Transcript Dream Interpretation: The Royal Road to the Unconscious or

Dream Interpretation: The Royal
Road to the Unconscious or
Random Firing of Neurons?
Psi Beta Speaker Presentation
Collin County Community College
November 10, 2004
The Biology of Dreaming
 Neurobiologists and neuropsychiatrists tend to
think of dreaming sleep as shaped by the
activation of brain neurons. This activation
synthesis model, proposed by Hobson and
McCarley in 1977, states that dreams are
reactions to random nervous system stimuli which
the brain interprets as bizarre images and other
sensory hallucinations. The activated brain-mind
does its best to attribute meaning to the internally
generated signals of the brain.”
The Biology of Dreaming
 Crick and Mitchison (1983) believe that the
brain’s neural memory systems are easily
overloaded and that REM eliminates
cognitive debris. Dreams are a mechanism
for the nervous system to clear the brain of
unnecessary, even harmful memories.
Remembered dreams are nothing more than
an accidental by-product of this REM
function.
The Biology of Dreaming
 David Maurice, Ph.D. (1998), suggests that
humans experience REM sleep to supply
oxygen to the cornea of the eye. The
aqueous humor, the clear watery liquid in
the chamber just behind the cornea, needs
to be “stirred” to bring oxygen to the cornea.
“Without REM, our corneas would starve
and suffocate while we are asleep with our
eyes closed.”
The Psychoanalytic Response
 “A scientist can develop an understanding of the
physiological function of dreaming and still not
know anything about the meaning of dreams. One
is a physiological phenomenon and the other is a
psychological phenomenon. One hundred years
of psychoanalytic research and experience show
that there is much that can be learned about the
mental and emotional lives of people by dream
interpretation and other psychological methods.
The Two Phenomena are Not
Mutually Exclusive
REM is associated with many physiological
processes: changes in breathing, blood flow
to the brain, and changes in brain activity.
Discovering yet another proposed
physiological purpose of REM sleep
(oxygenation of the cornea) does not
invalidate the principles of psychoanalysis.
The Theoretical Controversy Continues
 Harvard Medical School psychiatrist Ramon
Greenberg and colleagues state: Neither
the classical psychoanalytic approach nor
the physiologic attacks on it have been able
to explain fully the purpose or function of
dreaming.”
 The controversy about the purpose of
dreams continues
The Freudian View
The dream represents an ongoing wish, along with the
previous days activities. The dream may portray wishes
that have been with us since early childhood. Every dream
is partially motivated by a childhood wish. Dreams are
derived from instinctual needs and personal experiences.
Dreams occur in a state of “ego collapse” when the
demands of the ID and Superego converge upon the EGO.
If we have been too reliant on defense mechanisms in our
waking life, the internal conflict continues to build and
causes a dream to take place. The dream prevents us
from building up intolerable states of psychological tension
in waking life.
Freud’s View
Freud did not believe dream interpretation
was possible by the dreamer; dreams could
only be interpreted by a trained
psychoanalyst. A primary method for
gathering information about the meaning of
the dream was through free association.
A Connection between the
Physiological and the
Psychoanalytic
Allen Braun, M.D. has discovered that regions of the brain
which control emotion and motivation are highly active
during REM sleep.
Regions of the brain central to self-discipline, delay of
gratification, and impulse control, are relatively inactive.
Thus, the prefrontal cortex is unable to carry out its waking
task of censoring material.
Is it possible the person who is the most inhibited when
awake would have the least active pre-frontal cortex when
asleep? This would fit the model of psychoanalysis, which
suggests that if you repress during the day, the material will
most likely come oozing out during dreams.
Carl Jung’s Theory
Jung believed in the psychological
significance of dreams. Like Freud, he
viewed dreams as an important gateway to
the unknown parts of the self. The dream
was a direct message from the personal
unconscious.
Jungian Analysis
Unlike Freud, Jung believed the dreamer could interpret
his/her own dreams using a process involving the analysis
of dreams over time. He suggested taking similar dreams
from the dream journal and merging the dream images
together to form a larger dream.
In addition, Jung encouraged the dreamer to brainstorm all
the different symbolic associations for each aspect of the
dream.
Another stage of Jungian dream analysis is active
imagination. The dreamer mentally evokes a character
from the dream and asks it questions.
Fritz Perls’ Theory
 According to Fritz Perls, dreams are seen as being
projections of parts of oneself. Essentially, as the
creator of the dream, you are everything in the
dream.
Dream analysis involves much dialogue and acting
out. The dreamer is encouraged to act out the
dream from the perspective of each animate and
inanimate element.
All dream symbolism is unique in that it comes
from the dreamer, and only the dreamer can truly
interpret it.
Dream Symbolism
 According to Jung, universal symbols are
those rooted to the experience of all
humankind and are, therefore, common to
everyone.
 Jung considered the archetypes of the
collective unconscious to be universal
symbols.
Common Universal Symbols
 House: the self
 Weather: what one is going through in life
 Water: the emotions, the unconscious, the source of all
life. Type of water and movement of water give clues
about what is happening in the feelings and the
unconscious.
