The Purpose of Dreams

However, this kind of thinking did not last long. A Greek philosopher in the 5th Century named Heraclitus was probably the first to suggest that dreams actually originated from within. He stated that each individual’s dreams were unique and were products of his own mind. Socrates and Plato followed where Heraclitus left off, corroborating his theory with their own research. Finally it was Aristotle who completely dispelled the notion that dreams were attempts at divine communication. His practical approach to dream research paved the way for future scholars such as Freud and Jung. Aristotle stated that dreams were most often fragments of the days events, and could sometimes provide insight into one’s personal problems. (Parker 10-15)

Dreaming, although a substantial component of our nighttime lives, remains somewhat of an enigma due to the fact that it occurs while we are unconscious. The inaccessibility of the unconscious mind weakens full analysis and comprehension of dreaming which researchers have been attempting to accomplish. However, over the years many researchers have elucidated many mysteries about dreams, such as when we dream, why we dream, and what we dream about, in order to bring forth an understanding of dreams as well as identify

The humankind throughout history has tried to learn and figure out the meaning of dreaming. The interpretations and true meanings of dreams has expanded and has varied over centuries and cultures. Many of the earlier studies were based on culture’s and the interpretation of dreams, but also used as a form of prophecy, inspiration, and guidance. Many people still believe this such, people today beliefs and theories have opened up to a more vast interpretation, they are made up of; dreams are rare brain activity, dreams allow people to reflect on themselves, or that dreams are too massive to be correctly interpret. Although, not a single theory has been proven to this day, science as of why dreams occur is still a mystery.

A series of thoughts, images, and sensations that occur during a person’s mind during the time that they sleep is known as a dream. Dreams go way back until the beginning of mankind, even to the BC era during the time that Egyptians and Greeks were the leading force! The Egyptians examined the meanings behind the dreams we have and analyzed the symbols. There are a numerous amount of reasons behind our dreams. People must ask all the time, what is the reasoning behind dreaming? Why do we dream? What is the meaning behind the dream I had? In an average lifetime, approximately six years is spent dreaming. Every single person on this planet dreams and just because one might not remember doing so, it was still done. One might have several dreams occur throughout a normal night of sleep that lasts from about seven to eight hours. Everyone has dreams and each experience is distinctive and personal. Some can contain vivid pictures or memorable illustrations of reality and others can be unreal or abstract. In a way, they all have certain meanings to them and there can be messages hidden that are trying to tell someone something. An abundant amount of people are always curious as to why they dreamed what they did and spend time looking for those answers.

To many people, dreams are the thoughts that occur while sleeping, having almost mystic qualities. For millennia the significance of dreams has escaped even the brightest of philosophers and intellectuals. Many people have speculated about why people dream and what meanings the dreams have but in recent times two theories have gained credibility in answering those questions. The first theory is Sigmund Freuds and the other is known as the cognitive theory of dreams also known as biological determinism.

Thesis Statement: Dreams are successions of images, emotions, and sensations that occur subconsciously during sleep.

On the other hand, there is not an exact or one percent proved explanation in scientific terms on why or how dreams occur; however, many erudite have developed theories on why they might happen. Many of them include an area of our brain that activates the dream imagery while sleeping. Allan Hobson, Harvard Medical School professor, stated in his activation-synthesis model that as soon as the dreamer enters REM sleep, which is the state where dreams are said to occur the most, a signal of electrochemical pulse changes is sent out from the brainstem and activates the dreamer’s visual perception. After this signal is sent out, the forebrain responds by putting significant effort in creating a gibberish story in the dreamer’s mind.

Why do we dream? Unfortunately this question still goes unanswered. Although this is the case, there are still many different theories on this topic. Here are a few. The first is, A means by which the mind works through difficult, complicated, unsettling thoughts, emotions, and experiences, to achieve psychological and emotional balance. Another being, A protective act by the brain to prepare itself to face threats, dangers and challenges.

