AN AUTOMATIC NIGHTLY REVIEW:
Once you fall asleep, the mind activates an “automatic housekeeping” function to filter and prioritize the day's events, emotions, and reactions. This process, originally referred to as “day residues” by Freud, involves sorting through unresolved inner-outer experiences. Esteemed dream researcher Dr. Montague Ullman also highlighted these “day residues” as the seeds of dreams. However, neither Freud nor Ullman explained how a dream unfolds. Based on lifelong observation, here’s a breakdown of how a dream is born.
Steps in the Birth of a Dream
The psyche’s nightly review consists of several phases:
1. A Quick First Scan and Sort
Much like a high-speed computer, the psyche scans the day’s activities, thoughts, feelings, and observations to assess how they align with your past experiences. It compares new observations against your goals, ideals, hopes, and desires. During this first pass, the mind creates two categories:
- The “Completed” Pile: Items that are adequately handled and no longer require attention.
- The “Still Needs Attention” Pile: Unresolved issues and emotional leftovers that require further processing.
2. Filing the “Completed” Pile
The psyche addresses the completed tasks and files them away in memory, much like filing paperwork that no longer needs attention. These are experiences with no emotional loose ends.
3. A Detailed Second Scan for the “Still Needs Attention” Pile
After the initial scan, the psyche conducts a more in-depth review of the unresolved thoughts, feelings, actions, and decisions from the day. It prioritizes these issues and compares them to your current and past experiences, ultimately generating conclusions and suggestions to address them. These conclusions now need to be conveyed back to you.
4. The Psyche’s Feedback: Dreams as Visual Memos
The psyche compiles a “report” summarizing unresolved feelings and concerns. This report offers new insights, fresh perspectives, or suggestions for further exploration. While you sleep, this visual memo is presented in the form of a dream. Essentially, a dream is the mind’s way of communicating back to you.
What Does a Dream Communicate?
A dream memo from the psyche can convey one or more of the following:
- An overview of unresolved feelings or issues.
- Past influences or reactions relevant to a current situation.
- Unnoticed factors affecting a current topic.
- Feelings with which you may not be fully in touch.
- An invitation to change your perspective or goal.
- Advice on how to address an issue.
- General or specific insights into a problem or concern.
See also: Dream Interpretation, Day Residues, Subconscious, Montague Ullman.
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