Posts Tagged ‘Dream Psychology’

Nobody likes being cold.  A warm safe blanket is always a welcome cocoon especially on cold winter nights.  But some of us have dreamt of being cold.  We generally wake up feeling depressed, very cold and curled up in a ball.  So what do “cold” dreams mean?

Interpreters see dreams of being cold as the subconscious’ signal that one is too isolated from everybody else.  It is a signal that contact is needed from the constant isolation.  It can also mean that you are isolating yourself too much from your peers.

(more…)

.

The subconscious mind indeed works in mysterious ways. Sometimes it expresses itself by creating images possible only in dreams. It may pick up things from your waking hours, things that are easy enough to recognize, but there are also times when it only uses symbols and archetypal imagery to convey or form a statement. With that said, it’s only normal for us to be interested with archetypes and how the subconscious mind uses them in our dreams.

Dream interpretation has been an important factor in getting to know ourselves better. In psychology, patients who seek help are encouraged to slip in a sleep-like state to bring out what the subconscious mind holds. Dreams, as well as the subconscious mind, have always been the “keepers” of one’s uninhibited desires and emotions that are best kept hidden.

(more…)

.

Dreams are occurrences which present a very special meaning to a person. Although the reason behind dreaming stays unclear, it clearly deserves our attention. They occur every night to almost all of us leaving feelings and emotions that seem too surreal to believe. Due to their very common nature paired with our own objective minds, it’s fairly easy for dreams to obscure their true meaning from seekers like us.

History has it that dreams are to be used for guidance and enlightenment, depending on one’s belief, culture and tradition. Due to this, dreams are deemed important in every aspect of one’s life particularly in their psychological, emotional and spiritual states. It was said that with every action comes a seed to be planted in your subconscious mind. This seed has an effect that is instantaneous and can even grow overtime, affecting even the decisions you make during your waking hours. With that said, it is safe to say that the subconscious mind is a roomful of accumulated perceptions, bound to affect a person psychologically. Dreams, on the other hand, provide the easiest way to reach your subconscious mind.

(more…)

.

Dreams have indeed baffled us since the beginning of time hence the many—and sometimes conflicting—interpretations to it. People whose dreams stirred enough interest in them started studying dream patterns in relation to human behavior and even fate. Some of the prominent figures in dream psychology are Alfred Adler, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Their interpretations garnered followers and believers the world over since theirs are, more or less, hitting the spot just right. They, too, were not spared from critics who have developed their own interpretation of dreaming but failed to withstand the test of time.

Modern science believes that there is something behind dreaming and that it will greatly benefit mankind if it can be figured. Freud, Jung and Adler, due to the extensiveness of their research, studies and tests made in the name of dream psychology stay, up to this day, as champions in the field. Their influence can still be felt and their studies are most sought after. Freud and Jung both believed that dreams have meaning. Freud strongly stood behind his findings that dreams are the road to one’s unconscious mind while Jung used symbols and archetypes which he later termed as collective unconscious. On the other hand, Adler raised the greatest contradiction for both Freud and Jung’s theories. Adler stated that dreams are generated by both the conscious and unconscious mind. Adler’s theory concluded that dreams are mere manifestations of our waking lives and can be used as a tool to detect problems, existing and potential ones, and ultimately arrive to a beneficial solution.

.

Pet owners and in this instance cat owners probably dream about their favorite pets most often than not.  Pets are a part of life and most of us will probably have some sort of pet during our lifetime.  For the cat lover, you might be wondering why your favorite feline features in your dreams from time to time, so here are some dream interpretations of cats in dreams.

Some interpreters see cats in dreams as omens of bad luck.  Cats that attack you mean that there are enemies who are plotting your downfall.  Cats are also seen as omens for property loss.  Thin, dirty cats mean that there is fore coming bad news from absent family or friends.  Angry, hissing cats mean that friends are backstabbing you or are no longer loyal to you.

(more…)

.

