Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night after dreaming that you were falling, falling out of the sky and there was nothing there to break your fall? Didn’t you wake up all clammy and shook-up, only to drink some water and then go back to sleep? Did you even remember the dream the next morning? If someone were to tell you that the dream you had could be a portent of how things are going to be in the future, you would probably disregard it as hocus-pocus. I used to too, till I started noting my dreams down and recognizing the pattern between them and my life.

Everyone has dreams. The only thing that marks a difference is that many people say they never remember their dreams while some always do. If you’ve wondered how to remember dreams and how to go about figuring what your dreams mean, then read on for enlightenment!

Why

Dream interpretation, it is claimed, has many benefits. It can hold the key to telling a person more about who they are, about their mistakes and how to correct them. It can make a person sense future outcomes and problems, and interpret your feelings to make you more self- aware. In short, your dreams can be your path to self-exploration and can give you a fairly accurate insight into your own psyche.

Tools You Need

Before you begin the process, ensure that you have the tools necessary to write down the dreams you had before you forget them at hand. Keep pens in two colours, and a notebook on your bedside table. First thing in the morning, once you are awake, take some time to sit in silence and remember every detail of your dream. There are times when you might have forgotten your dream, but with practice you will soon be able to recollect them. It is best to do this as soon as you wake up because as the day progresses, you tend to forget details that would otherwise have remembered.

Also, since dream recollection and interpretation can make your mind restless, it is best not to do it every day of the week. Once or twice a week is good.

Methods

Recollecting the Dream: The first step to interpreting your dream is recollecting it. Write down your dream in as detailed a manner as you can. Then use two different coloured pens. One can mark any negative words that you have used while one can mark the positive ones. One of the key methods of interpreting dreams says that the list of negative words symbolizes what you are or a situation that exists in your life, while the list of positive words contains hints to the solution that your mind is offering you.

Symbolism in Dreams: Look out for symbols that your dreams give you. For instance, if you are dreaming about you running on a race track with your work friends, then the race track is a symbol, the work friends are a symbol and so on. Try and work out what the symbols in your dream are.

Interpreting Using Metaphors: Try and relate the symbols you find to situations in real life. For instance, what do you think the race track can symbolize? Is it the competition for a post that you are vying for? Or is it the need to make your boss happy? It needn’t always be literal. Think of all the possibilities for meaning. Also, sometimes you might have to keep a note of faces, people, images that are occurring in your dreams for a period of time before you notice a pattern or a meaning that eventually emerges.

Common Dreams

Some common dreams are listed below. It’s not necessary that what they mean to one person has to be the same as what they mean to another.

Animals: Most animals represent our habits or our traits.

Baby: Represents something new. A new beginning, probably.

Death: Signifies change. Death, according to philosophers, is the transition of a soul from one state to another. Hence, a change.

Food: Represents knowledge. Food for thought? Get it?

House: A house represents the mind of the dreamer. The floors of the house usually denote the different parts of the mind – conscious, subconscious or unconscious. The action that is taking place in the house denotes how the dreamer is using his mind – constructively or destructively.

Marriage: This denotes a meeting between the conscious and the subconscious parts of the dreamer’s mind. It usually means that the dreamer has discovered new awareness of an integral part of himself.

People: The different types of people that you dream about signify different aspects of your own personality. If you dream about a loving person, then in the dream you are addressing the loving you. And if you dream about a heartbroken person, then the dream is addressing the heartbroken you. Interesting, isn’t it? So, how many of you dream of your mother-in-laws?

Work: If you dream that you’re at work, it denotes that either you are overworked or you need to put in more of an effort at work. Some people also interpret it as a means of going to work on your soul.

Water: Water denotes the physical aspect of a life. Your interaction with people, the things you do and the opportunities arising from those actions – these are the things that you should be thinking about when you dream of water.

Color: When you dream of a certain color or when your dream has a certain hue, it can mean different things according to what color it is. For instance, blue can denote masculinity or communication, pink can denote femininity and health and green can denote healing, prosperity or approval. You have to associate the color with the other symbolism in your dream to get to its true meaning.

It is always great to know the way our subconscious mind functions and derive meaning from it. Dreams can have a big effect on a person’s stress levels and overall mental health. It’s great to be able to use the messages that your unconscious mind is sending you to better your daily life. Of course, interpreting your dreams could also mean that you see a more negative aspect of your personality that others may have noticed but you yourself haven’t realized. But, it’s better to accept this negativity and move on than to make it the focus of your life. Your dreams will give you a deeper insight into your personality, leading to an acceptance of yourself. This, in turn, will make you a more content person. And happier too!