I have done quite a bit of research on the Internet myself but have
been overwhelmed and unsuccessful in my searches. The websites I?ve
found are either irrelevant or over my head. I am only in a psyc1
class and am looking for clear information in which to write a short
paper on. I understand that this question doesn?t have one definitive
answer. I am basically looking for credible material that supports the
idea that dreams DO have meaning and trying to find out what is its
purpose. I need a response by Saturday, March 6. Thank you for your
help.

Thanks for asking!

My daughter must have just taken a similar Psych course. As a college
freshman, she discovered that the standard searching methods that
served her well in the past needed some adaptation when searching for
specific topics for essays.

Let me share some of the tips that have helped turn my own student
into a power searcher. Below the customized search tutorial, I've also
listed several credible resources that discuss or explain the
psychology of dream interpretation.


Check Directories
-----------------

Often web Directories have already grouped similar sites.

Google Directory
Science > Social Science > Psychology > Dreams
http://directory.google.com/Top/Science/Social_Sciences/Psychology/Dreams/?il=1

Yahoo Directory
Social Science > Psychology > Branches > Sleep and Dreams
http://dir.yahoo.com/Social_Science/Psychology/Branches/Sleep_and_Dreams/

Many of the sites and further subcategories in these directories appear promising


Use Search Phrases
------------------

Use quote marks to define specific phrases like "meaning of dreams"
Words like "of" are normally stop words -- too common, and purposely
ignored by search engines. When stop words like a, an, of, or the are
important to the meaning of a search, use quote marks to define a
phrase.

Google Search "meaning of dreams"
://www.google.com/search?q=%22meaning+of+dreams%22


Find and Use Synonyms 
---------------------

Interpret is similar in meaning to "meaning". By substituting
synonyms, you can often open up an entirely new direction.

Google Search "dream interpretation" psychology
://www.google.com/search?q=%22dream+interpretation%22+psychology


Use Books, Too
--------------

Use Amazon.com's Search Inside the Book feature to search books
mentioned in web pages. For instance:

Interpretation of Dreams by Sigmund Freud
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0380010003/ref=sib_dp_pt/002-0215623-8146401


Gather More Keywords As You Work
--------------------------------

In your reading, make a note of new words and phrases that you run
across and run additional searches.

Google Search: dream analysis theory
://www.google.com/search?q=dream+analysis+theory 


Search Academia
---------------

Obtain results only from .edu sources. Use Google's Advanced Search,
or add the notation: site:.edu to your search box.

Google Search: dream interpretation site:.edu
://www.google.com/search?q=%22dream+interpretation%22+site%3A.edu



Now that my search strategies are explained, here are a baker's half
dozen sites and/or articles that match your request.

Introduction to Jung Dream Analysis
http://www.insomnium.co.uk/text/jung.htm

Freud and Jung - Dream Interpretation
http://www.dreameducator.com/generic17.html

Fritz Perls and Gestalt Dream Analysis
http://www.here-be-dreams.com/psychology/perls.html

Jungian Dream Analysis, Methods, Article Links
http://studentwebs.coloradocollege.edu/~r_lovell/page_two.htm

Psychoanalysis Techniques and Practice
Dream Interpretation
http://www.freudfile.org/psychoanalysis/dreams1b.html

Sigmund Freud: Interpretation of Dreams (full text)
http://www.bibliomania.com/2/1/68/115/frameset.html

Dream Interpretation and False Beliefs
http://faculty.washington.edu/eloftus/Articles/mazz.htm



Also see:

eStudy Groups - Association for the Study of Dreams 
Membership (free trial available) required
http://www.asdreams.org/study/index.htm


I hope this helps. Best regards,

---larre

thank you for all your help.

The latest BBC Radio 4 programme "In Our Time" (Thursday 4 March 2004)
was on "Dreams - is there a science of dreams?":

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/inourtime_20040304.shtml

http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/index.shtml

You'll also find a link "listen again" (45 minutes).

Wow, fp -- what an excellent resource. Thanks for posting the link. I
enjoyed and learned from this program.

---larre

Dreams have absolutely no meaning.... Dreams act as the minds clutter
disposal program. Dreaming is the process of disposing of
psychological mystical mind clutter that has built up throughout the
day.

Dreaming is a therapeutic process; a mind cleansing process.... and
dream analyses simply regurgitates the clutter that the dreams
originally dispense. Dream analysis simple diminishes the therapeutic
mysticism disposing ability of dreams.

Such cluttered minds disintegrate into irrational anti-reality
mystical identifications which cut off an individuals ability to fully
know reality.

Short term dream analaysis is pretty harmless.... but over the long
term such analsis weakens the minds natural reality integrating
function and can lead to mystical anti-reality insanities.

http://www.neo-tech.com/neotech/advantages/advantage112.html

I have just been finished reading a small book called "A Technique for
Producing Ideas" by James Webb Young.  It is a classic in the
advertising world.  In it, Young describes the steps needed to come up
with new ideas.  Step 3 was to sleep on the problem.  He wrote that
this is "the incubating stage, where you let something beside the
conscious mind do the work of synthesis".

I just found an awesome book about dreams.  I've done some dream work
in the past and find the following book to be accurate and not over my
head.  The book is:  "Realities of the dreaming mind" by Swami
Sivananda Radha the isbn# is: 0-931454-68-9  I think you might enjoy
reading this as much as I do.  Yes, dreams DO have meaning!

John

This is from the inside liner from the book "Realities of the dreaming mind":

In Realities of the dreaming mind, Swami Radha presents an effective
technique for working with dreams - a way that is valuable both for
beginners and for experienced practitioners.  She demonstrates the
many types of dreams possible - ranging from decision-making to
prophetic - and shows us how to use dreams to learn our own personal
symbolic language.

Again, I highly recommend this book.  Even if you just read parts of
the book and use it as reference I think you will get a lot out of it.

Keep in touch. 

John  
(P.S. my birthday is March 6th.  There are no such things as coincidences!)

Dreams most certainly have meaning, they are continuations of the
thought processes you have whilst you are awake; the brain or
subconscious uses images (possibly because you can?t hear anything
when you?re asleep) that it thinks will instil certain emotions in you
to get a message across to you, or to reflect your innermost feelings
and try and come to some kind of resolution while you sleep. They can
range from really basic ideas to very complex emotions; they can even
guess at future events (this does not mean predict future events in
some kind of magical way), you may for instance dream that a kitchen
shelf falls on your head ? in this case it is likely that you?ve half
noticed a loose screw on your shelves without registering it as
important in your normal life, but your subconscious remembers seeing
it and is trying to tell you that the shelf needs fixing.

Then, of course, there are much more complicated psychological dreams
based on strong emotions, what is happening to you in your life right
now, what has happened to you during childhood; then there are common
themes that everyone dreams about from time to time:
http://www.maljonicsdreams.com/commonthemespage.htm

There is a danger, with anything like this, though that one can become
too involved in the meaning of dreams; they are simply another way of
sorting through your daily life and helping you reach psychological
solutions to your apparent problems ? in the same way a
psychotherapists will try to help you, your dreams will attempt to
show you your unconscious feelings but, because we are all different,
it is difficult to come up with definitive dream meanings ? we have to
work with the information we find on the subject and apply our own way
of thinking and individual outlook on life to come up with answers.
That is if you want to interpret dreams of course, you may just want
to ignore them and let your dreams, subconscious and ideas work
themselves out for themselves.