Understanding of
Dreams.
Understanding of
Dreams.
According to Freud, dreams were disguised, hallucinatory fulfilment of repressed wishes.
He also asserted that dreams not only represented current wishes,
but were also invariably expressions of wish-fulfilments dating from early childhood.
Dreams, he
believed, gave
indirect
expressions to
infantile sexual
wishes which had
been repressed and
which,…
if expressed in
undisguised
form, would so
disturb the
dreamer that he
would wake up.
Because these wishes are unacceptable and potentially disturbing, they are censored and disguised.
Freud described the mental
processes, or “dream-
work”, by which the dream
was modified and rendered
less disturbing.
These processes included;
Condensation, the fusing
together of different ideas
and images into a single
image;
Displacement, in
which a potentially
disturbing image or
idea is replaced by
something
connected but less
disturbing;
Representation, the
process by which
thoughts are converted
into visual
images;
Symbolization, in
which some neutral
object stands for some
aspect of sexual life or
those persons
connected with it
which the dreamer
would prefer not to
recognize.
Freud introduced the
term “manifest
content” to describe
what the dreamer
recalled.
In contrast, the “latent
content” was the
hidden, true meaning
of the dream.
This latent content could be
ascertained only when the
dreamer’s associations to the
images in the dream had been
subjected to psychoanalytical
scrutiny and interpretation.
There were many
other forms of
dreams e.g. traumatic
dreams, anxiety
dreams etc.
They did not seem to fit
into Freud’s theory of
dreams which was
primarily concerned with
infantile sexuality.
There are many reasons for
thinking that what is unconscious
is not exclusively the
consequence of repression,
including the fact that some
dreams are clearly creative or
provide answers to problems.
Although everything
which was repressed
was unconscious, not
everything unconscious
was repressed.
Jung does not
distinguish
between manifest
and latent dream
content in the
same manner that
Freud does.
According to Jung, dream
is spontaneous self
portrayal in symbolic form
of the actual situation in
the unconscious.
According to the Talmud,
the dream is its own
interpretation. Any dream
which is not interpreted,
is like a book which is not
opened.
It shows the inner truth and
reality of the patient as it
really is; not as the
interpretation of the analyst
and not as the patient would
like it to be, but as it is.
The dream does not censor or
distort, although there are dreams
which on the surface do look like
disguised wish-fulfillment, a more
profound understanding will
invariably be gained if these dreams
are approached with the hypothesis
that dreams do not hide but reveal.
They invariably point to
something as yet unknown
which they express in the
vocabulary of the known, rather
than merely disguising or
censoring what one already
presumes to know.
Dreams are not
symptomatic, but symbolic.
The deeper layers speak in
images.
These images are to be
viewed as if they presented
us with description of
ourselves, or our
unconscious situations.
We must translate the
dream statements by
putting the dreamer’s
association and explanation
into the context of the
images.
Associations are the
contents which happen to
come to mind when the
dream image is considered,
whether they be rational or
irrational.
If I have dreamed of a
particular object, I might
recall that I always become
angry when a certain person
uses this object: this is an
association.
An explanation is a
more rational
description of what
the dream image
means to me.
The first step in understanding a dream is to establish its context. This means unravelling its network of relationships with the dreamer and his or her life, and discovering the significance of various images it presents;
So Jung does not have a
fixed method of dream
interpretation, for each
dream is taken as a direct
expression of the dreamer’s
unconscious, and only to be
understood in this light.
Every dream
interpretation may
pertain either to what we
call the object level or
the subject level.
Dreams on an objective level are
related to what is going on in the
environment; the people
appearing in it are taken as real,
and their relationship to, and
possible influence on the
dreamer are analysed.
In dreams on a subjective
level the dream-figures are
taken as representing
aspects of the dreamer’s
personality.
A fairly common belief is that dreams reproduce the events of the day before, especially if these were significant or striking.
Dreams sometimes express hidden wishes. The wish fulfilment dream is usually easy to spot;
when, for instance, the hungry man dreams he is eating a wonderful meal, or the thirsty that they see sparkling water.