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ON-LINE BOOK : Hundreds of real dreams
A BASIC INTRO to what dreams are about

BASIC TECHNIQUES to interpret dreams
DREAM DICTIONARY A to Z of symbols complete with essays on symbols in everyday real uses
BASIC SYMBOLISM
- DREAM SYMBOLS : Basements - Your boss - Best friend - Babies/pregnant - Brothers - Cafes - Cars - Castles - Children - Creative dreams - Clothes - Churches and cathedrals - Deaths - Demons,witches and goblins - Dogs - Drink and drugs - Farms, gardens and plants - Factories - Fathers - Faucets/taps/pipes - Food - Earthquakes and volcanos - Foreign Countries - Grandparents - Guards - Guns and knives - Horses and animals - Hauntings - Hospitals - Hotels + huge buildings - Houses - Locks - Men(unknown) - Military - Money - Mothers - Monster - Mountains - Movies - Music - People - Police - Phone - Politics - Planes and flying - Prison - Rivers - Rapists and intruders - Railways - Roads - Schools - Sea - Sex - Shops - Sisters - Skies in dreams - Skyscrapers and tall buildings - Snakes and spiders - Space - Sports - Street - Teeth - Tidal waves - Time - Toilets in dreams - Towns and streets - Trees - Water - Weddings and engagements - Windows - Work
OTHER SUBJECTS: external causes of dreams : Music in dreams : Premonitions : Telepathy : Specific dreams : Synonyms in dreams : Children's dreams and dreams about your child : Recurring dreams CASE STUDIES : 1 2 3 4 5
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FOOD : Food is probably a very easy symbol to spot. It generally links with some issue that has been dominating our minds. It has been eating away at our minds and been giving us food for thought. One thing to notice is if the food has been eaten or if it is being prepared. Cooking and preparing food(or merely being in the kitchen) will link to the future and some plans that you are thinking through. Eating food links to an experience that has happened and is giving a lot to think about.

Sweet food is very common in dreams(ice cream,cakes and lollipops). Such things will obviously link to things that make you feel good. They maybe simply linked to good feelings such as wish to be nice to people at work or a wish to enjoy your holiday. But they may also be making a point about your life. Chocolates are often comfort food in that they make you feel better after some relationship break down or when you feel a little depressed. They may also link to something that is frivolous and unrewarding and hinting that you need to take life more seriously. They may also be symbolic of how someone is making you feel welcome and putting you at ease. Sweets can also link to compliments and rewards.

HOW TO USE THESE SYMBOLS : CLICK HERE
FULL DREAM DICTIONARY : CLICK HERE

ICE CREAM, CHOCOLATES and CAKES : chocolates and cakes are often symbols of our attitude to something : Holidays that make us feel good, people that make us feel welcome, and things that make us feel good yet do make our lives better(a need for consolation). They maybe represent moments when we tried to cheer others up. But in other cases they merely show us seeking pleasure. They are quite tricky in that they are not easy to trace in dreams. But they do represent moments of indulgence, pleasure, feeling good or a need to be cheered up. Look for issues from the day which can link with such a theme.

KEY WORDS(Pick a quote which captures your feelings right now. Think especially of the day before the dream) :
- "helped cheer me up"
- "complimenting me"
- "made me feel good"
- "enjoying myself"
- "saying nice things"
- "made me feel welcome"

QUESTIONS TO ASK OURSELVES :
1. Are you on holiday or thinking about your leisure time?
2. Have you been trying to cheer others up?
3. Have you been made to feel welcome recently?
4. Are you trying to cheer yourself up?
5. Have you been thinking deeply about the compliments that people pay towards you or your activities?

ESSAYS
CAFES in dreams : An essay on the symbolism of cafes, and restaurants using real dream interpretations
FOOD in dreams : What does food mean symbolically in real dreams
KITCHENS : What kitchens mean in dream interpretation
ICE CREAM : What does ice cream,cakes and chocolate mean in practical dream study
Dream Dictionary : An A to Z of symbolic meanings with every meaning for each symbol
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DREAM STUDIES : Real dreams which feature food
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THE DREAM My supervisor gave me a piece of his taffy bar. It was white and had peanuts in it. He just pulled it, stringy taffy style off the bar with his fingers and handed it to me and I was like 'oh thanks' and ate it. I thought it was a payday bar, I never eat payday bars, but they come in white wrappers and have pictures of peanuts on them.

