THE HISTORY OF DREAMING Series: IN YOUR DREAMS Publication info: Pittsburgh Post - Gazette ; Pittsburgh, Pa. [Pittsburgh, Pa]08 Dec 2003: A-9. ProQuest document link ABSTRACT (ABSTRACT) 1350 B.C. Chester Beatty papyrus, discovered Thebes, lists images and magical rituals to ward off the effects of bad dreams. The Egyptian dwarf god Bes, who wore a lion suit, was believed to protect sleepers against the demons of the night and send them pleasant good dreams. Seventh Century B.C. First lengthy record of dreams is recorded on clay tablets in Assyria, chronicling the adventures of Gilgamesh. In this epic poem, the legendary king reports his recurring dreams to his goddess-mother Ninsun, who makes the first recorded dream interpretation. 200 B.C. and 500 A.D. The Talmud, the collection of Jewish laws and traditions, includes many writings about dreams that reflect Hebrew, Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman influence. Dreams are described as omens or prognoses of one's illness. At the time people were encouraged to fast to obtain a dream that is real or one that predicts the future. FULL TEXT Ancient Egypt. The Book of the Dead, one of Egypt's most important repositories of religious authority written in 3000 B.C., provides prayers to banish nightmare spirits and instructions for incubation rituals -- the practices carried out before sleep that causes a person to dream about a particular topic. Ancient China. The Chinese consider the dreamer's soul to be the guiding factor of dream production. The hun, or spiritual soul, is thought to leave the body and communicate with the land of the dead during sleep. Biblical dreams. The Bible includes literal message dreams that come from God or his angels providing divine warnings, orders or promises. 1350 B.C. Chester Beatty papyrus, discovered Thebes, lists images and magical rituals to ward off the effects of bad dreams. The Egyptian dwarf god Bes, who wore a lion suit, was believed to protect sleepers against the demons of the night and send them pleasant good dreams. Seventh Century B.C. First lengthy record of dreams is recorded on clay tablets in Assyria, chronicling the adventures of Gilgamesh. In this epic poem, the legendary king reports his recurring dreams to his goddess-mother Ninsun, who makes the first recorded dream interpretation. 469-399 B.C. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, writes On Dreams, providing the first discussion of dreams from a medical standpoint. He believed dreams were a potent diagnostic tool in ascertaining the patient's state of physical and mental health. PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 1 of 4 384-322 B.C. Aristotle believes that the movement of blood in our sensory organs causes certain images to arise in dreams. The first subtle symptoms of an impending illness might make themselves known to the dreamer. He did not believe dreams were divinely inspired. 200 B.C. and 500 A.D. The Talmud, the collection of Jewish laws and traditions, includes many writings about dreams that reflect Hebrew, Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek and Roman influence. Dreams are described as omens or prognoses of one's illness. At the time people were encouraged to fast to obtain a dream that is real or one that predicts the future. European Middle Ages: Devastating plagues decimated populations and upset the religious, economic and social status quo. Belief in dreams as a channel to God faded and were replaced with broad beliefs in the demonic powers of dreams. Most educated people identified dreams with superstition. 1856-1939. Austrian Sigmund Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis, publishes the "Interpretation of Dreams" in 1900, which revolutionizes dream theory. The first to delineate between the conscious and unconscious mind, Freud believes that dreams are the acting out of repressed desires, many sexual. He believes an analyst can help uncover the hidden meanings. 1875-1960. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung believes that dream contents provide us with revelations that uncover and help to resolve emotional and religious issues, problems and fears. Symbols are used to represent concepts that we cannot grasp. He believes we can interpret our own dreams without an analyst. 1893-1970. Frederic "Fritz" Perls founds the school of Gestalt therapy, which is based on the belief that everyone and everything in one's dream is actually an aspect of the dreamer. Therapy involves a person physically acting out his dream. 1870-1937. Psychologist Alfred Adler believes there's a direct connection between the waking life and dream life. The less one dreams, the healthier one is psychologically. 1903-1990. Medard Boss believes there is a connection between dreaming and existentialism. Dreamers shouldn't look for symbols or hidden messages, but let dream images speak for themselves. 1913. Dutch psychiatrist Frederik van Eeden coins the term "lucid dreams" -- referring to being aware that one is dreaming -- in his analysis of 500 of his recorded dreams. 1953. Physiological basis for dreaming is confirmed in the discovery of REM sleep by researchers at the University of Chicago. 1960s and 1970s. Scientists begin to look at lucid dreams. Stephen LaBerge at Stanford University later develops methods for observing lucid dreamers in the laboratory and enhancing the lucid experiences. 1977. J. Allan Hobson, a Harvard Medical School psychiatrist, and colleague Dr. Robert McCarley, propose the activation-synthesis model of dream production, explaining that the motivating force of dreaming is not psychological, but is caused by the brain's reaction to random nervous system stimuli that occur during sleep. 1983. Association for the Study of Dreams is founded to promote research into and acceptance of how dreams can be used in everyday life. PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 2 of 4 Mid-1990s. PET scans studied by researchers at University of Pittsburgh and elsewhere for the first time identify active areas of the brain during REM and non-REM sleep. Sources: Post-Gazette research, "All About Dreams," by Gayle Delaney, Ph.D.; Essay on "Understanding Dreams: Perspectives from the Ancients Through Modern Times," by Gail Bixler-Thomas. DETAILS Publication title: Pittsburgh Post - Gazette; Pittsburgh, Pa. Pages: A-9 Number of pages: 0 Publication year: 2003 Publication date: Dec 8, 2003 Section: SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY AND MEDICINE Publisher: Pittsburgh Post - Gazette Place of publication: Pittsburgh, Pa. Country of publication: United States, Pittsburgh, Pa. Publication subject: General Interest Periodicals--United States ISSN: 1068624X Source type: Newspapers Language of publication: English Document type: NEWSPAPER ProQuest document ID: 391007764 Document URL: http://ezproxy.library.csn.edu/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/39100 7764?accountid=27953 Copyright: Copyright Post Gazette Publishing Company Dec 8, 2003 Last updated: 2017-11-06 Database: ProQuest Central PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 3 of 4 LINKS Check for full text via Primo, Check for full text via 360 Link Database copyright © 2020 ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. Terms and Conditions Contact ProQuest PDF GENERATED BY PROQUEST.COM Page 4 of 4