 Time of day: the time of one’s life or one’s state of being.
(Dawn: youth, optimism; dusk: withdrawal, approaching
death)
Dream Symbols Continued
 People known to you: a particular quality of yourself
 Strangers: qualities of yourself that you do not own
 Animals: compulsive or habitual ways of thinking and
acting.
 Death: change
 Black horse: refusal to exercise free will
 Vehicles: information about your physical body
Dream Symbols Continued
 Shoes: your mental or spiritual foundation
 Clothing: one’s outer expression
 Naked: you have opened up in your waking life or let the walls down.
Represents a desire to communicate more deeply with others
 Flying: exercising free choice
 Running away and finding your feet and legs are moving, but you are
not moving forward: trying to do too many things at once and never
seeming to get ahead.
 Moving at will: being decisive, goal-oriented
Silly Dream Themes
 Alligator: treachery
 Animals: your own physical characteristics, primitive
desires, and sexual nature; the untamed and uncivilized
aspects of self.
 Crocodile: hidden danger
 Dog: skill that you have ignored or forgotten. Also might
mean intuition, loyalty fidelity.
 Eel: issues with commitment.
Dream Symbol Dictionaries Are
Useless
 Even universal meaning and generalized
definitions are of minimal value in relation to selfunderstanding and personal growth.
 Only through discovering one’s own translations
of symbols and images can the individual effect
change or insight.
 Symbols change meaning according to the context
in which they appear and the personal
experiences of the dreamer
Personal Symbols
 Personal symbols are formed in the
unconscious and are tailored to reflect the
person’s life experience and emotion. The
unconscious is able to create a symbol to
illustrate a particular inner message.
 Understanding personal symbols is one of
the primary goals of dream work.
Helpful Hints for Better Dream
Recall
 Before going to sleep
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Expect to remember your dreams
Review past dreams
Get ready to record your dreams
Be prepared to stay awake to make a record
Review the previous day back to morning
Upon waking
– Follow your dream backwards
– Try and remember all the dreams you can
– Think of events that may have triggered dreams
– Write it down
Dream Recall
 Daily Attitudes
– Value each dream
– Accept all dreams
– Approach recall as a skill
– Expect to recall dreams during the day
Procedures for Recall
 Keep a pad of paper and pen beside your bed.
Date the paper. When you awaken, write
something down.
 When you go to bed, relax your body and review
the day in reverse.
 As you are getting close to falling asleep, repeat
over and over, “When I wake up, I will remember
my dream.”
 When you wake in the morning, don’t move.
Relax and let your mind drift close to the dream.
 Once you begin to recall the dream, start writing.
Dream Interpretation
 What were you doing in the dream?
 What are the major contrasts and similarities in the
dream and how do they relate?
 What are the major symbols and relationships
between these symbols?
 What are the issues, conflicts, and unresolved
situations in the dream?
 What relationship does this dream or the symbols
in the dream, have to do with any other dream?
Interpretation Continued
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How are you acting in the dream?
What are the different feelings in this dream?
What are the major actions in this dream?
Who or what is the adversary in this dream?
What is helping in this dream?
What would I like to avoid in this dream?
What actions might this dream be suggesting?
What does this dream want from me?
Why did I need this dream?
How to begin your own interpretation
 What are the unusual or personally significant images in
your dreams?
 What are the primary emotions in your dreams?
 What are the conflicts and/or unresolved issues in the
dream?
 What is currently happening in your conscious, waking life?
 Are there any associations between your conscious life
and your dreams? Explore.
 Do any common patterns or themes exist in the dreams
that could tie them together? What are they?
 What have you learned about yourself from this exercise in
dream interpretation?
Completing the Plot: another
method of interpretation
 The dreamer rewrites the ending or
completes the plot of his/her dream in a
waking state. Learning to take control and
create positive options in your dream life
enhances your ability to do that in your
waking life.
Lucid Dreaming
 When you feel yourself awakening, try to focus your
thoughts on the last dream you were having. Recall
details, feeling, experiences. Then spend ten to fifteen
minutes reading, meditating, or doing something that
requires full wakefulness. Then while lying in bed, say to
yourself: the next time I dream, I want to recognize that I’m
dreaming.” Visualize your body lying in bed, sleeping. See
yourself back in your last dream, but know that you are
dreaming.
 Once in the lucid dream, recognize that you control the
dream.
Prophetic Dreams
 Seventy years ago, Harvard psychologists Murray
and Wheeler tested the prophetic power of
dreams. They invited the public to report dreams
about the kidnapping of Charles Lindbergh’s baby.
 1300 people responded: 5% envisioned that the
child was dead
 4 of the 1300 anticipated the location of the dead
child.
Prophecy?
 In 1990’s tabloid psychics missed the big events of
Oklahoma, 9/11. 65% of police departments never
use psychics. Of those who had hired psychics,
none found the information useful.
 We tend to notice, interpret, and recall events that
confirm our expectations. Weird coincidences
capture our attention and are available in memory.
All the nonevents are unnoticed and not
remembered.
Barbara Lusk
Professor, Psychology
Collin County Community College District
[email protected]
(972) 548-6809