Why Do We Dream - Essay Example

Dreams Just as Freud’s concepts of the various elements, developments and defense mechanisms of the mind continue to be challenged and elaborated upon, theories have continued to emerge attempting to provide a definitive answer to the question of what does it mean when we dream with no indisputable ‘correct’ answer in sight. There are some proven facts about dreaming, such as the idea that dreams take place when we are in the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep, that our larger muscle groups are temporarily shut down during this phase of sleep and that all people experience some form of dream, but the question of why we dream remains a mystery. Scientific theories have ranged from speculation that we dream as a means of learning more about ourselves through the revelation of repressed desires to the concept that dreams are a means of the subconscious providing the conscious mind with seemingly prophetic warnings developed through thousands of unconscious signals received during the waking hours. Other theories have suggested that we dream as a means of further developing our mental abilities and spiritual concepts, slowly assimilating what we’ve learned into our established worldview while still others have indicated that we dream as a means of dealing with our daily experiences by either getting rid of the memories or storing them away in our mental memory banks. What the various scientists have revealed in their dream studies is that there are a wide variety of ways in which dreams might have meaning to an individual, whether they realize it or not. However, it seems plausible that dreams will have more meaning to an individual who has a particular belief regarding what they might mean than an individual who reports they don’t dream at all or who believes that dreams have no meaning and doesn’t bother to remember them. Sigmund Freud is perhaps the most recognized individual in the field of dream theory. In developing his model of the mind, Freud determined that the dream functions as a sleeper’s defense against the disturbing thoughts and emotions of the subconscious mind (the id) by acting as a censor (Wilson, 2005). Unlike Freud, who felt that dreams were less frightening manifestations of subconscious horrors, Jung felt that they were revelations that uncovered not only our own emotional issues and fears of the personal subconscious, but also link us to the collective unconscious, “the reservoir of our experiences as a species, a kind of knowledge we are all born with. And yet we can never be directly conscious of it. It influences all of our experiences and behaviors, most especially the emotional ones, but we only know about it indirectly, by looking at those influences” (Boeree, 2006). Edgar Cayce believed that dreams allowed the conscious mind to connect with the collective subconscious and transcend both time and space even as it also functioned to help us learn more about ourselves (Todeschi, 1992). Moving into more scientifically proven theories, Christopher Riche Evans suggested that the human brain was more like an organic computer that functions to sort through the inputs that it has received during the day. This theory was based upon the discovery of REM sleep patterns in which the brain shows activity that is very similar to its activity during waking hours. Even though the body is temporarily paralyzed, the eyes demonstrate random movements behind closed eyelids and further indicate busy activity (Sklar, 2005). Within his book on the subject, Evans argues that during this REM period the mind is busy gathering numerous pieces of information that it has collected throughout the day and only some of it is important. According to this theory, “dreams are the process by which the sleeping brain moves information worth preserving into its long-term memory, and erases from short-term memory the trivia that otherwise would clog neural pathways” (Gardner, 1996). Francis Crick and Graeme Mitchison also felt the brain was cycling through information gathered during the day, but interpreted this process differently. “Crick and Mitchison have proposed that the function of dream sleep is to remove certain undesirable modes of interaction between cells in the cerebral cortex which could otherwise turn parasitic” (Crick & Mitchison, 1983). Thus, dreaming is a means of the mind’s deliberate loss of information gained rather than a process of sorting and storing, a process Crick & Mitchison termed reverse learning indicating we dream to forget (Breecher, 1999). Despite the claims of Crick and Mitchison or Evans, however, there do seem to be a number of similarities between what we dream as a collective, the images that occur in our sleep. This does not necessarily rule out the concept that dreams are simply an unconnected means of processing information, as dreams experienced by similarly aged individuals seem to remain relatively similar (Domhoff, 1996) which could be the result of shared general experiences and developmental stages. In addition, the concept that dreams are meaningless images accidentally communicated as the brain seeks to organize or get rid of information has been widely met with opposition from those who have found significant meaning in their dreams, overwhelmingly demonstrating a deep-seated and widespread conception among the general populace that dreams do convey meaning of some kind even if that meaning is not quite clear (Hartmann, 1999). This concept is further highlighted by research that indicates different dream experiences among individuals who have had the same waking experiences indicating that there is some psychological and individual context included in the way in which dreams are formed (Ellman & Anthrobus, 1991). However, it is generally acknowledged that the meaning of dreams to an individual will depend to a large extent upon that individual’s belief regarding dreams and their individual experiences, culture and spiritual conceptions as these shape the symbolism and other imagery that might take place within the dream state. In attempting to understand the reason why we dream or what our dreams might mean, researchers such as Freud and Jung have indicated that the symbols that appear in our dreams have more or less identical meanings regardless of who is sleeping. While it has been found that people experiencing similar traumatic events, such as surviving a deadly house fire, may have similar dreams, such as finding themselves on a beach and being swept away by a tidal wave, it is also true that the symbols used to depict emotions can vary widely depending upon a person’s emotional state and cultural identity, which relates to the myths and stories they grew up with (Craig, 2003). In attempting to help people learn how to interpret their own dreams, many self-help experts such as Barry Burns (2006) emphasize the importance of individual interpretation as only the individual can identify what various symbols and connections might be made within their dreams. Many scientists have come to realize that society plays a very important role not only in determining what dreams might be trying to tell us, but also in how we think, act and believe within the broader world context. “It is exceedingly rare for individuals to devise psychological phenomena (meanings, symbols, emotions, needs, motives, perception, reasoning, personality) which transcend prevailing social activities. Even when they do, they are still inspired by the actual possibilities which the social system make possible” (Ratner, 2000). The idea that culture plays a tremendous role not only in how our dreams communicate meaning to us but how we interpret this meaning has been recognized in fields outside of the psychology arena as anthropologists have for many years recognized the similarities that exist between dream and myth in which each helps to shape and define the other. Thus, in researching what dreams mean to us, it is important to take into consideration the role that culture plays in the interpretation. Thus, it remains up to the individual to determine what their dreams might mean to them. Are they junk stored up in the brain through the day that must be thrown out at night, a mere mechanical process of which we are only vaguely aware? Or perhaps they are the mental filtration system suggested by Freud and others that allows us to work through repressed emotions and past events without causing additional mental injury. There is, however, a growing body of science that suggests our dreams are hints of future and past, working through old issues and preparing us for new ones about to arrive. While the future does not seem to be set in stone, as some fortunetellers might attempt to suggest, there is some evidence that dreams can warn people of impending disaster. In “Telling the Future” (2005), the author recounts several incidents in which individuals appear to have been aware of significant events prior to their occurrence. Applying the question of whether dreams can predict the future, the author of “Telling the Future” (2005) examines the role of the psychics and mediums who claim to have this gift in waking life. “Actually, we can all predict the future to a degree, simply based upon our general understanding and knowledge of present conditions … [In the case of psychics and mediums] Perhaps they can pick up an internal conflict in one football team, but a much greater sense of purpose and harmony in their equally matched opponents. Then the psychic has an edge in predicting the result of a match between the two, but might still be wrong” (“Telling the Future”, 2005). Thus, the miraculous-seeming ability of the psychic is presented as being little more than a hyperawareness of small details that typically pass unnoticed and an appropriate interpretation of what these signals indicate. This being the case, it is not outside the realm of possibility, then, that images and impressions gathered during one day of activity might synthesize and connect with other pieces of information when the mind is most relaxed and at peace, when there are fewer distractions from this process, in other words, when we are asleep, and come together in the form of dreams that present the most likely outcome of such impressions. An example of this would be the case of the girl who dreamed her school was covered by something black. The day before this dream, she might have noticed, while playing on the playground, a distant sound that caused her to look up and notice an overhanging shelf of coal dust. Minute observations made by the subconscious mind could have included details such as the unreliable position of this shelf, the precarious balance, or simply followed a natural trail down the hillside to realize the school was in a direct path. The various details thus collected could have been brought together in her sleep, leading her to tell her mother the morning of the Aberfan disaster that her school would be buried ‘in something black’ that day. While it seems clear that dreams can function on occasion to predict events of the future, many of these premonitions are based strongly upon feeling and are given little to no context until after the event has occurred. This is the reason why organizations dedicated to attempting to prevent disaster by analyzing dreams have had such little success. It seems clear that the messages passed to the dreamer are defined by what the dreamer knows, what the dreamer understands and what the dreamer remembers. This begins to suggest, again, that the nature of dreams take on their shape and mode of communication based upon the cultural beliefs and knowledge of the individual dreamer rather than being easily defined by some kind of coded dream book. However, it also refutes arguments that suggest our dreams are nothing but mechanical detritus left over after a day full of experiences and impressions. In the end, however, it seems impossible to come to a final conclusion regarding just why we dream. Researchers throughout history have continued to propose theories that seem more or less applicable based upon new discoveries and technologies, but little proof is offered as to the nature of the dreams, how to tell dream from reality or past baggage from future warning. What we believe about our dreams seems to have a large bearing upon whether or not we remember them and whether or not we are able to learn from them as well as what we learn from them. They seem to act in much the same way as a disjointed film in that we are presented with a variety of images and how we choose to connect the dots upon waking seems to determine what the dream meant. However, they are provided with an added element that eludes our conscious thought, perhaps through the details that are not remembered, that nevertheless seems to reside in our emotional state. We may not interpret our dreams correctly, or even remember them as such, but we may still suffer the emotional effects of these dreams long after waking, realizing later that these emotional conditions have either saved us from disaster or launched us into an area of exploration well worthy of further research. Works Cited Boeree, C. George. “Carl Jung.” Personality Theories. Shippensburg, PA: Shippensburg University, 2006. Breecher, Maury M. “The Biology of Dreaming: A Controversy that Won’t go to Sleep.” 21st Century. Vol. 3, I. 4, (Fall 1999). Columbia University. Burns, Barry. Diagnose Your Dreams. Costa Mesa, CA: (2006). November 24, 2007 from < http://www.diagnoseyourdreams.com/index.html> Craig, S. “Why do we Dream?” Scientific American. (July 14, 2003). Crick, Francis & Mitchison, Graeme. “The Function of Dream Sleep.” Nature. Vol. 304, (1983): 111-114. Domhoff, G. William. Finding Meaning in Dreams: A Quantitative Approach. New York: Plenum Press, 1996. Ellman, Steven & Anthrobus, John S. The Mind in Sleep: Psychology and Psychophysiology. (2nd Ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1991. Gardner, Martin. “Post-Freudian Dream Theory.” Skeptical Inquirer. (January/February, 1996). Hartmann, Ernest. “The Nature and Uses of Dreaming: Dreams May be a Way to Gauge Emotions.” USA Today. (March 1999). Ratner, Craig. “In Defense of Activity Theory.” Trinidad, CA: Institute for Cultural Research and Education, (2000). November 24, 2007 from Sklar, Alfredo. “The Functional Role of Dreaming.” Serendip. (Spring 2005). November 24, 2007 “Telling the Future.” New Age Spirituality. (2005). November 24, 2007 Todeschi, Kevin. An Overview of the Edgar Cayce Material. Virginia Beach, VA: The Edgar Cayce Foundation, 1992. Wilson, Kevin. “Introduction to Sigmund Freud’s Theory on Dreams.” Insomnium. (2005). Read More