Dreams free essay sample

It is a land where the impossible becomes possible, and the nonsensical appears completely plausible and practical. It is the land of DREAMS that has neither boundaries nor limitations: a land where you can, and do, achieve whatever you aim for. However, as with any other land you need to be able to understand, to be able to speak the language of that place and that is why these dreams are always followed by interpretations. Delving deep into the thoughts and brains of a variety of dreamers, scientists are asking important questions about the purpose of this mysterious realm we escape to at night. Do dreams allow us to get a good nights sleep? Can they solve our problems or even help us survive the hazards of everyday life? Each night, as we close our eyes and slip away from the waking world, we may enter an even richer one, the elusive realm of dreams. We will write a custom essay sample on Dreams or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I dont know anybody who isnt fascinated by dreams. They can be bewildering, terrifying, inspiring, but do they mean anything? Are dreams the nonsensical byproduct of a sleeping brain or a window into our unconscious mind, rich with revelations? After more than a century of searching, scientists may finally be nearing an answer, by literally watching dreams unfold and testing their impact on both our sleeping and waking lives. Matthew Wilson(Professor MIT) said Dreaming is a process, and not only is it useful, it might be essential for making sense of the world. He believes dreams have been responsible for two Nobel prizes, the invention of a couple of major drugs, and innumerable novels, films and works of visual art. Usually they fly through the mind unremembered. Yet they may be key to understanding the mind itself. If you want to understand human nature, the human mind, what makes us tick, you need to look at dreams. The scientist most associated with dreams is still Sigmund Freud, who saw them as brimming with symbols, mostly sexual. Such symbols took form as the sleeping brain tried to disguise forbidden urges welling up from its unconscious, though even Freud cautioned that this kind of thinking could be taken too far. At some point, he said you can be too literal. You can say every single thing is standing for something sexual. And you know, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. Today, advances in brain science have inspired new theories about dreams, building on a discovery made years after Freuds death, when science finally got a look at the sleeping brain. The breakthrough came in 1953, when Nathaniel Kleitman and Eugene Aserinsky began recording peoples brain waves as they slept through the night. They put electrodes onto the head that could pick up the electrical activity of the brain underneath. And they had known when people are awake, that signal looks very fast and not too interesting—it looks almost like noise—but that when people fall asleep, that you would sometimes have the brain activity start to go up and down in a slow pattern, and you could then tell whether someone was awake or asleep; or so they thought. The researchers had assumed sleeping brains were resting brains. But every 90 minutes or so, as their subjects slumbered, something odd happened. Their eyes were closed, their head had drooped; they didnt answer when you called them by name. They were clearly asleep but the electrical activity of the brain said they were awake. And it wasnt just their brain waves that seemed strange. They were sexually aroused. Their heart rates and breathing had become irregular. Their eyes darted about beneath shut lids. It was these eye movements that gave the state its name: Rapid Eye Movement, or REM sleep. During REM sleep, what the researchers invariably found, when they woke up a subject, was the subject would report, Hey Im dreaming, and I just had a vivid dream. Another feature of REM sleep is that your muscle tone just goes absolutely down to zero. You become functionally paralyzed. If youre sitting up in a chair watching TV, you know, and the head nods and falls and you fall asleep, thats not REM sleep. If you fall into REM sleep, you would literally roll off the chair onto the floor, because your body becomes absolutely relaxed, almost paralyzed, in the sense that you cant make your muscles actually work. And it becomes abso lutely calm and non-responsive. Nature, it appeared, had devised a special state of paralysis to house our dreams, one in which they remained internal experiences. It was a conclusion that seemed impossible to deny, when researchers learned to switch the paralysis off. This cat looks as if its awake; in fact, its deep in REM sleep. This dog appears to be running; it too is in REM sleep, and, like the cat, dreaming. To see these dreams played out, scientists disabled the part of the brain that paralyzes muscles during REM sleep. And what we see when you do this, with cats in particular, is that they can walk around during REM sleep, and their behavior is not random, its not chaotic. Theyre not just doing any old crazy thing. They appear to be doing the kinds of behaviors that cats