EXAMPLE: I dreamt I was running through a forest, dressed in medieval garb, and being chased by angry villagers carrying torches, who definitely did not have peaceful intentions. I ran across a bridge and as I reached the other side, looked over my shoulder just as the bridge suddenly burst into flames. This prevented my pursuers from crossing the bridge and left me feeling calm, relaxed and safe.

This was all very visual, but when one thinks of it in the concept of a cliche, the term "burning bridges behind me" is seen clearly both in content and form. My pursuers were from a "past" which could either be my current life past or a karmic past life. In any case, I was obviously putting it all behind me and could safely move on with my life. This dream was visual symbolism.

However, there are other dream symbologies that are not so easily identified. For instance, animals in dreams are not always literal concepts. This does not mean that all dreams of animals are symbolic, but they might be from time to time. I have a recurring animal dream, and having recorded well over 6000 dreams in my logs since 1972, it became fairly obvious to me this animal was very symbolic. I dream of cats frequently; any kind, any color, any size, from kittens to tigers, from lions to panthers have appeared at one time or another. For a long time this cat theme confused me. I began programming myself before going to sleep that if I dreamt of a cat, I would understand the symbolic reference. Eventually I experienced a significant dream in which I watched a cat transform into a simile of me. I realized that cats are subliminal symbolic references to myself. But in what way? This idea opened a whole new set of questions.

I began to reexamine my cat dreams, and came to the conclusion they represented my emotions, feline as it were, for feline is a feminine principle. Using that reference, the dream analysis became very clear, once I substituted myself for the cat and studied the emotional import of the dream.

Now, for another dreamer, a cat might just be a cat. Symbols in dreams are unique to the dreamer. I do not trust dream books that state universal symbol definitions. I believe that just as no two people have exactly the same fingerprints, no two people have exactly the same dream symbols, though it is possible for two people to share a symbol. However, this does not imply that all symbols will have the same reference for everyone.

Obviously, in order to determine dream symbols, one must begin a concentrated recording of dreams. Once you have a large number of dreams to peruse you can begin correlating repetitive dream themes. I suggest recording at least 100 dreams before studying your personal symbolism. It's the first step to understanding the inner self. Dreams are life's gift. Live life to the fullest.

Always begin recording a dream by describing where you are as the dream begins. Dreams stories are self created, and have a plot, a beginning, middle and an end. After recording a dream, go back and read it analytically. What does that dream location mean to you? What emotions are stirred by that place? Where were you at the end of the dream? How did you feel then?

EXAMPLE: Say you dreamt you were in your home and trying very hard to get out, go somewhere, do something, but situations did not allow you the opportunity. What would this mean subconsciously? To me it would mean I felt trapped in my home, and maybe I needed a vacation. This is just a simple example. Dreams can be very complicated in content and while we may not want to accept what is blatantly shown to us, if we created the place it is important.

When your subconscious chooses a dream location, there is a specific reason. If the dream is frightening, how does it relate to the location? Through dreams we may be seeking to uncover pains from our past that have been buried for years. If an event occurred in a specific location, the buried emotion of that event will determine the setting for the dream revelation. This is also true of happy times in our lives. We may return to a place that gives us comfort when times are rough in our waking world. We may also choose a place far from any place we've ever been either out of a desire for adventure, or a means of escaping life's pain.

Dreams are the bridge between our ego and our soul mind. The ego is fragile, but the soul mind is omnipotent. It is from the soul mind that dreams are created to assist, encourage, and teach the ego mind. If you choose to ignore these promptings from the soul, you cut off your nose to spite your face, because these dreams are your means of understanding yourself and the world around you.

Location then is the spring board to uncovering the mystery of your dream. Once you become familiar with your dreams, the mystery begins to unfold just like the pages of a book.

