Dream Interpretation
By Jenni Piech We enter states of dreaming on average three to four times a night, and although we can’t remember all the dreams we have, or even most of them, dreaming is something that happens to all of us. There are two main theories on why we dream: the physiological theory suggests that we dream in order to simply exercise the synapses in our brain, yet the psychological theory proposes that our dreams deal with emotions, experiences, feelings, conflicts and concerns in our lives.
 This second theory forms the basis of modern dream interpretation, yet the enduring characteristic mysteriousness of our dreams has led people to ponder over their meaning for thousands of years.
Ancient Beliefs
Native American tribes believed that dreams either exposed our hidden wishes or were messages from the spirits. The Ojibwa (Chippewa) tribe used ‘dream catchers’ which were created in order to help them remember and work with their dreams. Dreams were so important for the Ojibwa tribe that a child was not given a name until the ‘namer’ of that child had dreamt what he or she should be called.
In Ancient Egypt, priests would take on the role of dream interpreter. Dreams were believed to take the sleeper into the realms of the gods, so the ability to understand these dreams was seen as a divine gift. Books were written which contained thousands of dreams and their apparent meanings. Here is an example: dreaming of a mirror suggested a second wife, however, if the dreamer saw his own face in a mirror this was a bad sign, as it represented a new life.
 Although today dream interpreters do not play such an important role in our society, there is still a keen interest among many of us to understand and analyse our dreams. There are hundreds of ‘dream dictionaries’ out there, giving us a guide as to what certain events or objects which appear in our dreams mean. However, are these guides accurate?
Dream Dictionaries
When comparing interpretations you will find that not all dream dictionaries will tell you the same thing. For example, say that you had a dream about a fox. One dream dictionary will tell you that dreaming of a fox means that there is an enemy or rival close by. But a different dictionary will say that a fox represents cleverness and resourcefulness. So be careful about putting too much trust into what your dream book has to say, as it’s only a rough guide and the same dream symbols won’t hold the same meaning for everyone. Signs in dreams will also hold different meanings for us at different stages in our lives. The best way to understand your dreams is to create your own personal dream dictionary.
DIY Dream Interpretation
 Are you tired of looking up last night’s dream in your dictionary and finding that the meaning you read has no relevance to your current life situations? If so, the best way forward is to do it yourself – make your own dream reference book! Not only will this help you gain a more accurate insight into what your dreams are trying to tell you, but it’s also a lot more fun!
The best place to start is to keep a dated dream journal. If you write down what you can remember from your dream as soon as you wake up, you will soon have a record of your dreams and when they happened, and also a reference point from where you can begin to understand what certain symbols mean to you. It is also a good idea to meditate for a moment on your dream symbols and notice the feelings which come up as you focus on each one. Every symbol, action, emotion or object within a dream will mean something different to each individual, and these meanings will themselves change for every individual through the various stages of their lives.
 As well as noting down important points about your dream, you may also want to record how you were feeling the night before the dream. Perhaps you were feeling angry before you went to sleep, or maybe you’ve been in a generally positive mood lately. Your current emotions will have an affect on the type of things you dream about. These emotions may not always be apparent though; they may be feelings or thoughts which have been pushed to the back of your mind, so listen carefully to your feelings before you write them down.
After a while you may notice a pattern emerging. For example you may find that when you’re in a good mood flowers may appear in your dream, and when you’re feeling down you dream of insects. Some have found that when they have been feeling depressed they dream of spiders, as this is a symbol of fear and negativity for them, even though a dream dictionary may tell you that spiders are a sign of a powerful force protecting you. Later on, when these people no longer feel so negative, they may experience dreams where they are killing spiders. A dream dictionary may tell you that this symbolizes misfortune and bad luck, but for the dreamer it may actually symbolize banishing their fears.
 So pay close attention to what you dream of and when you dream it. It may take a while to build up a dictionary of your own, but it’s well worth the work. Once you are aware of symbols which are meaningful to you, you may even be able to become aware of feelings or events which have yet to happen. It’s never a bad thing to gain more understanding of ourselves and how our minds work, and since we spend so much time sleeping (we are supposed to spend around a third of our lives asleep), it’s certainly useful to understand how our minds work during this time too. Moreover, gaining knowledge about your dreams will also help you be less afraid of them, and since dreaming is one of the few aspects of our lives over which we have no control, that can only be a good thing.
Contact the author: jenni_piech@yahoo.co.uk
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