Dream Interpretation Therapists are not Psychic

There is no book that exists that can divine the future.  As much as we sometimes wish that others could tell us what we should or shouldn’t do or what the ‘right answer’ is, life is a series of experiences that we must go through for which there is no handbook.

The same is true for dream interpretation.

There is no one answer that any given therapist can tell their patients to make them feel better or to help them learn something faster.  There is no one book that can tell you the meaning of a dream.  There is no one size fits all interpretation of individual symbols or dream scenarios.  No crystal ball for dreams.

Dreams are about each individual person, and every single person in this world is unique.  In order to understand what your own personal dreams are telling you, the same techniques apply as they do for most anything in life.  You use a combination of things that others have taught you along with things you have learned yourself.

So while looking to a typical dream dictionary for answers might give you something to start with in terms of common dream meanings, it cannot possibly direct you to the deeper and more intricate interpretation of your own dream symbols.

Take the example of using a flower as a dream symbol.  A typical more old-fashioned dream dictionary may tell you that flowers signify pleasure and gain or that they are an ‘auspicious omens of great personal happiness’.  But how does that relate to every dream that ever was or ever will be?  What about other factors such as the colour or type of flower, where the flower was, what you were doing with the flower, how many flowers there were or even if the flowers were out of place, such as blooming during the wrong season?  What if the flower in the dream was a fake flower?  Could the flower be a metaphor for ‘flour’?

As well, we need to know what is happening in the dreamer’s life, for example, did they receive flowers the day before? Do they own a flower shop themselves?  Are these dream flowers a variety they love or ones they don’t really care for?  Do the flowers have special meaning somehow in the dreamer’s life?

Those are all very valid questions among many others, that we need to look at when working to interpret any given dream symbol.  The great thing is that when we are working on our own or closely with a dream therapist, it is a lot easier to be in the know for most or all of the answers.  That is why, when people are expecting a complete stranger to be able to interpret their dreams or specific symbols, it’s like asking them to be ‘psychic’.

Our dreams are reflective of where we are at present in our lives, and although we are a product of our experiences, we are not stagnant creatures.  Therefore you would not give the same answer to a question asked of you today that was asked of you 10 years ago. What you interpreted a dream symbol as in the past, does not necessarily apply for that same symbol today.

The more you get to know yourself, the easier it is to find your way in life.  The more you know yourself, the easier it is to interpret your dreams.

Dreams uncover the truth

Reading an article on various interesting and surprising ‘facts about dreams’ I came across this one.

The planet Neptune, discovered in 1846, is considered the planet of dreams. The planet is named after the Roman god of the Sea because it is covered in a slushy fluid mix of water, ammonia and methane ices under its atmosphere and because its cloud cover has an especially blue tint to it.
Neptune is said to be the planet of dreams, because like water, dreams distort and cloud images and meaning. Additionally, water represents the depths of the unconscious as well as our emotions.

Neptune - the planet of dreams

Now while I whole heartedly agree that water in dreams does often represent our emotions and our emotional depth in our dreams, I tend to disagree about the first part. I feel very strongly that dreams actually bring our issues and problems to us very clearly and in fact do not distort anything. Our dreams tell us how it is; the truth. Dreams do not distort the truth or give convoluted messages; instead they show us that which our ego driven conscious minds do try to hide.

Most people are generally unsure of what dreams are, let alone what they are about, however it is really quite simple.  Dreams show us how we really feel, what we really desire and what the real truth is, about ourselves in relation to our world around us.

Dreams and their interpretations can actually help us to clear up issues and uncover hidden truths, allowing us to live a more authentic life.

Water tends to show up in dreams quite often and as a general rule you can consider it symbolic of your emotions and unconscious mind.  The specific meaning however, depends upon that specific dream and dreamer.  As a general rule, you can consider that a shallow body of water might represent a shallow emotion, whereas something vast like an ocean might represent deep seated emotions.

Defrag your brain with Dreaming!