One small note here: When recording your dreams, do not change anything that you dreamt, do not add anything or delete anything, no matter how absurd the dream content may seem. Remember, you are the creator, director, actor, props and the audience. Just write it the way your subconscious wrote it. Also, do not attempt to analyze it until it is completely recorded. If the dream analysis eludes you, don't fret over it. Go back and read it a week or a month later. Sometimes the dream meaning becomes very clear once you remove yourself from it for a while.

Once you have clearly described the character, move on to the dream content. If there are other characters, describe them as clearly as possible also. These clarified descriptions will help you to determine the reason for that character's presence.

Once your dream is fully recorded, go back and study the characters. What was the character doing? What emotions were aroused? Does that character remind you in any way of someone in your real life? Does the character relate to you in some way?

While dream characters can be symbolic, they can also be literal. Dreaming of your mother may be an actual dream related to you and your mother. However, your mother may also be a stand-in for someone you do not choose to recognize. Your mother may also be a part of yourself you feel is like your mother. There is an old saying that goes, "girls become their mothers as they mature. If you want to see your wife 20 years from now, look at her mother." There will be those who will argue this point, saying they are nothing like their mothers, but how often do you catch yourself doing something your mother did that you hated as a child and swore you'd never do? We are products of our environment and genetic makeup. No matter how much you choose to argue the point, we are all somewhat like those who gave us birth.

Dream minds are more truthful than the ego mind. Dreams will present things to us that we refuse to accept in waking reality, and will continue to present a truth until it is accepted. Dream characters are cast by the subconscious director/dreamer to make a point. If the character is unimportant, why put it there? So, no matter how obscure a dream character may seem, there is a reason for the character's presence which you should attempt to uncover.

Therefore, after recording a dream, go back and study the characters and ask yourself why you think that character appeared in the dream. When your subconscious creates a dream, it is talking to you. When you ask questions about your dream while awake, you are talking to your subconscious. Pay attention to your answers, and your subconscious will be overjoyed and knowing you are tuned in, will begin to give you more and more information. As you begin to consciously question your dream mind, your dreams will become clearer, less symbolic, and more creative. As you begin to record in detail, your subconscious will create more vivid detail. When I began recording my dreams, I could barely recall one paragraph. Now it is common for me to write several pages about one dream. Let your subconscious be your guide.

Nightmares are the way in which our subconscious scolds us and says, "pay attention!" Anyone who has had a vivid nightmare, knows it is very difficult to forget it once you awaken.

If a nightmare occurs, your subconscious is trying to tell you something very important, perhaps something you have been ignoring or refusing to accept as a truth within your life situation. The nightmare may be highly symbolic and very difficult to analyze, but the fact that you brought it to your waking mind is what your subconscious wanted to accomplish. Recurring nightmares usually have some very deep subliminal meaning. To get at this meaning requires patience, dedication, and a desire to know.

Now, I feel I should mention here, that some nightmares are borne of paranormal influences. That is, we know it is not uncommon for someone to dream of a tragedy that soon occurs in reality. This is not in the same category. A nightmare of this sort will not even feel the same as a repressed memory nightmare. The sensation will be to warn the person involved, or to try in some way to prevent the situation from happening.

Nightmares borne of subconscious influences need to be dealt with. One way to do this, is to go to sleep actually "requesting" the nightmare to recur. Why? Because you also program yourself that when it occurs, you will change it somehow. If you created the nightmare subconsciously, why shouldn't you be able to alter it? Example: My mother told me she'd had a recurring nightmare in her youth that the devil was chasing her on the beach. Always he was closing in on her, always her legs felt like lead, and she could not run fast enough. She'd awaken in a cold sweat, heart pounding just before he caught her, but each time he was getting closer and she feared that sooner or later he would catch her. She told her grandmother about the dream. Her grandmother told her not to run from him, but to turn, face him, and gave her a poem to recite, something to the effect of "return from whence you came." Mom said the poem each night before going to sleep in preparation for a recurrence of the nightmare. Finally it presented itself. As she began the familiar running scenario, she suddenly recalled her grandmother's words, stopped, turned, and pointing with her finger shouted the poem at him, and poof! He was gone and she never dreamt of him again. She had altered the dream pattern.

