The Role Of Dreams Essay -- essays research papers

Are intakes a source of reliable divination? Generations upon generations seem to have thought so. They incubated imagines by travelling afar, by fasting and by engaging in all other manners of self deprivation or intoxication. With the exception of this highly dubious role, dreams do seem to have three important functions a. To process repressed emotions (wishes, in Freuds speech) and other mental content which was suppressed and stored in the un certified. b. To order, classify and, generally, to pigeonhole conscious experiences of the day or days preceding the dreaming (day residues). A partial all overlap with the former function is inevitable some sensory enter signal is immediately relegated to the darker and dimmer kingdoms of the subconscious and unconscious with proscribed being consciously processed at all. c. To stay in touch with the outside world. External sensory input is interpreted by the dream and represented in its unique language of symbols and disjunction. R esearch has shown this to be a rare event, independent of the timing of the stimuli during sleep or immediately prior to it. Still, when it does happen, it seems that even when the interpretation is dead wrong the substantial information is preserved. A collapsing bedpost (as in Maurys famous dream) will become a french guillotine, for instance. The message conserved there is physical danger to the neck and head.All three functions are part of a much larger one The consecutive adjustment of the model one has of ones self and of ones place in the world to the incessant stream of sensory (external) input and of mental (internal) input. This model modification is carried out through an intricate, symbol laden, dialogue between the dreamer and himself. It probably also has therapeutic side benefits. It would be an over-simplification to say that the dream carries messages (even if we were to limit it to correspondence with ones self). The dream does not seem to be in a position of p rivileged knowledge. The dream functions more like a good friend would listening, advising, sharing experiences, providing penetration to remote territories of the mind, putting events in perspective and in proportion and provoking. It, thus, induces relaxation and acceptance and a better functioning of the client. It does so, mostly, by analysing discrepancies and incompatibilities. No call into question that i... ...d to one tenth their size without appreciably losing information. The same principle is applied in speed reading skimming the unnecessary bits, getting straight to the point. The dream employs the same principles it skims, it gets straight to the point and from it to yet another point. This creates the sensation of being erratic, of abruptness, of the absence of spatial or temporal logic, of endeavorlessness. But this all serves the same purpose to succeed to finish the Herculean task of refitting the model of the Self and of the World in one night. Thus, the sel ection of visuals, symbols, and collective symbols and of the discontinuous mode of presentation, their preference over alternative methods of representation is not accidental. This is the most economic and unambiguous way of representation and, therefore, the most efficient and the most in compliance with the four principles. In cultures and societies, where the mass of information to be processed is less mountainous these features are less likely to occur and indeed, they dont. SourcesSam Vaknins Psychology, Philosophy, Economics and Foreign Affairs weave Sites found at www.geocities.com/vaksam