The history of dream analysis and the origins of dream analysis are unknown. As long as people have been dreaming, the analysis and interpretation of dreams in some shape or form has been taking place.
Dreams must have been both fascinating and terrifying to our ancient ancestors, and they were most likely very confused by this strange form of consciousness. We do know that many ancient cultures placed great importance on the situations encountered in their dreams, and used those situations to cast light on their waking lives. As a matter of fact, many civilisations did not see a distinction between the waking world and the world of dreams, but instead saw one as merely an extension of the other.
Some of the earliest references to dreams and their interpretation occurs in the Bible, and the Bible is full of references to the dreams of prophets and other notable people.
The ancient Greek and Roman world was also full of dream interpreters and analysis, and the Greek and Roman government and military alike used the services of professional dream interpreters to determine the best course of political action and even the best strategy for battle.
Dream interpreters were even taken along as troops prepared for battle, and their interpretations were taken very seriously, as were the dreams of the generals and the troops.
Our history of dream analysis
In the ancient world, the Greek philosopher Aristotle was a big advocate of dream interpretation, and he spoke about the illusion of the senses that allowed dreams to occur. He later came to be believe that disturbances of the body were the cause of dreams.
Many ancient peoples thought that dreams were a way for the soul to commune with the spirit world. In many cultures, the soul was thought to leave the body at night, and dreams were thought of as a way of communicating with, and gaining information about, departed relatives and ancient ancestors alike.
Of course dream analysis and dream interpretation is still in use today, and it has been used successfully to deal with all manner of traumas and emotional issues. For instance, it is known that those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), are often troubled by nightmares. Dealing with the underlying cause of the PTSD, through a combination of therapies and psychological techniques, can banish those nightmares as well.
Many people place great significance on dreams and dreaming, and people continue to see a spiritual element in the dream world. Dreams still remain largely a mystery to science, and this mystery has helped to spur thoughts that dreams contain more than a mere physical meaning.
Dream interpretation continues to be used, both as a fun hobby and as a serious scientific pursuit. Dream research is one of the most fascinating, and widely studied, elements of psychological research, and new dream studies continue to reveal hidden insights about the world of dreams.
From Carl Jung to Sigmund Freud to modern psychologists and psychiatrists, many people have tried and continue to try, to understand the hidden meanings, and hidden messages, of our dreams. From the world of dream analysis and dream research new symbols and understanding continue to emerge.
It was their differing interpretations of the dream world, and their different views of the unconscious, however, that eventually led the two men to go their separate ways. Eventually, their differing views on what dreams meant caused a major rift in their relationship.
Jung saw the unconscious on a more spiritual level. To Carl Jung, dreams were the best method for people to acquaint themselves with their unconscious mind. Carl Jung did not see dreams as a way to hide the dreamer’s true feelings from the conscious mind, as Freud did. Jung saw dreams as providing a guide to the waking self and helping the dreamer achieve a kind of wholeness. To Jung, dreams were a way of offering solutions to problems the dreamer was experiencing in his or her waking life.