Spanning many different religions and cultures, the importance of our dreams and their interpretations have never been lost. Even if science itself still can’t agree on why we have dreams and what they really do mean.
A dream is a microscope through which we look at the hidden occurrences in our soul.
– Erich Frommv
Understanding the deeper meanings of our dreams can help us to unlock a far deeper understanding of ourselves. Modern life is so fast-paced and loud that it is incredibly easy to ignore and forget the voice within.
Dream interpretation is a way of refocusing our minds, looking deeper at the things we are struggling with, the events we are anticipating, and subconscious desires we have long overlooked.
Read on to find out exactly what dream interpretation is, how it can help you, and easy ways you can begin.
What Is Dream Interpretation?
Many of us have woken up from particularly vivid dreams, left with a lingering feeling, wondering what it could possibly mean. That is where dream interpretation comes in. All it is is the act of taking your dreams, breaking down the symbols and imagery, and then piecing together the possible meanings hidden behind them.
Sigmund Freud himself said, “The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of unconscious activities of the mind”. Insinuating that our dreams are more than just pretty images we see as we sleep but they may hold deeper meaning and knowledge that can only be accessed if we analyze them.
For decades professionals, like neurologists and psychologists, have studied dreams and their purpose, trying to answer that elusive question ‘why do we dream?’.
Although there is still yet to be a concrete answer, really we just do not know why we dream from a scientific perspective, there are many theories hinged on our dream reality being a doorway or connection to our subconscious mind, thoughts, and feelings.
Dream interpretation is simply the act of trying to make sense of what we see as we sleep. Trying to find deeper meaning within them. As dream interpretation has made its way into popular culture, both as a spiritual tool and also as a form of entertainment, it’s become hard to deny that even now our dreams hold special meaning.
How Dream Interpretation Can Help You
Although dream interpretation isn’t an exact science, a lot of it is subject to a person’s thoughts, beliefs, and even current personal circumstances, there are a lot of people who rave about the benefits of analyzing their dreams. Psychologists even use dream interpretation to garner a deeper understanding of their client’s state of mind and emotions.
Oftentimes, our dreams are projections of our thoughts and desires that we feel we can’t say outlaid or haven’t fully accepted. Learning to interpret your dreams can offer so many gifts that it’s worth at least giving it a go.
Processing Your Emotions
Our dreams are very heavily influenced by our current state of mind and the things we experience in our waking life. Although our dreams aren’t just reiterations of certain experiences, they can provide a lot of insight into how we are feeling and what we have experienced.
By using dream interpretation you may discover feelings you have been burying that have been affecting your day-to-day life. These dreams can also help us to face our issues rather than hide from them. By interpreting your dreams you can also find solutions to issues in your waking life that you may never have thought of before.
Learning New Skills
If you have been learning a new skill or hobby it’s not that far-fetched to believe that your dreams are also helping you to solidify your new skills. Your mind is your biggest tool when learning new skills and it is constantly helping you. Interpreting your dreams can help you to understand what you are learning, how you feel about it, and what to do next to keep improving.
Deeper Understanding of Yourself
As I said before, more and more of us hide who we are, bury our dreams so deep we can’t remember them, and veer so far off of our paths we feel the emptiness but can no longer remember where it comes from. Dream interpretation unlocks those doors to your deeper self, reminding you of who you are and why you feel what you are feeling.
Our subconscious is a far more complicated part of our mind and it stores everything and forgets nothing. Dreams are but one of the tools our subconscious uses to push important matters to the forefront. You may be able to hide things from yourself but you can never hide them from your subconscious.
Providing Entertainment
Look, I’m not going to deny it, dream interpretation can be really fun. Especially if you share your dreams with like-minded friends. It can be really interesting to dive into the deeper meaning of your dreams to discover what they may mean to you.
Even if you aren’t sold on the physical and mental benefits of dream interpretation you’re bound to find some real fun in finding out why you dreamt about a giant bunny chasing you down a hill, while you wear a clown suit.
Dream Interpretation of Common Dreams and Their Meanings
Every dream we have is incredibly personal and specific to ourselves and our current life experiences. However, there are more common dreams that many of us will experience at one time or another. That doesn’t make them any less true, just that they tend to hold meanings that many of us can resonate with.