THE REALITY The dreamer was fed up with her supervisor giving her compliments on her work. She really wanted a pay rise. Her rates of pay had slowly been rising until recently(mostly automatic increases due to length of service). Now no new increases were due for some time.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I am sick of getting compliments off my boss. I wish I would get a pay rise. I have had regular pay increases recently but now it will take me ages to get another pay increase"

THE INTERPRETATION Well dreams when interpreted should translate into a simple thought process and this dream does : The dream shows that the dreamer would rather her boss gave her a pay rise rather than pay her pointless and condescending compliments.

The dream dream has an obvious synonym in it. The PAYDAY bar is obviously linked to pay and issues such as that. So its worth looking up such words and seeing if any issues come to mind that associate with such synonyms. In this case there was a very clear pay related issue in her mind. The dreamer mentioned that she was being complimented by her supervisor but found these obnoxious and rather false. Chocolate links to something that makes us feel better but does not really improve our situation. Thats a perfect symbol here as a compliment does not improve your situation whilst a pay rise does. The two issues are connected for the dreamer. She finds his compliments irrelevant and most of what he says makes no sense. We often dream about relationships. Working relationships can often be a major cause of dreams as we are thrown in with other people many of whom we really do not like at all. Yet we have to learn to live and cope with them.

Symbolic Meanings
CHOCOLATE : "something that makes you feel good - the dreamers boss tries to compliment her"
PICTURE : "the dreamer is sick of working for peanuts"
WRAP : "say something in a particular way - the way you present something - making it sound better"
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DREAM TIP Dreams truly do symbolise our thoughts. So try to work the process in reverse. Try to look at dream symbols and see what they could represent in our real lives.
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THE DREAM - I am in a restaurant serving up some meal. There appears to be two choices. I have to choose one of the two dishes. I served something up and heard this voice say WOOOOW

THE REALITY The dreamer had been encouraged to watch a program on TV by his boss. This was a serious documentary by Michael Moore. The dreamer agreed to this but then realised there was a program on Kate Moss the model.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I promised my boss that I would watch Fahrenheit 9-11 as he is a big fan of Michael Moore. But there was a documentary on at the same time on Kate Moss the model. I ended up watching Kate Moss. I am sure this will cause a major talking point tomorrow".

THE INTERPRETATION The dreamer had never been a big fan of Michael Moore who made the documentary Fahrenheit 9-11. His boss was though and in an attempt to placate his boss agreed to watch the program and at least listen to the arguments. However, the program clashed with another program. The program it clashed with was a documentary on the Super model Kate Moss. The dreamer was a big fan of hers and ended up watching that. However, it then left the dreamer with the unenviable task of telling his boss that he had ignored this serious documentary to watch a program on some super model. So in the dream the two choices represent the two dishes. Food in dreams is often associated with ideas which feed the mind. The WOW reminded the dreamer of the way his boss was inspired by the ideas of Michael Moore.

Symbolic Meanings
DISHES : "the dreamer was presented with two programs and found one more interesting(tasty) than the other"
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DREAM TIP Many people tend to believe that dreams can be about our personality - in particular they link to our male and female sides. Yet dreams can relate to anything that is on our minds. Yes dreams can link to our personality and to long term issues. Yet dreams can be about things which will be long forgotten even in a few days time. They can be about our frustrations as we got caught up in delays the previous day. Dreams represent things on your mind on the day before the dream and in particular when you went to sleep.The link may not be obvious yet it is there.
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THE DREAM I dreamed last night that I was at a party with a bunch of people standing around a swimming pool visiting, drinking, munching on hors d'oevres. I think everyone was dressed in casual business clothes, but I was wearing long shorts, an oversized T-shirt and tennis shoes (I get to wear this kind of stuff to work).

