If you got an urge to get yourself a dream interpretation book and start deciphering the secrets of your unconscious mind, first there are few things you need to know about dreams. Of course having the same dream over and over again, especially if it involves a person, will make you think hard what’s happening and what could it mean. Keep reading and you’ll quickly find out if buying a dream dictionary can finally help you decipher your mysterious, recurring dreams that have been haunting you for a while now.
After years spent looking for a meaning and reason, why do we dream, no one has a clue what dreams are exactly. Not the scientists, not the psychics, not the tarot card readers and even not the dream interpreters. Without any evidence to confirm that dreams can provide guidance in our waking lives, why do some people still believe in dreams and would try to find the meaning behind each dream they dream? For one thing, there are many “possible” theories on dreaming.
Sigmund Freud’s theory is absolutely the most popular theory, even though the modern science has ruled him out. After analyzing the dreams of hundreds of patients, Freud came up with the idea that dreams are a wish-fulfillment. While his theory today sounds ridiculous, it still resonates among scientists, because after all, it was the first dream theory ever by the father of psychology. Freud believed that dreams are based on unfulfilled sexual desires from childhood and symbolism. Whether his theory is true or not, by implementing it, Freud has helped a plenty of his patients to solve their problems by revealing their hidden emotions via dream interpretation.
Carl Jung, Freud’s most successful student, also believed in the idea of the psychological expression of dreams, but he disagreed with his mentor that dreams are actually fulfilling repressed emotions, thoughts, and desires. Jung offered a simpler and more acceptable theory: dreams help us to think through our problems and struggles of the day. He also believed that we don’t need to interpret our dreams so they can fulfill their purpose. And another popular Jungian theory is that only when our conscious and unconscious are integrated, we can achieve wholeness and live a fulfilling life.
After these two iconic psychoanalysts provided theories on dreams, other two famous Harvard psychiatrists came along and offered a completely new and different theory. Dr. Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley concluded that dreams are not as mystical or guidance providing as once considered, but rather random electrical impulses of our brain. The theory is known as “activation-synthesis hypothesis” explains that the brain tries to make sense of everything it has seen, felt and experienced throughout the day. As soon as you fall asleep, the brain digs into the vast of information you’ve gathered during the day and starts processing.
These two psychiatrists wiped out the idea that dreams have meanings and can help us live a more fulfilling life. So it’s safe to say that dreams are completely random and mean nothing. If that urge to get a dream interpretation book of yours is miraculously still alive, then do it, but only for fun. Don’t give your dreams too big role in your life, simply because they are not worth it.
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