Sigmund Freud - Dream Theories

In my readings from the great Gutenberg Project press, I found a good summary of some of Freud's fundemental theories on dreams.  Each of the following quotes come from here.

"Five facts of first magnitude were made obvious to the world by his interpretation of dreams."

"First of all, Freud pointed out a constant connection between some part of every dream and some detail of the dreamer's life during the previous waking state. This positively establishes a relation between sleeping states and waking states and disposes of the widely prevalent view that dreams are purely nonsensical phenomena coming from nowhere and leading nowhere."

I find this statement so true.  On my mission I had one companion who would tell his dreams every morning.  As he continued to do it he was able to draw upon more and more details of what happened and was able to recall the dreams far longer.  And although they seemed to take all different types of themes and subjects, it always had some connection back to the previous week in some way.

"Secondly, Freud, after studying the dreamer's life and modes of thought, after noting down all his mannerisms and the apparently insignificant details of his conduct which reveal his secret thoughts, came to the conclusion that there was in every dream the attempted or successful gratification of some wish, conscious or unconscious."

I am not sure I fully agree with this statement.  How do nightmares fall under this statement?   I don't find it a reasonable conclusion to say that people wish to have nightmares nor do I find them gratifying in any form.  But often they do have some connection to our higher desires and, well, dreams.


"Thirdly, he proved that many of our dream visions are symbolical, which causes us to consider them as absurd and unintelligible; the universality of those symbols, however, makes them very transparent to the trained observer."

I feel this is pushing off into that whole arena of horoscope.  I am pretty sure the Chinese have spent centuries on this subject and have come off with few concrete conclusions.


"Fourthly, Freud showed that sexual desires play an enormous part in our unconscious, a part which puritanical hypocrisy has always tried to minimize, if not to ignore entirely."

I think there is a reason that the puritans have left it alone.  And I will follow their example and leave it quietly behind.


Finally, Freud established a direct connection between dreams and insanity, between the symbolic visions of our sleep and the symbolic actions of the mentally deranged."


I am pretty sure this is why people consider those who study crazy people to be half crazy themselves.  If you surround yourself with two much instability you will soon find yourself instable.