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MasterFireMaam -> RE: How powerful are dreams? (3/24/2008 2:13:07 AM)
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I know of two ways to interpret dreams. For lack of better terms I think of them as going from the inside out or from the outside in. For both, you start by writing the dream. This is very important. It helps you remember details and gives you something to reference later when you need to look again.
Once you've done that, you can pick one of the ways, or both, combining them. If you are going to combine, I recommend doing the inside-out way first, then the outside-in.
Inside-out: Go back and reread your dream and underline all the symbols that seem important. Then, write out what each means to you. How do you feel about the symbol both in real life and in the dream? Often, you will find contradictions. For example, maybe there's a tennis ball. In real life, you enjoy playing tennis and it's a great love. But, in the dream, you use the ball to smash windows or other negative things. So, how you feel about the ball in the dream is totally different than how you feel about it in real life. When you find a contradiction, that usually represents something important. Continue to do this with each important thing in the dream, paying attention to how you've described them. For example, if the lady reminds you of your Aunt, then aspects of your Aunt are important.
When you've gotten all this written down, you can start to look at the symbols and what they mean in the real world. For example, your Aunt is a loving, kind lady in the real world, but in the dream you saw her as a bitch. This means there is conflict in your waking life in some way where someone's true nature is being overlooked or misrepresented...and, given that the symbol is female, it probably has to do with your feminine side or your personal creativity. So, you look at each symbol like that.
Outside-in: Once you've written your dream out and underlined all the symbols, you go to a source (or several) for dream interpretation. Look up each symbol and see which definition rings true for you. The can then put them all together to get an overall interpretation. Some sites I use are:
Dream Dictionary
Dream Moods A-Z Dream Dictionary
Dream Dictionary - Dream Symbols for Interpretation & Analysis
Combining the two means you to inside-out, then outside-in and work to make them fit in a way that, again, rings true.
All of this is often just mental gymnastics to get you to analyze what's going on in your head. In other words, you're trying to figure out the message your subconscious is showing you. Honestly, it really might all be gibberish, but, I bet if you do the exercise, even if it is gibberish, you'll have learned something about yourself and that's the whole point!
Also, I think it's significant that you try to avoid your dreams. This means, to me, that you try to avoid your happiness in real life. What are you doing, or not doing, that is keeping you from following your bliss? We are often our own greatest obstacle.
Master Fire
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