Even though our lives are all different, we experience many of the same fears, excitements, and anticipation. That’s why many of us will experience one of these common dreams at least once in our lifetime. These frequently common dreams are also shared across the world, cultures, and even ancient worlds.
So, let’s go through some common dreams and what they may mean for you.
Dreams About Falling
Falling from a height is one of the most common dreams there are. In fact, there is an old myth that says if you hit the ground when falling in a dream, you will die in real life. Don’t worry though, there is absolutely no proof behind this. However, there are more relatable reasons that may be causing you to dream about falling.
When it comes to dream interpretation and falling in your dreams, it’s believed that this may suggest something isn’t going well in your waking life right now. Perhaps you need to rethink a choice you have made recently or you need to open your mind to a new, more fruitful, path for your life.
Dreams about falling may also suggest you are harboring a lot of fear. Fear that plans will not work out, that you are failing in a particular area of your life, or uncertainty of what step to take next that has led to you taking no steps at all.
Dreams About Being Chased
Dreams about being chased are usually a sign that you may be running away or trying to avoid, something in your waking life. This could be the deep need to run away from your own fears or even your desires.
Dreams of being chased can often be very unnerving and even frightening at times but this is your subconscious telling you to turn around and face your fear. Only once you have faced it will you be able to move forward.
The dream interpretation of being chased can change depending on the specific circumstances of your dream – much like all other dream interpretations.
Being chased by a stranger may indicate financial pressures, being chased by a wild animal can symbolize our running away from that primal, wild part of ourselves, and being chased by an unseen pursuer can indicate that you are trying to run away from yourself.
Just like with all other types of dream interpretation, the situation and circumstances within your dream can alter the meanings you receive.
Dreams About Losing Teeth
Dreams about losing teeth are another very common dream experience for many of us. The context of your dream can alter what the deeper dream interpretation is but generally losing teeth in a dream can symbolize a fear of losing something, or perhaps you have already lost someone or something very dear to you.
Pulled teeth in a dream can symbolize a secret you have been holding onto that you may now need to share, or perhaps you’ve been hiding your true thoughts in feelings from those in your waking life.
Rotting teeth can mirror any fears or anxieties that may be holding you back during the day. You may be fearful of losing your personal image or even worrying about a hereditary illness.
At the core of nearly every dream about losing teeth is fear or an anxiety-riddled burden. Your subconscious is trying to enlighten you about your issues so that you can face them and let them go.
Dreams About Dying
Dreaming about death can fill us with a disconcerted fear but it’s not always all bad and very rarely does it actually foretell a death. Oftentimes, dreams of death are highlighting our fears of upcoming change or a fear of the unknown.
The type of death you dream about can also have a more specific meaning that may lead you to a deeper understanding. Dreaming of your children dying can be more about your fear of them growing, changing, and eventually flying the nest. These types of dreams are so deeply rooted in the fleeting passages of time and are surrounded by the loss of the phases of their lives with you.
Dying peacefully can be a good indication that you are going to go through welcomed change, whereas dying violently is quite the opposite. Suggesting you are trying to fight the change ahead.
A dream interpretation of a dream about death is very rarely a bad thing. It is more your subconscious letting you in on how you are feeling about upcoming changes and helping you to process these emotions.
Dreams About Flying
Dreams about flying are often symbols of freedoms we are feeling in our waking lives. They can be physical freedoms, such as being able to leave places or situations we’ve been stuck in for a while, or emotional freedoms, such as being free from worries or anxieties that may have plagued us in the past. Dreams of flying are usually filled with joy and exhilaration and that’s why this dream interpretation is usually just as positive.
Sometimes these dreams can indicate a need to look at situations from a new perspective. This new perspective may bring you closure, solutions, or even reminders that our problems are not as big as we first thought.
Sometimes dreams of flying can also indicate that you may be avoiding something within your life. This could be a gentle nudge from your subconscious that you need to confront any challenges in your path if you are to experience freedom.
Dreams About Pregnancy
Although dreams of being pregnant can sometimes be literal and may indicate you are pregnant or will be shortly, most dream interpretations lean more towards the symbolism of a creative process and its current status and circumstances.
Dreaming that you are pregnant can represent a creative process or goal that you are working towards, whereas dreams of giving birth can symbolize the fruition of a dream or goal. It may indicate that something new is entering your life, or a life-affirming experience will soon come to you.
