The Freudian dream psychology searched the unconscious of a person where fears and desires dwell. These emotions were camouflaged in the form of dream symbols. Dream meanings communicate to our conscious mind the desires that it tries to suppress.

Freud developed several themes on dream psychology. He proposed the structure of the Human Psyche – the id, ego, and superego. Id characterizes our reflexes, urges, and primal functions, while Ego is the rational part of the psyche. Finally, the Superego represses the Id by enforcing one’s moral responsibilities. When one is asleep, the superego and ego takes a break, allowing the Id to present itself in dream symbols. Upon waking up, we sometimes forget what we dreamt about because the Superego resumes work to suppress the evaluation of the dream meanings that represent desires of the unconscious mind.

Dream meanings could also be discovered in the Five Psychosexual Stages of Development of Freud. These personality foundations also take part in dream interpretations:
1. Oral Stage takes place during birth to infancy where in the fixations focus on the mouth. Recurring dream symbols of being incomplete refer to themes based on this stage.
2. Anal Stage refers to the potty training stage wherein a person learns about controlling one’s body functions. Being unable to meet the challenges on this stage would be seen in people with obsessive-compulsive behaviors. Dream symbols that show one’s inability to put things in order are dream meanings with difficulty in this stage.
3. Phallic Stage is during the preschool years where Oedipus and Electra complexes may arise. Boy’s anger and jealousy towards the father are dream interpretations of the battle for the mother’s love. This also happens in girls, which is represented in her love for her father.
4. The Latency Period is the time when the child begins to learn about his/her sexuality. Dream psychology proposes that sexual tendencies begin to arise during this phase, because the child begins to learn about gender roles.
5. Genital stage starts from 12 years of age. This is where the sexual and erotic interests appear. The dream meanings of erotic dreams imply difficulty in this stage of development.

The studies of Freud on Dream Psychology also focused on wish-fulfillment, where dream symbols present thoughts of one’s dreams and aspirations. Thoughts on issues that a person lacks like love, encouragement, and other means of satisfaction can be seen hidden in the dream meanings seen during sleep. The dream interpretations would show the repressed thoughts and feeling resurface as dreams are discussed and identified.

In closing, Freud’s theories of dream psychology main focus and revolve around the unconscious mind of a person. The unconscious satisfies the desires of the person while one enjoys the time of hi or her deep sleep.

.

The unconscious mind contains the two distinctions, namely the personal and collective. The personal distinction holds the individual experiences of a person, while the collective distinction grasps the dream symbols that appear, having the same sequences in all human beings.

Dream symbols appear in similar formats based on the theories of Carl Jung.

• The Persona signifies the images and dream symbols that is directly associated with the real world. These are mostly disguised and have dream meanings that pertain to one’s social status and distinction. The Persona is also labeled as the mask used by a person to present one’s self to the others. In dream interpretations, the Persona shows the relationship that a person would want the world to accept and a character that could protect one from rejection.

• The Shadow is the underdeveloped part of the human psyche, containing characteristics of a person that evolves based on the life experiences one encounters. This presents the unconscious dream meanings that imply a person’s instincts and weaknesses. In Jungian dream psychology, the Shadow contains the unconscious desires and experiences that the mind keeps which is basically rooted in childhood. The irrational instincts involve a projection of one’s flaws to the incapacities of others, forming an illusion with reality and symbolisms encountered in dream interpretations.

• The Animus or Anima is the idealistic image of man or a woman. Carl Jung’s dream psychology notes the Animus or Anima as the unconscious expression of one’s inner feminine or masculine personality. In dream symbols, it may present itself in a form of an existing human person as the ideal man or woman that a person idolizes. Because society has established gender roles, these distinct images are repressed and manifested as it is hidden in dream meanings.

Carl Jung’s dream psychology proposes that dream symbols cultivate creativity. He believed that all dreams come in a sequence to help a person develop and evolve as one delves into the dream interpretations presented by the psyche. The acceptance what dream meanings imply would help people in accepting and realizing the Self and the characteristics that a person possesses.

The theories of the studies of Carl Jung in dream psychology concentrates on the negative aspects of a person’s characteristics as it is masked and kept in dream symbols to avoid reality. As dream meanings are discovered, translated, and accepted people are able to transform and apply these negative characteristics to more positive means.

Jung suggests that individuals have the responsibility for their lives, regardless of the most painful and difficult circumstances. Responsibility in one’s actions and decisions should be achieved and avoid projecting one’s weaknesses to that of others. The patterns of dream symbols encountered by a person coordinate with one’s life experiences.

.

During the ancient times, people perceive dreams as portals for receiving wisdom from the gods. Shamans depend on dreams to diagnose illness. In 1900’s, western people rely on dreams to forecast weather and predict the future. But a brand new idea of dream interpretation has come out when Sigmund Freud created his theory about dreams as a representation of unconscious desires, thoughts and motivations.

Sigmund Freud is recognized for his theories of the unconscious mind. According to his book, The Interpretation of Dreams, dreams are disguised fulfillments of repressed wishes. However, his limited research about REM and NREM sleep cycles makes his research unable to support the real psychological significance of a dream. Carl Jung, Freud’s great follower also has his own interpretation of dreams. According to him, dreams fill up for the personalities that are not properly developed in real life. His theory however disagrees with the reality that our wake times and our dreams explain consistent thoughts and behaviors.

