by Laura Claire

Created on: May 11, 2008

Dreams have been a source of fascination for mankind throughout history. Cultures around the globe have made countless attempts to interpret this shadowy world, and scientists have tried to explain the mechanism for dreaming through physiological, psychological, and spiritual avenues. The usefulness of these mind movies depends on the individual, and the cultural and historical context in which he lives. The average adult spends about 20% of his or her sleep time in a dream state, as measured by the amount of REM sleep that has been observed under scientific conditions. Even so, we still know very little about this final frontier of the mind. Perhaps the only sure thing is that we all have dreams, whether or not we remember their content.

A Broad Definition

Dreams consist of the mingled images, thoughts, and feelings that we experience when we're asleep. Some are logical, merely memories shuffled and replayed. Others mix memory, knowledge, and fantasy in a way that makes sense only to the dreaming mind. Two noted psychologists, Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud, have defined dreams as the result of interactions between the conscious (waking) mind and the subconscious (the "hidden" part of ourselves that controls the fears and desires we refuse to recognize). Some psychologists theorize that dreams are a reflection of parts of ourselves which we dislike, ignore, or suppress during waking hours.

Although dreams are intensely personal, they fall into several broad categories.

* fantasy or wish fulfillment

* conflict or fear resolution

* cathartic

* psychic

* creative

* nightmare

* nonsensical

A Brief Historical Overview

While some cultures have feared dreams as a gateway through which evil spirits can enter the soul, most recognize the value of their dreams in one way or another. In ancient times, civilizations as distant as China, India, the Middle East, and Egypt all left written records of their dreams, as well as scientific studies on the subject. Ancient Greeks practiced dream incubation, defined as visiting a sacred temple to sleep, in search of a curing dream from a god. Some Indian tribes use them as rites of passage. Tribes would often send young men on a vision quest, a search for a dream from one of the gods. The vision quest could last for days, and it had to be undertaken alone, with as little food and water as possible, in order that the mind of the dream seeker could be purified. In Tibet, the Yogis have such control over their inner selves that they can become

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