I don't know about you, but I think dreaming is amazing. Many people will wake up from a vivid dream at some point in their life and think what the heck did that just mean? This is completely normal. People have been asking this question since the dawn of time. Whether dreams have been looked at as a form of communication with the gods, your subconscious, predictions of the future or just your mind working through things in your daily life. There are so many theories out there that it’s only natural that dream interpretation has become shrouded in myth and a lot of false information. Being someone who loves the mystical side of dreams as well as the scientific I believe it's best to debunk these myths while still keeping an open mind about dreams.
Many people believe that there is one specific meaning to every dream. You may have come across dream books that list symbols and their meanings. Like if you dreamt of a snake, it means you're being betrayed or if you dreamt about unassisted flying it means you are free. While these meanings can be helpful at times, there is much more to dream interpretation than this. There are many things to take into consideration when trying to understand what a certain “symbol” means in your dream. It could mean one thing to one person and something else to another. Also, someone may dream of a snake, and it could represent a fear they have, or they could have loved snakes when they were younger, and the dream reminded them of that. The meaning isn't always as clear cut as it may first appear.
Dreams & Predicting the Future
There is also the myth that dreams can predict the future. Many cultures have stories of dreams predicting great things to come. And yes, we have all had a dream that felt extremely significant. Psychologists will tell you that dreams can predict things that we already know but our conscious mind hasn't yet accepted. Maybe you know your relationship is going to end but haven't told yourself that. You may start having dreams about your partner leaving you before you actually accept it in your waking life. Which leads me to believe that dreams are telling us about things that we already understand but don’t yet consciously understand.
Many people will say if I dream about something I must want that to happen. This can be very upsetting if you dream about someone cheating on you or you hurting someone. Dreams can be about things that we fear, not things that we want to happen. There is so much that can go on in our dreams. They can help us work through our fears and show us different scenarios. Just because you dream about someone leaving you doesn't mean you want them to leave you. It could be about a fear that you have about be losing them.
Dreams & Urgent Messages
A lot of people are starting to believe that all of your dreams are giving you a message. While some dreams may be sending you a message not every dream is going to be life changing. Some dreams will be funny or make no sense at all. Your subconscious is amazing and will produce many dreams that are just plain silly. I think it's fun to remember your dreams and know that your subconscious is working that hard while you sleep.
If you believe in mysticism then dreams can definitely send you a message. But it may not be as direct as you think. Dreams can lead you to reflect on certain things in your life. They can bring up emotions or remind you of things that you should pay more attention to in your waking life. I believe mystics look at dreams as a form of self-discovery. Not as messages that you must believe. If you keep having the same dream over and over again you probably think it's going to predict something. Most likely if you are having the same dream repeatedly there is something you need to explore and pay attention to in your life. Our subconscious will show us things that we need to work through in our life. Once you start living those things in your waking life you will most likely stop having that dream or your dream will change.
Nightmares can also be misinterpreted. Since nightmares can be scary some people believe that they are a bad omen. Nightmares can be a way for us to work through our fear. If you are having nightmares, it could be a sign that something is troubling you in your life, and it may be you should speak to a professional if they continue and continue to trouble you. However, they aren't always predicting something terrible.
You don't have to be psychic to interpret your dreams. While it may be easier if you are trained in dream interpretation you can still learn from your dreams. Ask yourself questions about your dreams and see what comes to mind. There isn't one right answer when it comes to interpreting your dreams. I also believe that many people forget about what they did during the day. If you watched movies about outer space, you may have planets in your dreams. If you are thinking about traveling, then you may dream about traveling. So, keep that in mind when trying to interpret your dreams. Also, just because you forgot your dream doesn't mean it wasn't significant. Everyone dreams multiple times a night whether you remember them or not. If you remember a dream in great detail that also doesn't mean it was a life-changing dream either. Some dreams just stick with us more than others.
I like Carl Jung’s approach to dream interpretation. He believed that there was no set meaning to dreams and that we should interpret them based on our own lives. Carl Jung thought that dreams were your subconscious talking to your conscious mind. He felt that we should use our dreams to discover our forgotten talents. I love his approach because it keeps things open to interpretation.
I think keeping a dream journal is the best way to learn about your dreams. Start writing down what you remember from your dreams and pay attention to any recurring themes. After some time, you may start to see patterns in your dreams. Don't force your dreams to mean something they don't. Just like a friendship, learning to understand dreams better take time.
Remember there isn't one way to interpret your dreams. There are many different approaches that can be used to help you understand your dreams. From psychology to mysticism there is so much to learn about dreams. They will always be a mystery and that's what makes them so interesting. I believe that you should have an open mind when it comes to dreams. Don't take them too seriously but don't brush them off either. Your dreams can be very significant and teach you things about yourself. Use your dreams to learn about yourself and keep an open mind about what they may be trying to tell you.