Opinion Essay: Do Dreams Reveal Hidden Truths

Do dreams reveal hidden truths?

There are many definitions of dreams and one cannot exactly pinpoint a true definition. According to Cambridge dictionary, dreams are a series of events or images that happen in your mind when you are sleeping or it is something that you want to happen very much but that is not very likely. When an individual would have a certain dream, they would often feel this anticipation or desire to find out its meaning or connotation behind this. I have chosen this topic because it is fascinating whether or not dreams depict what an individual’s personality is like and if this is their true nature which is hidden throughout the layers of persona and lies they have surrounded themselves with in order to fit in with society trends or what is expected of them from personal figures. It is our natural instinct to judge an individual based on their appearance and social status, even unconsciously doing so. However, what many people do not know is what their inner thoughts are, which really reflect their true nature. I have come to the conclusion that dreams do reveal hidden truths through many perspectives and theories which is evident in this essay. In addition to this, my own personal experiment which I carried out, supports my hypothesis. Psychology has a major impact on this topic as much research has been done on dreams and their significance and influence on an individual. The interpretation of dreams has always been a subject of interest and is fascinating to see if our dreams actually hold any meaning.

How do we dream?

As humans, we have many biological rhythms to help us function; one of them is our circadian rhythm. This is also known as our sleep/wake cycle, which is our daily pattern that determines when we are awake or asleep. Even though we are asleep and not moving, our brain is still active and goes through two main phases. One phase is REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, which is when dreams typically happen and NREM (non-rapid eye movement), which is when the body builds up muscle and bone etc. The sleep cycle starts off when the brain first enters four different stages of NREM sleep and then goes through REM. This cycle has a duration of about 90 minutes and is repeated until the individual is awake. The first stage is when an individual can be easily woken up as this is their lightest sleep stage. During the second stage, the individual’s heart rate slows, their muscles contract and relax and their body temperature decreases as the individual is about to go into deep sleep. During stage three, Delta Waves which are slow and deep brain waves begin to emerge. This is the transitional period between light sleep and a very deep sleep. Stage four, which can be referred to as Delta Sleep, is where the individual is in a deep sleep and is about to undergo REM sleep. Stage five, where REM sleep takes place. During this stage, the heart rate, breathing and eye movement increases and the brain is more active. The brain processes things that you have learnt during the day to help an individual form memories and fire chemicals such as serotonin which makes an individual feel good. Dreaming occurs during this stage as there is an increase of activity in the brain. Images may float by in earlier stages but the actual dream state occurs in REM. As in modern society, our knowledge about the biology of sleep and dreams progressed, there have been experiments done to portray that when dreams are occuring due to recording and analysing brain waves.This is supported by Nathaniel Clightment and Eugene Azarinski in 1954 they recorded people’s brain waves as they slept. They assumed that the brainwaves would be more relaxed when people were sleeping, but every 90 minutes, the brain waves would almost be the same as when the sleeper was awake.This was when REM sleep was categorised as a biological ideology that is still used today. This is when REM sleep was discovered and named as they found that the individual who was asleep, they would have moving eyelids and irregular breathing. Also the sleeper could recall dreams most frequently if they were awakened when their eyes appeared to be moving rapidly beneath their eyelids. This discovery gave other scientists a fundamental base to monitor dreams. This therefore challenges Freud’s dream interpretation theory and Jung’s theory as there is scientific factual evidence to support that dreams do not reveal hidden truths. However, Clightment and Azarinski thought it was reasonable for REM sleep to be when an individual is dreaming since the body is paralaysed, but they did not have proof of this yet. This theory demonstrates that as human beings we do dream as there is support and evidence for this claim. However, whether our dreams actually hold meaning or are significant is not claimed or shown in this theory. Therefore there is still the question, that maybe dreams do hold meaning but we are not sure of what that truth is yet? This supports the fact that we do dream however, it does not specify whether or not our dreams reveal hidden truths or have any meaning. The only way is to see if the individual has any recollection of the dream and interpret it, but the individual could be biased when explaining their dreams by leaving details out or portraying their dream in a positive manner to make themselves look good. On the other hand, when we show emotions like fear or happiness certain areas of the brain are activated which we can use PET scans to support that dreams have hidden truths if we are feeling some type of emotion. This source was from the internet, which is secondary data as I have not conducted this research myself, there are underlying issues such as whether the data is reliable however it has been certified and has been updated and written by psychologists.

Why do we dream?

There are many theories as to why we dream from many philosophers, scholars, psychologists and scientists. However , there is no definitive answer which one can wholeheartedly say is correct.