Now, I would have taken it a step further. I would have stopped, and asked him why he was chasing me. The devil was a dream character, with a role to play, and a reason. He probably represented a fear my mother never really dealt with. Perhaps in casting him out, she cast out that fear, but I would have wanted to know what that fear was. So, next time you have a nightmare, be thankful, for there is a powerful lesson to be learned.

However, sometimes, as in school, we flunk a subject. We then go on to something else, intending to get back to the other subject at a later date and take it over again, since we need that subject for required credits. It is the same with dreams. Your subconscious will try for a long time to teach you something, but if you just aren't getting it, it may be pulled from the dream curriculum for a period of time.

However, sooner or later, you have to deal with it again, and the dream theme will recur, maybe weeks or months later. These dream themes generally pertain to your waking behavior and your actions and reactions to life experiences.

EXAMPLE: One of my greatest fears in waking life is getting lost in my car. I hate to drive, and have a horrible sense of direction. I have to take trial runs whenever I am faced with driving to a place I've never been. If a detour sign is put up I panic, sure I will get lost.

It is not surprising then, that a recurring dream theme for me is to be lost while driving. I am aware of this trait and have worked very hard over the years to overcome it. I have intricate maps drawn up for me, showing not only streets and directions, but buildings, and landmarks for reference. I have made headway in this endeavor, and my dreams have shown this as well. I seldom have the "lost on the road" dream anymore, and when I do get lost, I go to great extent within the dream to find my way again without panicking as I used to do in past dreams. In a recent dream, I just closed my eyes and said, "I am not scared" and suddenly spirit hands took over the wheel, guiding me and saying, "all you have to do is drive on instinct. If you think turn right, do it."

This is an example of changing waking behavior by paying attention to the dream theme. It is also a roster of subjects we need to deal with...our required courses in life. Your subconscious is your teacher...let your subconscious be your guide. With every dream theme you acknowledge and conquer you raise your grade point average. It looks good on your spiritual resume.

Flying dreams are a spiritual adventure. Most flying dreams are accompanied with feelings of exhilaration, happiness, adventure, and freedom. When you fly up and over a scene, a bird's eye view is possible, an overview of what is below, and therefore your scope of understanding is intensified.

Flying dreams can be a form of dream safety. In my own experiences, I often take to the air when what is on the ground becomes frightening or intolerable. Once in the air, these negative feelings are erased and when I land again, whatever was bothering me is usually gone, or replaced by a feeling of accomplishment and a desire to solve some earthly problem.

To fly in a dream is to reach for the higher self, to set the soul free, to expand consciousness and attain understanding. However, flying can be something that is just pure fun and exhilaration. But then, isn't that mind expanding, to be freed of all cares and worries?

Flying can begin simply by leaping into the air and taking off. It can begin by just lying back and allowing a cushion of air to lift you light as a feather. It can begin by diving off a cliff and suddenly finding yourself soaring like an eagle. However it is accomplished, once in flight, the sensations are invigorating.

Flying dreams can take you over cities, over open plains, mountains, or out into the universe among the stars. However, a flying dream can be as simple as taking to the air in a crowded corridor to escape the hustle and bustle of the "earthbound."

Flying dreams tend to be very close to consciousness, and because of this, much can be learned from the experience. Study closely all the dream characters, props, locations, and the overall theme, then ask yourself "how did it change when I took to the air?" I would guess that 99.9% of the time, the end result of the flying experience produced euphoria, understanding, peace, or a combination of these ideas. Spiritual influences may be felt to such a degree in some cases that you actually "feel" a presence, a guiding force...truly, you might feel "the wind beneath your wings."

