Every Human Dreams

We spend almost 20 years of an average life span dreaming and have upwards of seven dreams per night.  Every human being does this. When people say they don’t dream, what they are really saying is that they fail to recall any of their dreams upon awakening. There are a multitude of reasons why this may be the case. Waking up to an alarm, different medications, chronic sleep disorders, over-exhaustion or indifference to dreams to mention a few.

We go through several sleep cycles over the course of a regular night’s sleep. Deep sleep, REM sleep and hypnagogic states are the most salient to understanding your sleeping brain. In deep sleep it was mistakenly believed until the latter part of the twentieth century that we didn’t dream at all but this has been disproved through extensive sleep studies.  We dream in all the states.  It is in REM sleep that our dreams are the most vivid and easiest to recall. REM dreams are colourful, action packed and often seemingly bizarre.

Dire Consequences Associated with Failing to Dream

If we were to truly fail to dream, there would be dire consequences such as insanity and possibly death. Our dreaming mind helps us to process emotional and intellectual stimulation. Essentially most of what we’re attending to or should be in our waking daily lives. We work through joy, mourning, falling in love, addictions, fear, anger and all manner of highly charged emotional stimulation.

We also dream to process intellectual challenges such as learning, tests, puzzles, problem solving, project planning and execution. You can go to bed in an evening with a conundrum on your mind and even without recalling your dream, you awaken with the problem miraculously solved!

Our dreams function to keep us asleep aiding us to gain the much needed rest. They entertain, amuse and keep our brain engaged. If we didn’t dream, we would likely awaken too soon and feel chronically tired as those with sleep disorders will attest to.

If there is any doubt in your mind that dreams are in fact one of the most important functions of our sleeping brains, I hope this website will nudge you to consider otherwise. Your dreaming mind is your direct link to creativity, spiritual development and successful maturity. I’m confident that by analyzing a few and you’ll be hooked and this site will have served it’s purpose well!

Basics of Recording Your Dreams

How you record your dreams is a matter of personal preference. Some people have a pen and paper handy by their bedside to record their dreams. Others prefer to use a tape recorder and transcribe their recorded dreams later onto paper or computer. It is important to write down your dream as soon as possible including as many details as you can.

When you are writing or telling your dream, use present tense, such as, “I am walking in the forest…” rather than, “I was walking in the forest…” When you explore your dream later, the emotions you experienced in the dream will be more alive for you.

Give your dream a title. This helps you to identify the central theme or significant part. It is also a good way to refer to and organize your dreams.

After you write and date your dream, it is helpful to include a short note about your waking life activities or circumstances around the time you had the dream. These notes will be beneficial in uncovering your own personal dream symbols when you later work on the dream and link it with waking life.

What is the best method for dream journaling and dreamwork?

A three-ring binder makes an excellent dream journal because it allows for follow-up material to be easily inserted. If you have a dream that comes true, you can write down the details and add this page right after the dream. As you work with the cards you will recognize your personal recurring symbols which you can keep track of and refer to when they pop up again in another dream. Also, as you review your dream journal you will see patterns emerging which can be traced to repeating patterns in waking life.

For example, one woman recognized similar behaviour in several female dream characters over a six month period. As she reflected on the conflicts that had recurred in her waking life over that time, she was able to connect these with the behaviour of the female dream characters. She realized this recurrent behaviour was part of her dark side that she had repressed and she might not have recognized this had she not looked over many past dreams.

Your dream journal is a record of your journey through life.

What is a dream group and how does it work?

A dream group is a small group of people who regularly come together either once a week or every other week to interpret their dreams. Each member brings a typewritten or neatly written copy of a dream that they want to explore. It is helpful and time saving to bring photocopies for the other group members. A half hour is usually enough time for a person to explore their dream in a group. Read the section on Dream Study Group organization.

Why are dreams hard to understand?