like to do, like stalk a prey, you know, play with a mouse or something. So presumably thats what they dream about when they go into REM sleep, so thats what we think is happening. And it stressed the fact that theres a particular part of our brainstem that triggers REM sleep, sending up signals to the higher parts of the brain that were kind of random and chaotic. Dreams, the researchers argued, were more physiological than psychological: the result of our higher brain doing the best it could to make sense of meaningless neural impulses. Now that led them to say that dreams have some psychological coherence, some pattern, but they have no purpose. And certainly not the psychological purpose that Freud claimed for them. So are dreams basically gibberish, or, as Freud maintained, a doorway to the unconscious or something else entirely? For the debate to move forward, scientists would have to make yet another key discovery. My sense is that when were asleep and when were dreaming, we are actually conscious and figuring out whats important about what happened to us and how that relates to everything else thats happened to us in the past and figuring out what that means about our future. And when you think about the challenge that animals, that we as humans and the brain in general faces, it is the unknown of the future. And in REM, we may have the opportunity to step into that future world with no risk, because the consequences are simply things dont work out as you might have expected, and then you wake up. So these states may be what are essential for allowing us, as individuals, to reach our maximal level of potential. When you dream, you dialogue with aspects of yourself that normally are not with you in the daytime and you discover that you know a great deal more than you thought you did. What we want to see is a whole series of dreams so that we can then detect patterns that recur over that entire dream series and thus get a better idea of what this persons dream life is generally like. Freud explains that Dreams in general were expected to yield important solutions, but not every dream was immediately understood, and it was impossible to be sure that a certain incomprehensible dream did not really foretell something of importance, so that an effort was made to replace the incomprehensible content of the dream by something that should be at once comprehensible and significant. Dreams are odd and confusing because the ego is trying to stay in denial and thus hides the base nature of the person. The more confusing it is the harder it is to know the truth about yourself. Analysis is good because you uncover the truth and stop being neurotic and unhappy and can just be unhappy. Carl Jung believed that human beings were basically good, but that the unconscious was naturally separated from the conscious world. The unconscious was closer to God and generally wiser, but was not able to act fully in the psychical world. Dreams were the means by which the unconscious tried to transmit its wisdom to the conscious person. The unconscious, not being physical speaks mainly in symbols, and generally ones that need a lot of thought and interpretation. However, it is worth doing because understanding the unconscious will integrate the personality, enhance the soul and perhaps save the life. Jungs level of consciousness was higher than Freuds, according to Dr David R Hawkins and his Map of consciousness. So, from what Ive read Jungs philosophies are closer to the truth than Freuds. Freud was still very intelligent though, and his work extremely valuable. There are many types of Dreams, I’ve compiled some down here: ? Chasing Dream Dreams of being chased are second only to dreams of falling as far as being the most universally experienced dream scenario. Often, we have the same recurring dream of being chased from childhood through almost our entire adult life. What is doing the chasing be it a monster, a mugger, or an animal of some sort is quite a personal thing and varies widely from individual to individual, so do make note of it because YOUR pursuer will definitely turn out to have unique significance for YOU. In general, chasing dreams signify some sort of anxiety, fear, or feeling of entrapment in daily life, such as a stressful job or unhappy marriage. Chasing dreams are literally fight or flight situations where you choose flight. These dreams dont occur if you have faced and dealt with whatever it is you fear during waking hours. Chasing dreams very often signify vulnerability, and the reason these dreams often recur over a lifetime is that certain situations trigger memories of childhood vulnerabilities. When trying to interpret such a dream, look inward first it may turn out to be your own demons haunting you. Whether internal or external, try to pinpoint what exactly it is that is making you feel insecure or threatened, and take positive steps to relieve the pressure. Do write down any conclusions you come to and revisit that page in your journal in a few weeks to see if the issue has been reduced or resolved. ? Nightmares A nightmare is a dream that can cause a strong negative emotional response from the sleeper, typically