A few articles from Science Daily I came across this morning I thought most interesting. I am always looking for new evidence to why and what we dream and the new science provides insights to this. But more importantly the 'new science' mostly confirms Jungian dream theories although the confirmation is not readily recognized by researchers or has any intent one way or another to address Jungian theory.

The first article I took note of is titled 'Dreaming Takes the Sting out of Painful Memories, Research Shows. This particular article addresses issues of those who suffer from PTSD and the benefits of REM sleep on these patients. The name alone suggests a correlation to Jung's theory that dreams are therapeutic. You can't get much more 'Jungian' than the statement in the article that reads, "The dream stage of sleep, based on its unique neurochemical composition, provides us with a form of overnight therapy, a soothing balm that removes the sharp edges from the prior day's emotional experiences." Unless you add to the last sentence 'dreams help remove/resolve deeper emotional issues as well'.

The next article is titled 'Scientists Measure Dream Content for the First Time: Dreams Activate the Brain in a Similar Way to Real Actions. You don't get any sense this is in any way related to Jungian concepts until you get to the last paragraph which offers evidence that dream content is relevant to the reasons to why we dream {to help resolve emotional conflicts}. That paragraph reads: "Our dreams are therefore not a 'sleep cinema' in which we merely observe an event passively, but involve activity in the regions of the brain that are relevant to the dream content" explains Michael Czisch, research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Psychiatry.

Not passive events but activity relevant to the dream content. In Jungian concept that activity involves the images illustrating emotional patterns in metaphorical/symbolic language which is relevant to the dreamer's psychology/emotional life. A seemingly non-related statement that suggests actual related hypotheses.

The next article is more directly related to Jungian psyche. It is titled Dream Symbols Could Help in Psychotherapy. This is a study that supports Jung's theories and recommends that dream analysis be explored further for potential clinical use. Dr. Storm states in the article, "In Jungian theory, these symbols are manifestations of the unconscious mind; they are a glimpse into the brain's 'unconscious code', which we believe can be decrypted." This depiction of Jungian theory is what the dream is, symbolic representation of emotional patterns of behavior stored within the unconscious waiting to be revealed to consciousness so a healing process scan take place. All one needs to do is to interpret the symbols and actions in the dream to get to the core of the dreamer's emotional life. this is what I attempt to do in my analyzing dreams at the Dream Forum {and with very good success using Jungian concepts}.

Looking at what I have provided in my post one can state I have taken little pieces of unrelated science and made it look as if it supports Jungian theory. Well, those little pieces of unrelated science put together make a statement. I have read many such articles related to sleep and dream that have little or nothing to do with Jungian psyche. But when you look at the pieces of those articles you get a sense of 'Jungian' concepts, little things he recognized and/ or theorized that support his concepts. Of all the articles I have read, from Science Daily, Psychology Today and other science based on line websites, NONE discredit Jungian theory other than those few articles that are about counter theories {and many of those admit many of Jung's theories had a basis of fact} . Most have no intent on commenting either way on Jung but when you take statements from the research you see confirmation in minute pieces that say Jung was on to something. Remember, this is the 'new science'. Jung died in 1962.

I invite anyone and everyone to do some research into my statements and see what you come up with. Start by examining the posted dreams and my analysis of them here at the Dream Forum. When something is confirmed by objective exploration it is difficult to deny the results.

Jerry

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