Dreaming is like ’defragmenting a computer’ while it is in ‘sleep mode’ for the night.

Our brain is sorting and organizing the huge amount of information we have been inputting for the last few days and trying to make sense of it all while we rest.  Without dreaming we would be less able to function as rational, logical, emotionally balanced people…eventually we would just get overloaded and cease to function properly!

Dream interpretation is about keeping up the best maintenance possible, on your inner self, and taking responsibility for your happiness and wellbeing, in order for you to ‘run smoothly’…just like a computer needs daily maintenance too!

What makes a good dream dictionary?

Dream Dictionary

Dream dictionaries are meant to aid you in discovering what your dream symbols mean for you.

The dictionary should give thoughts, impressions, metaphors or common meanings for each symbol, in order for you to read all of those possible meanings and figure out the right one for YOU.  Dream dictionaries should show you, how thinking about what that symbol might represent, will help you to figure out the real meaning of it within the context of your own dream.

The online dream dictionary at Dreamanity is made to do just that. This dictionary doesn’t strive to tell you what any given symbol means; it is simply listing all various possible associations for that symbol, so you can figure out which of them fits for you and for your dream.

Why do we dream?

Fact:  Dreaming happens during REM sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) – the term used to indicate that we are actively engaged in the act of dreaming, rather than just in deep, physically restorative sleep.

REM sleep is thought to be the most important factor for mental revitalization while sleeping.  In fact, Scientists have proven that when people miss out on actual REM cycles of sleep there are all kinds of symptoms, including difficulty with learning and memory.  Non-REM sleep is important for allowing the body a chance to physically restore itself, whereas REM sleep actually helps in mental restoration.

Fact:  When we are sleeping, and usually sometime around 90 minutes after falling asleep, an area in the brain called the Pons signals our brain to get ready for dreaming and tells our body to shut off some of our senses and also voluntary muscle movement.  This is how we are able to dream without acting out everything as if it were in real life.

The Limbic System

Fact:  The Pons is located in the temporal lobe of the brain and in the region of the thalamus.  It is part of the limbic system of the brain that deals with emotions, motivation and memories among other things.  Located within the limbic system as well is the Amygdala, a structure involved in brain functions that deal with emotions, learning and memory as well as the part of our brain that signals the flight or fight response and deals with fear and anxiety.  A third structure of the limbic system is the Hippocampus which deals with the formation of long term memories.

Dreams bring awareness to our conscious minds about our intentions, motivations and truths and are based on emotions, motivation, memory and learning and often involve or are based on fears, worries or anxiety.

Dreaming is essentially a sorting out of emotions, thoughts and memories while we sleep that are troubling or that are a cause of conflict in our lives.  For example, we may be participating in actions that are harmful to our wellbeing but we are refusing to acknowledge it.  As a result we may experience dreams that are pointing to this issue and that bring our attention to our negative behaviours.

It is interesting to note then, that the parts of the brain that deal with all of those issues are all in the limbic system where the Pons is also located.  The Pons itself is shaped somewhat like a bridge connecting the left (logical) and right (creative or emotional) hemispheres of the brain at the base of the spinal cord.  Just as dreams help us connect with the different parts of ourselves and see our emotions and behaviours logically so we can learn about ourselves and make positive changes in our lives.

Babies spend A LOT of time in REM sleep!

Another strong point to consider when recognizing that dreams are important is that a newborn baby spends between 50 to 80% of total sleep time in the REM stage of sleep.  Through this fact you can clearly see that dreaming is not only valuable, but essential to maintaining a healthy mental and emotional state, to our ability to learn new skills and process information about ourselves in relation to others as well as in learning how to cope and function in our world.

10 Dream Symbols That Can Point to Stress

10 Dream Symbols that show up when we’re stressed out.

When stress rears its ugly head in our lives sometimes we are successful in dealing with it, but sometimes it gets the better of us. At times the stress we’re experiencing takes its toll and we even start to lose sleep over it. During these times, we will often start noticing the expression of our pain show up in our dreams. Learning to interpret your dreams is essential to be able to understand and identify your stresses and live a more peaceful and fulfilling life.