fear and/or horror. The dream may contain situation of danger, discomfort, or psychological or physical distress. Sufferers are usually woken in a state of distress, and might be unable to go back to sleep for a prolonged period. Nightmares can have physical causes such as sleeping in an uncomfortable or awkward position, or having a fever; and psychological causes, such as stress and anxiety. Eating before bed, which triggers an increase in the bodys metabolism and brain activity, is a potential stimulus for nightmares. Occasional nightmares are commonplace, but recurrent nightmares can interfere with sleeping patterns and cause insomnia, and may require medical help. A recently proposed treatment onsists of imagery rehearsal. This approach appears to reduce the effects of nightmares and other symptoms in acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. ? Falling Dream Falling dreams are another theme that is quite common in the world of dreams. Contrary to a popular myth, you will not actually die if you do not wake up before you hit the ground during a fall. As with most common dream themes, falling is an indication of insecurities, instabilities, and anxieties. You are feeling overwhelmed and out of control in some situation in your waking life. This may reflect the way you feel in your relationship or in your work environment. You have lost your foothold and can not hang on or keep up with the hustle and bustle of daily life. When you fall, there is nothing that you can hold on to. You more or less are forced toward this downward motion without any control. This loss of control may parallel a waking situation in your life. Falling dreams also often reflect a sense of failure or inferiority in some circumstance or situation. It may be the fear of failing in your job/school, loss of status, or failure in love. You feel shameful and lack a sense of pride. You are unable to keep up with the status quo or that you dont measure up. According to Freudian theory, dreams of falling indicate that you are contemplating giving into a sexual urge or impulse. You may be lacking indiscretion. ? Flying Dream Flying dreams fall under a category of dreams known as lucid dreaming. Lucid dreams occur when you become aware that you are dreaming. Many dreamers describe the ability to fly in their dreams as an exhilarating, joyful, and liberating experience. If you are flying with ease and enjoying the scene and landscape below, then it suggests that you are on top of a situation. You have risen above something. It may also mean that you have gained a different perspective on things. Flying dreams and the ability to control your flight is representative of your own personal sense of power. Having difficulties staying in flight indicates a lack of power in controlling your own circumstances. You may be struggling to stay aloft and stay on course. Things like power lines, trees, or mountains may further obstruct your flight. These barriers represent a particular obstacle or person who is standing in your way in your waking life. You need to identify who or what is hindering you from moving forward. It may also be an indication of a lack of confidence. You need to believe in yourself and not be afraid. If you are scared while you were flying or you felt that you are flying too high, then it suggests that you are afraid of challenges and of success. Dreams of flying are some of the most interesting types of dreams for dream researchers and psychologists. Unlike dreams of being naked, dreams or running, dreams of falling and other common dreams, flying dreams represent an ability that humans do not have in their waking lives. No matter what the dream of flying represents, it remains one of the most fertile fields in the world of dream interpretation. There are many reasons to dream of flying, and many ways such a dream can play itself out. Chances are that dreams of flying have been around as long as humans have been dreaming, and that they will continue to be around for millennia to come. ? SEXUAL DREAMS The meaning of sexuality in dreams depends on the emotional element. If you wake up sexually aroused, that is common. Sexuality is a fundamental part of living and sexual dreams express part of your being. Only if the content is disturbing or if your arousal is more intense from dreams than from waking experience, do you need to explore your dreams meaning. If you dream of sexual experience but are not sexually aroused, the traditional meaning is one of general happiness. Your love relationship is deepening or about to be renewed. Although some people argue that they don’t ever dream, there are those of us who dream constantly, night and day. And while the majority of us say that we can’t even remember our dreams, one thing is scientifically certain, dreams exist. Because the topic of dreams has yet to be extensively researchable, there are still many unanswered questions. Yes, we all dream. Even most animals fall into this category of dreamers. It is just a natural mental process of our brains. As our bodies lay relaxed at night, our minds go into REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. With this regular