- •Radiofrequency Field Exposure and Cancer: What Do the Laboratory Studies Suggest?
- •Introduction
- •Laboratory Studies
- •Initiation Studies
- •Conclusions
- •Cultural meaning Ancient history
- •Classical history
- •In Abrahamic religions
- •Dreams and philosophical realism
- •Postclassical and medieval history
- •In literature
- •In popular culture
- •Dynamic psychiatry Freudian view of dreams
- •Jungian and other views of dreams
- •The neurobiology of dreaming
- •Dreams in animals
- •Neurological theories of dreams Activation synthesis theory
- •Continual-activation theory
- •Dreams as excitations of long-term memory
- •Dreams for strengthening of semantic memories
- •Dreams for removing junk
- •Psychological theories of dreams Dreams for testing and selecting mental schemas
- •Evolutionary psychology theories of dreams
- •Psychosomatic theory of dreams
- •Other hypotheses on dreaming
- •Dream content
- •Relationship with medical conditions
- •Other associated phenomena
- •Incorporation of reality
- •Apparent precognition of real events
- •Lucid dreaming
- •Dreams of absent-minded transgression
- •Recalling dreams
- •Individual differences
- •Sleepwalking
- •Daydreaming
- •Hallucination
- •Nightmares
- •Night terrors
Cultural meaning Ancient history
The Dreaming is a common term within the animist creation narrative of indigenous Australians for a personal, or group, creation and for what may be understood as the "timeless time" of formative creation and perpetual creating.[7]
The Sumerians in Mesopotamia left evidence of dreams dating back to 3100 BC. According to these early recorded stories, gods and kings, like the 7th century BC scholar-king Assurbanipal, paid close attention to dreams. In his archive of clay tablets, some amounts of the story of the legendary king Gilgamesh were found. [8]
The Mesopotamians believed that the soul, or some part of it, moves out from the body of the sleeping person and actually visits the places and persons the dreamer sees in his sleep. Sometimes the god of dreams is said to carry the dreamer.[9] Babylonians and Assyrians divided dreams into "good," which were sent by the gods, and "bad," sent by demons - They also believed that their dreams were omens and prophecies. [10]
In ancient Egypt, as far back as 2000 BC, the Egyptians wrote down their dreams on papyrus. People with vivid and significant dreams were thought blessed and were considered special. [11] Ancient Egyptians believed that dreams were like oracles, bringing messages from the gods. They thought that the best way to receive divine revelation was through dreaming and thus they would induce (or "incubate") dreams. Egyptians would go to sanctuaries and sleep on special "dream beds" in hope of receiving advice, comfort, or healing from the gods.[12]
Classical history
Dreaming of the Tiger Spring (虎跑夢泉)
In Chinese history, people wrote of two vital aspects of the soul of which one is freed from the body during slumber to journey a dream realm, while the other remained in the body.[13] Although, this belief and dream interpretation had been questioned since early time, such as by the philosopher Wang Chong (27-97).[13] The Indian text Upanishads, written between 900 and 500 BC, emphasize two meanings on dreams. The first says that dreams are merely expressions of inner desires. The second is the belief of the soul leaving the body and being guided until awakened.
The Greeks shared their beliefs with the Egyptians on how to interpret good and bad dreams, and the idea of incubating dreams. Morpheus also sent warnings and prophecies to those who slept at shrines and temples. The earliest Greek beliefs of dreams was that their gods physically visited the dreamers, where they entered through a keyhole, and exiting the same way after the divine message was given.
Antiphon wrote the first known Greek book on dreams in the 5th century BC. In that century, other cultures influenced Greeks to developed the belief that souls left the sleeping body.[14] Hippocrates (469-399 BC) had a simple dream theory: during the day, the soul receives images; during the night, it produces images. Greek philosopher, Aristotle (384-322 BC) believed dreams caused physiological activity. He thought dreams could analyze illness and predict diseases.