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Some readers must have wondered about where we got our dreams from. How did we get those dreams with which we have done dream interpretation analysis? Some dreams were written from a primary source like a dream journal.
A primary source is a raw material, which is used in historical research. A primary source is deemed reliable enough to be used for a topic under investigation. This source is usually created during the time frame which is being studied. If this source is created later, then it is produced by eye-witnesses or participants who are telling the story straight from their accounts. Primary sources may be available in the form of hardcopy books, newspapers, microfilm, or even digital storage devices.
Three examples of primary sources are:
- A diary with entries, autobiograpy. (eg. dream journal)
- Article with first-hand account of a dream, which has not been reported elsewhere.
- A creative work like a painting/ drawing/ original fictional story/ song.
Secondary sources are second person interpretations of events. These documents are written after studying primary sources and also secondary sources. Secondary sources may be in the form of scientific journal articles, scholarly journals, research paper essay, books, documentary films and etc.
Three examples of secondary sources are:
- My research paper. Eg. When Chinese females dream of their dead relatives.
- The article, “History: Primary Sources: Definition” (Georgia State University, 2017).
- A short YouTube documentary, “Intuition vs Thinking” (Koniver, 2013).
- I prefer to use primary sources as I want to read directly from the horse’s mouth. I know that sometimes, a quote can be mis-used, or placed out of context. I would also read closely to detect bias or manipulation of the material. I would use primary sources, or none at all. However, I do really that this may not be possible all the time.
- On other times, I found secondary sources useful, especially when another expert rewrites and interprets a difficult theory for us. The secondary source may also try to provide a critique, and discussion, to rationalise or explain further. In psychology, I found my contemporary experts to be good at explaining concepts. The secondary source can also provide additional input to shore up the ideas made by the primary source. Some primary sources were written in foreign languages like German. When the works were translated, some minute facts may have been lost in translation. I have no choice but to accept the translation as I do not understand German. Much more information has been made available in the 21st century and this has greatly aided our understanding of the field. The advancements in knowledge have validated the primary sources.
- Reference
- Crewel, J.W. (2014). Research Design. Sage: LA.
- Georgia State University. (2017). History: Primary Sources: Definition.
- Retrieved from http://research.library.gsu.edu/primaryhistory DOI: January 8 2017.
- Koniver, L. (2013). Intuition vs. Thinking: How to tell the difference. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3x640PKWjGE DOI: January 8 2017.
This short personal essay was first written on Mon., Feb 27 2017.
Examples of dreams.
- I would consider using dream symbols and dream interpretation to get intuition. Wright advises us to interpret the dream using several factors. I normally write a diary to record the important events of my day. I would also note the overall emotion for the day. If I get a nightmare, I would check my diary, to see if I had any negative emotions on the day I had the bad dream. I have found that this type of analysis works. If I was happy during the daytime, I might get a happy dream, about vacationing in an exotic tourist spot. I used to think that dreams were messengers and harbingers of joy or sadness. However, after reading Wright’s explanation, I realized a dream could be a replay of the day’s major emotion.
I used to have a scary dream about being late for a test. When I thought about my state of mind during the day, I realized I was anxious, stressed and worried about some problems. My negative emotions led to my frightening dream about being late for such an important event as a test. I decided to keep my mood during the day positive, for as many days as possible. I stopped having bad dreams. Another common recurring dream is about being seen undressed. I analyze this symbol as a connotation to being unprepared, and thus, undressed. My intuition would warn me that I had to make preparations for whatever event that was coming my way.
Several years ago, my friend told me a dream about her dog. It had a short canine tooth, was which bleeding. Her intuition told her that this was a bad sign. She said that the short height of the tooth was a symbol of the short life of the animal. Her dream interpretation derived that her dog had a short life. A couple of years later, my friend told me that her dog died. My friend did not study psychology, but trained herself to analyze her dream symbols, so that she could interpret dreams. Her anecdote told me that anyone can be trained to interpret dream symbols.
I used to have a recurring dream about living in different homes. Sometimes, I would be living in an apartment. Other times, I would be living in a landed property. I had never seen the houses or apartments before, in my life. The dream of a home was a symbol. I started analyzing what this symbol could mean for me. I thought about my life and how I had to relocate and move house a few times. My intuition told me I was dreaming about homes because I wanted to live in a real home, where I could call my base. I guess my desire was churning in my subconscious mind, and it created the dreams about living in different homes.
I agree that dreams show us symbols that are relevant in our waking world. Every person has a unique interpretation of a symbol, because it needs to be analyzed according to the context of the dreamer. One meaning may not be universal for all dreamers. - This short personal essay was first written on Wed., July 29 2015.
Reference - Wright, S. (2014). Using our Dreams as Intuitive messengers. Retrieved from http://goo.gl/k7unwJ / http://www.huffingtonpost.com/simone-wright/using-our-dreams-as-intui_b_6057292.html DOI: July 29 2015