occurrence of REM sleep every night, we can hardly imagine dreams to be meaningless. Simply, our bodies aren’t designed to complete meaningless tasks. We don’t breathe, eat, and sleep because we want to, but because we were designed to in order to survive. And who’s to say that our uncontrollable body functions are meaningless? Quite frankly, our brain has created this unconsciousness, mainly uncontrollable thought process for definite reasons. Researcher Jonathan Winston says ‘Dreams are indeed meaningful. Studies of the hippocampus (a brain structure crucial to memory), rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, and a brain wave called theta rhythm suggest that dreaming reflects a pivotal aspect of the procession of memory. In particular, studies of theta rhythm in subprimate animals have provided an evolutionary clue to the meaning of dreams. They appear to be the nightly record of a basic mammalian memory process: the means by which animal form strategies for survival and evaluate current experiences in light of those strategies. The existence of this process may explain the meaning of dreams in human beings. ’ Dreams are relatively transparent. And I think there is good evidence to suggest that dreams tend to reflect peoples emotional concerns and also things that preoccupy them in their social lives. Preoccupations that we seem to be trying to work out as we sleep. Whats amazing is it looks like those processes of extracting whats important, integrating it with our other memories and projecting it into our future, those critical, brilliant functions of the human mind and the human brain might actually occur, not while were awake, not while were trying to figure it out consciously and intentionally, but, instead, while were asleep and while were dreaming. So what is science telling us about our dreams? That theyre a crucial tool which helps us learn; a key to creativity, even survival; a window onto our secret selves? Throughout the long night, our mind seems to be preparing us to face the coming day. The important thing is just to go through the training, and then we get all the training benefits, even if during wakefulness we have no idea weve been training all night. I think that their value lies in what a different mode of thought they are. Theyre so much more intuitive and visual a mode of thinking, and in our culture we spend so much time in this very logical linear mode of thinking that their main benefit lies in presenting such a different point of view. Our brain is working on figuring out the importance and significance of events from our days, how they fit together with old events in our past, what they mean about likely events in the future. And we dont know whether its going to be fun, whether its going to be scary, whether its going to be poignant. Its a whole new adventure, every time. So the next time you enter the elusive world of dreams, know that your brain may have good reason to send you on these adventures of the night. Dreams free essay sample A dream, a hope of something that could be, can be thought of as the force driving us to do more, to accomplish things that are currently beyond our reach but yet are still obtainable. It may be considered as the driving motive of ambition. That, in a sense, is what George and Lennie had in the story Of Mice and Men. They had a dream of a better life, a life that consisted of them owning a place of their own where no one could kick them out, and they could live of the fat of the land. Their ambition to achieve this dream came from the hope itself. The mere thought of accomplishing this goal was enough to set them about working for it, earning enough money to actually make it happen. But then, the question must be asked: Could George and Lennie really achieve a dream like this? In theory, yes, this is a realistic dream for the two men. We will write a custom essay sample on Dreams or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page If they worked hard enough, and long enough, and focused entirely on the eventual objective, then it would all be able to work out for them. However, as circumstances had it, Lennie was a bit dingy in the head, and was not able to keep out of trouble long enough for anything real to come of the dream. They were bound to the lives they had by the unavoidable circumstances that surrounded them. If it had been just George by himself, then the idea of earning enough money to buy a place of his own would be perfectly believable. But since George had to take care of Lennie as well, the dream faded from something obtainable to just a nice idea of what a good life would be like. Although, this thought gave both men enough ambition to set out and try to accomplish the task. The author of this story has the philosophy that fate keeps you set where you are, and no matter what you do, fate will keep reign over what is actually available to you in your life style. George and Lennie came very close to proving him wrong. They were only mere weeks away from achieving their goal, what with the help of Candy. But yet fate was against them and they ended up as they most often had, with Lennie accidentally causing