Dreams are defined as a religion of the mind in the sense that they can re-ligare —i.e. unite in a complex relationship—the components involved in the construction of the mind and its representation. The paper discusses the processes of splitting and projective identification which are manifested in dreams and appear to be essential for the transformation of emotional experiences, the acquisition of knowledge and mental growth.

On the basis of clinical findings, a revision of Freud's theory of dreams is proposed: the concept of an internal world dominated by good and bad parent figures suggests a theological function for dreams connected with a state of necessity.