In 3100 BC, the Babylonians recorded and interpreted their dreams on stone tablets, this was the first dream recordings that we know of. They had very traditional and ancient perspectives as they lived in an era where spirits,demons and forces were present and were socially normal. Unlike now, they did not have much research regarding illnesses, the mind and how natural forces worked. They believed that the words demon and devil held bad connotations and elicit bad omens which they should stay away from. Babylionians used dreams as therapeutic processes and prophecies that foretold the future. They started the trend of dream interpretations and took them very seriously, one well known collection of dream interpretations is called the Assyrian Dream Book. This was a group of clay tablets, which were records of how dreams may be interpreted. For example, the interpretation for a dream in which a person flees repeatedly, shows that the individual will lose what they own. This highlights that dreams do reveal hidden truths as they have been historical artefacts which prove that dreams have meaning and they indicate changes or events that will happen. However, some may believe that this may be superstitious and as we are modern rational thinkers there is no proof that these messages come from spirits or God.

Similarly, Robert Stickgold, who is a neuroscientist, claimed that in history, people believed that dreams were messages from the gods. Especially during Ancient Greek times, they believed that Morpheus, the God of dreams, shaped and formed dreams as this was his way of appearing to mortals in any form as a message via their dreams. Though he could take on any form, Morpheus’s true form was that of a winged demon. He was the son of Hypnos, the God of sleep and Pasithea, the Goddess of relaxation and rest. His brothers and him were known as Oneiroi which translates into Dreams. During this era, denying this fact or even denying the existence of the Gods was considered as blasphemy and some were even punished by death. For example, the famous philosopher Socrates was sentenced to death due to his rejection of the Greek Gods. However, Ancient Greek were not the only ones who believed dreams were messages from God, as the Ancient Egyptians also believed in this as well. They believed that the Gods could communicate with people through their dreams and that it could also foretell the future. Some could say that this supports that dreams do reveal hidden truths about an individual because by God sending a message must mean something because if it didn’t, why would people claim that dreams are from God in the first place? They also foretell the future, according to Ancient Egyptians, this would then help the individual change their behavior or actions in order for that prophecy to be true or not, as they would realise that their dreams actually have meaning.

However one the other hand, in the late 1600s, European philosophers such as John Locke looked down upon dream interpretations. He called dreams “incoherent, frivolous and irrational”. Many philosophers did not agree with the Babylonians and developed many hypotheses and theories of why we dream. Aristotle in his book “On Prophecy in Sleep” attacked the practise of dream interpretation. He claimed that dreams are not from a divine origin, God, instead they are a way to act out unconscious desires in a safe or unreal setting, because to do so in reality would be unacceptable. He argued that dreams are a product of a mental representation or image that occurs when sleeping. In his treatise “De Divinatione per Somnum”, he acknowledges that dreaming is not the work of actual perception, since external sense objects are absent during sleep. However the affection or feeling produced by the stimuli is what an individual acts on, hency why dreams reveal hidden truths about an individual. This is because the feeling that is present, we enact on it when we are conscious as we believe it may be a sign of what we have to do or that we truly desire for this to happen. According to Aristotle, this means that dreams are manifestations of internal sensations,which are expressed as ‘dream imagery’. Dream imagery is the projection of inner thoughts and conflicts that are present in the unconscious, which demonstrates that dreams do reveal hidden truths.

Overall, the Ancient believed that dreams do reveal hidden truths as they were messages sent by God. This supports the idea that through our dreams, God can make us foresee the future or give us commands in order to direct us to the right path which is to heaven. However, a criticism of this is pluralism. There are many religions who are monotheistic and polytheisetic, therefore there are many Gods so how will we know which is the right god that communicates with us through dreams? In addition, we are now a modern rationalised society which has now impacted the rise of religion. The rise of atheism and humanism is increasing whereas in contrast religion is decreasing. Therefore this theory would not really be valid or applicable to modern society due to the lack of evidence of a God.

This is further supported by Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis, who had many opinions and theories on why individuals dream and its significance.Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of dream is most valid and fundamental among all the theories of dreams. He advocated the theory that dreams are “the contraband representations of the beast within man, smuggled into awareness during sleep.” This demonstrates Freud’s opinion that the analysis of dreams is the key to unlocking the secrets about the unconscious mind, which support the idea that dreams so reveal hidden truths, as dreams represent unconscious desires, thoughts and motivations. Freud presented his theory about dreams in the book “The interpretations of dreams” in 1899 provides his theory of dreams and an innovative method for interpreting them. His first attempt to set out his theory of a dynamic unconscious, created in childhood, which operates continuously in every human mind. He believed that dreaming is a mental activity that follows its own logic. According to his psychoanalytic view of the personality, he suggests that people are driven by aggressive and sexual instincts that are repressed from conscious awareness. While these thoughts are not consciously expressed, he suggested that they find their way into our awareness via dreams.He classified dreams as “disguised fulfilments of repressed wishes”. This advocates that our true inner desires are reflected through our dreams which reflect our true personality and character. Freud distinguished that dreams come in disguised form and hence the difficulty in understanding them arises. For example, he indicates that if he were to eat olives or something strongly salted foods, I would be thirsty at night and therefore he would wake up. However he claims that his waking up was preceded by a dream of him drinking long droughts of water which led him to wake and have a desire to drink. This is evident that dreaming is a product of wish fulfilment which supports my hypothesis that dreams have hidden truths that are waiting to be carried out. However, there is no record of this dream or any physical evidence that this dream occurred. All we have is his word and that is the basis of his theory. Alternatively, there have been many other incidents that Freud recorded that his patients have had dreams of wish fulfilment. The story of Freud’s friend’s daughter, who was eight years old, was promised earlier in the day that they would go to Hameau. The next morning, the little girl went to her father, and told him that she dreamed that they were at Rohrer hut and on the Hameau. Freud came to the conclusion that in her dream her impatience had anticipated the fulfilment of the promise made by the father. However, his book was written in German so when translated some of his work may have been lost in translation and may provide incorrect information due to different word meanings. This therefore could impact the accuracy of his theory and whether his theory is practical and reliable to use as his work was also discredited due to the controversial perspectives he had. But on the other hand, his work was very influential and is often taught and spread across. If his work had no meaning or was valid, why is it still being shared and taught?