It isn't always immediately apparent that we are dreaming something that is going to actually happen. Not all prophecy dreams have to be earth shattering events. They can be as simple as dreaming of an old friend from years past, and then a day or so later, a call comes in from that person. And you say, "Oh wow, I just dreamt of you the other night!" and then you write it off as coincidence. BIG MISTAKE! Each time you dream an event that occurs, it is a gift from the SOURCE, and should always be acknowledged. In doing so, you then open the door for more such dreams. If you write them off to coincidence, you give your subconscious the message that it is of little importance to you. Unfortunately, we do tend to do this with simple little dreams like this first example.

However, when you have a major precognitive dream, like the death of a family member, forseeing a terrible accident...you tend to pay more attention. But why? Each of these prophetic dreams is a gift from the source, and therefore you should always give credence to the source. Is a gift any less a gift because of it's shock value?

Prophecy dreams will often be experienced while under emotional stress, or even emotional euphoria. Emotion is a powerful psychic conductor, and dreams more than any other aspect of our nature operate on the principle of emotion. Emotions are what you feel, and dreams express feeling in pictures, scenes, symbols, and thought.

When you go to sleep, if you want a precognitive answer, concentrate with "feeling" on the subject. Hold this thought until you go to sleep. Chance are, after a few nights of this method, you will have your answer.

Ask your question, feel it, experience your desire, and then listen with your heart, for there is where the truth lies.

An OBE is quite different. It is similar to lucid dreaming only in the fact that consciousness is present. It is not uncommon to see the body, as we drift upwards and out of it, sleeping upon the bed. The astral body is an energy "skin" that surrounds our body, but during an OBE it separates from the body, although it does not disconnect. If the astral body disconnected from the physical body altogether...it is then called death.

An OBE differs from a lucid dream because it is not an act of the subconscious. It is an activity of the spirit. People who have been clinically pronounced "dead" but then return to their body, experience a form of OBE known as NDE, Near Death Experience.

In a normal OBE, one not associated to a near death experience, the spirit simply departs the body for a time. The astral body may not even leave the room. However, speed is sudden, operating on "thought" and if you think of a place you want to go...you go there almost instantaneously.

Unlike lucid dreams, an OBE is often preceded by a loud roar, sometimes described as the sound of a speeding train, a howling wind, or a thundering waterfall. What is happening is that as the astral lifts away from the physical body, the frequency level, or energy level is raised suddenly, like a burst of power and since the body is still connected by a thin line of astral matter, this is transferred to the mind as "sound." However, once the astral body reaches it's higher vibratory frequency level, the sound disappears, though the sensations of speed, enhanced clarity of vision, sound and sight take over.

A lucid dream can very often escalate into an OBE. Or, the reverse can be true, an OBE can tone itself down as the astral body reenters, to a lucid. Lucid dreams and OBE's are very similar, and yet very different. In a lucid, you are quite aware you are "dreaming" but in an OBE, you are quite aware that you are totally withdrawn from the sleeping body. In a lucid, your mind travels and sees and does things with enhanced clarity and understanding. In an OBE, your entire astral body travels with the mind and most often there is a feeling of spirituality associated with the experience, such as the sense of "presences" around you, seen or unseen. Since the vibratory rate is escalated in an OBE, it is quite possible to communicate with discarnates, or even to visit the spirit world. When one returns to the body after an OBE, the feelings are far more intense than after a lucid dream. So, if you are unsure, ask yourself...was I more interested in the mind...or the soul? To be or not to be...OBE...that is the question.

In the dream state, which is in itself an altered state, there is no delineation called time. Time is a man-made idea to keep track of events. Therefore, you may actually see a person in a dream, who you feel represents you, but looks very different than you do in your present life. What you may be experiencing is a recall of a past ego life, which in some way affects your present life. It may be your karmic task to straighten out what was done by the past life ego of another era. Since you share the same soul, their problems, their trials and tribulations, are part of your own plan.

