Dream Therapy - Dream symbols and how to interpret them
84Essential Dream Interpretation Guides
- Dream Meanings Kit
The Dream Meanings Kit is the world's ONLY downloadable package that is ENTIRELY dedicated to translating your dreams. Includes dream dictionary, dream analyzer & journalling software, and three exclusive courses. It's also a bargain! - Dream Secrets Revelaed
Absolutely brilliant set of E-books that help with every aspect of dream interpretation with 1,000's of dream images explored.
Understanding dream symbols is therapy
Dream therapy or in other words understanding your dreams' meaning to the fullest, is a wonderful way to get in touch with your innermost self and become your own best friend.
How many times have you woken up and found yourself asking, "Where did that come from?" Why on earth have I dreamt about rabid dogs, leaves growing out of my arms, a blue pig, cleaning toilets, being pricked by a needle, snakes, pigeons etc etc etc..... ? Well, dream symbols may be weird, confusing, shocking and sometimes frightening but they do appear for a purpose. In my view, that purpose is for our own personal growth, development and self awareness.
The first thing to realise - and you intuitively know this, is that the symbols that appear in your dreams are NOT RANDOM. Each and every one has been selected by your mind (or soul, higher self) to give you information about something pertinent to you - to give you an opportunity for healing and self discovery. Once you understand what the symbol means you will see the logic of why it appeared in the first place and you will gain an insight into the bizarre, but oddly comprehensible world of dream language.
So let's start demystifying the whole subject of dream interpretation and start understanding those strange symbols that have been appearing in your dreams!
How to interpret any dream symbol
Dreaming is an amazing fact of human existence. Where else can we experience such rich emotions, such a variety of experience and such incredible journeys?
You do not need to be psychic to understand dreams. You just need practical and useable steps that you can immediately incorporate into your life. I'm hoping you will find this guide easy to follow, down to earth and informative, and after reading it you may wonder why dream interpretation was such a mystery before!
There are four main elements to interpreting dream symbols and I've called this (rather uniquely!) the 4 step technique. This system will enable you to quickly and easily understand, connect to, and interpret, any symbol that appears in your dreams. I developed this technique by systematically breaking down the process I was intuitively using to interpret my own and my clients dream symbols. I felt people needed a simplified and reliable way to gain access to the depth of meaning and significance that their dream symbols were trying to relate and the 4 step technique was the end result.
I will show you how to use these four elements, and as we go through the process, I have included an example of a real dream symbol to aid your understanding. The first time you do this it may take you 5 or 10 minutes but the more frequently you do it, the less time it will take you, and after a short while it will become almost automatic.
So get your pen and paper ready and let's get started!
The Technique Explained
Step one - Identify the symbol
The first thing to do is identify the symbol and write it down. Don’t have a discussion with yourself about why this symbol has appeared, just accept it!
A dream I interpreted recently featured a big, black bull. The client couldn't understand why the bull was there, so I asked the question - Why a bull, not a mouse, giraffe or duck billed platipus?
The reason is because the dream was about the clients' relationship to his personal power and no other symbol would have been right.
The symbol you want to understand will also be “just right” for your dream's message to you.
Step two - What words/adjectives come to mind when you think of the symbol?
If we stay with the symbol of a bull as an example. Words that may come to mind could range from strong, powerful and masculine to bullish, over confident and forceful.
The client used the word, "powerful" to describe what the bull symbolised for him.
Now write down a one or two words that come to mind when you think of your dream symbol.
Step three - What emotion/s do you feel when you think of this symbol?
The emotion will tell you a great deal about what the symbol means for you. Using the example of a bull again, you could feel reverence, admiration, submissive, indifferent, angry, awe, disgust.....the list is almost endless.
The client felt extremely scared of the bull.
Now for your symbol. Write down the main emotions you feel toward the symbol.
- Extra Sensory Perception - The Science of Psychic Po...
Dreaming or being able to see future places, events and people is one of my special interests because I've been experiencing it since I was a little girl. I would see things in the exact same detail before... - Solve Life Problems the Creative Way - While You're Asleep!
Solve your life problems while you are asleep! Relationship problems, career difficulties, health issues, financial problems - overcome them all and reach your full potential. Scientifically proven method. - Common Dreams and How to Interpret Them
For more help with interpreting your dreams have a look at my website.... - DREAMS ARE AN OPENING DOOR
When I was just a kid, my dreams were more than real. They were predictions – valid ones. It was almost a comfort zone to be “forewarned”, as I came to think of them as. The last few I remember however,...
Bringing the dream elements together
This is what the man who had the dream with the symbol of a bull would have written down.
Big, black bull + powerful + scared = the bull represents my fear of being powerful.
The dream in it's entirety was about the client developing his own personal power, coming to terms with it and using it for his benefit in his life.
The reason feeling powerful was so fearful for the client was because he had grown up with a very powerful, scary and abusive father and had vowed to never be like him. Therefore, he had completely denied that he had a part of himself that was powerful.
Denying this part of himself had resulted in on-going feelings of impotence, despair and depression. So while the dream was unpleasant, his mind was using this symbol to let him know that he was causing himself harm and give him an opportunity to remedy this.
Now do the same “sum” for your dream symbol and find out what it means for you!
The main things to remember are that you can relate every adjective that you would use to descibe the symbol, to yourself, a part of yourself or a facet of your belief system. The feeling describes your emotion so accept it and own it.
By breaking down the symbol into it's component parts it becomes easy to understand the personal meaning it has for you.