I can't remember exactly what happened, but I think someone young fell in the pool and I jumped in with my clothes on to save them, since I wasn't dressed up. Then I do remember being underwater and having a hard time coming up for air because my clothes and shoes were so heavy. I looked around while I was under water and there were other people in the pool wearing their nice clothes, but they seemed to be swimming and walking around the pool - not necessarily trying to save whoever fell in.

THE REALITY The dreamer had recently got divorced and and out of a spiritually, verbally, emotionally abusive cult. She had been still trying to adjust back into normal society but recently had been slacking at work. She was now starting to realise this.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I realise that I have to take a more professional attitude towards work. I have been thinking too much about myself and my problems since leaving the cult. I need to take work seriously"

THE INTERPRETATION The setting for this dream is a swimming pool. Often they are symbols that we are looking inside ourselves. They often link to our own emotions and may symbolise how we a stuck inside our own feelings. The dreamer had recently been in an abusive religious cult. She was not totally recovered mentally and still was constantly monitoring her own behaviors and attempting to fit back into normal life.

The dream features business clothes and that maybe the clue to the dream. Business clothes maybe link with work. In this case the dreamer was wearing casual business clothes - the kind she wears for work. She had on an oversize T-shirt. Recently the dreamer was realising that she was taking too casual an attitude towards work. She perhaps needed to take things more seriously.

The food in the dream is Hors d'oevres. This is a rather elaborate and pretentious food. Perhaps in this dream we can suggest that the dreamer has been stuck in her own problems and thinking too much about the time since she left the cult. She maybe needs to get back to basics and take work more seriously.

The dreamer was perhaps still in a particular frame of mind. She was still wanting to 'save the world' and save people from religious cults(including herself). When we are a victim of something we will tend to obsess about this. Yet now she maybe is thinking that she needs to come down a little and to truly adjust back into normal life.

Symbolic Meanings
BUSINESS : "serious attitude - the dreamer realises that others take a more serious attitude towards their work"
DRESSED : "unconscious signals you send to people"
HEAVY : "very serious - the dreamer was too caught up in her own recovery"
PARTY : "the dreamer is talking like its a party and not in a more appropriate business manner"
PEOPLE : "generalisations about what is appropriate behavior"
SWIMMING POOL : "your own close personal emotions - the dreamer thinks too much about herself and how she has changed since leaving the cult"
T-SHIRT : "a casual image towards something - the dreamer realises that she takes a casual attitude towards work"
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DREAM TIP : Try to think of dream symbols as words. Think of chocolate in dreams as the word 'nice'. Then try to write down a few quotes which capture all major issues and in particular things that took place the day before. Think of quotes like "I have been trying to be much more cheerful at work with my coworkers", or "I have been thinking about how to write my report", or "My sister seemed a little depressed yesterday - I wonder if she is OK". Now look back at the quotes and see where the word 'nice ' appears. The dream symbol may directly link to that issue.
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THE DREAM Everyone was trying to feed me cakes and I said no to all of them. The last one was a strawberry short cake, it looked so good and I wanted it but I still said no.

THE REALITY The dreamer said "I am thinking about the future - its all I can think about"

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I cannot involve myself in simple pleasures right now. I am thinking too much about the future. I need to decide what I want to do with my life"

THE INTERPRETATION Cakes are symbols of self indulgence and things that make you feel good. However, they are also symbolic of things that make you feel good only in the short term. They are not wholesome foods they merely comfort you. In this way if the dreamer is saying no to such food it shows that she is thinking more in the long term. Young people constantly feel under pressure to enjoy life and feel good right now. It is much more difficult to work hard and plan for the future.

Symbolic Meanings
CAKE : "indulge in short term desires - the dreamer is not interested in the short term pleasures of life as her mind is set on deeper issues surrounding her life and future career"
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THE DREAM I was dreaming about my refrigerator. It was making ice-cream. And it was a chocolate ice-cream like we buy in the shops. I was supposed to collect them and to put them in the fridge so they can stay cold. And a few of them fall to the ground and the ants start grouping around it. So I washed few ice creams to get ants off them.

