1. Home
  2. Browse
  3. Real and dreamed staircases - sett…
Book Part

Real and dreamed staircases - settings of (not only) vestibular arousal

Author(s) / Creator(s)

Schönhammer, Rainer

Abstract / Description

Many authors provide examples of dreams in which a staircase figures as a setting for floating, flying, falling or dizziness. As is well known, Freud interpreted dream stairs as a symbol of sexual activity. Alternative symbolic interpretations of dream stairs have been suggested by Silberer, Eliade and Ouspensky. Based on a phenomenological analysis of published staircase dreams and reports drawn from my own interview samples, I will argue that dream staircases are a setting that appears in the dreamer's mind in (not only) vestibular aroused moments of sleep as a recollection of (not only) vestibular arousal experienced in real staircases. This phenomenological perspective corresponds to theoretical, clinical and experimental evidence concerning the role of vestibular arousal/stimulation (and its relation to rapid eye movements) in intense dreaming, i.e. dreaming that includes a heightened consciousness of the actual state of body and mind.

Keyword(s)

Traum Wahrnehmung Erregung Gleichgewichtssinn Traumanalyse Trauminhalt Traumerinnerung Körperbewusstsein Neuropsychologie Kognitive Neurowissenschaft Dream Analysis Dream Content Dream Recall Body Awareness Neuropsychology Cognitive Neuroscience

Persistent Identifier

Date of first publication

2004

Is part of

Paper presented at the 21st Annual International Conference of the Association for the Study of Dreams, June 18-22, 2004, Copenhagen, Denmark

Citation

Download BibTex
Download as Text
  • Author(s) / Creator(s)
    Schönhammer, Rainer
  • PsychArchives acquisition timestamp
    2022-11-21T13:54:58Z
  • Made available on
    2005-09-08
  • Made available on
    2016-07-14T06:09:53Z
  • Made available on
    2022-11-21T13:54:58Z
  • Date of first publication
    2004
  • Abstract / Description
    Many authors provide examples of dreams in which a staircase figures as a setting for floating, flying, falling or dizziness. As is well known, Freud interpreted dream stairs as a symbol of sexual activity. Alternative symbolic interpretations of dream stairs have been suggested by Silberer, Eliade and Ouspensky. Based on a phenomenological analysis of published staircase dreams and reports drawn from my own interview samples, I will argue that dream staircases are a setting that appears in the dreamer's mind in (not only) vestibular aroused moments of sleep as a recollection of (not only) vestibular arousal experienced in real staircases. This phenomenological perspective corresponds to theoretical, clinical and experimental evidence concerning the role of vestibular arousal/stimulation (and its relation to rapid eye movements) in intense dreaming, i.e. dreaming that includes a heightened consciousness of the actual state of body and mind.
    en
  • Publication status
    unknown
  • Review status
    unknown
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bsz:291-psydok-5519
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11780/3590
  • Persistent Identifier
    https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.10066
  • Language of content
    eng
  • Is part of
    Paper presented at the 21st Annual International Conference of the Association for the Study of Dreams, June 18-22, 2004, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • Keyword(s)
    Traum
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Wahrnehmung
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Erregung
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Gleichgewichtssinn
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Traumanalyse
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Trauminhalt
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Traumerinnerung
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Körperbewusstsein
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Neuropsychologie
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Kognitive Neurowissenschaft
    de
  • Keyword(s)
    Dream Analysis
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    Dream Content
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    Dream Recall
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    Body Awareness
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    Neuropsychology
    en
  • Keyword(s)
    Cognitive Neuroscience
    en
  • Dewey Decimal Classification number(s)
    700
  • Title
    Real and dreamed staircases - settings of (not only) vestibular arousal
    en
  • DRO type
    bookPart
  • Visible tag(s)
    PsyDok