h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: Dream Interpretation - A5938248
Author: Elly - A5938248 tell me what you think - U166393

I'd like some more ideas from any researcher who would like to comment on this. Keep in mind that this is a sort of 'manual for beginners', and this is why I haven't gone further into the advanced features.
Opinions muchly appreciated-
Elly

Your entry seems to suggest that we have all this information available in Dreams but for unknown reasons people disregard it. In fact, the belief that interpretation of dreams is in any way useful is confined to a small group of people and most people believe that dreams have no significance. I think this is important enough to get mentioned.

There are already edited entries on Dreams and on Lucid Dreaming but not as far as I can see on Jungian Interpretation.

The problem with dream interpretation is that it simply doesn't work. A guy I used to know had several dream encyclopedias each of which gave different interpretations for the same themes.

Mr. Dreadful- as I have mentioned in the entry, the symbols are individual, and cannot be deciphered by encyclopedias. Your friend needs to understand the symbols through his own associations, not others'.

I'll put this in, Gnomon, thank you.

'The majority of people dismiss them as insignificant nocturnal events that are not remembered in the morning'- is this better wording, Gnomon?

Okay, I admit that I was just using my standard rant against dream interpretation. The dreams I remember contain no symbolism or metaphor, they're just... odd.

Anyhoo, a few suggestions:
You could say why people decide to interpret their dreams and why this is seen as a good thing. You could also make it clearer what people should do with the information that they gain (or think they gain) from interpreting dreams.

There are a couple of things which need tidying up:
The definition at the beginning should be done as a and you don't need to underline book titles (but keep the italics) or italicise the author's name.

No. I remember most of my dreams. But I don't interpret them because I believe they are of no significance. I'm backed up in this belief by doctors, psychologist and psychiatrists.

I can't think of any possible wording that would leave you with anything to write an entry about, so I'll leave it up to you.

<>

What people *can* do, even!

Dammit, why do I never use 'preview'?

As Gnomon says, you need to cover ground that hasn't been done before in the EG. There are actually TWO EG entries entitled 'Dreams' but the better one is A3632005. It does cover (in short) Freud's and Jung's interpretation of dreams, although it's hardly a how-to guide. So there's scope for an Entry just on dream interpretation.

Unfortunately, as Gnomon also says, you need to back your words up with something other than 'this self-help book says this is how to do it' - like scientific studies showing that dream interpretation has evidence that it is useful, helps people gain insight into their psychological states, predicts the future, or any of the other claims that have been made for it. And as far as I know, there are none.

In light of this, the only way I could see to make an EG Entry on dream interpretation would be to go through its history, the claims that have been made by different people and the results of any decent scientific studies. But this would still overlap with A3632005, and I'm guessing this isn't what you wanted to do with this piece.

So I'm with Gnomon on this one. You either have to be a lot more convincing to sceptics like me, or think about what your focus of the Entry should be to get it through PR. Sorry.

Matt

I only wrote this because we had a discussion about dreams coming true on a thread, and people wanted to know how to interpret their dreams, probably out of sheer curiousity. I gave my to them, because in the past I have interpreted my own dreams and found it very interesting. If you don't believe in dreams having any significance- why would you read an entry about how to interpret them?

*wades into the fray*

Woah woah woah everyone. Now... I'm not going to give my opinion on dream interpretation as I don't think it's needed. What I am going to say, is that whilst not all people believe that dreams can be interpretted, there are many people who feel it is a valid form of self-evaluation and therefore there is scope for an entry about interpretting (am I spelling this right?) your own dreams.

I don't think you need to back your entry up with *really* hard and fast solid evidence that dream interpretation works, but you do need to show that it's actually based on something.

I could dream about being at a river and having a load of different coloured taps infront of me and needing to turn the right one but not being able to decide which one I need to do and all this time the river is flooding behind the taps but if I turn the wrong one then everything will explode. (Yes okay this was actually what I dreamt last night)

So, I could interpret this in several ways:
I am going to experience a situation where I have to do the right thing right then or something awful is going to happen.
I'm currently going through a very uncertain time and feel dithery about everything that's happening to me and am worrying that I'm going to mess it up.
I should never become a plumber.
I'm going to meet a tall, dark stranger near a river and he will be wearing lots of different colours and if I do the right thing then all will be good but I could majorly mess it up with him.

etc etc etc. The problem with all of this, however, is that who can necessarily say which one is correct. It depends what is currently happening in my life, how my mind works, what I believe etc.
Therefore you need to provide some form of evidence to back up the method you are suggesting.

I'm also wondering how much of this is just taken straight from the book...

Kat

Well, Kat, as you said, it all depends on your personal experience, but to the best of my knowledge, there's no room for personal experience on the edited guide. When you get the right interpretation to a dream, you know it in yourself 'coz it feels right to you, and only you can say it's right.
As for quoting from the book- I seem to have misplaced my copy, but I did work on the method for some time, and I remember it very well. I could possibly find it again and quote bits out of it, I suppose.

I'd like to see this written a little less like fact, and a little more like it'f factual that people do it, but how useful it is, or if your brain is really telling you something is another matter. Personally I think it sometimes is, but generally isn't.

I'd suggest some examples that are known to be shared - for example I've read that a lot of people giving up smoking dream that they have a fag. This is generally believed to be their brain reinforcing something that they don't want to happen - ie giving in and having a fag.

When I'm in love and happy I often dream that my partner leaves me - waking up in tears etc, so I believe this is my brain telling me to behave so that I don't lose something I want to keep. As time goes on these dreams become less frequent, and evenetually they stop as my feelings for the chap disapear. I believe that these dreams mean what I say, but that doesn't mean that my interpretation is correct.

You also don't mention the people who say they don't dream - what do they do if they want to keep a dream diary? Also I don't think you've mentioned that the more you 'train' yourself to remember your dreams, the more you will remember. So eventually you'll be dreaming so much you wake up shattered! Or at least that's how I felt.

Everybody dreams. They just don't remember their dreams.
Updated the entry a bit.

Yes, that's what I meant, I thought that should go in.

Thanks, Mina.
Any further thoughts?

No? Shocking - so is this entry going to stay here or what?

Hmmm, well, since I'm obviously talking to myself, I can also remove it to myself too.

I had hoped that other people would come along and say something

I don't really know what to advise on this one. But I don't want to see everything fall down so...hmm

Doesn't matter anymore.