Freud described two different components of dreams which are manifest content and latent content. Manifest content is a collection of the actual images, thoughts and content contained within the dream while the latent content represents the hidden psychological meaning of the dream. Freud claims that the majority of dreams indicate a strong unconscious guilt or desires. When analysing, he came across dream symbols after analysing many dreams and states that they all have constant meaning and interpreted dreams by using these symbols. For example, climbing up a set of stairs would represent having sexual intercourse. Whereas elongated or sharp objects such as swords and sticks that appear in our dream represents a penis and similarly objects such as tunnels or suitcases represent vaginas. Psychoanalysts suggested that there is a relevant explanation for the dream content and symbols. However, research for this claim has failed to demonstrate that manifest content masks the real psychological significance or meaning of a dream. Also Freud’s theory is not completely true as all dreams are not wish fulfilments of repressed sexual desires. There are other reasons that motivate dreams, not just libido and sexual motives.

One of Freud’s earliest supporters, Carl Jung, who is the father of analytical psychology, also believed dreams were messages from the subconscious and that dreams reveal more than they conceal. Carl Jung rejects Freud’s theory of dream interpretation which suggests that “dream formation is a product of discharging our tabooed sexual impulses”. Jung suggested that the archetypal images (they function to organise how we experience certain things, often evoking deep emotions) that come through dreams may be derived from the collective unconscious, our collective consciousness. According to Jung, we have four key archetypes: the Persona, which is the mask we choose to wear. The Shadow, the selfish desires that we usually hide. The Anima (for females) and animus (for males), these are the characteristics of the opposite sex. Lastly, the Self, this is the most important archetype and balances the conscious and unconscious. For Jung the self archetype contains our repressed traits that our true self must be integrated into our conscious we are to realise our true self. The process to which a person moves towards the achievement of the self is called individualization. According to Jung, he believed that dreams contained characters that represented aspects of our inner lives. For example, if an individual saw a trickster or saw characteristics of a trickster in their dream that would represent anxiety. Similarly how a maiden represents purity and a wise old man represents wisdom. However, some may argue that there is a lack of empirical evidence to support Jung’s theory. As “a subjective feeling of the truth of an idea is no support for it being accepted as a hypothesis.” This highlights that it has not been possible to conceive any method of research that could fully verify Jung’s claims. It cannot be demonstrated that there is a collective unconscious which contains archetypes. Thus limiting the fact that dreams do reveal truths as there is no concrete and physical evidence to support Jung’s claim.

Nevertheless, in 1953, Cavin.S.Hall developed a cognitive theory of dreams, which was among the first scientific theories of dream interpretation based on quantitative analysis. Similarly to Jung, Hall dismissed Freud’s theory that dreams are wishful thinking and are to cover up desired thoughts. His Book “The Meaning of Dreams”, he states “The images of a dream are the concrete embodiments of the dreamer’s thoughts; these images give visual expression to that which is invisible, namely, conceptions.” This suggests that according to Hall, he believes that dreams are thoughts displayed as visual concepts. Therefore dreams reveal our inner thoughts in picture motion, which is the structure of how we envision what our life would look like. He studied thousands of dreams collected from his students and from different countries. Hall found that the main cognitive structure that dreams reveal our conceptions of ourselves, others, the world, penalties and conflict. These are the main thoughts individuals came across in their dreams and often questioned these aspects of their life. As Hall was a behavioural psychologist, he believed that these conceptions are indications of what our behaviour is or should be in reality. Our conceptions should guide us in order to reach our destination in the reality that we live in. Similarly to Freud and Jung, he agrees that dreams do have symbols within them however he believes that these symbols are not hidden and are tailored to the individual and the meaning they have. Thus supporting the ideology that dreams do reveal hidden truths and that each truth is unique to each individual. It is a reflection of their inner thoughts which are being projected into their dreams in order to grow as a person and improve their life.