As dreams apparently emerge from what has been named the unconscious, it is helpful to understand ideas regarding it, and something of its nature.
In ancient cultures we occasionally find hints regarding the unconscious, but not definite statements as were presented by Freud. In the dream theories worked out by the Iroquois American Indians, they believed that through dreams the hidden or unconscious area of the psyche makes its desires known (See Also: Iroquoian dream cult).
The Greek stories of the Underworld also clearly depict common unconscious activities.
In general, however, many ancient peoples developed concepts of exterior agents such as devils, angels, spirits and God to account for phenomena which today we connect with the unconscious.
The first philosopher to talk clearly of an aspect of the mind being unconscious was Leibnitz. He observed that one often recalled at a later date some detail of experience which at the time one was unaware of. One must therefore have observed it unconsciously. So in general the word means anything we are not generally aware of in our being.
Freud’s concept of an unconscious element of human nature which influenced conscious behavior was strongly resisted. It was disturbing to many people and questioned the idea of humans being the ‘captain of their soul’.
The Freudian slip has become one of the popular examples of the influence of the unconscious. Saying to guests arriving at one’s house, Tm so sorry—I mean glad—you could come’ suggests one’s real feeling was sorrow at their arrival, not gladness. There is a story of a faculty member of Oxford University who asked the guests at a function to toast the queen, but his actual words were ‘Let us toast our queer dean.’ However such slips might be seen as attempts to conceal our real feelings, rather than evidence of unconscious motivations.
Taking into account not only Freudian and Jungian approaches to the unconscious, but something of more recent research, the term unconscious must be taken to represent many functions and aspects of self, rather than something we can neatly define. Therefore, we might think of the term as being like the word ‘body’, which means a whole spectrum of organs, functions, chemical processes, neurological events, systems, cell activities, as well as one’s experience of these.
[1]To dream that you are unconscious, means that you are not fully aware of the conditions and circumstances around you. You could be avoiding some issue or situation in your life, or perhaps you are refusing to recognize a negative aspect of yourself.
To see other people unconscious, is often a reflection of yourself and your own unconscious mind.
The dream signifies how you may not be alert or informed about a particular situation.
[2]Dreams of your unconscious mind signify that you are dealing with an issue that is in your blind spot, something that you can’t quite put your finger on. Or perhaps you are bringing awareness to the places in your life in which you are sleepwalking and were unaware.
[3]If you dreamed of someone else being unconscious, you are likely to hear news of an illness; if you had the rare dream of being unconscious yourself, a physical checkup would probably be beneficial.
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