On the positive side, you also have gained from the positive progression of a former ego, and a dream may "remind" you of this factor, thereby assisting you in a current life situation. An example of this would be: A past life ego learned how to be diplomatic in a confrontation experience. The current ego may now be in a similar situation and was thinking about this dilemma before going to sleep. A dream calls up the past situation, depicted in that past time and place, but shows the dreamer how it was once handled successfully. The person awakens thinking "of course, that's what I have to do."

Dreams also form "double exposures" that is, you see yourself, though perhaps your eyes are a different color, your hair longer and curlier, etc., but you still look pretty much the same and have the strong feeling that this dream character is really you. It most likely is...in composite form, combined with a past life ego's appearance. This lap over of egos may be occurring because both you and the past life ego did something exactly the same way, whether it was positive or negative.

To determine the meaning of these past life related dreams, you study them the same way as any ordinary dream. What was the overall message? How did you feel during the dream? How did you feel at the conclusion? What is going on in your present life that somehow relates to this dream?

Reincarnation dreams are peeks into the past in order to make yourself a better future as well as progress your soul. Heed the positive messages, for if you do not, history will repeat itself, and your soul will have to do it all over again in the next life.

What will happen is that another person, dreams a dream, and is able to recall and record the experience. Within that dream, the dreamer takes part as the participant, that is, sees him/herself at the person involved and generally assumes that the dream is related in some way to their own life, and yet can find no logical basis in reality. The events, circumstances, characters, etc., do not "fit" to their own psyche or life situations.

However, a "feeling" or a "need" to relate this dream to another person sometimes proves to be a message from the subconscious to relay the dream material to the person who actually needed that information. Once the dream is recounted, the other person immediately realizes that all the dream information pertains to them, and not the person who dreamt the dream. This is an example of a surrogate dream.

A surrogate dream is an incubated thought process, generally connected by paranormal psychic phenomena, and intricately connected by way of thought, and devotion between two people. The dreamer is able to help the person who lacks ability to recall their own dreams, to receive a needed dream message.

It is probable, though I have no actual proof of this theory, that both people dreamt that same dream the same night, but only the surrogate was able to recall and record it. Because of this duality of dreaming, the surrogate felt the "need" to relay the dream to the other person. Also, the person who did not remember the dream, will still feel an immediate relationship to it, perhaps because their own recall still remains at a deeper subconscious level. In any case, the end result is, the person who needed the information receives it. So, sleep, perchance to dream...in stereo.

Sometimes dreams are so literal in content, there is no doubt as to the interpretation, but other times, dreams contain a group of ideas represented in scenes and by the characters, that at first recording do not seem to relate to one another.

In a dream of this kind, your first task is to study the first scene, character, or object and ask yourself what they mean to you personally. What word associations come to mind? It is a good idea to record these thoughts as you work with the dream. When you are satisfied with the first section, move on to the next and do the same word association.

As you move through the dream, part by part, you will begin to see that a pattern is forming like a chain of connected ideas. You will see how one word association does seem to reflect a continuity to the next thought process represented by the next scene.

Because dreams are often symbolic, many scenes or dream words which are different, actually have the same meaning to you as the dreamer, but with slight variations. For instance, the ocean associates in my mind to peace and tranquility. A beautiful sunset or sunrise evokes this same response in me but with a subtle difference. The ocean also roars and pounds the surf evoking thoughts concerning the power of nature, while the sunrise evokes ideas of new and beautiful promise, and sunset evokes ideas of nature at rest. All of these ideas may appear in one singular dream for the purpose of showing you how something concerning you began, is developing, and how it will be concluded. Each dream scene is a dream message. Every object has it's place in that scenario. By associating one to the other, you come up with the basic meaning of the dream itself. So, the next time a difficult dream develops, try the gestalt method. It's very "whole" some.

