The Physiology, Psychology, and Utilization of Dreams

Growth, Change and Transformation in Dreams

“…Evidence is accumulating that the REM state is influenced by personality states (e.g., anxiety, depression, alcoholism) where there is a functional disturbance of the personality (Whitman et al, 1967). This would be consistent with our assumption, insofar as an increase in psychosynthetic activity would be required to cope with unusual stress and problems of personality development.…”

“…While commentators (Meissner, 1968;Foulkes, 1964;Whitman et al, 1967) on electrophysiological studies of sleep and dreams have provided some support for the analytical orientation, the overwhelming import of such research may be its significance for the basic assumption of the synthetic or constructive orientation: dreaming is an endogenous process of psychological growth, change and transformation. In this section we will outline the implications for this synthetic orientation from two distinct lines of current psychophysiological research-(1) The EEG studies of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep initiated by Aserinsky and Kleitman (1953) and (2) the neurochemistry of memory and learning.…”