Understanding Dreams
Chapter One
Dream Lore
Since time immemorial, the human race has regarded dreams as mysterious, significant and powerful. They link the aware mind, seeming to speak directly to it from our unconscious, reflecting our joys, anxieties and hopes. Many people believe that the dream world - through an understanding of its special language - can help us enrich our waking lives and lead to greater self-knowledge.
Dream interpretation has been practiced throughout time by all civilizations. People have claimed that dreams are of the utmost importance, and they have tried to understand or analyze them in the light of their own beliefs and customs.
This chapter describes some of the ways in which dreams have been interpreted in several ancient and modem cultures.
Beliefs in Ancient Cultures
The Babylonians
In Mesopotamia, the Babylonians divided ordinary dreams into "good" ones sent by the gods, and "bad" ones sent by demons. Their goddess of dreams, Mamu, was served by priests who tried to prevent bad dreams from coming tr ... read full excerpt from: Understanding Dreams ebook