Page 141 - Encyclopedia of the Unusual and Unexplained Vol. 3

122 Mysteries of the Mind

home and given to a researcher will differ from dreams despite the fact that many psycholo-
dreams given to a psychotherapist, because in gists used to believe that dreams lasted only a
the latter instance the emphasis is on the per- second or two.
son’s inner life and his or her attempts to The subjects at the Maimonides Dream
change his or her behavior. Laboratory recalled the visual elements in their
It has been noted that patients who go to dreams most clearly, but auditory (sound) and
Freudian psychotherapists eventually begin to tactile (touch) impressions also were common.
incorporate Freudian symbols into their While subjects in the dream laboratories report
dreams while patients who see Jungian ana- auditory and tactile impressions in addition to
lysts do the same with Jungian symbols. vivid visual dreams, some individuals stubborn-
Opinions on the degree to which external ly insist that they “never dream.” Since
events influence dreams vary widely. Some researchers have established that dreaming is as
dream researchers contend that all dreams are necessary to mental and physical health as eat-
the result of presleep experiences, while ing and drinking, it becomes apparent that
Freudian psychoanalysts emphasize the inter- individuals who claim that they never dream
nal determinants of dream content (i.e., one’s simply are not remembering their dreams, or
unconscious drives and defenses). Others are having dreams they wish to forget—the
argue that the presleep experiences of one’s nightmares.
daily activities may be used by the uncon-
M Delving Deeper
scious, but they are not of major significance
Faraday, Ann. Dream Power. New York: Berkley
in dream interpretation.
Medallion Books Edition, 1973.
In 1967, Tart presented a list of the various Freud, Sigmund. The Interpretation of Dreams. New
items that influence dreams. Tart’s list includ- York: Basic Books, 1955.
ed the dreamer’s actual life history; the dream-
Hall, Calvin S. The Meaning of Dreams. New York:
er’s memories of what has happened to him or
McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1953, 1956.
her, especially during the past week; the “day
Jung, C. G., ed. Man and His Symbols. London: Aldus
residue,” which includes immediate presleep
Books, 1964; New York: Dell Publishing, 1968.
experiences; and currently poorly understood
Kramer, Milton, ed. Dream Psychology and the New
factors such as atmospheric concentration,
Biology of Dreaming. Springfield, Ill.: Charles C.
barometric pressure, and paranormal stimuli
Thomas, 1969.
such as telepathic messages.
Krippner, Stanley. Dreamtime and Dreamwork: Decod-
Dream researchers are not sure how the
ing the Language of the Night. Los Angeles: Jeremy
visual dimensions in dreams compare with the
P. Tarcher, 1990.
visual dimensions in everyday life. Dream
Perls, Frederick S. Gestalt Therapy Verbatim.
reports indicate that most often the dream is
Lafayette, Calif.: Real People Press, 1969.
on a “cinemascope screen” rather than on a
Sechrist, Elsie. Dreams—Your Magic Mirror. New
small “television screen.” People usually are
York: Dell Publishing, 1969.
seen full-length and in about the same dimen-
Stekel, Wilhelm. The Interpretation of Dreams. New
sions as they appear during waking hours.
York: Washington Square Press, 1967.
One reason REMs (rapid eye movements)
Tart, Charles, ed. Altered States of Consciousness. New
are associated with dreams may be that the
York: John Wiley & Sons, 1969.
eyes scan the visual scene just as they do dur-
Vedantam, Shankar. “Study Links 8 Hours’ Sleep to
ing the waking state. On the other hand, eye
Shorter Life Span.” Washington Post, February 15,
movements also occur when subjects report
2002. [Online] http://www.washingtonpost.com/
no movement in their dreams, suggesting that
wp-dyn/articles/A12305-2002Feb14.html.
the relationship between rapid eye move-
ments and dreams is highly complex.
There is not a one-to-one relationship Creative and Lucid Dreaming
between waking time and dream time. How- Data currently being researched indicates that
ever, extreme time distortion rarely occurs in dreams provide a fertile field for the examina-
The Gale Enc y clopedia of the Unusu al and Unexplained