Is There Any Formula to Dream? Your Question Answered

In 1923, Freud tried to make a distinction between the two types of dreams. Those which are “from above” and those which are “from below”. From Below dreams are those which are triggered by the unconscious wish which has been repressed. Dreams from above correspond to thoughts or intentions of the day before which have contrived during the night to obtain reinforcement from repressed material that is debarred from the ego. The thoughts and intentions that appear in these dreams are those of the day before. They are designed to induce the body to behave in a certain way during the night. In 1929, Freud explained that dreams could have been formulated just as well as they could have been created during the state of sleep. They could have been derived only from certain parts of the brain that were relatively deep. In short, dreams may arise either from the Instinctual Desires (Ids) or from the ego. Classification of any dream as an ego dream, as one 'from above '-and perhaps even this genetic category itself might be reconsidered at least for some instances. In this light, any thorough dream analysis must take account also of a formalist, stylistic approach (dealing with the grammar, figurative language, semantic patterns, and the like)-an approach quite in harmony with psychoanalysis. That is to say, whereas the cornerstone of modern Saussurean linguistics is that the connection between the signifier and signified is arbitrary, the cornerstone of modern stylistics is that the connection is motivated, non-arbitrary; and in that sense, formalism is close to psychoanalysis and its study of the non-arbitrariness of human behaviour and psychic activity. Through this paper, the authors want to conclude whether there is any particular formula/s (Either mathematical or subjective) to dream exist or not and what are the situations and factors that contribute to the formation of one’s dreams. This paper also highlights the different theories on dreams given by different researchers.