People often wonder if the people encountered in dreams are actual, real people, or simply manifestations of their own personality and emotions. Most modern dream interpretation holds that the people in dreams are not actual people at all, but rather symbols for parts of your own personality.
Therefore, the bubbly, exuberant blonde in your dream may into be a real person at all, but rather a side of your personality that you have been afraid to express.
Likewise, negative people encountered in dreams are often manifestations of those parts of the personality that you are ashamed of or wish to repress. Therefore, dreaming of a person you do not like could mean that you need to alter your thinking and be more open minded and accepting of others.
When examining the people in your dreams, it is always a good idea to examine the personalities of these people and try to examine what they might be trying to tell you. Examining parts of your personality you do not like can be a positive result of dream interpretation.
When interpreting dreams about other people, it is important to remember that in the vast majority of cases dreams are about yourself, not about other people. Thus, the people you meet and interact with in your dreams are much more likely to be physical symbols of your own thoughts and desires as they are to be actual representations of actual people.
Therefore, interpreting dreams about other people can be a great way to work through personality and identity issues, and many psychologists and therapists use this approach to dream interpretation.
Of course there are instances in which the people you dream of really do represent actual people. Sometimes these people are relatives or friends who have passed on, while at other times they may be famous people or movie stars whom who have never met.
Dreams in which you meet movie stars or other famous people often represent a longing for something you want but cannot achieve. Sometimes the dream simply represents a conscious desire to meet the person in your dream, but most often the movie star represents something you have been striving for but failing to achieve. This kind of dream is often a way of urging you to try harder to reach your goals.
Many ancient cultures put great stock in dreams which featured departed relatives, and many of these cultures thought of the dream state as the time when the soul left the body to roam free in the spirit world. Even today, many people take dreams of departed relatives or friends very seriously, and they give these dreams many layers of meaning.
These types of spiritual dreams can indeed be very valuable to the dreamer, and a great source of comfort in a time of need. Whether they represent the convergence of souls on the other side, or just the unconscious desire to have the person back in their life, these dreams are some of the best and most fulfilling there are.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Dream Interpretation and Sigmund Freud
In the early part of the 19th century, dream interpretation had fallen out of fashion, and almost no one practiced this art seriously. In the early part of the century, dreams were thought to have no meaning at all, and to be simply the result of a heavy meal before bedtime, noises heard in the night and other trivial causes.
By the latter part of the 19th century, however, Sigmund Freud would revolutionize the world of dreams and dream interpretation with his radical new ideas incorporating dreams and deep seated childhood fears.
Born in 1865, Sigmund Freud revolutionized the world of psychiatry and dream interpretation with his seminal work “The Interpretation of Dreams”. Freud started to analyze the dreams of his patients, and he used this dream analysis to diagnose and treat their psychiatric ills.
Freud also studied dreams as a way to understand certain aspects of the personality, especially those aspects that lead to psychological problems and disorders. Freud believed that nothing human beings did happened by chance, and that every action, no matter how small or seemingly trivial, was at some level motivated by the unconscious mind.
Of course in order for a civilized, modern society to function, certain primal needs and desires must be repressed, and Freud’s theory was that these repressed urges and desires were released by the unconscious during dream sleep.
Doctor Freud saw dreams as a direct connection to the unconscious mind, and he studied that connection through the interpretation of symbolic objects found in dreams. The theory was that with the conscious mind acts as a guard on the unconscious, preventing certain repressed feelings from coming to the surface. During sleep, however, this conscious guard is absent, and the subconscious mind is free to run wild and express its most hidden desires.
Freud was especially interested in the sexual content of dreams, and he often saw ordinary objects in dreams as representations of sexual desire. To Freud, every long, slender item encountered in a dream, from a knife to a flagpole, was a phallic image, while any receptacle such as a bowl or vase, represented the female genitalia.
Freud believed in five stages of personality, and he saw dreams as manifestations of desired stemming from each of these five stages. To Freud, personality formation consisted of:
Stage One – Oral/Dependency
Freud’s theory was that any needs not satisfied during the oral/dependency stage would cause the person to go through life trying to meet them. Thus, to Freud, habits such as overeating, drinking to much and smoking were all oral fixations. People suffering from these oral fixations often dreamed about their unmet needs and desires.
Stage Two – Anal/Potty Training
Freud held that improper potty training could traumatize a child, and cause him or her to become anal retentive, rigid and controlling. Such traumatized children often develop obsessive compulsive disorders as well. Recurring dreams of being out of control, such as dreams of falling were common in such people.
