Interpreting Your Dreams - Dream Interpretation

(originally from the Magical Mysteries Collection – 
later republished on Yahoo! Contributor Network July 30, 2008)

Dream analysis, for thousands of years, has been a function performed by magicians, sages, and prophets. In Genesis 40, the Pharaoh summoned Joseph to interpret his dreams. And in Daniel I, King Nebuchadnezzar called upon Daniel to analyze his dreams. Because incorrect interpretations might result in death, it was imperative that they be accurate.

Today dream analysis books and websites offer readers a glimpse of the subconscious dream world through universally accepted images and their associated meanings. Archetypes (universal images), mythical figures, and dream symbolism figure prominently in our psyche and relate to us messages from our subconscious. To know ourselves, we must know our conscious mind as well as our subconscious mind.

But many of us find, upon awakening, that if we remember our dreams at all, they appear in fragments that make no sense to us. Websites and books explain some dreams, but certain dream symbols may be more personal than universal. A bird to one person might signify flight and freedom, but to another it may mean fright. If we want to understand ourselves, we may benefit by understanding our dreams.

Remembering them may be difficult, however. To remedy forgetting them, try concentrating not only on having a dream before you fall asleep, but on remembering it as well. Gayle Delaney, in her book, "Living Your Dreams (see above)," invites us to explore our dreams by keeping a dream journal.

Keep the journal and a low-wattage lamp by your bed. Get in the habit of recording your dream immediately upon awakening. Even if only fragments appear, write them down anyway. As you write, more pieces of the dream may surface.

When you finish recording the dream, make a list of all the people, places, and things you remember from the dream. Next to each image from the list, describe its appearance, its form, and the feelings it arouses in you. Do any of the images remind you of anything else going on in your life, or any person?

Now describe the actions that took place in your dream and write the feelings associated with each action. Record the overall emotional quality of the dream. I've included a form that might help you record your dreams. Just click on it and print it out.

Don't try to analyze your dream as you write it. Logic and analysis can wait. Sometimes enlightenment will come as you record your dream. Other times it will appear when you review your dreams. Still other times the message won't come until weeks or even months later. A dream you had in March may make more sense to you in October.

As you become adept with the process, ask yourself specific questions before falling asleep, and ask for the message to be clearly illustrated in a dream. How, what, and why questions will result in better dream answers than yes or no questions. For instance, "What can I do to improve my relationship?" works better than "Will my relationship improve?" As you record your dreams, in time, certain patterns may emerge.

Learning about yourself through dreams may open windows to your soul.

My Newest Boyfriend

In this short dream, I had a boyfriend who looked amazingly similar to my daughter's fiance. All I kept thinking about was how lucky I was to have him in my life. It didn't disturb me at all that he was decades younger than I was – I just felt so lucky.

Yes that was a very short dream, and I can tell you immediately why I had it, because I knew upon awakening what the dream meant. 

The night before, my grandson, Zac, who is 5, crawled into bed with me (as he always does whenever he visits – unless his Daddy is here). He asked me (as he always does) to scratch his back (it helps him fall asleep).

I thought about how my daughter's fiance scratches her back every night to help her fall asleep, and I've always considered that small act to be a really sweet thing to do.

You see, when I was a little girl, my Auntie Alice scratched my back every time she saw me. She was the only person who ever did that for me, and she died when I was 10. 

And so on the night I scratched Zac's back, I remembered my Auntie Alice and thought about my ex-husband who always had me scratch his back but never scratched mine – I've never had that kind of affection from anyone other than my children when they were young. 

I must have fallen asleep wishing I had the kind of man in my life who would selflessly give of himself just because he is a good, loving, kind, and generous man. At least in my dream world, I have that kind of man in my life.

And just so you know, in case some of you are wondering, the dream was just as I explained it – nothing more.

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Maybe Now I'll Get Noticed

We entered the dark theater-type arena, the son of a friend of mine and me. I heard the roar of a lion, but I knew, having been there before, that the roar came from a giant mechanical animal with a huge trunk, more like a dinosaur than an elephant.

Chris had never been to this arena before but he apparently knew about the challenge before him, because I didn't tell him that by shooting through the trunk, he would make it through this first challenge. He immediately aimed through the trunk, shot through it, and passed the first challenge. Now it was my turn.

