Thursday, September 30, 2010
Western Interpretations of Dreams vs. Non-Western Interpretations of Dreams
While discussing consciousness in class today, we came upon the theory of interpreting dreams based on geographical location. It was mentioned that westerners believed that dreams did not hold as much importance over their everyday lives and that non westerners believed that dreams were to be taken more seriously. After leaving class I was wondering how my dreams have influenced my life, having lived as a non westerner. I remembered that the week before leaving for college I had dreams that indicated anxiety about leaving my family and friends, and once I arrived the dreams stopped. I took that as indication that I felt more at home at Salve. Later that day I asked my friend who was born and raised in Texas, a somewhat western place, how she valued the importance of her dreams. She felt that while dreams could indicate subconscious worries, she had never believed they held too much importance over her life. While thios is only one example, I found th concpet to be very interesting.
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Even though your sample is small (a single friend's views on dreams), I appreciate the observations you made. Of course, even within western cultures there are lots and lots of people who place a great deal of importance on dreams. I have a couple of friends (not psychologists) who believe that they dream about events and experiences before these things actually happen. And traditional psychoanalysts believe that our dreams reveal a great deal about our unconscious desires. But as a general rule, westerners don't take their dreams too seriously and usually wouldn't make any serious decisions based solely on a dream they had. At least the people I know wouldn't do that!
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that most stood out to me while reading the chapter on dreams was the discussion on the non-Western cultures emphasis on dreams. The one that struck me the most shocking was that some places hold people accountable for their dream actions or dreams are seen as a window into the spiritual world. I have never placed much emphasis on my own dreams so this belief stood out to me.
ReplyDeleteIn some countries dreams are sacred and something that holds almost as much importance as everyday living and conciousness. This has to do alot with religion and society. Some theocratic countries dreams are a way of life. Some beleive that dreams are a way of expressing something that is going to happen in real life. I have never thought too deeply into dreams but sometimes if something is really bothering me or an issue that has been on my mind all day I will dream about it.
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