A DREAM EXPERT'S DEFINITION OF A DREAM
A dream relates to ...
Who you are and what you do
How daily info is processed
DEFINITION OF A DREAM
It took years to come up with a satisfying definition of a dream because a dream is related to how life works. Like a walking video camera, during the day the unconscious records all thoughts, attitudes, reactions, problems, input from people and the world, hopes and wishes. At the same time, you carry out roles in life such as spouse, career person, friend and member of society.
WE ALL LEAD TWO LIVES: an inner life of thoughts, feelings and reactions and an outer life of roles in work and family, and actions in the world.
Daily thoughts and feelings happen so fast that you can share only a small slice, even with those closest to you. The unconscious and its assistant, the dream psyche - is an exception. You share it ALL with the unconscious!
Even though others can’t see or experience it with you, the inner life is the "most real" part of you. It is the part that most defines who you are and what you are becoming as a work of art in progress!
The day goes by too fast for most people to sort out all this input of thoughts, feelings, problems and decisions to be handled. Most feel lucky if they can plunk in front of the TV. for a few hours and escape this never ending inner dialogue that can fill you with anxiety and stress. So what happens to it?
The psyche is the unconscious part of you that is connected to your memory, experience, and the soul. At night, an automatic review and filing system of the psyche kicks in. The psyche starts by sorting out the day’s new input which famous psychologist & dreams pioneer Montague Ullman calls "day residue." It compares the new input to what is already stored in your memory bank. The day’s agenda that is fully completed is filed away. What still needs attention is analyzed some more. When the nightly review by the psyche is over, it sends a "mini report" for on-going issues.
| AND THAT IS THE DEFINITION OF A DREAM:
A dream is a nightly summary report based on a thorough review and analysis of the day’s input, giving you feedback about specific issues that still need attention. The report generally includes suggestions on how to handle issues.
In the big picture, dreams review who you are, what you are doing, thinking, and projecting for your future. Like computer modeling, a dream "guesses" potential consequences of decisions or attitudes and brings it to your attention. This is the software of the psyche, as a built in evaluation and feedback system. During the night it evaluates your waking feelings, problems and contemplated directions and recalibrates them in the light of the big picture of what your goals are and what you believe in. The "end result" of this nightly review are messages from the unconscious. The messages arrive in the only language available at night - the visual language of dreams! All of the above adds up to the definition of a dream.
DREAMS ARE
A BRIDGE TO THE UNCONSCIOUS
Why does the unconscious use a dream to communicate? A dream acts as the bridge and communication tool between the unconscious and the waking mind. A dream is the only "visual communication channel" available to the unconscious. Learning theory in psychology has shown that what you remember is stored in your memory bank as images, not words.
Dreams are a language of images, like a game of Charades. That makes them the natural vehicle for the unconscious to communicate with the waking self .
Dream messages can make all the difference between success and failure, problem solving or defeat, feeling peaceful or winding up stressed and strained! To unravel those dreams, pay attention, write them down, and analyze them using the Five Step Method as a free DIY tool on this site.
As Dennis Koenig & Jordan Budde once wrote:
"Dreams are postcards from the unconscious. Too often they come back unread marked: 'Return to sender, addressee unknown'.”
Note your postcards from the unconscious!
|