From the website ThinkQuest.org, I learned about why we dream and even a little bit about the way to interpret dreams. There wasn't a straightfoward answer on either, though. Different people have different reasons as to why we dream and how to interpret them. Five famous reasons are Freud's, Jung's, Cayce's, Evan's, and Crick and Mitchinson's. One part of Freud's theory is that every dream comes from a childhood wish. Jung disagreed with Freud on who can intepret dreams. Freud thought only trained psychologists could interpret people's dreams while Jung felt that the dreamer could interpret his or her own dream. Jung went on to say that when a person was interpreting his or her dream, they need to ask themselves specific questions. On the other hand, Freud and Jung agree on the three parts of the mind: the collective unconscious, the personal unconscious, and the conscious. Additionally, Cayce thought that dreams were a way of building up oneself spiritually, mentally, and physically. Therefore, it was best to get a good night's sleep. Evan's theory relates to what happens with dreams during REM sleep. Last, but not least, "Crick and Mitchinson base their theory on the face that the cortex, unlike other parts of the brain, is made up of richly interconnected neuronal networks in which each cell has the capacity to excite it's neighbors" (unknown).
I felt like this website was a great website for the start of my research on dream interpretations. Before I start looking into basic interpretations, i felt like it was good to learn why we dream and how to interpret dreams, or at least on how some people feel about these things. Though I didn't get a specific answer, I can create my own opinion and start having a better understanding of why we dream and how I can interpret mine. Personally, I agree with Cayce's theory the most. To me, it makes sense that most of our dreams our what build us up spiritually, mentally, and physically. Cayce said that your dreams can tell you how to solve real life problems, let you know that you need help when you're sick, and more. One reason I agree with this is because sometimes God sends us messages through dreams. This could build us up spiritually and when we awaken, we could be different people. Also, "Cayce believed that if you were to interpret your dreams correctly, you must thoroughly study yourself" (unknown). Cayce goes on to say that you need to know everything in your conscious and subconscious mind, such as future plans, hidden fears, longings, etc. This will make it easier to intepret your dreams. I agree with this, too, because if you don't know your mind inside and out, it won't be easy to interpret your dreams. There are basic dream interpretations, but these only help you to an extent. Each person is different so one person's dream about falling probably won't interpret the exact same way someone else's falling dream might be interpreted.
unknown. "Why We Dream." ThinkQuest. ThinkQuest, 1997. Web. 25 Mar 2010. http://library.thinkquest.org/11189/nftheories.htm.
