Haven’t explored what your dreams are telling you? Well then, buckle up buttercup! You’re taking off on the coolest head trip ever!
Your Life, Your Dream, Your Choice
Your dreams are incredibly awesome and tremendously powerful. They are you, giving you, a look inside of you.
Sometimes, our dreams replay our day. We relive snippets of our experiences in a fanciful, scary, or otherwise odd way.
But sometimes, there are things that happen in our dreams that we cannot easily explain.
It is in those mysterious happenings that we need to look. For they are our subconscious creeping out and letting us know it’s there.
Suppressed memories come back to us; regardless of their origins. This means they can be happy, playful, spirited, but also scary, sad, terrifying and traumatic.
Understanding what is happening in our dreams provides us with a wonderful tool to use for personal self care.
For if we can identify it, we can see it and we can choose to embrace it or slay it.
YOU have the power over YOU. To embrace or to slay? YOU DECIDE!
How do you explore what your dreams are telling you – if you never remember them!?
Dream Images
Problem #1: how the heck can you explore what your dreams are telling you, if you can never remember the darn things!
I hear you, and I got you.
When I first started exploring dreams, I had the same problem.
There are scientific explanations of why we don’t readily recall our dreams; more importantly for today; there are techniques you can use to improve your dream recollection.
Steps to Remember Your Dream
- Put pen and paper next to your bed. Not across the room. Place where you can easily grab them. Open the notebook/journal to a new page. When it’s time to write, you do not want to fumble or think about anything. This is super important.
- Get yourself comfy. Before you drift off to sleep, tell yourself over and over again, that you will remember your dream. ‘I will remember my dream. I will remember my dream. I will remember my dream.’ It sounds ridiculous, but I promise it helps. It’s literally the only way I remember my dreams.
- The second you wake up, grab the paper and pen. DO NOTHING ELSE. Even one second of distraction will cost you some dream recall.
- Write down as much as you can remember. Go over the big stuff first. Don’t try to make full sentences. Get as many big points onto the paper as you can. Write until you don’t remember anything else.
- Start at the top, and think deeper. As you go through each of the big items, think of the smaller things. For example: you were riding a bike. What kind of bike? What color was it? What were you wearing? Did you have a hat on? What kind of shoes? Were they tied? Were you riding on pavement, sand, dirt? Did you smell anything? Was it raining, sunny, cloudy? Look around, what did you see? Were there other people around? What were they wearing, what were they doing?
- As you are jotting down all the smaller things, you will likely remember more of the dream. Jot down items to come back to as you continue the drill down.
- At this point I usually have a lot of scribbly-gook on my page. Rewrite your notes to capture the dream.
Excellent job!
Dream Interpretation
Figure out what parts of your dream relate back to your day, or something going on in your life. Take out things that are already top-of-mind; and are not topics that are unexpected.
For example, I went to the beach during the day. In my dream I was building a sand castle on the beach. Probably not significant. Conversely, I haven’t been to the beach in months, have not watched a movie about the beach, haven’t seen anything on social media about the beach; I can say the same about crabs; yet I was doing a crab walk in the ocean surf in my dream. Now THAT I am going to explore.
As you pick through your dream, highlight what you wish to explore further. I use a highlighter; you can make a separate list; or do whatever is easiest for you.
There are multiple ways I interpret my dreams; but my top 2 are:
The dictionary is cool because it’s sometimes easier to flip around the pages; also because sometimes I’m off camping in the Bee and I don’t have any reception. ๐
Dream Symbols
There are so many ways you can go with dream meanings. Unfathomable amounts, really, because each of us is completely YOUnique and authentic. Our minds are completely different from each other; so there is not any one way to determine the meaning of a dream.
Other than – YOUR way.
There is a scary side of the dream world. Repressed memories can surface. There could be things happening in your dreams that relate to something your mind has chosen to keep safely locked in the dark recesses. If you find you are touching on things that alarm you, please be sure you reach out for support. Contact a therapist, psychologist, life coach, or an emergency hotline.