I'm sure you will find this is a far more beneficial and accurate method of interpreting your dream symbols as compared to relying on a dream dictionary where the symbols have generalised, rather than personalised, meanings and the symbol descriptions are totally out of the context of dream story. Just an open mind and heart and a few easily learnt tools will enable you to interpret any of your dreams or nightmares accurately.
Read more of my hubs
- Best 3D Game for Computer - My Top 10 3D PC Games Ever
Reviews of the Top 10 3D PC games. - 2 days ago
- Music for Relaxation and Meditation - Ludovico Einaudi
The perfect music for relaxation and meditation. - 2 days ago
- Fundamentalist Christians, Creationism and Science
Creationism and Science - Creationist Science is an oxymoron. - 7 days ago
- Where to Buy the Apple iPad
The internet is buzzing with talk of Apple's New iPad. - 2 weeks ago
Have you got something to write about?
Do you enjoy writing and think you might like a few extra pounds/dollars a month? Sign Up to HubPages today! If you've enjoyed this article please remember to rate it up.
|
|
The Interpretation Of Dreams
Price: $31.45
List Price: $34.95 |
|
|
The Complete Idiot's Guide Dream Dictionary (Complete Idiot's Guide to)
Price: $9.42
List Price: $15.95 |
|
Jungian Dream Interpretation: A Handbook of Theory and Practice (Studies in Jungian Psychology By Jungian Analysts, 13)
Price: $16.97
List Price: $25.00 |
|
|
The Interpretation of Dreams: The Complete and Definitive Text
Price: $8.10
List Price: $12.00 |
|
|
I Had the Strangest Dream...: The Dreamer's Dictionary for the 21st Century
Price: $4.89
List Price: $14.99 |
|
The Complete Dream Book, 2nd edition: Discover What Your Dreams Reveal about You and Your Life
Price: $9.56
List Price: $14.95 |
|
|
The Dream Book: Symbols for Self Understanding
Price: $9.50
List Price: $15.95 |
PrintShare it! — Rate it: up down flag this hub
Glad you enjoyed it! I wasn't aware of answering your request but I'm very happy to oblige :) I think dream dictionaries have their place for giving ideas and sometimes pointers about what a symbol means when we are really stuck, but they should be used with caution and never replace an individuals power to connect to their dreams on a personal level. Some of the interpretations I've seen in dream dictionaries are completely insane and aren't going to help anyone interpret their dream accurately.
Thanks for your comment!
Yes, you answered my request about getting my 1st grader out of Pull-Ups. Great advice, by the way.
Intuition is very interesting.. it has saved my life.. keep on this track.... I have a feeling it will do well for you lol
I like your intuition about this............:)
I enjoyed reading this hub today Susana. You have incredible knowledge of dream interpretation. Thanks for showing me the right path.
Thank you Susana! I am joyful over the fact that you are speaking about dreams! I will be holding Dream Work Saloons to really educate people on how wonderful this tool can be in their lives! Thank you for the comment and feed-back you left - we do have much in common! I will be starting Tarot-Astro Forecasts upcoming! Stay tuned! With love and much light,
XO Lilian
I love dream interpretation and have done it myself. Here, a million years later and friends will still ask me.
This is great how you broke it down in parts so dreamers can do it themselves!
I can forward this to friends. Thanks!
Cool hub...connecting dreams the way you describe really makes sense....thanks! :)
Thanks to everyone who has stopped by to have a read and leave a comment. I must admit it did take me ages to work out the steps to interpreting dream symbols that I was using intuitively, but it's certainly worthwhile when people say they appreciate the approach! Thanks again :)
Erkk. I just tried it and it immediately showed me what a recent dream meant. I can't tell you because it's too personal! But it instantly unlocked the meaning. Gave me a BIG surprise about the way I really feel about a family issue but I recognised the validity of the dream interpretation straight away.
Cath - I am so pleased to hear that you found your dream symbols meaning by using this technique! It works really well but I do get kind of despairing that the majority of visitors to my website just want someone to tell them what their dream means, when in most cases it's simple enough to do for yourself.
You've made my day - thankyou!
A beautiful composition... need to read full...
Dream Therapy in the News
- Sponsored linksStuff2 days ago
I can't do it. I can't pretend that I'm not overwhelmingly tired. I'm not sure if I'm exhausted from an intense weekend or if it's just because I had a terrible night's sleep (involving some fairly active dreaming), but whatever it is I can barely keep my eyes open.
- A dream come trueThe Leaf Chronicle16 hours ago
MIAMI — A day later, Drew Brees had to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
- Harig: Brandt Snedeker's snafu only a brief setback?ESPN14 hours ago
Brandt Snedeker should be sizing up his wardrobe to pick out which of his trousers best match magnolias. Instead, he's still grinding away in hopes of an invitation to the Masters, writes ESPN.com's Bob Harig.
- Sleep medications can have side effectsRichmond Times-Dispatch4 days ago
Medications for sleep can have side effects Q:What are side effects of sleeping pills? I have a friend who reports going online and ordering items and not fully realizing what she had done until the next morning. Answer: Sleeping medications can be broken down into two categories, explained Dr. Edmund W. Cornman of the Sleep Disorders Center of Virginia, which has offices in Richmond, Colonial ...


















wordscribe41 says:
9 months ago
Excellent article. I totally agree interpretation must be left to the individual. A lot of people think symbols have the same meaning for everyone. Thanks for the hub. And thanks for answering my request!