Celebrity Guide to Hollywood Dreams – How movie stars interpret and understand their own fascinating dreams
By Don Hale OBE
Smashwords Edition
Copyright December 2011 Don Hale
Smashwords Edition, License Notes: This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
THE CELEBRITY GUIDE TO HOLLYWOOD DREAMS – How movie stars interpret & understand their own fascinating dreams - By top showbiz writer Don Hale OBE
This book really is a true ‘ star guide’ and is now a much sought-after dictionary and factual information guide demanded by many famous Hollywood movie stars – and provides an exclusive and fascinating insight into the true world of Dream Interpretation. It provides a comprehensive and rational explanation for a whole series of weird and wonderful dream and/or nightmare experiences, and confirms just how and why we dream, with a detailed analysis of a number of potential scenarios…. It contains substantial historical background and expert opinion about dreaming. It is a must for every Hollywood home…
A BRIEF HISTORY OF DREAMS
The interpretation of dreams by so-called dream experts is almost as old as dreaming itself. We all realise that humans, and many animals, dream every night – but humans have always been fascinated to learn what actually causes dreams and what they mean. The interpretation of dreams dates back at least as far as 3000-4000 B.C. We know that for certain due to the interpretations of dreams recorded in permanent form on clay tablets.
It is thought that many primitive peoples were unable to initially distinguish between the real world and the dream world. In many cases, these people looked upon the dream world simply as an extension of the physical world around them, and in many cases they saw the dream world as more powerful than the waking one.
Dream interpretation was such an important field to the ancient Greek and Roman world that dream interpreters often accompanied generals and other military leaders into battles. Dreams were taken extremely seriously, and the Greeks and Romans in particular often viewed dreams as messages sent by their Gods. Dreams also had a religious content in ancient Egypt, and priests usually doubled as dream interpreters.
Dreams were among many important items recorded by the ancient Egyptians in the form of hieroglyphics. Those whose dreams were especially vivid or significant were thought to be blessed and were given special status in these ancient societies. Likewise, people who were able to interpret dreams were thought to receive these gifts directly from the Gods, and they enjoyed a special status in society as well.
There are over seven hundred specific mentions of dreams in the Holy Bible, and people in biblical times saw dreams as being of great significance. Dreams and their interpretations are mentioned in many of the most significant books of the Bible and other Holy Scriptures.
Form of Prophecy
In many cases, dreams were often seen as a form of prophecy. People often interpreted their dreams as omens or warnings, and adjusted their activities accordingly. Dreams were often thought of as omens from deities, as messages from spirits, or as messages from departed souls. In some cases, dreams were even seen as the work of demons, meant to confuse and trouble the dreamer.
Dreams were so important that they often dictated the actions of political and military leaders, affecting everything from the prosecution of a battle to the outcome of a political decision. Dreams were also thought to provide vital clues to healers, and they were used in the diagnosis and treatment of all manners of illness.
Indigenous peoples often looked upon dreaming as a way to commune directly with Gods and spirits, and dreams are still used in this way by cultures around the world. Many people believed, and some still do, that during dream sleep the soul leaves the body and communes with the spirit world.
The Chinese were one culture who believed that the soul left the body each night during dream sleep. They believed that if the dreamer were suddenly awakened the soul might not be able to return to the body. That is why some Chinese are still wary about the use of alarm clocks. This is just one example of how ancient legends can linger into the modern world.
Some Mexican and Native American societies share this ancient view of the importance of dreams, and share the belief in a separate dimension that is visited during dream sleep. These people believed that their departed ancestors lived in their dreams, and that they were able to take forms like animals and plants. Thus dreams were seen as a way for them to commune with their recent and ancient ancestors, and to gather wisdom and knowledge that would serve them in their waking lives. Dreams were also seen as ways to gather information about their purpose or mission in life.
Dreams and their meaning
Dreams are universal, and are experienced by men and women, young and old, and people of all cultures and ethnicities. In some ways, dreams are a universal language, and there are certain themes, such as falling, flying, taking or failing a test and finding yourself naked that show up in dreams throughout the world. Dreams therefore, could even be claimed to represent a kind of universal human language. Dreams have been studied throughout history and even today, dream interpreters are highly sought out for their help untangling the confusing world of dreams. You may think you know everything there is to know about dreams and dream interpretation, but did you know that: -
A third of our lives are spent in sleep, and a good amount of that time is spent in dreams. The average person dreams from between four to seven times every night. That means that by the time you reach the age of 80, you will have had between 116,800 and 204,400 dreams.
That number may be even larger, since there is evidence that dreaming begins even before birth. No one deigns to know what unborn babies dream about, but there is evidence that they do dream. In the average lifetime, a person will have spent approximately six years in dream sleep, equivalent to more than 2,100 days of dreaming. There are definite records of dream interpretation, discovered written on clay tablets, with some dating back more than 4,000 years.
Everyone dreams every night, even though only a tiny fraction of those dreams are remembered upon waking. Many animals dream as well, although no one has been able to ask them what they dream about.
