Interpreting Dreams

INTERPRETING DREAMS

An Essay by Izzy Sommers in Welland, Ontario, for November, 2005

Suppose Freud was correct. He proposed that dreams were merely wishes, or negative wishes, which are fears, and that a simple analysis of a dream was that it was a wish or fear distorted by the sleep state which has no input from the senses, vision, hearing, etc. He felt the wish or fear was something experienced during the preceding day, or two, which the brain processed during sleep. Thus, he said, a simple interpretation of every dream was that

(1) it was a wish or a fear,
(2) it was distorted and
(3) it reflected something from the past 24 hours.

For example, suppose you came across a picture of your favourite uncle who had died 20 years ago. The dream you might have is that you are having a Thanksgiving dinner, like the one your mother used to make 40 years ago, and that amongst the guests is your favourite uncle, who liked to tickle you when you were young and he is tickling and making you laugh. You might wake up with a smile on your face and a warm fuzzy in your heart. You would logically say that

(1) I wish I could see my uncle again,
(2) the dream was distorted in time and place and
(3) it was that picture of my uncle that stimulated the dream.

Or, suppose, the bank sent you a letter that there was a mistake in your account, and that you unexpectedly owed $1,234.56, which was payable immediately. You might have a nightmare that you were in prison, crying and lamenting, having lost your family and your business, your house and your car, your freedom and your credit-worthiness. You might awake sweating and depressed until you realize that

(1) You are afraid your financial situation is precarious,
(2) the nightmare is a distortion because you’re not in prison and
(3) it was yesterday’s letter from the bank that was the culprit.

In both the pleasant dream and the nightmare, above, there are deeper layers of interpretation that would come out with further analysis. I might ask, for example, if there was an extra-special, less than obvious, relationship between and your uncle, or is there someone close to you, that loved you, or hated you, that warned you that imprisonment was a possibility.

Suppose Freud was incorrect. Suppose dreams do come from the spiritual world. Suppose angels or devils are making you have happy dreams or nightmares. Suppose it was the good food or the indigestion that causes dreams. Suppose dreams are predictive and full of premonitions. Suppose all the speculations about the meaning and power of dreams are correct, no matter what Freud said. Then, it would have been true that

(1) the Pharoh’s dream did predict 7 years of plenty and 7 years of famine
(2) your dead uncle came to tickle you and make you laugh, or
(3) you are definitely going to debtor’s prison unjustifiably for your insignificant debts.

Personally, I chose to follow Freud’s idea. It makes more sense to me and belies ideas of prediction and extrasensory perception, ghosts and things that go bump in the night. However, I admit that the spiritual possibilities and the connection to one's bowels, are intriguing and more interesting, rather more like the movies, Lord of the Rings and Cape Fear as opposed to Straight-liners and Sybil. What do you think?

THE END