Dreams…

• are many-layered and convey more than one message at a time.
• use both universal and personal images to convey their messages.
• often exaggerate and magnify.
• are filled with modern-day and personal puns which often go unrecognized.
• disguise waking-life relationships, settings, actions, and objects. This gives you a choice of getting the message or not and protects you if you are not ready to get the message.
• images are often opposite to the way they appear in our waking lives.
• are visual blueprints of our deepest emotions.

It used to be thought, and still is in many circles, that only professionals should interpret dreams. I rather support the notion that the dreamer is the best interpreter and that the Universe never sends more than we can handle. Dreams are metaphorical and symbolic and there is some work to be done to decipher the messages. We are all experts at hiding our shadow parts and we are so good at it that we even deny that we do it. This prevents us from recognizing our genuine selves. This E-Dictionary provides a doorway (usually the back door) into the dream and guides us to those very issues which most concern us in our lives. Taking the time to understand your dreams is one of the most important things you can do for yourself. Dreams connect us with our authentic selves, and help us to become more aware and whole as we journey toward our Self.

Search your soul and future… with a little help.
www.TarotByKathleen.com

What do nightmares signal?

Nightmares are our dreams shouting at us to solve deep and widespread conflicts of great intensity. The dream-mind keeps presenting unresolved, painful experiences or feelings until the dreamer deals with them. Using this E-Dictionary for nightmares will assist you in uncovering the pain and fear that are causing the nightmare.

Conflicts of conscience vs. behaviour can trigger nightmares. Here the threatening images serve as a self-inflicted punishment for violation of an inner moral code.

Nightmares can also come from disowned parts of yourself which contain energies that have not been utilized well and thus have turned destructive. These energies appear in threatening forms in order to get your attention. As you acknowledge and face the negative images, you will find new ways to use the energies they represent. The negativity that has been repressed can be transformed into a positive force in your life.

Another reason for nightmares is to shake yourself out of your complacency. Nightmares get the adrenalin flowing in a physically safe manner. You can test out how brave you are by facing the monster and asking what it wants instead of running away.

What does it mean when I have the same dream over and over?

If you keep having the same or a similar dream over and over it means that you haven’t got the message yet. As soon as you do, you will not dream that particular dream again or the dream will change in some way. Dream images that repeat are important, as they represent fundamental characteristics or persistent feelings that you have repressed. Take a look at when you had these dreams and what was happening in your waking life that was similar each time. Then as you answer the questions on the cards you can connect the repeating dream image to the similar waking-life situation.

What does it mean when I dream of death?

Most dreams of death do not mean actual body death. Dreaming of death usually means the death of an idea, a job, a situation, an emotional state, or relationship. Death is a transformation from one state to another so your dream could be alerting you about a change. Ask yourself what parts of you or your life are changing.

What does it mean when a dream comes true?

Dreaming of an event before it actually occurs in waking life is quite common. The dream-mind is at a level of consciousness where time is simultaneous. If you get into the habit of keeping a dream journal you can then check your dreams with waking life happenings. You may be surprised at how many do come true. Everyone has psychic abilities; however, some people are more developed in this area than others. Dream exploration helps you to get in touch with this aspect of yourself.

What is a lucid dream?

A lucid dream is a dream in which you, although still asleep, become consciously aware that you are dreaming. Pinching yourself doesn’t help, because the pinch will hurt in the dream. Because you are aware that you are dreaming you can actively change the dream setting, characters or action. You become the director.

For example, you may be in a frightening dream situation but then you realize you have nothing to fear because “it is only a dream”. You can then fearlessly explore the situation. Lucid dreaming is an expanded awareness of your mind and a very exciting experience. If you are interested in learning more on lucid dreaming see the recommended reading list.

What should I do if I want to go deeper into the issues that have been revealed in my dream explorations?

Dream exploration will guide you to the issues that need attention. There are times in your life, however, when you might want additional support from a professional counselor. A trained counselor can assist you in working through painful feelings and help you to make beneficial choices.