The Influence of Health Disparities on the Dominance or Weakness of Dreams
After gaining some understanding of the principles of dream prediction, we need to analyze dreams in detail. In addition to being influenced by psychological factors, dreams are also affected by physiological factors. Thus, apart from predicting the future, one can also assess a person's health condition based on the dominance and weakness of their dreams.
The study of dreams in the medical field dates back only about half a century when modern hospitals developed advanced techniques for detecting brain activity and structure. Various new theories about dream activities emerged, leading to a diversity of opinions.
However, the idea of using dreams to treat various human diseases is not a modern concept; ancient Eastern cultures had already begun exploring this notion. They believed that dreams were crucial for guiding the future and treating life-threatening illnesses. Significant achievements were made in diagnosing and treating diseases through dream analysis. For example, dreams of breathing difficulties or death-related fears indicated the risk of blocked blood vessels in the brain or heart. Dreams of paralysis were seen as signs of poor blood circulation, while dreams of waterfalls, fountains, or rapids indicated anemia.
During the Yin-Shang period, wizards believed that some terminally ill patients would see healing gods or even divine beings and animals in their sleep, considering them sacred. Wizards believed that interpreting dreams correctly and making diagnoses or prescribing treatments based on them would cure the patients. Many ancient Eastern individuals believed in the healing power of dreams, as mentioned in the book "Zhou Gong's Dream Interpretation," which became an important research reference in this field.
Although some scientists find it challenging to provide evidence for the healing power of dreams, some medical researchers continue to study whether dreams have diagnostic and therapeutic effects. They conduct experiments where patients sleep in laboratories for research purposes. Some psychologists also believe in the diagnostic capabilities of dreams, where mental or other psychological and physical imbalances are reflected in dreams.
Clinical case reports indicate that dreams can predict illnesses, and dreams and symptoms often occur simultaneously, suggesting different disease phenomena and even indicating methods of treatment. Researchers have discovered that both ancient Eastern and ancient Greek medicine, renowned for their civilizations, possessed knowledge and techniques for diagnosing and treating diseases through dreams.
Hidden pathological phenomena within the human body are often indicated through dreams. The association between dysfunction of the five internal organs and dream scenarios is as follows:
- Dreams related to heart dysfunction: being chased by spirits, monsters, or terrifying figures (indicating blocked blood vessels), encountering fire, smoke, difficult journeys, or fainting (indicating poor blood circulation).
- Dreams related to lung dysfunction: arguments, wars, weapons, suffocation, or strangulation (indicating oxygen deprivation or respiratory obstruction).
- Dreams related to kidney dysfunction: overexertion, lower back pain, desperate swimming, drowning, sudden loss of teeth or hair (indicating weakened endocrine pathways).
- Dreams related to spleen dysfunction: danger, duels, quarrels, overeating, shouting (indicating polydipsia).
- Dreams related to liver dysfunction: getting lost, primeval forests, dangerous peaks, being trapped in thickets unable to escape (indicating excessive bloody secretions or septicemia).
These findings share similarities with certain dream analyses in Western cultures. For instance, before major physiological disruptions occur in the heart and major arteries, individuals may experience nightmares of breathing difficulties, suffocation, or drowning. Before a nervous breakdown, people may have strange and incredible nightmares, while before a stroke or paralysis, they may dream of severed limbs, turning into stone, or experiencing coldness and paralysis in their extremities.