Stage Three – Phallic
According to Freud, the personality is completely developed by the time stage three rolls around. The third stage of personality is identified with the Oedipus and Electra complexes. The Oedipus complex represents the love a male child feels toward the mother, coupled with fear and jealousy of the male parent. The Electra complex is the female version of Oedipus, in which the female child feels anger toward the mother and develops “penis envy”.
Stage Four – Latency
Unlike the other stages, the latency period is a time of relative calm. During this stage, the aggression and sexual urges are less intense, and little psychosexual conflict is exhibited.
Stage Five – Genital
This is the period of sexual maturity and the creation and enhancement of life. The stage of sexual maturity is where reproduction, intellectual activity and artistic pursuits take place.
Freud believed that wish fulfillment was the source of dreams, and that dreamers used dreams as a way to satisfy the fixations they had developed during childhood. In addition, issues like power and control frequently manifested themselves in dreams. The central part of Freud’s dream theory was that thoughts and desires repressed during the day were free to run wild during the dream stage.
Since Freud’s death, many have criticized him for seeing sexual motivation behind every dream object. Many have pointed out that Freud was born into the sexually repressed Victorian era, and his preoccupation with sexual matters could have been as much a product of the times in which he lived as a valid scientific theory. Even so, many of Freud’s dream interpretations have proven valid and are still used by psychologists and dream researchers today.
By the latter part of the 19th century, however, Sigmund Freud would revolutionize the world of dreams and dream interpretation with his radical new ideas incorporating dreams and deep seated childhood fears.
Born in 1865, Sigmund Freud revolutionized the world of psychiatry and dream interpretation with his seminal work “The Interpretation of Dreams”. Freud started to analyze the dreams of his patients, and he used this dream analysis to diagnose and treat their psychiatric ills.
Freud also studied dreams as a way to understand certain aspects of the personality, especially those aspects that lead to psychological problems and disorders. Freud believed that nothing human beings did happened by chance, and that every action, no matter how small or seemingly trivial, was at some level motivated by the unconscious mind.
Of course in order for a civilized, modern society to function, certain primal needs and desires must be repressed, and Freud’s theory was that these repressed urges and desires were released by the unconscious during dream sleep.
Doctor Freud saw dreams as a direct connection to the unconscious mind, and he studied that connection through the interpretation of symbolic objects found in dreams. The theory was that with the conscious mind acts as a guard on the unconscious, preventing certain repressed feelings from coming to the surface. During sleep, however, this conscious guard is absent, and the subconscious mind is free to run wild and express its most hidden desires.
Freud was especially interested in the sexual content of dreams, and he often saw ordinary objects in dreams as representations of sexual desire. To Freud, every long, slender item encountered in a dream, from a knife to a flagpole, was a phallic image, while any receptacle such as a bowl or vase, represented the female genitalia.
Freud believed in five stages of personality, and he saw dreams as manifestations of desired stemming from each of these five stages. To Freud, personality formation consisted of:
Stage One – Oral/Dependency
Freud’s theory was that any needs not satisfied during the oral/dependency stage would cause the person to go through life trying to meet them. Thus, to Freud, habits such as overeating, drinking to much and smoking were all oral fixations. People suffering from these oral fixations often dreamed about their unmet needs and desires.
Stage Two – Anal/Potty Training
Freud held that improper potty training could traumatize a child, and cause him or her to become anal retentive, rigid and controlling. Such traumatized children often develop obsessive compulsive disorders as well. Recurring dreams of being out of control, such as dreams of falling were common in such people.
Stage Three – Phallic
According to Freud, the personality is completely developed by the time stage three rolls around. The third stage of personality is identified with the Oedipus and Electra complexes. The Oedipus complex represents the love a male child feels toward the mother, coupled with fear and jealousy of the male parent. The Electra complex is the female version of Oedipus, in which the female child feels anger toward the mother and develops “penis envy”.
Stage Four – Latency
Unlike the other stages, the latency period is a time of relative calm. During this stage, the aggression and sexual urges are less intense, and little psychosexual conflict is exhibited.
Stage Five – Genital
This is the period of sexual maturity and the creation and enhancement of life. The stage of sexual maturity is where reproduction, intellectual activity and artistic pursuits take place.
Freud believed that wish fulfillment was the source of dreams, and that dreamers used dreams as a way to satisfy the fixations they had developed during childhood. In addition, issues like power and control frequently manifested themselves in dreams. The central part of Freud’s dream theory was that thoughts and desires repressed during the day were free to run wild during the dream stage.
Since Freud’s death, many have criticized him for seeing sexual motivation behind every dream object. Many have pointed out that Freud was born into the sexually repressed Victorian era, and his preoccupation with sexual matters could have been as much a product of the times in which he lived as a valid scientific theory. Even so, many of Freud’s dream interpretations have proven valid and are still used by psychologists and dream researchers today.
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