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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?