People who dream about ice are usually repressed or need psychological help.  According to dream interpreters, these people have lots of locked up emotions inside. Dreaming about ice is the unconscious’ signal that there is too much emotion stored that needs to be released.  Interpreters say that this repression can be unintentional on the part of the dreamer or that the dreamer has denied these feelings for a long time.  In a way it is the unconscious’ way of expressing itself.

Standing on cracking ice is an omen telling the dreamer not to get ahead at the expense of others.  Ice also means that you do not care about others as much as they care for you.

(more…)

.

There are dreams that fade within the depth of the sleeping consciousness. There are also dreams that seem to open doors to a sub reality that in actuality is the reality we can not recognize with our eyes open. It’s as if eyes wide shut can see beyond the simple clarity of light.

I am standing on the platform of the elevated train station.  My cousin has arrived to pick me up. I tell him I have lost my cell phone.  He gives me a watch and tells me I can reach him using the watch. I look at the watch, the hands are standing still.  I don’t believe I will be able to call him with it.  Suddenly it starts pouring.  He shelters me and gives me a pair of galoshes.  I put the boots on and we head out into the pouring rain. We are in the park now. The rain has stopped and the sun is shining bright. We start chasing colorful balloons across the park.  I feel happy and we are laughing. We embrace and kiss gently.  I feel safe.

(more…)

.

Psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud always thought that dream content had a relevant meaning to our everyday lives.  Freud theorized that the content of our dreams are a form of wish fulfillment wherein our dreams are also equivalent to our hopes and are subconscious manifestations of what we want in life.  In his book “Interpretation of Dreams” he suggests that the content of dreams and wishes are in fact related.

The process of assigning meanings to dreams has been around even during Ancient times.  During the Greek and Roman civilizations, dreams of the senators were often discussed during sessions as these could have meanings and consequences on society.   The Egyptians on the other hand believed that dreams are ways of communication between the gods and men.  In modern times, dreams are usually the subject of dram analysis and various schools of psychology are studying the underlying meaning behind dreams.

(more…)

.

Upon closer look to his very wide collection of literary works, it is easy to see how Shakespeare was drawn to dreams and supernatural occurrences, enough to influence his masterpieces. It is common for a Shakespeare character to dream of an impending doom or for it to adapt an archetype even if the word itself wasn’t even born yet. Many scholars who studied his literary works even thought that Shakespeare’s characters may even be the basis of all psychoanalytic studies later on—particularly that of Freud’s.

Critics believed that Shakespeare had unwittingly introduced the concept of dream theories most psychoanalysts use today and eventually, changed the way we see dreams in general. Shakespeare had been vocal eversince about his belief that dreams are portent of the future as evident in his dream quotes as well. Some of his most popular pieces are marked by dreams prior to major turn of events but what really embodied his belief are the dream-like settings he so fondly used for most of his masterpieces, one of which being the play “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” where the absurd, magical world of faeries was brought to life. Moreover, dreams and visions played a big part in the play Macbeth as almost every action made by its characters was based on their perception while asleep.

.

Collective unconscious is a term developed by the famous psychologist Carl Jung which pertains to the independent unconscious part of the human mind containing the concepts of humanity. These, as Carl Jung firmly believed, are concepts deeply instilled in our minds since birth. They are referred to as archetypes or models in which a person would likely take after. Furthermore, the respected psychologists believed that collective unconscious has been around since the beginning of man. His conclusion found evidence through Greek mythology where archetypes are very apparent in each and every character. He explained that Greek mythology is purely based on archetypes and this is the key to learning more about human behavior.

According to Carl Jung, mythology has been the perfect model on how people react and behave when faced in uncertain situations. It reflects clearly what kind of people we are and every story in Greek mythology harbors truth and justification albeit hidden in words. Dreams, on the other hand, are our gateways to the collective unconscious part of our minds since dreaming knows no boundaries and possibilities are limitless. In dreams, the collective unconscious can be heard without being judged unlike when in reality.

(more…)

.