What is the meaning of my dreams

What is the meaning of my dreams? Mankind has been asking this question as long as people have been dreaming. For some people, dreams can have a symbolic, even mystical meaning. For others, dreams can be prophetic. As a dream chronicler myself, I have learned that dreams convey deeper meanings and messages about my daily life and experience in vocabulary that is unique for me. To learn this has been a process of trial and error, but there are things you can do to learn the language of your being. So here are some ways of finding the meanings of your dreams.

Before you can decipher your dreams, you need to learn how to remember and record them. Yes, I know that may sound difficult, but it gets easier once you start, and the more you do it, the more you remember.

What has worked for me is to keep a small notebook on the night table. Sometimes, an audio recorder might work if you just don't feel like writing anything first thing in the morning. I like the notebook better because then I don't have to transcribe.

Use a notebook

I usually write the date in the notebook, the night of the dream (before midnight), then take a moment to contemplate the day. I might jot down a few notes of what happened, and what concerns I have. That gives me information about context. Dreams are most often about your life, and having this detail handy helps you remember your dreams and interpret your dreams.

Sometimes, I may write down a question in the notebook right before I go to sleep. Then, just as I drop off to sleep I say to myself, "I will remember my dreams" (at least three time). It's a cue to my internal being and to the universe to at least try to snatch back something from my travels in dreamland during the night.

Remembering your dreams

Then comes the actual remembering of your dreams. Just how do you do this? It takes a bit of practice and discipline, but before you do anything else, quickly write down as many details in your mind as can when awaken. Even one detail is a start. Just do it. That one image IS significant.If I get even one image, I may ask what is it? Where was this? Was in the past or present? What colors were present? Was there anything auditory? (In my dreams, I sometimes hear music sometimes, and spoken words. That's just me. I'm an auditory person, so that's how my internal being communicates back to me). Once you start doing this regularly, you will start to remember more.

I've heard it said that women are better than men at remembering dreams. Perhaps it's because we're more in tune with our emotional and spiritual natures or just more intuitive. Perhaps. But trust me, when I'm ultra busy with work, the dreams go on the back burner. If you have the desire and interest though, you can remember your dreams. Sometimes my dreams can be quite vivid and just won't let me forget them. In that case, I'll journal about them ASAP.

The more I remember, the more I want to remember. And the more I want to remember the more I am able to remember.

As I've mentioned, your dreams will speak to you in your own personal language. It might be a mix of people in your life and broader symbols from the culture at large. Your inner movie director will use any image from your life that might be meaningful to you-- TV characters, dead relatives, old boyfriends, your high school, or your current home-- whatever image or icon will get your attention. You'll need to become something of an emotional lexographer and learn what each symbol means. Interpreting your dreams is both science and art.

Mostly my dreams want to tell me something about my life. That's because dreams are the way our unconscious minds process all the things going on around us. In general, we're only conscious of about five percent at any given time. But your subconscious mind is watching the other 95 per cent, processing non-verbal cues and clues about absolutely everything else, like a camera that never blinks.

So how do I figure out what it all means? After working with my dreams for a number of years, I've noticed some recurring themes in my personal symbolism. We all have our own, and because we all have unique inner lives, a store bough dream dictionary can only give you a few clues at best. But how do I know I'm right? Well it's about the "aha feeling". Really, there is such a thing. I define it as the click in my mind and body that tells me "right" "of course", "that's it", and somehow I just "know" I've found the right interpretaion

Here are some more things I've discovered:

Dream about my home: When my dream takes place in my home it's about my life in the present. If a dream scene takes place in a former dwelling, then I know I'm going back in time, and if the setting is in my parents' house...need I say more? It's about the past, usually an unresolved childhood issue.

Classroom dream: If my dream takes place in a classroom, it's about a life lesson. When a dream takes place in my highschool, it's about an issue from you youth.

Car dreams: For me, these are about "the road of life". I look to see who is driving. Am I in the driver's seat or in the passenger seat? Am I going in the right direction? Is the terrain bumpy or smooth? Again, the answer to these questions all have messages about my life.

You could probably call me a Jungian when it comes to dreams.To Carl Jung, dreaming is how your unconscious mind has tried to get your attention with symbols, unique only to the dreamer.

As I mentioned, every image in your dream has a unique meaning to you. However, there are some motifs that are common to many of us and can give you a clue about what's going on.

Exam dreams: Have you had a dream where you missed the exam, forgot to study or went to the wrong room or can't answer the questions? You could feel like you are being tested in some area of your life.

Former lover: Are dating Bob, but having dreams of Jack? Consider that you have some unfinished business with your ex, or that you are dating someone like him.

Dreams that you're in bed with a famous person: Just who are we talking about here? What is that person known for? Perhaps their appearance in your dream is a metaphor for something in your life or even a characteristic you haven't appreciated in yourself.

The chasing dream: Many of us have had this one. One meaning is that there may be something you are ignoring.

Dreams that take place in the basement: That's the deep dark basement of your being. The family junk is also often stored in the basement so you could be working out an old issue in your dream.

Animal dreams: What kind of animal did you dream of? What personality trait is associated with that animal. Who in your life is like that animal?

Being nude in public dream: Are you feeling exposed? Or maybe you are being ignored. No one notices you. How is that situation represented in your life?

Missing the train/boat/plane: Do you feel like you "missed the boat" in your life?

You can look on the internet and in bookstores for dream dictionaries that can help you sort out the jumble of images that you appear each night on your mental movie screen. But just remember, the true art of finding the meaning of your dreams is connection the dream to yourself and to your life.