does anybody know of any good books on how to do so.
I was told by a friend that dreams are a window into our subconscious mind.
I have been dreaming a ton more since I started taking ZMA and wearing breathe right strips at night. Would like to really take advantage of this opportunity.
Look up Dr. Carl G. Jung. Jung discovered that dreams inform, advise, correct, rebuke, predict coming events and more. There are many Jungian groups that meet in different areas. I have read a little of his work very interesting.
The Hero Within, Six Archetypes we live by, written by Carol S. Pearson is also a very good read relating to the subconscience.
You realise there is no proof at all that dreams mean anything, and that we don’t even know what causes dreams, correct? Interpreting dreams is basically just guesswork.
That said, the most famous work is The Interpretation of Dreams by Freud. I’ve never read it, so I don’t know how “good” it is, but that’s the classic text.
[quote]MikeShank wrote:
does anybody know of any good books on how to do so.
I was told by a friend that dreams are a window into our subconscious mind.
I have been dreaming a ton more since I started taking ZMA and wearing breathe right strips at night. Would like to really take advantage of this opportunity.[/quote]
I love that increased REM with ZMA!
As for interpretation, I tend to lean toward the physiological view. Basically, dreams are simply byproducts of bursts of activity in the brain. So to impose some deep symbolic meaning on them (dream involving bullets are actually dream about penises etc) is silly.
BUT, there are some exceptions and some of the interpretation theories are interesting. Really, the only dreams you need to think about are recurring dreams and nightmares. Daily worries, especially when repressed when waking, came really come out to play at night.
So what you really need to do is learn to separate meaningful dreams from byproduct dreams that are really nothing more than day residue or electrical activity sparking your memory circuits.
Meaningful dreams rarely need interpreting, and the highly symbolic stuff is very pretty much bunk. You can learn from dreams however. Dreaming of the death of a loved one can really put things in perspective, especially if you’re awakened during a REM period and have a vivid memory accompanied by a physiological reaction (fear, sadness, etc.) Most people only remember the last dream of the night and only if they wake up during REM. Dreams “evaporate” quickly from memory, so a voice recorder beside the bed can be fun.
But if you want a goofy dream interpretation book to liven up a party, there are dozens out there. Freud’s text is a classic and the most fun because everything is about vaginas.
I have 3 recurring dreams, and there are certain places that reoccur in so many dreams. Never really analyzed them though.
[quote]Chris Shugart wrote:
As for interpretation, I tend to lean toward the physiological view. Basically, dreams are simply byproducts of bursts of activity in the brain. So to impose some deep symbolic meaning on them (dream involving bullets are actually dream about penises etc) is silly.
[/quote]
I disagree; while bursts of activity may be random and influence the dreaming state, I think the fact that the brain organizes it into a meaningful experience makes it, frankly, meaningful. I agree that Freudian, Jungian, and Supermarket Pamphlet symbolism in dreams seem to be irrelvant. Though, I have read studies that show that a person who is convinced of, say, the validity of Jungian symbolism will have dreams that feature Jungian symbolism.
If you are in the mood to interpret dreams, my advice would be to write them down when you wake up, and simply meditate on them. If dreams are meaningful, their ultimate meaning rests in their originator: you. A trained psychologist who knows you well might be able to help you through the interpretation process, of course, but I don’t think you’re THAT interested.
I agree with that assessment. I don’t thing there are always deep meaning in every dream we have, but as you said I’ve experienced troubling dreams during times of high stress in my life.
I do believe we can attempt to get in tune with our subconscience mind and the possibility of the collective unconscience. Who knows? I am certainly no expert, but I do find it interesting.
holy moly Shugart, you should publish that, thanks alot.
thanks to everybody else also.
try the ZMA, it will really freak you out. after about a week of taking it you will DEFINATELY notice a difference in not only the frequency but also in the clarity of your dreams. It’s really freaky, but in a good way.
Hmmm, increased REM, Chris? Wouldn’t that mean less deep sleep? And is not deep sleep when the body does the most recuperation? Or am I off base?
P.S. I realize that every sentence above was a question. Don’t harass me 
[quote]Tadpole wrote:
Hmmm, increased REM, Chris? Wouldn’t that mean less deep sleep? And is not deep sleep when the body does the most recuperation? Or am I off base?
P.S. I realize that every sentence above was a question. Don’t harass me :)[/quote]
That deep recuperative sleep you mention IS the REM phase.
