Lesson 4

Why can’t I remember my dreams? Was it really a dream? - - it seemed so real! Why doesn’t hypnosis work with me? Is there an “addiction” gene? Caffeine isn’t really a drug, is it?

If you are like most of us, you may have wondered about some, or all of these topics. Modules 7 and 8 are designed to answer these questions and more while providing for lively discussion. The effects of various types of drugs on consciousness and brain functioning will be explored as well.

Consciousness is the sum total of all our perceptions, feelings, emotions, thoughts, and sensations at any given time.

During out lives we go through periods of time when our perceptions and thoughts can be altered and we are then in what can be said to be an "altered state of consciousness". Here are some examples:

You can tell that in these "altered states" our perceptions, feelings, emotions, thoughts, and sensations are altered. If they are altered too much we can get into trouble (depending on what we are doing or need to do at the time).

Anything that we ingest has the potential of altering our internal chemistry and thus the internal chemistry of the brain. Substances that are known to bring about specific changes in brain function are referred to as "psychoactive" or "psychotropic"...nearly every medication has some degree of "psychoactive" component.

Using substances to alter consciousness has been practiced since the ancient world. Essentially, in moderation, there is little wrong with this practice. However, the use of substances can become problematic. Problems occur when the continued use of the substance is not mitigated by negative effects (lost your job and your spouse but you keep using) and when the tolerance for one drug leads to increased doses and experimentation with other drugs (gateway drugs).

The field of Psychology defines mental disorders is a large volume called the DSM-V. DSM stands for the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" and the V stands for the fact that it is in it's 5th edition.

Problematic substance use can be diagnosed as "Substance Use Disorder" of the user meets a specific number of criteria.

Dreams have always been mysterious and fascinating to people. Throughout history dreams have been interpreted to have great meaning...right up to the modern day...even in light of modern theories on the neurology of dreaming.

Check out this website which reviews the major thoughts on dreaming and the meaning of dreams...taken from Stephen LaBerge, (1985). Lucid Dreaming. New York: Ballantine

People have been interpreting dreams throughout history, even into the ancient world. In the ancient world dreams were considered to be messages from the spiritual world or from the gods. The Bible is full of dream interpretation, particularly in the Book of Daniel, but also in the new Testament. Dreams guided the parents of Jesus to move to Egypt and to come back...they also guided the enemies of Jesus in the day.

Freud's view of the personality, and psychosis/neurosis problems, posits that much of our personality (most of our super ego and all of our ID) lay beneath our consciousness. Access to this aspect of our personality, and to the conflicts that bring about mental health problems, was largely impossible except through the techniques of Free Association and Dream Interpretation that Freud developed. Essentially, Freud felt that dreams were like cracks in the ground that let up the boiling magma (much like we are seeing in Hawaii), otherwise we are not even aware that the Magma is there!

A student of Freud, however, Carl Jung is largely credited with the most comprehensive work on dream interpretation. Jung expanded on Freud's work on the personality being largely unconscious and put for the notion of an analysis of this unconscious world that we share with all human beings. He called it the "Collective Unconscious" and proposed a lot of wild theories of how it works.

For one, Jung believed that while our personalities "floated" in a sea of spiritual unconsciousness, unknown aspects of our personalities could communicate with other personalities around the world with no delay by time or distance. From this work we get the notion of "soul mates" who manipulate the real world in order to run into each other some day and find one another. The chance meetings of people, events, and circumstances in our lives are not attributed to a dice role but to a process he called "Synchronicity" where there was an actual effort made by our unconscious selves to coordinate these "chances".

In terms of dream interpretation, Jung also proposed that this unconscious "sea" in which we are floating is not passive. It is filled with symbols that have rich shared meaning among all people. He felt it was not chance that determined that nearly all of human cultures use circles to describe the wholeness of the universe or "God" (consider the halos around Christian images and the image of wedding rings to signify and "infinite" bond between man and woman)

Jung records his work in a seminal work called "Memories, Dreams, and Reflections" which is part academic work and part autobiography. Through the analysis of dreams he developed a catalog of meaningful images that continues to guide dream interpreters to the modern day. The fact that we might see the presence of a "house full of rooms" in a dream as referring to the dreamer's "personality" (made up of many different aspects) and that common storylines such as being chased represent fears about consequences of certain actions related to other symbols in the dream, come largely from this work.

Consider this...when we look into the night sky all of humanity has seen shapes and figures in the starts. We call them constellations. Consider the big dipper (or the bear for native Americans)...there is no "big dipper" in the sky and the starts are not arranged in this manner for our benefit...but the brain is so good at seeing patterns (useful most of the time) that we will create patterns and relationships even when there are none.

