The meaning of dreams. If you remember a dream and it was intriguing, or emotional, the first thing you want to do is attach meaning to it. It is debatable if a dream ever has a definite meaning.
Meaning of Dreams: Literal
The first step I always take when someone shares a dream with me, is to find out if the dream has a literal quality. Health dreams, for instance, have a tendency to be very literal.
For instance, a business man kept having dreams of his secretary taking money out of the cash register. He interpreted it as a sign that he needed to give his female side more energy. He started to embrace and honour his anima (which isn’t a bad thing). But one day, he walked in on his secretary actually grabbing money out of the cash register. the dreams had been a literal warning.
Downside: of course not every dream is literal.
Meaning of Dreams: Symbolic
Usually a dream is interpreted symbolic. Either through the use of dream dictionaries or through personal association.
You write down your dream, make a list of every symbol in it and write down the first thing that does to mindful that symbol.
Downside: this method can block some people some times. When you ask them for their first association they look at you in despair and shrug their shoulders.
Meaning of Dreams: 5 Ways
When you are seriously interested in dreams you might have read some good books about them (here is a list of 10 books about dreams I recommended, let me know if i missed a good book).
But in reality, most people jump around intuitively from one method to another. Here is an interesting blog I have written about 5 popular techniques that can help you interpret dreams.
Shamanism is one of the oldest religions and the use of the shamanic drum can put you in a trance, with or without help from plants.
Gestalt is an intuitive technique that can help you find the gestalt in a dream. In that way, it resembles the use of Jungian archetypes rather close.
Jungian dream interpretation has been around for decades. It has become very popular, because this method is also very intuitive.
Dream Tending is -in my eyes- a very soft and gentle method, where you give a dream the chance to gently unfold.
Content analysis: there are several dream sites where you can insert your dream into a database that will be used by dream researchers. DreamsCloud is one of them.
Meaning of Dreams: Personal Consultation
This is of course my personal favourite. Getting professional advice on your dream can give your dream so much more depths and meaning.
A professional dream worker can use a variety of techniques. Read this blog that I wrote about questions that can help you determine if a dream worker will add value to your dream.
Of course you can always sent me an email if you want a dream consultation. You can also visit my online course page to se if there are courses that might enhance your general knowledge about dreams and mythology.
Because getting involved with your dreams is an investment in yourself.
THIS CONTENT IS CREATED BY SUSANNE VAN DOORN, AUTHOR AND OWNER OF MINDFUNDA; MAKING THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PSYCHOLOGY, MYTHOLOGY AND SPIRITUALITY EASY TO USE IN YOUR PERSONAL LIFE!
What is Mindfunda about?
My name is Susanne van Doorn, I am a Dutch psychologist, blogger and author. I have been working with psychology, dreams and mythology ever since I finished my study in psychology at Tilburg University. I made this independent site to share insights, and recent scientific articles about the brain, dreams, and mythology for use in your personal life.
This posting is categorised as Dreamfunda:
Everything you need to know about dreams. Practical How to’s, the latest scientific research, the most commonly used ways to attach meaning to dreams. This and more is given to you for your everyday use in this part of Mindfunda
Read more about Mindfunda here, or visit our Courses Page.
Ready for more free Mindfunda content on ‘#DREAMS‘?
Elephant in dreams: 3 archetypical implications
Spiritual Soul Searching: Mindfunda Course
Dreaming with the New Moon
Comments or suggestions? Share your thoughts:
Another great post Susanne! Thank you for sharing more of your wonderful knowledge on the subject of dreams and dreaming. Great tips, as always I love the cartoons … especially the “cloud” one! Because I’m so set on exploring dream symbolism I sometimes forget that dreams can be just literal. I will check out the dream books you’ve listed as I feel personal recommendations are best. Happy to see “Pregnant Darkness” on your list, one of my favourites … of which I sense another reading coming on soon. Warm wishes, Deborah.
Thank you Deborah for your response. Now I even have become more curious about the books you would recommend 😉