There is also a very curious and fun side of the dream world.
I’m on top of some tall cabinets. I don’t know how I will get there (don’t know what ‘there’ is). A woman from my camping club is there. I see spots where I can climb down from the cabinets; other spots I’m scared and think I’ll get hurt. Someone (?) goes for help, but then I manage to get down and I’m walking with some people. I think we’re headed to a city. We see a few black clouds in an otherwise beautiful sky. We know they’re threatening. I turn to go back; not everyone does. I leave and there’s a girl, kinda badass, wearing a necklace that has 2 dolphins on it. She tells me she is leaving to steal a special part from a Mazda. Then she’s showing me the car part.
WHAT the heck is THAT all about?!
Dream Meaning
That is definitely a peculiar dream. Let’s see what I found out about it:
- The sky represents your potential. The color your mood; your view of or feeling about life at the moment. So… I think the dark clouds were symbolic of my mom being really sick.
- We climb to get out of mess we find ourselves in; also climbing has risks. It can also represent attaining new heights at work, or in a relationship. Also in the mix here is a fear of falling. Whew, many possibilities for me. I’m going with the correlation to someone from my camping club being there when I was stuck on top; because I was doing a lot for my camping club that was causing me anxiety.
- The dolphins were VERY intriguing to me. While I could explain the sky and being stuck on top of file cabinets; I could not easily explain the necklace with two dolphins on it; and it was very clear and prominent in my dream.
This is where things get cool; and definitely subject to all kinds of opinions and interpretations.
2019 Journey Entry Notes Regarding Analyzation of the Dolphins:
Dolphins represent the contact and relationships we have with the deeply unconscious natural forces within. They suggest that life is not operating blindly. Life reaches out to us if we reach out to it. There are powerful unconscious energies in us; conscious awareness of one’s link with all life; contact with the one life within all things.
Woa. Pretty deep.
At the end of the day, you need to analyze the dreams as compared to you, your life, and your experiences. There is no golden rule for interpretation and meaning.
Recurring Dreams
Recurrent dreams occur between 60 percent and 75 percent of adults and more often in women than men.
The Academy of sleep and wellness
Recurring dreams can be a problem; especially if we are talking about nightmares.
If this is happening to you, follow the steps outlined above to capture everything you possibly can about the dream. I know this can be very scary; but it is also essential if you are to successfully stop the recurring dream. (use the support lines for help if you need to).
Work through the dream, step by step. Remember that the dream is coming from you. YOU have the ability to control your feelings about this dream. YOU can choose to slay the dream.
Recurring dreams are not always a problem! I have a recurring dream that I am continually working on. Each time I remember little bits and pieces.
My particular dream goes very far back in time, and it is what started my dreamwork. There are some who say my dream is from a past life. Others tell me it’s my spirit guide; and I’ve also been told it is my grandmother.
I don’t know who it is, or what it means. I’ve drawn pictures of the dream. One day I will know what it is telling me!
WHAT YOUR DREAMS ARE TELLING YOU
You Decide
In my opinion, I’m not sure anyone can tell you what your dreams are telling you. They present messages and meanings sent from you, to you.
Pay attention and you can learn about what is stressing you. Shed some light on what your fears and troubles are. Uncover something that is really bothering you, that you didn’t realize was bothering you.
Dreams can reveal unsettled emotions in your relationships.
You can learn about self esteem (presents as hair issues) and feelings of being overwhelmed (can present as tidal waves).
Weather in your dreams can tell you about moods, emotions, and feelings about changing situations.
Water, oh my gosh, there is always so much water in my dreams!! Water represents SO much. Emotions, feelings, the flow of things, the flow of energy. Entering water, leaving water, the temperature of the water, water spouts and being in water, all mean different things.
I can go on and on; I think dreams are so absolutely fascinating.
The One Truth About Dreams
The one truth I know about dreams is that they are the gateway into your subconscious.
The are about YOU.
What better way to work on living an authentic life – than to examine your dreams?
Whewwie.
I sure hope that you do!!
