8-Mar-96 21:30:46-GMT
Date: Fri, 08 Mar 96 15:36:32 -0800
From: "william A. turk"
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I don't think anyone can figure out your dreams but you, the dreamer.
Each person creates their own symbols of what things mean, and to believe
in a universal meaning of symbols, as many books on dreams suggests to do,
doesn't carry much validity. I suggest something different than
interpretation of dreams. Become more aware of your thoughts and feelings
as they arise during the day. Be aware as stress enters your thoughts,
and mind. Just follow it, and see where it takes you. In this you may
find out what your dreams mean. As the conscious, and subconcious mind
are not separate but one mind. Hope it helps!
[END OF MESSAGE]
But if I can't understand my own dreams, does that mean *no one* can interpret my dreams?! *Gasp*
In all seriousness, I think Mr. Turk's insight leads me in a direction that I believe will in fact be helpful--that dream symbols are personal, and therefore the dream's meaning lies within. Specifically, I think his comment leads us to Freud's proposition that the objects that populate a dream reflect one's deepest desires and fears.
It is the meaning of "desires and fears" that concerns me. Should a dreamer value the dream as a map of the human heart, an unbridled source of the dreamer's true feelings such as desires and fears? These two terms inherently suggest action--desire suggests seeking, and fear suggests avoiding. If the stuff dreams are made of are in fact the dreamer's desires and fears, then should the dreamer/interpreter infer that the dream is a revelation to the dreamer, suggesting the pursuit of the object of desire and/or confrontation of the object of fear? If so, then are all dreams revelation dreams that reveal to the dreamer some form of action which should be undertaken?
Or rather, do the "desires and fears" which become manifest in our dreams reside there because they are better off not becoming manifest in real life? Perhaps our dreams are not revelations at all, but fantasies, which allow the dreamer to confront that which does not, should not, could not emerge in reality.
Thus, my call for interpretations is not necessarily an exercise in finding universal dream-symbols. What I am asking is for suggestions as to the ultimate significance of dreams. Of course, the ultimate interpretation will be that of the dreamer, for the inevitable question in interpreting dreams is: what impact if any does the dream have on the dreamer's life? And so my question is, what would you be inclined to do, if anything, if you were the dreamer? if you have ever dreamt a similar dream, how if at all did it affect your choice of action in life?
Thank you, Mr. Turk, for your stimulating remarks.