something to go wrong and George having to bail him out of trouble. Thus, the two of them were once again stuck where they had started, with nothing, and only the dream to keep them company. By doing this they followed in the author’s theory that one can only acquire what is available to you in your set life style. Steinbeck’s philosophy is quite preposterous, really. Have not people time and time again proven this theory incorrect? Just think of everyone that, at one point, had absolutely nothing, then has worked hard to rise up and accomplish a life long dream. The media even reports these types of stories to us. One of them featured a woman that had grown up sleeping on park benches and eating out of trash cans because her family was so poor. But she was determined to do something productive with her life, and studied hard, going to school and learning the things she needed to know to get a job, make some money, and move in off the streets. She has since become very successful in her profession. This story just goes to show that hopes, such as George and Lennie’s, are not that ridiculous at all. The only thing that stands between them and their goal are themselves. If it had not been for Lennie’s unfortunate accident, they would have surely accomplished their lives’ dream. If we only believe that we are not bound to the lives we currently live, and if we strive to obtain something our heart desires, and are willing to put in the necessary time and effort, everything is within our reach. Dreams free essay sample â€Å"If I can overcome all these obstacles and challenges, then you can do anything!† the crowd cheers with the enigmatic thunder of my words. I slowly step off the podium to a colligation of faces, my cane sweeping the rough tureen ahead of me. Dozens of faces clash into one huge mess as I shake hands upon my descent from the stage. My ears are a sponge that soaks up the cheers and the positive energy captivating everyone. The hands that I shake pump mine, and wonderful congratulatory praise lifts me up to touch the stars. As I take my seat in the audience beside my friend and father like figure, I reflect what just happened. My cane sits in my lap, poised for action the minute that I command it to. Life is splendid. I just had another liberating experience on top of a nice paycheck. I turn to Lionel with a huge grin. We will write a custom essay sample on Dreams or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page His black face is a blur of happy emotion as he looks at me proudly.Everyone has dreams and goals. Reading mine, what did you think? Did you think I have delusions of grandeur? I can assure you that I dont.Being a public speaker has taught me many things in my short life span of 21. It’s taught me the true raw definition of power and strength. Strength isnt what people think they can do. True, tarnished strength is in the soul, and the smile.Living a carefree life, I Just sit back and laugh with the world while still taking advantage of all the untapped untarnished energy and knowledge vastly dispersed within our lives. I had to, living with my mom.All throughout the nights where I was the bleeding victim of my mom’s furious flying fists, I lost all hope in faith. What was faith anyway, just blind hope? If thats the case, I had none. Before I lived with my mom, my grandmother and grandfather briefly raised me. I thought I had a home, but what’s a home anyway? A roof? A bed? Places where when you go there, they have to take you in and love you and care about you, even tell you good night. If so, then I was 12 years old when I became homeless. The place I was in wasnt even considered a home. A home has love. It does not have some meaningless place you visit attached to the name. A home has a family, and I never had a home. I never even had food. I never had a hug when I returned from school. I never even had a smile on my lips or the best grades in my high school. When I graduated high school and moved out of my mom’s place, I knew at that moment I had to make a choice. I could submit to everything that was happening and live a life of excuses or I could push myself. I could push myself and make my life good. Thats why Im looking into this scholarship. With it, I can pursue my career in journalism, and help myself. Perhaps I could write stories that will save a kids life, give them that ray of hope I had stolen from me. Perhaps my mere words on the page might salvage some drug dealers on the streets, some homeless people on the corner. Im smart. I KNOW I can succeed. I just need a chance, a chance to climb out of the place where I was born. Everyone I know is angry and tired. They’re trying to survive. I know that there is a world out there that is better than what I have encountered, that is better developed. Now, I want to live in it. Sometimes I feel like there is skin upon the world. That those of us, who are created under it, can see through it. We just cant get through it. I believe I can peel it back, make that break through I’ve been searching for my entire existence, and I will. I CAN win this losing race, shine bright, and take a real breath of fresh air. Dont believe me? Watch me.