[quote]MikeShank wrote:
I was told by a friend that dreams are a window into our subconscious mind.
[/quote]
Tell your friend he’s wrong. Also tell him that blind people do not have more sensitive touch, that there is no way to determine if we use 10% of our brainpower and that listening to Mazrt won’t make him any smarter.
I need to get me some ZMA! I had some weird ass dreams the other night! Some older black guy was saying he needed more coffee & Lafrentz from the Celtics was saying in a public interview he had a disease. Freakin weird stuff!! And I’m having dreams about me ex, were always fighting! Kinda depressing & maybe ZMA will help me have better quality of sleep/dreams!
my dreams have very complex story lines and plot twists and it just seems all planned out , i cant possibly imagine it could just be random. it might not have any meaning to them, i dont think most of them do anyway, but i dont think they’re simply random either.
p.s its weird but sometimes i have a dream , and then 4 or 5 years later i have the same dream again, or a continuation of that dream, or something like that.
also its happened to me once that i dreamt of a place, very unique place with a lot of details. few months later i go to japan and see the exact same place, and i could not have seen it anywhere i promise you that… and everything happened exactly as in my dream except the place where i sat down in that place. weird.
basically i think that some dreams are just nothing more than what you see, and sometimes they are windows to the unseen.
Just remember that YOU are you’re own best dream interpreter. Books and guides can help, but don’t take them as gospel. You can figure all your dreams out by just thinking about the influences and where they came from…Thinking about the day before your dream can help you figure out all that stuff.
Not to hijack…But is anyone into Lucid dreaming? Now THAT’S a trip…It’s something I’ve worked on, on and off, for about ten years and I’ve only done it once about a year ago. Anyone else?
[quote]lostinthought wrote:
Just remember that YOU are you’re own best dream interpreter. Books and guides can help, but don’t take them as gospel. You can figure all your dreams out by just thinking about the influences and where they came from…Thinking about the day before your dream can help you figure out all that stuff.
Not to hijack…But is anyone into Lucid dreaming? Now THAT’S a trip…It’s something I’ve worked on, on and off, for about ten years and I’ve only done it once about a year ago. Anyone else? [/quote]
Is that where you can stay somewhat in control of your dream state or purposefully navigate the dreamscape?
Personally I love the dreams where I’m flying. Those are the best!
What about recurring dreams of fighting and killing people… I have those from time to time. I think I’m just releasing stress.
MikeShank:
If you want to learn about dreams, then look up Freud and Jung etc. BUT if you want to interpret your dreams, “Dictionary of Symbols” by J. Cirlot is your best bet.
Like many have said on this topic all ready, you are your best interpreter. Take those symbols and see how they fit into your own life.
Dreams, in my opinion and as much as I have studied and observed from them, are your subconscious working out daily stresses. You won’t be able to see the future with them, but you will be able to figure out and understand what is holding you down or back or bothering you, a little better. And then you will be able to deal with that with a more informed point if view as to what is going on inside.
This has always worked for me and my life is that much more positive because of it.
Keep on rockin’in the free world T-Nation!
jnd, are you being sarcastic? And who the hell is mazart?
Well most of you will probably call bullshit but you all know i’m weird anyways. Beyond interpreting dreams, is actually controlling yourself and your surroundings in them, or at least consiously experiencing them.
You know when you do this because like chris said, dreams evaporate very quickly. However, there are some dreams that we all experience that will last in our memory many many many years into the future. I have literally hundreds of dreams that I can recall and they are just as real of an experience to me as any of my childhood memories.
Some techniques for gaining consiousness and control in your dreams is to set a wake up program into your subconsious. Your subconsious will manifest whatever you think, this is why positive visulization techniques really work, it’s a fact. So before I go to bed, I repeat to myself and especially try to focus it on that little part of me that is my subconsious, that when I start dreaming, my subconsious mind is to wake up my consious mind while remaining in the dream state. Of course this is loads of fun and I have done many cool things, like flying, surfing 100 ft waves, nailing all the hottest babes etc…
There are other techniques that can be incorporated into this to enhance the quality, length and frequency of dreams and also, if you can’t remember them, there’s really no point in controlling them, so do the recorder thing like Chris said or keep a dream journal, over a month time, you will remember wayyyy more of your dreams, and in a ton more detail.
V
Haven’t tried ZMA yet, but have noticed some effects of Spike on my dreams. More intense, realistic, but only occurs if I take them late in the evening, within 3 or 4 hours of bed.