Some researchers suggest that dreams don’t have actual purpose, while others see that dreams are important to mental, emotional, and physical well-being. Dreaming is highly involved in learning and memory. More often than not, they relate to events and thoughts when we are awake. The structure of the brain is shaped by the stimuli it takes in while we are awake and conscious. For instance, thoughts and experiences are known to strengthen the connections between certain neurons. With these, dreams can be possibly be resonance of the changes during the times when we are awake.

There are different modern theories that may explain why we dream. One of them tells that we dream to practice responses to threatening situations. In REM sleep, the brain functions similarly when it is threatened for survival. In this dream, we may be dreaming of being chased, fighting an enemy, or falling from a cliff. The brain also exercises our motor activity even though our limbs are not moving. In this theory, we dream to rehearse behaviors of self-defense in sleep in order to get better and be prepared in the real world.

Another theory is that dreams create wisdom. Remembering every image of our waking lives would clog our brains. This is where dreams come in to sort through our brains to determine which ones should retain and which ones should lose. Sleep is concluded as a process which separates the long term memories to short term ones.

It has also been said that dreaming organizes our brains, like a hard drive being defragmented. The brain works like a computer that connects its data in some ways. Dreams shuffle the old connections that allow us to keep important connections and delete inefficient links. This suggests that dreams are reordering connections to streamline the system.

Dreams can be like psychotherapy. When we dream, we are dealing with emotions which we put into pictures. This is where we think less rationally and less defensive where we are able to accept truths we might otherwise repress.

Others say that dreams don’t mean anything at all. They are just random functions of a brain that is not conscious at that time. It may be just consciousness that finds deep meaning in our brains.

Dream research may have been found to have many theories but still there is no answer to the question: why do we dream? Dream has always been a mysterious topic to the human mind, and with that, researchers will go on exploring and new theories may be possible to emerge.

.

.

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.

Dreams can also help us emotionally since it enables a person to deal with issues that are otherwise painful and disturbing. Dreams can be a refuge to a tired and weary mind, giving it sometime to recuperate itself hence better assessment of problems the person might be having. In other words, it refreshes the mind.

Dreams have had vital roles in religion. Every religion, and even culture, has their own interpretation of dreams which are closely related to what they actually believe in. When we dream, it compels us to search for answers, dig deeper and ultimately, bring us closer to our faith.

.

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.

.

While it is known to us that dreams do exist for a reason, its purpose is yet to be determined. Apparently, this is where the commonality of all dream theorists ends as there are several “suggested” purposes for dreams and not a single one of them has significant basis except for being circumstantial. This, in a way, supported Domhoff’s conclusion after several years of studying dream patterns and reports in accordance to today’s relevant social behavior, dream laboratory findings in the 50’s and of course, studies made by all-time dream champions like Freud, Jung and Hall. Domhoff’s conclusion? Dreams do exist for a reason but it may not be for a purpose as there is no existing purpose at all.

We have heard of dreams being prophetic in nature while many others agree that dreams are a cognitive function, natural to human capable of perceiving things. Claims were made even to this day but there seems to be no strong evidence to back up any. The birth of REM sleep almost doubled these dead-end claims but still no light to the matter can be seen. Furthermore, Domhoff stated that dreams have their own uses depending on one’s culture as people have been adamant in finding uses for them.

.

Calvin Springer Hall Jr. made a remarkable contribution to dream science by his well-known quantitative coding system. In this system, Hall considered dreaming as a cognitive function of the brain and no more than that. Over his years of studying dream behaviors, he managed to accumulate thousands of dream reports from all kinds of people. Using these reports, he concluded dreams to be divided into different categories depending on the dreamer’s state of mind. He then referred to dreams as a sequence of events conceived by the dreamer’s mind accrued during his waking hours. He also believed that images found in dreams are visual manifestations of your own personal feelings such as fear, ambitions, hopes and dreams. Furthermore, he firmly supported the idea that dream images are only formed when they are personally experienced by the dreamer i.e when a person came to know the concept of birth, whether from a third person or her own, the birthing process is now possible to form in one’s dream. Perception and conception play a major role in Hall’s dream analysis while the power of suggestion may also contribute to one’s dream symbolism.

Due to his conclusion, it is easy to say that one’s emotion plays a big part on how dreams are conceived. In order to interpret your own dreams, one must be able to distinguish where these images came from and why.

.

Further explained is how dream works. According to Kabbalah, there are two types of dreams. One is conceived by the subconscious mind while we’re awake. These are physical experiences we had which the mind remembers and carries as we sleep. These can also be sensations, desires, emotions, and just about everything that occupies the mind at the moment. In this kind of dream, one can determine and understand his reactions, habits and traits since it exists in a world that is nonjudgmental. In other words, what you see in this dream is the real you. However, if one has no desire of improving his being, most of your dreams are blocked or blurred because the mind has no intention of recognizing it.

Another type of dream according to Kabbalah is what parapsychology considered as premonitory or precognitive dreams. These dreams foretell events that are bound to come our way in the physical world, both good and bad. Messages are also conveyed through this kind of dream and other beings traveling the same time as yours can also pass messages to you even if their physical bodies are already dead. Dreams like these can only be seen clearly if a person is free from all worldly desires.

.

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.

.