society, for people are often influenced in how they act by the people around them. Thus,
dreams are the only moment in which the true person can be seen, for dreams are private and
known only by the dreamer, and they reveal the true inner self. Jung chastised the Freudian
notion that all images in dreams are symbols for something else, for Jung believed that dreams
are honest, and that it is more important to understand the emotional impact of a dream on the
dreamer than to understand every individual symbol. Although disagreeing with Freud on the
exact method that the unconscious used to communicate with the dreamer, Jung also believed
that dreams are important in understanding the true personality of an individual.
Dreams can function generally as a form of psychic regulation. Jung subscribed to this
notion when he stated: “Dreams are the natural reaction of the self-regulating psychic system.
This formulation is the nearest I can get to a theory about the structure and function of dreams”
(Empson, 26). Two types of dreams exist that serve a purpose of psychic regulation:
compensatory dreams and confirmatory dreams. Compensatory dreams compensate for a
strength or a weakness. It serves to balance the psyche by identifying something ignored by an
individual. For example, Ted Williams had a dream that compensated for his feelings of
physical inadequacy months after he had a stroke. He dreamed that he was facing the Seattle
Mariners’ ace pitcher Randy Johnson. Williams’ dream of hitting a home run compensated for
his negative feelings about himself.
The other type of psychic regulation dream is the confirmatory dream. The confirmatory
dream confirms something about a person. This type of dream occurs in two different ways.
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First, a confirmatory dream may be an exact repetition of an actual event. For example,
“post-traumatic stress dreams…are nightmare repetitions of frightening…experiences…Such
dreams underscore the reality of the event and assure the dreamer that his or her response is
legitimate and not an overreaction” (Dunlop, 119). Thus, by repeating the actual event, a
confirmatory dream can help the dreamer to understand his emotions and accept them. The
other type of confirmatory dream is one that emphasizes an unacceptable truth. Mickey Mantle
had a confirmatory dream about his physical condition after retiring from baseball: “I had a
recurring nightmare that I was trying to make a comeback and, because of my legs, I couldn’t
quite make it to first base. I’d get thrown out from right field or left field” (Dunlop, 292). Mantle’s
dream was a confirmation of an unacceptable truth, but his dream eventually helped him to
accept his situation and resulting emotions. Confirmatory dreams, like compensatory dreams,
reveal a person’s inner emotions to his conscious mind.
Many dreams, such as the types previously discussed, relate to personal situations of
the dreamer. This is not always the case, however, for dreams are sometimes universal. The
universality of dreams is means that dreams are mixed experiences of the individual and
the species. Jung propounded the theory of the collective unconscious to describe the
unconscious as containing a collection of memories from the beginnings of mankind. This
explains the archetypes found in dreams that have universal representation, such as a circle
representing unity and a snake representing evil. The archetypical quality of dreams
is similar to the basic themes of fairy tales, for universal dreams often involve common factors of
existence, such as birth and death. Montague Ullman summarizes the universal quality of
dreams when he states: “Our dreams are connected with the basic truth that we are all
members of a single species” (Ullman 145).
Dreams can also lead to a sort of secular revelation in the form of artistic inspiration.
This makes sense because dreams in themselves resemble art, for dreams and art both have
qualities of “[visual nature, novelty, concreteness, contrast, vividness, emotion, universality, and
metaphorical association]” (Ullman 60). Dreams influenced several artistic genres, such as the
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symbolists (like Van Gogh) and the surrealists (like Dali). The nature of dreams serve as an
inspiration for artists who try to capture emotion on canvas in the same manner that
dreams do.
Dreams are universal to the human experience. Studying dreams is useful to all of
humanity, for every single person dreams. Dreams are important to memory consolidation and
learning, conflict resolution and anticipation of the future. Dreams can also help to cope
with trauma and death, as well as reveal an individual’s inner personality. Finally, dreams may
result in artistic inspiration, which allows everybody to experience someone’s individual dream.
One can only hope that the scientific community can further understand the perplexity of the
subconscious, but perhaps the subconscious is so complex that it can never be understood. In
the meantime, one can dream about the endless possibilities of the human psyche.
Dunlop, Charles E. M.;edt., Philosophical Essays on Dreaming.
Ithica, New York: Cornrl University Press, 1977.
Empson, Jacob, Sleep and Dreaming. London: Faber and Faber
Limited, 1989.
Freud, Sigmund, The Interpretation of Dreams. New York, New
York: Random House Inc., 1994.
Litowinsky, Olga, The Dream Book. New York : Coward, McCann
& Geoghegan, Inc., 1978.
Ullman; edt., The Variety of Dream Experience Expanding our
Ways of Working with Dreams. New York : Continum
Publishing Co., 1998.