Dreams have been around as long as the first civilization came to be and have been a normal part of human existence. One third of your life is spent sleeping, and of that third, on average you will have spent a total of about six years of it dreaming. Most people dream on average two hours every night, but you can have anywhere from four to seven dreams in one night. According to research, the most common setting for a dream is in your own house. In our dreams we can do anything we want and be whoever we want to be. Our dreams are an escape from reality. While we dream we are unable to control our actions and choose our surroundings. We let our minds take over. Sometimes dreams can be understood in the context of repressed thoughts. Dreaming serves as an outlet for those thoughts and impulses we repress during the day. When we go to sleep at night and slip into our dream state, we feel liberated and behave in a manner that we do not allow ourselves to in our everyday life. Visions and ides can come from your dreams. Often, authors, screenwriters, and even poets turn to their dreams for inspiration. The think quest oracle library goes on to tell about the most well-known of the modern dream

Why do we dream the things we dream? What dictates the content of the movies for one that we watch when we fall asleep? This is a question that nearly everyone has pondered at some point in their lives and humans have been studying in an attempt to answer for thousands of years. Humans spend approximately one third of their lives asleep, and the idea that such a great portion of our time is spent in a state that we do not fully understand is bothersome to many. As humans, it is a natural desire to acquire understanding about ourselves and the workings of our minds. This desire has lead to a great deal of research and speculation on the topic. It is a common belief among many cultures that the content of one's dreams is a reflection one's character, mental state or even one's future. Some believe that dreams are a collection of entirely random electrical brain impulses pulling thoughts and images from our memories. Others believe that dreams are an alternate reality. However after much research, science has proven that dreams are in fact a function the mind utilizes to manage it's self and sorts through knowledge, emotions and experiences it already possesses in order to retain what it deems necessary and eliminate what is not.

    Everybody dreams during his lifetime. It is a part of human nature that we experience almost everyday. Dreams can be lost memories, past events and even fantasies that we relive during our unconscious hours of the day. As we sleep at night, a new world shifts into focus that seems to erase the physical and moral reality of our own. It is an individual's free mind that is privately exposed, allowing a person to roam freely in his own universe. As we dream, it seems that we cannot distinguish right from wrong or normal from abnormal and, therefore, commit acts that we would not have done in a realistic society. Perhaps Lewis Carroll, author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,

Dreaming has perceptions, emotions and thoughts experienced during sleep. Some medications enhance how dreams are brought upon, but a rare type of dream to have is lucid dreaming. A lucid dream is any dream during which the dreamer is aware that they are dreaming. This enables direct control over the content of the dreams. Studies could help unlock some of the inner workings of people’s minds and help them to better understand mental health problems. Those who do not dream is abnormal. "Everybody dreams unless there has been significant damage to the brain. Some people are just better at remember their dreams than others." (Riha)

Dreams are a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person’s mind during sleep. Everyone dreams, whether they remember it or not. The real question is why some people remember their dreams and others do not? The art of remembering dreams is influenced by the first few minutes after waking, the health of a person, environmental, and biological factors. A person has a large impact on their ability to recall dreams along with what they dream about, even though many people do not know about this.

Dreams are “hallucinations of the sleeping mind” (Loftus & Ketcham). Dreams can be very vivid, loud, and even emotional. This is why it is easy to confuse them with reality. Dreams are kind of like taking all of a person’s wishes and emotions and putting them all in a little “shadow world” (Bynum) when they go to sleep at night. “What is common in all these dreams is obvious. They completely satisfy wishes excited during the day which remain unrealized. They are simply and undisguisedly realizations of wishes.” (Freud). A person may be experiencing an emotion or wishing for something without even realizing it at all. Dreams can sometimes show a person how they are truly feeling without even their own awareness of these feelings or wishes. A lot of a person’s reality and emotions are used in their dreams, however, this is not always the case. Dreams can also be extremely bizarre, confusing, and even repetitive. This is where the interpretation of dreams comes into action. Many people find it hard to believe that when they have a dream over and over again that it does not mean anything. These types of dreams are called recurring dreams. Recurring dreams happen

In some societies, people were unable to distinguish between the dream world and the waking world or choose not to make the distinction. They thought dreams were more powerful and not only an extension of reality. The fascination with dreams has led to many researchers discovering to study the mind while a person is asleep. Dream interpretation varies from culture to culture. A dream can mean different things depending on the background from who is analyzing them. For example, many religions had considerable respect for dreams. “Mohammed “received” much of the text of the Koran in a dream, and interpreted his disciples’ dreams for them. Later, the pendulum swung the other way: the Inquisition held the view that dreams were more often than not the work of the devil…” (Parker 10). Ancient Romans argued that dreams were unique depending on the person who dreamed them, and a person’s characteristics such as job, status and health influenced what symbols were in a dream.