Introduction
Man has always been fascinated and puzzled by his dreams. Their variety, complexity, mystery and ‘otherworldliness’ have lead many societies both past and present to attribute dreams with special significance; prophesy, divine communication, mystic powers and counsel. Even today in the west, people seek ‘dream interpretation’ as a form of entertainment, ‘fortune telling’, advising and the opportunity to be the centre of attention. Dream dictionaries abound in every bookshop offering the opportunity to ‘discover the hidden meaning of you dreams and what they are trying to tell you’.
However, there is a serious and scientific side to dream interpretation. Eminent Psychotherapists including Freud and Jung considered Therapeutic Dream Analysis or Dream Interpretation a key feature of Psychotherapeutic work. They believe and have reasonable proven that dreams are a symbolic form of communication from the unconscious mind to the conscious mind by which the unconscious mind returns material to the conscious mind for processing. Thus the interpretation of dreams is a means by which a client with the help of a Therapist can access ‘unconscious’ material for Therapeutic purposes.
Dream Analysis is the process of discovering the hidden meaning within the symbolism of dreams.
More to come...