An excellent article from Wikipedia on the subject of Dreams. What aroused my attention was the part on
'The expectation fulfilment theory of dreams'. And although brief but accurate, the description of Jung's contribution to dreams.

Here is the most on that topic for which I believe most compelling, and supports Jung's theory of dream psychology.

The expectation fulfilment theory of dreams
Psychologist Joe Griffin one of the founders of human givens psychology, has proposed the official expectation fulfilment theory of dreaming. On the basis of a twelve-year study, Griffin claims that dreams are expressed in the form of sensory metaphors. In a New Scientist interview, Griffin stated that "...ordinarily dream sleep does a great housekeeping job for us[,] bring[ing] down our autonomic arousal level." Griffin's expectation fulfilment theory of dreams states that dreams are metaphorical translations of waking expectations. Expectations which cause emotional arousal that is not acted upon during the day to quell the arousal, become dreams during sleep. Finally, he holds that dreaming deactivates that emotional arousal by completing the expectation pattern metaphorically, freeing the brain to respond afresh to each new day.

Psychodynamic interpretation of dreams
Both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung identify dreams as an interaction between the unconscious and the conscious. They also assert together that the unconscious is the dominant force of the dream, and in dreams it conveys its own mental activity to the perceptive faculty. While Freud felt that there was an active censorship against the unconscious even during sleep, Jung argued that the dream's bizarre quality is an efficient language, comparable to poetry and uniquely capable of revealing the underlying meaning. Fritz Perls presented his theory of dreams following the holistic nature of gestalt therapy. Dreams are seen as being projections of parts of oneself. Often these are parts that have been ignored, rejected or even suppressed. One aim of gestalt dream analysis is to accept and reintegrate these. According to Perls, the dream needs to be accepted in its own right - not broken down and analysed out of existence.

Wikipedia 'Dreams'

Also an excellent read is Wikipedia's article on Dream Interpretation. Brief but it does an excellent job of explaining Jung's approach to dreams.

Here is an important statement on Jung's contribution.

Although he acknowledged the universality of archetypal symbols, he contrasted this with the concept of a sign - images having a one to one connotation with their meaning. His approach was to recognise the dynamism and fluidity that existed between symbols and their ascribed meaning. Symbols must be explored for their personal significance to the patient, instead of having the dream conform to some predetermined idea.

'One on one connotation' and the 'fluidity' of the symbols. The flow of a dream will provide a recognizable pattern, related but beyond what the symbol may portray. Reading a dream, as you would a read a story or myth.

Gerard

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Feb 11th, 2007 - 5:21 PM