Interested in interpreting your own dreams? Try this method and see if it
works for you!
First, throw away that dream dictionary. Forget all that water-means-change,
ladders-mean-career-opportunities stuff. Others may disagree, but I've found
that most experts believe dream symbols have no objective meanings. You made
them up, and only you can unlock them.
Second, record your dreams. If you can't remember them, start recording them
anyway. Jot down even the faintest flicker of an image or an idea. The more
you record, the more you'll remember. It may sound simple, but it works.
(Tips: Don't use an alarm clock to wake up. Come to wakefulness naturally.
Train yourself to lie still as you're coming up; let your dreams float up
with you. Fix on any image you can remember. Hold onto it. Whisper it out
loud to make it gel. Then write it down at once. Dream images are often connected
like beads. Record one and you'll probably remember another, and another,
and another.)
Third, take your dream apart. According to the late Christopher Evans, a
British psychologist and computer scientist, nothing in a dream is purely
invented. Each dream is stitched together out of bits and pieces from your
real life. If you think there are people in your dreams that you've never
seen before, think again. They might be composites. The face might come from
a fleeting glimpse of someone you saw in a crowd. The clothes might come
from an ad on TV. The voice may be that of a former teacher. Tie each image
to its source and the whole dream will often deconstruct. Suddenly, with
face, outfit, and voice lifted away, the stranger in your dream may stand
revealed as--your neighbor! Or your best friend, or your boss, or your cat.
Fourth, make sure you're not still dreaming. This issue came up in a dream
class I took. Some of the students said that since dreams seem real to the
dreamer, there is no way to tell if you're in one. I joked that you could
check your bed and see if you were still asleep. Later that day--and it was
a normal day--I began to obsess over this concept that I might be dreaming.
So, I confess. I tried out my own advice: I went to my room to see if I was
asleep.
And I was.
back to dream
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