The audience included some famous actors I'd never seen before in person and I remember thinking, wow, this game is gaining some attention. Doris Roberts was one of the people who sat down in the bleachers. I sat in a corner on a stack of chairs awaiting my turn, knowing that after this challenge, one far more sinister awaited me.  But the dream ended with me thinking that maybe with this much attention, I could get some of these people to read my blog.

And now for the interpretation – I've been trying to reach this friend whose son appeared in my dream to interview him for a blog I want to write about him. He hasn't responded, not because he's ignoring me, but because he rarely goes online.

I'm not sure why I've had this dream before. It was very scary the first time I had it because I didn't know what was expected of me. I wasn't frightened this time, because I knew the drill. 

As far as lots of famous actors appearing in this arena are concerned, I think that because this friend I want to interview has been involved with many famous people in his past, and because I was with his son, the actors were there to support him and his son. I don't know if he ever met Doris Roberts.

So why did my dream include Doris Roberts? I keep seeing Everybody Loves Raymond in various places (I LOVED that show), so maybe that's why she appeared in my dream.

My immediate thought just before I awoke was that maybe some of those people would read my blog after I completed the challenge. Apparently my subconscious believes that I have to fight mechanical dinosaurs in order to garner any attention.

Hmm. I wonder what my subconscious interpreted mechanical dinosaurs to mean.

Have YOU had any weird dreams? Please share them at weirddreams@mail.com.

Back to School Dreams

I received the following dream in an email:

In September I am going into Third Year so I will be doing my Junior Certificate. I had a dream last night that I was in a classroom. It was the same classroom I had in First Class in Primary School.

Anyway, it was the start of the year and the teacher was walking around the room. Usually you get the same teachers for Third Year but I never saw this woman before. She had short blonde curly hair. Actually she looked a lot like my hairdresser. The girl I was sitting next to (she looked like my best friend) was working and I asked her what book we were meant to have. It was the same book I had in Primary School.

I didn't have any books with me so I started to panic. I don't remember what happens after that.

The thing is, most summers I have weird dreams like this before school starts. Especially if they are important years like my first year of Secondary School. Should I be worried about this or is it perfectly normal?

~~~

Any new beginning, whether negative or positive, is stressful. Many people don't handle change well and dreams often take on the stresses of the day.

"It was the same classroom I had in First Class in Primary School," indicates a new beginning. Your surprise about the new teacher probably only indicates that you anticipate experiencing new things.

Because your new teacher looks like your hairdresser, ask yourself how you would describe your hairdresser. Qualities she (or he?) possesses could represent qualities that might cause anxiety for you.

Your best friend is probably somebody you trust. While your friend was prepared, you weren't.

Should you be worried? No. Having dreams of being unprepared is typical. Many (maybe most) of us have stress dreams when we are about to embark upon a new venture.

Sometimes dreams are warning us to be prepared. A day planner should help. Write down everything you need to remember and get in the habit of referring to your planner often. That way you'll be prepared.

Do you have a weird dream you would like to share? Write weirddreams@mail.com.

If you would like to read more from this author, click any of the following links:

All Craft Connection
Your Weird Dreams
Your Blog Connection
Help For Single Parents
My Heart Blogs To You
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The Meaning of the Internal Dent

Sometimes dreamers experience a dream that has such an obvious message, the dreamer doesn't need to look beyond the surface. Other times, the message is so mysterious, it requires investigation.

The dream I'm about to relate was at first scary, but when I analyzed the dream, I realized that the dream was trying to soothe my soul and perhaps relate a message to somebody I dearly love.

A couple of Marines showed up at my door. When I opened the door and saw them standing there, my first thought was that they were going to tell me that my son had died.

"Your son has experienced an internal dent," the Marines told me.

I almost couldn't speak. "He was in an accident?" I prayed he was OK.

"No, he just experienced an internal dent."

When I awoke from the dream, I tried to understand the meaning behind "internal dent," and then it occurred to me that my son was hurting for some reason, but that he would survive, because dents can be smoothed out. The damage can be fixed.

If you would like to read more from this author, click any of the following links:

Your Weird Dreams

Your Blog Connection

Help For Single Parents 

My Heart Blogs To You 

Writing Creatively

Paranormal Minds

Product Favorites

Theresa Wiza's Blog 

My Associated Content Articles

My Xomba Articles 

Thank you for visiting!