Interpreting Dreams; We Dream Every Night, but Can You Interpret the Meanings in Them?
There have been many theories on dreams and their purpose. The only common ground is that everyone dreams and that dreams are essential to our survival. If we did not dream, we’d die. I personally believe that dreams help us. I seek for insight by asking my subconscious to answer a particular question through dreams.
But how can one begin to discover the fascinating world of dreams? It all starts by remembering the dream.
Recording Your Dreams for Later Interpretation
One of the best ways to start trying to figure out your dreams will be to keep a dream diary. This is easier said than done. According to research, once you wake up your conscious mind instantly begins to let go of the dream. It is said that after five minutes you have already forgotten up to half of your dream. After ten minutes, you may forget only ten percent, usually the major elements. Whether you were running or there was some big monster might be the only thing you remember, sometimes it’s all the little things that are important.
To help your mind remember your dreams, try keeping a notebook and pen next to your bed and write down anything you can remember within the first moments of waking. Don’t go back and re-read until you are entirely finished, you don’t want to go back and forget what was supposed to come next.
Doing this regularly will help your mind to recall dream information upon awaking. Your mind will automatically be able to search dream memories. It becomes easier the more often you use your dream diary.
Putting The Information Together – The Interpretation of the Dream
Regularly recognizing your dreams and writing them down may help you find commonalities. Whether you find yourself running from something in most of your dreams, or being in charge under a variety of circumstances, these commonalities may signify that your subconscious may be trying to make you aware of something.
Underneath it all, it is up to the individual to make whatever sense there is to make on these dreams. Being aware of these steps will make it easier to solve the puzzle, the mystery of what our dreams mean.
Identifying Key Elements in Dreams for Interpretation
When trying to interpret a dream, you may wonder what elements in the dream might be of significance. If you keep a dream diary, you may be able to record key elements you remember in dreams and use this for interpretation.
Once you’ve collected a number of dreams, you can begin to interpret them. It’s easier to come back with a fresh mind and look for key elements that may have some connection with your life.
Example in one of my dreams:
“In my dream, a large hurricane faced a small island. Even though there wasn’t any rain, everything became wet. The ground began to shake and people fell, dying. I couldn’t hold on to anything.”
In the above dream there are several key elements. The hurricane itself would be a very visible element. The small island may also be important. In addition, the feeling the dreamer had about not being able to hold on to anything, this also may have some major or minor importance.
This dream recall process involves your own personal feelings on what was important and what was not. In a dream about an elephant or an ant, you may feel that the significance of the ant was more important than the elephant. This is because only have of the dream is about visual elements we identify. The other half is how we felt within the dream.
Don’t Just Interpret Elements, But Interpret Your Feelings in the Dreams
One of the factors that are often skipped within interpretations is your own personal feeling. A raging monster of fangs and spade tail may sound scary, but perhaps you were not afraid. What if you felt love or sad?
These feeling factors may be very important to what your dreams actually mean. This would be nearly impossible for anyone other than the dreamer to put together.
Recognize how your felt immediately after your dreams while you are filling in your dream diary. Later you may not remember exactly how you felt about that two-headed monster. Feelings are just as important as visual elements.
Putting The Information Together – The Interpretation of the Dream
Regularly recognizing your dreams and writing them down may help you find commonalities. Whether you find yourself running from something in most of your dreams, or being in charge under a variety of circumstances, these commonalities may signify that your subconscious may be trying to make you aware of something.
Underneath it all, it is up to the individual to make whatever sense there is to make on these dreams. Being aware of these steps will make it easier to solve the puzzle, the mystery of what our dreams mean.