The following are common dream symbols that appear in our dreams in times of stress:

Rage
Feeling rage in a dream is all about repressed emotions, usually negative ones, and letting you know you need to get release and express them in a positive way, as they are ‘eating you up inside’.

Falling
Falling dreams are often about a loss of control and feelings of insecurities. When you are falling in a dream you feel like you can’t do anything to help yourself.

Fighting
Dreams that involve fighting are usually indicative that there are conflicts going on in your life. These can be emotional conflicts or real conflicts with other people etc.

Storms
Storms are generally representing repressed emotion and internal struggle. The type of storm it is may also bring further insight into the particular stresses that you are experiencing.

Teeth (losing or missing them)
Teeth are one of the most commonly dreamt about symbols. Here they are about loss of confidence and insecurities you are experiencing.

Being lost
Repeatedly getting lost in your dreams represents your own confusions about which direction to go in life and the insecurities you have about making decisions.

Being late
Being late in a dream can indicate that you are worried about missing out on something or not connecting with a good opportunity.

Nudity
Nudity in inappropriate places in dreams is usually about feelings of insecurities, vulnerability and feeling exposed.

Crashes
These dreams are all about loss of control, feeling that you are at the end of your rope with something.

Running/Being chased
One of the most common type of dreams when we are stressed these dreams are all about fear. They are an indication that there is an area in your life that is intimidating to you and you need to confront it.

Dreaming and the Subconscious Mind

When we’re dreaming, the sub conscious mind
thinks that the dreaming is real; because it is.
To our sub conscious minds, dreaming is a real and
valid place and has purpose and can heal.

Interpret Your Dreams. Transform Your Life!

If you answer yes to any of the following questions then Dream Interpretation may be right for you.

Do you have recurring dreams and you want to find out what they mean?
Do you often experience frightening or scary dreams that leave you feeling unsettled?
Have you ever used dream interpretation dictionaries to try to understand your dreams and dream symbols?
Do you feel that your dreams may have more meaning than you currently understand or realize?
Do you often wish you could have someone help you interpret your dreams?
Are you currently invested in finding positive ways to change your life?
Are you looking for ways to know yourself better?
Do you want to understand why you feel the way you do, behave the way you do or respond the way you do?
Do you want to strengthen your intuition and learn to live an authentic life?

Everyone can benefit from dream interpretation in some way, whether by enjoying better relationships, finding release from past traumas and experiences or discovering what they really want out of life in order to move into a new direction.

Learning to interpret your own dreams can help to empower you and strengthen your resolve in life and guide you to better choices.

 The next time you have an interesting dream, take the time to write it down, using as many details as you can.  The following are some thoughts to ask yourself to make sure you write down as much detail as you can.

Things to ask yourself:

What symbols were in my dream?
How did I feel towards those symbols?
What events were happening in my dream?
How did I feel during these events?
What is the overall feeling or thought I have upon waking from the dream?
How could I sum up what happened in my dream in one sentence?

To start interpreting your dream after writing it down, here are some things to get you thinking:

Do the events in my dream seem to echo or relate to a real situation in my life?
Am I currently feeling emotions in my waking life that are similar to some of the feelings I experienced in my dream?
Is there something I feel I have learned about myself or a situation in my waking life because of having this dream?
Does my dream make me feel uneasy or does it give me a sense of reassurance?
If I feel uneasy, is it because it is making me aware of something I have been reluctant to see or admit?

Once you have figured out the answers to some of these questions you can begin to work through any issues that the dream has brought up for you.  Dreams are very safe way to observe yourself and your actions without feeling you are being judged by someone else.  They are a way to be more connected with yourself and to really feel like you know who you are.  If you realize that your dreams are available to use for your own personal self-growth, you will see how valuable they are.

Dreams can be your own personal therapist throughout your entire life, and as you grow, so will your ability to interpret them and so gain even more value.