THE REALITY The dreamer was on holiday at the time and she was looking for enjoyment and light hearted relaxing activities. The dreamer was carefully trying to plan out her holiday experience.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I am on holiday with my friend and her mom. I am having to do things which fit in with my friends mom. But there is plenty of time to do what I want to do as well"

THE INTERPRETATION Chocolate and ice cream are symbols of pleasure. They relate to things which make us feel good but do not necessarily improve and enrich us as people. In this dream they refer to the holiday type activities such a sunbathing and relaxing.

Ants in dreams can be symbols of conformity. On holiday we try to fit in with the holiday type culture. We often do things that we do not do in general. Perhaps the ants symbolize the need to resist the pressures to behave in certain stereotyped ways. This was something that the dream indeed stated. She was no "trying to fit in with the holiday atmosphere ".

The dreamer is very active in making the ice cream. That shows that she is actively planning out and participating in the holiday experience. She wishes to keep her experience fresh and cool(in the fridge). She is making her holiday the type of experience that she wants.

In her holiday she was trying to balance being the need to enjoy and mix in with other people and at the same time be respectful of her friends mother. So the dream was very much about balancing needs.

Symbolic Meanings
ANTS : "conformity - having to do what her friends mom wants to do"
CHOCOLATE : "enjoyment - enjoying her holiday"
SHOP : "the choices available to you at present - the dream is about what the dreamer wants from her holiday and restrictions on how she is able to act "
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THE DREAM The dream started with this elevator that was supposed to open up and my niece was supposed to be in there and I was going to bend down and hug her. Instead the news camera showed up, the elevator turned into a refrigerator with lunchmeat in it. We opened the fridge and me and my brother made sandwiches. I really really wanted a sandwich and I ate it. When I woke up, I wasn't the slightest bit hungry.

THE REALITY The dreamers brother does not have access to his little girl. Everyone misses the young niece. In the days before the dream the dreamer and her brother had gone to the mall and kind of hoped that she would bump into the sister in law and her beloved niece. These little chance meeting just help satisfy her .

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "We have been stopped from seeing my niece. Its really upset me and I have been trying to go to the town and bump into them

THE INTERPRETATION The dream is not easy to solve but it does give the connection to the niece. In such cases its best to at least explore any issues surrounding people who appear in the dream. In this case the niece did provide a rich source of problems which were dogging her mind. The arguments over visiting rights and also missed her little niece a great deal.

The elevator is a sign that expectations rise and fall. So this seems to fit consistently with the reality.

News cameras are symbols of the very latest news. They deal with what's happening right this minute. They symbolise the anticipation of some real life event.

Food and eating in dreams are often linked with a lack of something in the dreamers life. That quite clearly could be the lack of visiting rights in this case. But there are hints in the types of food here. Luncheon meat is forced meat. It is made from bits of meat off the bone and is then forced together. This is quite a strong symbol in this case the forced meat being symbolic of how she wants to force her way into her nieces life against the will of her sister in law. It may also link to the court forcing access.

The sandwich too links quite nicely. Sandwiches are symbols of snacks. In this case a chance meeting with her niece is the kind of snack that would satisfy a temporary need and hunger.

In some ways this is a difficult dream overall. It has a lot of challenging symbols. They are arranged in a difficult way. Some may not be convinced by this dream interpretation. But overall the connections are there and the dream does deal with a classic nagging issue. This is always a problem with understanding dreams. There will be times when you are not convinced but this was the best possible explanation at the time.

Symbolic Meanings
HUNGRY : "the dreamer has a large appetite to see her niece"
LUNCH : "food for thought - your real life experiences and how they feed your mind"
NEWS : "waiting for a decision on something - news pending"
SANDWICH : "feel caught in the middle - something in between"
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DREAM TIP Dreams can often be premonitions. Many dreams represent our thoughts about things that happened yesterday. However, some dreams seem to be able to link in with emotions that we are about to feel on the day of the dream. They capture chance events.
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CONTACT : E-mail me at hairybobby2000@yahoo.co.uk - If you went to sleep thinking of something that had dominated your entire day then I would be highly interested in any dreams you had that night.