Within dreams, it is possible to find answers to every day problems. The subconscious is a very busy processor of information, and will go about presenting information to the dreamer, night after night regardless of our inattention to them. However, when we do begin to pay attention, and actually "request" specific help from the subconscious, amazing results can be attained. Simply by concentrating on a problem or needed answer before going to sleep, gives the inner mind the "que" to really begin processing ingenious problem solving.

Ancients have said that we have within us, all the answers, and need only ask to receive them. Even if you don't believe that in it's entirety, you should at least believe that "you" really know the answers you are seeking. You know what brought you to whatever problem you have, you know what choices you made, you know what circumstances resulted, and you know how to solve the problem. Our waking mind tends to set up blockades, since we often rationalize or find excuses for the things we do, or we may even blame others for what is happening, but our inner self knows the reality, the real truth. If you seek that truth, your subconscious mind will present it to you in dream form.

In order to get the most from problem solving dreams, you must not only pay attention to their content, but you must keep an open mind. You may rationalize a dream answer the same way as you do in waking life. The only way to truly reach the right answer is to analyze the information given even if it seem negative.

If you have an argument with a friend or co-worker for example, and you feel you were wronged, and want to know how to deal with this, you can present the situation for dream study before going to sleep. If for example, you dreamt you were being catty, vindictive or unfair to that person, it could be the "reason" for the problem. The next question, is how to rectify it. If you have accepted the first dream, your inner mind will move on to the next question. If you don't it will continue to repeat the scenario in one way or another, because you can't move on to the next phase until you have "learned" the first one.

Adversely, you might dream that this person was suffering from extreme family problems of which you had no prior knowledge, and this might also be true, and also be the reason for a hostile confrontation. People with private problems often bring them into the work place without explaining them, but may treat co-workers with hostility in a form of transference.

So, in conclusion, if you truly want an answer to a problem, first present it to your subconscious, then pay attention to the dream, accept what is being shown without bias, and sooner or later, the solution to the problem will be given. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem. To thine own self be true.

If you are working on an essay for instance, it is advisable to do this just before bedtime. Keep the essay in mind as you go off to sleep, requesting that further material will be given. Ask your inner mind to tap into the vast knowledge you already have.

Consider this, everything you have ever done, ever said, ever felt or experienced is stored in your subconscious memory. Think of this storehouse of memories as a computer. You have an enormous amount of material in your data bank. With that information, you should be able to extract exactly the right words or ideas you need to formulate your essay. This does not mean that you should not do any waking research, you should, for this activity also inspires the inner mind to begin working and organizing from stored data as well as incoming data. Concentration on anything creates a focus for your subconscious. Data will be drawn upon that relates to whatever it is you are working on.

The information may come to you in word pictures rather than literal words, although both types of dream are possible. You may see the subject of your essay being acted out, like a play or TV show, but the data is being shown regardless. You may only see a few written words, but they will be "power" words, that are to be the main idea of your essay itself.

When you awaken, you should of course record every detail you can recall of the dream, and then begin looking at the content for relevant material. Sometimes only one word or scene will be enough to start your waking creative process working. An example: I once entered a writing contest and needed a subject for a funky short story. I thought all day about different ideas, but nothing felt right. I went to bed concentrating on help from my creative dream mind, and all I dreamt were four words, "Her Caldron Runneth Over." I awoke thinking, "and what does that mean?" So, after recording the dream which included the phrase, I sat down at my typewriter, typed in the four words...and suddenly knew that what I had was the title for a story. My subconscious knew that with those power words, my waking mind would be able to develop a story.

I began typing, and by the end of the day, I had written a 20 page short story comedy with that title as it's base idea. So, you do not need a whole scenario for creative inspiration, just the desire, motivation, and by paying attention to your dream cues. So, let your subconscious mind be your creative partner, for two minds are always better than one.

