Newsgroups: alt.dreams
Subject: Re: Dreams, yeah right!
From: stharry@miavx1.acs.muohio.edu (Steve Harry)
Date: 30 Aug 92 18:38:11 -0500
Organization: Miami University Academic Computer Service"

In article <philip.714872131@labtam>, philip@labtam.labtam.oz.au (Philip Stephens) writes:
> Who do you think? <STHARRY@MIAMIU.BITNET> writes:
> 
>>People think that dreams are so important.  Don't they realize how weak they
>>are to make a major life decision based upon their dreams.
> 
>   Ha!  Well, if my dreams didn't relate so closely to real life AND provide
> some really helpful hints on how to deal with those life situations, I might
> actually agree with you :-)
>   In any case, I have yet to make an major decisions of my own based on my
> dreams.  I need to become more proficient at interpreting my dreams before I
> will trust what they are saying.  HOWEVER, as yet I have not come across a
> dream that has given obviously bad advice!
>   Now, I'm no guru on dream interpretation.  But lately I have become more
> convinced that my dreams are not just random thought processes.  I have had
> reasonable success at knowing how to go about unravelling their message,
> hampered only by my inability to sustain good dream recall over a period of
> time.  Recently I have been able to interpret almost *all* of the dreams that I
> have had a good memory of.  And they all made *perfect* sense once I realised
> that I actually knew what the symbols were suppose to represent all along.
>   That's the real point I want to make right now: dream symbols are CONSCIOUSLY
> RECOGNISABLE.  They are *not* selected by the subconscious or unconscious.
> Successful dream interpretation relies on not reading too deeply in a dream,
> but instead applying the meanings that seem to be *obvious* to you.  Do that,
> and you should find that dreams unravel themselves so much easier.
>   A second point to make: most of my dreams relate to *immediate* problems in
> my life, and I see no reason why that would not be true of other people.  Often
> the dream I recall when I wake up will be discussing a problem that was on my
> mind when I went to sleep!  Certainly they will normally be related to problems
> I was concerned about the day before, or in recent days.
> 
>   So in summary, I disagree that believing that dreams have a meaning is
> reading too much into them.  On the contrary, I think that the reason why
> people have trouble understanding their dreams is that they imagine that the
> meaning must be an *exotic* one.  Instead, I believe that most dreams relate
> very closely to our everyday lives, and provide us with a wealth of useful
> information, once we realise they are *not* suppose to be "tricky". 
> 
 
I was not necessarily saying that dreams have no meaning at all, I fell that
they are a great ESCAPE of the subconscious, but all they are doing is rein-
stating what you already hould be aware of in your conscious, they do not have
have the power to telll you something you have not already considered in your
conscious state.  AT most they will reinforce a thought you already have.
 
Also they should in no way be seen as a mystery to interrupt as many think
they are.  They are YOUR thoughts not some psychiatrist.  If you are having
problems undersanding your own being then a psychiatrist might be useful, but
in general people are not that far off in perceiving (sp?) what they are
feeling.  Maybe at times the power of what they are feeling but not what they
are feeling.

--
Take it easy,
Steve Harry
GO PENS!  STANLEY CUP CHAMPS '92!!!
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