I have always been a big dreamer. Not only do I have big goals in mind, I also have some fantastic journeys when sleeping. Now, before you read on, keep in mind that this is only an opinion. Not everybody will agree with my opinions and ideas and that's cool. I will be basing this opinion on experience, some psychology, symbolism and intuition.
Follow along if interested......
Supposedly, the Cree tribe is known to be blessed with dream analogy. Not sure if this is completely factual, but it would explain the intuition part. Recently, I have had the pleasure of assisting a few people with their dreams and dream analogy.
I believe that our dreams serve different purposes.....
Some are Symbolic: These types of dreams are a way for our sub conscience to communicate with us when we are in distress. Many of us have become skilled at suppressing information throughout our day that may be harmful to ourselves, or that may potentially cause us pain. We are completely unaware of this most of the time. Suddenly, you may find yourself having vivid, aggressive dreams. Your sub conscience is trying to reach out to you. Some of the information that you suppress, seeps out of your sub conscience into your dreams. It comes in bits of information and it's up to us to decode it.
The best way to analyze this type of dream: Dream recall is essential. In order to analyze any type of dream, you need to be able to recall the information. Practice dream recall nightly. Once you are able to recall most of the information from your dreams, pick out the things that stand out to you the most. For example, if you recall a certain color "blue" and your dream seem to be really focused on that color, it's likely that the color has some sort of symbolism or meaning to it. Pay attention to the things that stand out most to you. Once you have come up with a few things that stood out in the dream, research their meaning. I suggest: Using dream analogy books, online resources and symbolism. Symbols usually have different meanings than dream meanings. Once you've compiled a list of meanings for your items, see if you can figure out a common denominator.
For example, Dreaming about Fishing+ Water, lets say that both of these elements stood out on their own. A loose interpretation of dreaming about water: To see water in your dream, symbolizes your unconscious and your emotional state of mind. to dream of Fishing: To dream that you are fishing indicates that you are confronting and bringing your repressed emotions to the surface.
The common denominator of these two elements would be "Suppression". The unconscious mind is responsible for hiding and storing information, at the same time, you're fighting to bring your emotions to the surface. What information are you fighting with? what is it that you so badly don't want to confront? Perhaps, this dream is trying to tell you that you have some unresolved issues that need to be acknowledged. For these types of dreams, you need to reflect on the issues of your waking life. Have you been, or are you going through something traumatic? Are you stressed out?
Another type of dream is Religious/Spiritual: Whether you choose to believe in these or not, I believe that they do happen for a reason. The best way to identify these types of dreams, is again to pay attention to the specific elements that your dream allows you to recall. Find the meaning of these elements and again, find the common denominator. This is why I suggest finding the symbolic meaning of elements as well as the dream meaning, both can have two different meanings. Always cross reference your meanings with other sources. Use books, the internet and any other resources that you can get your hands on. Never assume that the first meaning you find, is the correct one.
Some dreams are meant to guide us in the right direction. These dreams often include an animal or familiar face, who acts as our guides. These are very special dreams, they are meant to keep us on our path. Sometimes, we get warnings in our dreams, listen to them carefully. I'm not saying that a passed relative is necessarily trying to communicate a message. I'm saying that we are somehow being warned of things, perhaps by our own instinctive selves.
Other dreams are random. They are just a way for our complicated minds to de clutter. These types of dreams, are just random things with no specific acknowledgment to certain elements. If nothing stands out to you in this dream, it's not anything that needs to be addressed.
As stated previously, this as all completely based on my opinion alone. You don't have to agree with it, or think that it's an exact depiction of your dream world. Perhaps you don't care about your dreams, which is not likely since you have read this far....
Dreams can be quite complicated to decode. It takes practice to dream recall, find the common denominators and find their correct meanings. However, once you have figured things out, it will allow you to cope better with your issues in the waking life (your every day life).
Once you learn to separate dreams from reality, and listen to your sub conscience, you may even be able to understand "lucid dreaming". Some of us have done this without even realizing it, but it's something that can be done on demand with practice......
Lucid Dreaming: Lucid dreaming is defined as dreaming while knowing that you are dreaming. You are literally able to identify as dream as not being your true reality. You will have control over your actions and reactions in this type of dream. I don't know about you, but I love the power of being able to control my own actions, even in a dream state. I have some tips and experience, on the topic of lucid dreaming.
Some resources that I have mentioned for dream meanings: Dream Moods Dictionary: http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/a.htm , Signs and Symbols- an illustrated guide to their origins and meanings- Covent Garden Book (book), The element of Encyclopedia of secret signs and symbols- Adele Nozedar (book).
I hope that this information helps decode some of your crazy dreams. Remember, if you find this difficult to do on your own, I'm always happy to help!
Peace
Sig.