Before you go to sleep, go over the entire gamut of symptoms, along with how you've been feeling psychologically, mentally, and ask yourself what has been bothering you lately? Disease of the body is often caused by "dis-ease" of the mind. The subconscious mind is where all the data is recorded. Dreams are the data bank's entry mechanism.

By alerting your subconscious mind that you wish this data to be analyzed and a remedy prescribed, you set off a pattern within the inner mind to work on this request. Your dreams will begin to show you, in the order of importance, what created the illness in the first place, and then move on to how to change your thinking, view your problems from a different perspective, and finally, a remedy will appear...which might be as simple as drinking only distilled water for a few days to eliminate toxins.

You are what you think, and the body will reflect what you think and believe, so if you change the way you think, you change what happens to your body. Your dreams are you, as personal and unique as your fingerprints, your DNA, and blood type. This is not to say that a doctor's prescription won't cure an infection, but if your problem has a psychological basis, medicines will only mask the illness, only work on the physical aspect, and the condition may get better, but will recur each time the "reasons" for it are in action. Get rid of the cause, and the symptoms will disappear, and the illness will be truly cured.

As always, you must be completely honest when programming or recording your dreams...don't add or detract...express it exactly as it exists. Lying to your inner self will only further complicate matters, and prolong the cure. So, sleep on your problems and dream yourself into good health.

"Things" are natural props in our dreams. Things can be anything from cars to houses to table lamps...anything that can be described as a "thing". To determine the meaning of these things, you have to understand that each may represent a symbol from your subconscious. These symbols could represent feelings, ideas, or simply a way of looking at something indirectly. Some situations, problems, or thoughts that occupy our minds either consciously or subconsciously are too emotional or too stressful to look at directly…but since they are there…nudging to be heard, they will manifest into our dream life. Therefore, things are also parts of a database that our minds use to "picture" a thought process.

Things can be simply things...no more than mere dream props...for we are each the writer, director, producer, and actor in our dreams. Therefore, dreamers "set the stage" so to speak with all the props for the development of the dream story. Every dream is like a vignette we create and orchestrate to be viewed and absorbed into our consciousness.

However…things in dreams will not always have the same symbolic meaning to everyone. To determine what a particular thing means to you, you must first ask yourself…what does that "thing" mean to me? For instance…I see cars as "vehicles of life expression" extensions of ourselves, since cars get us where we want to go. However, to a car mechanic…a car dream might represent his work or how he feels in regards to his own car…in which case it would be more literal.

I see mountains as symbols of majesty and strength so for me a dream in which I am surrounded by mountains might mean I am feeling strong, or being surrounded by strength. However, for some a mountain could represent an obstacle…like the old song, "this time Lord, you gave me a mountain" meaning there is a huge challenge to overcome…a desire to climb over it…to get beyond its limitations.

To understand better what each "thing" means to you, keep dream logs and see how often a particular thing appears. If you see something frequently…it has an important symbolic meaning. One of the most frequent dream things for all dreamers is the "house" and this has deeper meaning. I see houses as the "self" so upper rooms…can mean thoughts, main floor rooms…daily life, basement, things from my subconscious, and attics…the place in my self where I "store" things or hide them away. But to others, the aspects of the house might be different.

Since a house is something we all share…from childhood on…be it in the form of apartment, condo, house, or anyplace where we "live" the dream application will generally reflect that as the symbol. If we have sad memories from our childhood…they might take place in our childhood "home" in dreams, though any place we "live" can be the dream scene even when dealing with unpleasant childhood memories. We carry forward with us into our adult life all of our memories, whether they are viewed on the "main floor" of our life house, or hidden away in the attic.

So think about things you see in your dreams…in relation to what they mean to you. Set up a database to express your personal feelings about things, especially recurring items. Then go back and review the dreams…substituting your ideas as to their symbolic meaning and you will most likely begin to see what the dream is telling you. Every dream has a message…things are mirrors upon which to focus.

So begin that database…it’s the "thing" to do.