People have to dream, though no one really knows why. What we do know is that preventing people from dreaming can cause irritability, mood changes and even hallucinations. The average person spends up to one quarter of his or her sleep time in dream sleep, and dreams an average of four to seven times during that time. The average episode of dream sleep lasts about 10 to 15 minutes.
Dreams slip away very quickly upon waking. It is estimated that as much as half the dream’s content is forgotten within five minutes, and after only ten minutes up to 90% of the dream can be gone forever.
Men dream more about other men than about women, but women tend to dream about men and women equally. The brain is actually more active, not less during dream sleep than during wakefulness.
People who are awakened during dream sleep are able to recall their dreams vividly and in great detail, while those who wakes normally generally are not.
Both men and women experience sexual arousal during most dreams, regardless of whether the nature of the dream was sexual or not.
Smokers who are quitting often experience more intense dreams than either non-smokers or current smokers. Babies and toddlers dream just as adults do, but studies have revealed they do not dream about themselves. Toddlers generally do not appear in their own dreams until they are at least three or four years old. It is not possible to dream and snore simultaneously.
Nightmares are a common trauma of childhood, with the first nightmares usually occurring by the age of three, and typically lasting at least until the child is seven or eight years old. Many people report having experienced Déjà vu in their dreams, but dreams involving Déjà vu are more common in women than in men.
Dream Analysis
No one knows the precise origins of dream analysis. Dreams must have been both fascinating and terrifying to our ancient ancestors, and they were most likely very confused by this strange form of consciousness. We do know that many ancient civilizations placed great importance on the situations encountered in their dreams, and used those situations to cast light on their waking lives. Of course dream analysis and dream interpretation is still in use today, and it has been used successfully to deal with all manner of traumas and emotional issues. For instance, it is known that those suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are often troubled by nightmares.
Dealing with the underlying cause of the PTSD, through a combination of therapies and psychological techniques, can banish those nightmares as well.
In the ancient world, the Greek philosopher Aristotle was fascinated by dream interpretation, and often spoke about the illusion of the senses that allowed dreams to occur. He believed that disturbances of the body were the cause of dreams. Many ancient peoples thought that dreams were a way for the soul to commune with the spirit world.
In many cultures, the soul was thought to leave the body at night, and dreams were thought of as a way of communicating with, and gaining information about, departed relatives and ancient ancestors alike.
Even today, many people place great significance on dreams and dreaming, and many people continue to see a spiritual element in the dream world. Dreams still remain largely a mystery to science, and this mystery has helped to spur thoughts that dreams contain more than a mere physical meaning.
Dream interpretation continues to be used, both as a fun hobby and as a serious scientific pursuit. Dream research is one of the most fascinating, and widely studied, elements of psychological research, and new dream studies continue to reveal hidden insights about the world of dreams.
New symbols, too, continue to emerge from the world of dream analysis and dream research. From Carl Jung to Sigmund Freud to modern psychologists and psychiatrists, many people have strived, and continue to strive, to understand the hidden meanings, and hidden messages, of our dreams. The respect for dreams changed radically early in the 19th century, and dreams in that era were often dismissed as reactions to anxiety, outside noises or even bad food and indigestion. During this period, dreams were considered to have no meaning at all, and interest in dream interpretation all but evaporated. Sigmund Freud changed all that thinking in the 19th century. He stunned the world of psychiatry by stressing the importance of dreams, and immediately revived the near forgotten world of dream interpretation.
Sigmund Freud revolutionised the world of dreams and dream interpretation with radical new ideas incorporating dreams and deep-seated childhood fears.
Born in 1865, Sigmund Freud revolutionized the world of psychiatry and dream interpretation with his seminal work ‘The Interpretation of Dreams.’ Freud started to analyze the dreams of his patients, and used this dream analysis to diagnose and treat their psychiatric ills.
Freud also studied dreams as a way to understand certain aspects of the personality, especially those aspects that lead to psychological problems and disorders. Freud believed that nothing human beings did happened by chance, and that every action, no matter how small or seemingly trivial, was at some level motivated by the unconscious mind.
Of course in order for a civilized, modern society to function, certain primal needs and desires must be repressed, and Freud’s theory was that these repressed urges and desires were released by the unconscious during dream sleep. Freud saw dreams as a direct connection to the unconscious mind, and he studied that connection through the interpretation of symbolic objects found in dreams.
The theory was that with the conscious mind acts as a guard on the unconscious, preventing certain repressed feelings from coming to the surface. During sleep, however, this conscious guard is absent, and the subconscious mind is free to run wild and express its most hidden desires.
Freud was especially interested in the sexual content of dreams, and he often saw ordinary objects in dreams as representations of sexual desire. To Freud, every long, slender item encountered in a dream, from a knife to a flagpole, was a phallic image, while any receptacle such as a bowl or vase, represented the female genitalia. He believed in five stages of personality, and he saw dreams as manifestations of desired stemming from each of these five stages. To Freud, personality formation consisted of: -
Stage One – Oral/Dependency
Freud’s theory was that any needs not satisfied during the oral/dependency stage would cause the person to go through life trying to meet them. Thus, to Freud, habits such as overeating, drinking too much and smoking were all oral fixations. People suffering from these oral fixations often dreamed about their unmet needs and desires.