This is called the Activation-Synthesis theory of dreams. Work on this was first published in 1977 Allan Hobson and Robert McCarley. These are good names to look up...and to follow up on current dream and sleep work being done by others.

Those of us who ascribe to a symbolic meaning of dreams can straddle the largely sketchy and difficult-to-validate world of Jung with the modern activation-synthesis theories in this way. While it might be correct that our brain is weaving together a storyline in reaction to the random brain activity that is occurring during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) phase of our sleep cycle, we can also ask why we would weave together these particular stories and images? Even if we are not dipping into a collectively experienced world of unconscious depths with lurking monsters and symbols, why do the patters exist across all cultures?

So...in my own minor work in dream interpretation I use a dream dictionary that explains the classic symbols of objects, situations, etc. that occur in dreams. This is a useful tool to engage the dreamer in a conversation about what the dream may mean to them individually. It is also important to have the dreamer reflect on their emotional experiences in the dream. This allows me to engage the dreamer in a conversation about what is currently going on in their lives and determine if some of the conflictual challenges they are dealing with (struggles in relationships, learning to be an adult, changing job, trouble with their health) are being "worked on" in their dream world symbolically. Can the work that is going on during sleep, once uncovered and analyzed, help the person feel validated, explore new options, and engage in problem solving in their real world? I think it can.

I have been successful interpreting dreams that revealed some hidden concerns and the need to act on the part of some dreamers. I've also experienced having people gain insight into their own internal processes through the dream analysis process.

Eventually, as the work with dreamers moves forward, we move away from the dream and into the real world of challenges that the dreams help reveal. The answers do not generally lay in the dream...dreams simply point to the problem and reveal different sides of the story...the dreamer can then apply this to a better understanding of their problem, the decisions they face, and their own internal psychological world.

My personal approach to dreams is based a bit on the symbolic interpretation of the objects, situations, and people that are in our dreams. I used to belong to the Jungian Society at Bowdoin College where collections of analysts would get together an interpret dreams of one another. Very interesting group! (check it out at http://www.mainejungcenter.org/).

When I work with dreams I use a book of dream symbols that serve as starting points in the dream interpretation process. For me the point is not to dictate what the dream means in some sort of objective sense, but to assist the person is coming to a conclusion as to what it means to them.

My focus is first on the characters in the dream, then the action, and finally the thoughts and feelings the person had while in the dream. I then draw on the symbolic meaning of specific characters, objects, and events and explore major life events going on in the person's life. Eventually we often come to some sort of connection between events that are going on in their lives and the content in the dream. At this point the client usually takes over and interprets what the dream must mean.

This can be a powerful experience because the person can often feel deeply connected to the content of the dream and its meaning...it is also empowering because the meaning is generated by them, not from me...and so is the dream...so if there is any resolution or direction to be taken from the dream they know that they came up with it themselves.

In this section you will find a list of the required Assessments that accompany this Lesson. The Lesson Discussions are designed for the ONLINE and HYBRID versions of this course. If you are not in an ONLINE or HYBRID version of this course you can ignore these instructions unless otherwise guided by your instructor.

Describe a dream that you have had, or one that someone close to you has had. Note the objects, events, and feelings that were present in the dream. Many dream analysts feel that dreams are symbolic and that they mean MORE than what is on the surface!

Use the online dream dictionary from the Lesson to look up they SYMBOLIC meaning of images and events within the dream.

Example: Let's say I had a dream where I was being chased in a hotel by a dog...

According to the website, "Hotel" means..."To see a hotel in your dream, signifies a new state of mind or a shift in personal identity. You are undergoing some sort of transition and need to move away from your old habits and old way of thinking. You need to temporarily escape from your daily life. Alternatively, the dream may imply a loss in your personal identity."

According to the website, one of the meanings of "Dog" is..."To see a dog in your dream, symbolizes intuition, loyalty, generosity, protection, and fidelity. The dream suggests that your strong values and good intentions will enable you to go forward in the world and bring you success."

INTERPETATION: I might interpret this as meaning that I am undergoing a transition in my life where I'm becoming more loyal to ideas or to my wife (Yikes, why did I pick this one!!!)...or I might be under pressure to do this (the Dog is CHASING me!)

Many students in college experience a challenge managing their time and healthy habits (such as sleep and eating). Reflect on how much sleep you are getting and how that impacts your performance in your daily activities. Below is a link to an article titled "Sleep Loss, Learning Capacity and Academic Performance", read the introduction, conclusions, and "Practice Points"...reflect on how the results of this study may pertain to your particular situation.

The following are the questions that you will find in the Lesson 4 Assessment. Prepare your answers ahead of time and paste them into the answer boxes.