectation in the autonomic nervous system and lowers stress levels in mammals.

11

DREAMS

Facts:
Humans spend about 6 years dreaming. Dreams are generated in the forebrain. Most common emotion experienced during dreaming is anxiety. Men generally have more aggressive feelings in their dreams than women, and children's dreams do not have very much aggression until they reach teen age. These parallel much of the current research on gender and gender role comparisons in aggressive behavior. This supports the view that there is continuity between our conscious and unconscious styles and personalities. In men's dreams 70 percent of the characters are other men, while a female's dreams contain an equal number of men and women. Sexual dreams show up about 10% of the time and are more prevalent in young to midteens. Approximately 70% of women have recurring dreams and 65% of men. The most common themes are: situations relating to school, being chased, sexual experiences, falling, arriving too late, a person now alive being dead, flying, failing an examination, or a car accident. Twelve percent of people dream only in black and white. In general, more introverted, psychologically oriented people naturally remember their dreams and practical, concrete thinkers dont.

12