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A Way To Grow
by Carole Cravath
Dreams are a mirror for
us. They reflect back to us our thoughts, attitudes and feelings. They
show us specific behaviors and ideas about ourselves and our lives that
need our awareness and consideration.
They can reveal to us how
to resolve problems, relate to specific people, give us new directions
and show us things we weren’t aware of. Dreams also give us creative
ideas, intuitive information and solutions we hadn’t thought of. They
can be prophetic and give us truths from our soul.
To understand dreams, we
need to learn the language of the right brain, which is our vehicle for
dreams. The right brain speaks to us in:
1. Images/Symbols
2. Feelings
3. Knowing
4. Allegories, Double Meanings, Puns, Pictures. Metaphors, Parallels
5. Prophecy, Pre-Cognizance
Most dreams apply to our
inner or outer personal lives. The symbolic meanings of scenarios,
characters, landscapes and actions are messages from our inner self to
help us. Symbolic interpretation can be translated into valuable
insights, instruction and breakthroughs.
To decode the symbols of
the creative mind and understand the dream, we must realize that it is
not confined to logical sequences or literal meanings. All parts of the
dream are symbols for things that are going on within our consciousness
or our personal lives.
For example, if you’re
seated in a movie theater, what you see upon the screen is not
entertainment (as in real life), but a representation of something
that’s happening in your life, a scenario of the past, present or future
played out for you to become aware of. If you are watching a comedy
where someone is being laughed at or ridiculed, those feelings might
relate to a time when you felt teased or embarrassed and need to come to
terms with that experience and let it go.
If you are being chased in
a dream, you aren’t in actual danger but possibly are “running away”
from a problem, fear or situation in your life that you need to face.
What is it? Your inner self is telling you that it’s important to deal
with it now; that’s why it has created this dream.
Going through a doorway in
waking life means entering a room or leaving it, but in a dream, it
means a new “door” is opening for you, a new project or relationship is
coming.
A desert in the dream
state is not a physical place. It means you are going in a barren,
fruitless direction in relation to a person, project, job, attitude or
decision in your life. Stop and determine in what area of your life this
is happening. It may represent a relationship that you’re better off
without, time to leave a job you dislike ,etc.
Usually the pictures,
images and scenarios in a dream represent the abstract connotation of a
concept or image. For example, a bridge in waking life is a physical
object we walk across. In a dream, a bridge represents the abstract form
of the concept, as in Bridging (Bringing Together) two opposing forces,
two parts of the self, a conflict being resolved or don’t “burn
bridges,” etc. The message is cooperation, coming together, seeing both
sides etc. Usually, our dreams are speaking about the most pressing
current issue we are dealing with.
Other examples of abstract
interpretations that dream situations and pictures convey include: a
baby means the birth or appearance of something new in your life (not a
real baby or pregnancy); trees signify growth, beauty, strength;
bathroom dreams imply that an inner cleansing of some kind is needed and
death usually portrays something that is no longer useful and needs to
die. Each color you see has a personal meaning to you. Our dream symbols
have a universal interpretation as well as an individual one that
applies only to us. Focus on what the car, storm, spoon, elevator, rug
or scenario means to you.
People, in dreams, may be
familiar or unknown. If you know them, it probably pertains to that
relationship. If unknown, focus on the qualities of that person, because
they reflect you and the personal qualities or behaviors your inner self
wants you to pay attention to.
To begin interpreting a
dream, do the following:
ONE.
Write down all the major aspects of the dream: a house, people, a party
going on, an argument, being trapped, singing, whatever happened. Every
part of your dream is a symbolic (not literal) message.
TWO.
How did you feel in the
dream. What emotions were prominent? This is a big clue that can
illuminate the overall meaning.
THREE.
Note the people in the dream and make a list of their qualities,
behaviors and words. How are they like you?
FOUR.
What do you think the various elements of the dream mean? You can
dialogue with each part of the dream and ask it why it has appeared ?
FIVE.
Intuitively, what do you think the
dream means?
A simple example of a
dream’s meaning is the following: You are driving in your car and can’t
slam on the brakes when you need to. You wake up in a cold sweat. The
dream likely means that you need to slow down in some area of your life
or need to be clearer about a decision before proceeding. Stop and
reassess.
Record your dreams, give a
meaning to each symbol (aspect of the dream) and intuit the overall
meaning. Practice daily and you will be surprised how easy it is to
understand your dreams.
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