Dreaming that a stranger is pregnant may indicate a disconnect from your own creative processes. Maybe you have been experiencing a creative block, holding back from starting a creative endeavor, or have been feeling unable to act upon something you feel has been calling to you.
Dreams About Being Naked in Public
Naked in public dreams are so common that they’ve become a bit of a running joke. Especially dreams that involve having to stand up in from of a crowd, spotlight glowing, only to realize you forgot to get dressed. Thankfully, this common dream also has a very common dream interpretation. These dreams usually symbolize a feeling of being exposed and a lack of confidence.
Feeling horrified in a dream where you are naked in public can symbolize a fear of being judged or scrutinized in both your professional and personal life. It may be a sign that you are worrying that you may forget something or that you have a fear of appearing vulnerable.
On the flip side, if you feel overjoyed and exhilarated by your dream of being naked in public, no it doesn’t mean you are destined to live in a nudist commune, but more that you are excited by the prospector revealing your true self. It may also symbolize that you feel free to express yourself openly and that you don’t feel the need to hide anything. Whether that be emotionally or physically.
How You Can Interpret Your Dreams
A dream interpretation can be a really fun and also eye-opening way to understand yourself better through the things you dream about. However, dreams a governed by their own rules and not the rules of our waking lives. That means they can often seem chaotic, confusing, and incredibly cryptic. Unraveling the messages within your dreams can seem complicated at times but the more you do it, the easier it will become. It’s all about practice.
Here are some tips to help you as you begin your journey into dream interpretation.
Keep a Dream Journal
Keeping a dream journal is one of the easiest and most beneficial things you can do when it comes to your dream interpretation. All you need is a notebook and a pen or pencil and you are already halfway there. You can even find many apps on the internet that can be used as dream journals.
Dream journals not only help you record the dreams you experience but they also provide you will all the dreams that have come before, this can help you to pick up on patterns you missed before, remember dreams you would otherwise have forgotten, and help to find deeper context within your dreams.
The best thing you can do is write in your dream journal every day, even if it’s just to write ‘no dream tonight’, and do this as soon as you wake up. Our dreams fade quickly and the more details you can remember the easier it will be to have a more specific and personal dream interpretation.
If you aren’t sure how to begin your dream journal, fear not, I’ve written another article on how to start your dream journal right here.
Talk To An Expert
Navigating the world of dream interpretation can feel very overwhelming, especially if you are a brand new beginner in the dream interpretation world. Talking to an expert who knows everything there is to know about dreams and how to interpret them is a great place to start.
Even if it’s just to gain more insight into how to interpret your dreams, sources to trust, and ways to view your dreams. Just like you wouldn’t try to fix your car on your own with zero knowledge of the mechanics of a car, you shouldn’t start interpreting our dreams without a little guidance from someone who knows best.
Turn To Google
Talking to a dream interpretation expert isn’t always financially viable for some of us, although many experts will be quite happy to at least point you in the right direction, just make sure you ask politely. This is where Google and other search engine websites can become a really valuable source for your study.
However, as with all things, Google is full of just as many frauds as there are experts. Do your research carefully and don’t settle on the first dream interpretation that falls into your lap. Especially if it doesn’t fit your experiences at all. Dreams are so personal that it can take a while to discover the true messages within your dreams that are meant just for you.
Pay Attention to Recurring Dreams
When you are interpreting your dreams it’s incredibly important to pay attention to any recurrent themes or symbols you may be experiencing within your dreams. This is where a dream journal really helps, by recording your dreams so you can easily spot patterns.
These patterns within your dreams can indicate strong, more urgent messages, from your subconscious. You may even be experiencing dreams that are, on the surface, completely unrelated but once you dig a little bit deeper into the smaller details of each dream you may begin to spot a glaring similarity.
Recurring dreams and their patterns may be caused by unresolved issues from your past or present. These recurring dreams are caused by similar triggers and are not to be ignored.
Reflect On Your Feelings
Dream interpretation is as much about the emotions that linger after you have left your dream as the ones you feel while you are present within it. By reflecting on these feelings and trying to find how they intertwine with your dreams it may open doors to the deeper meaning behind your dreams and how they are linked to the circumstances you are experiencing in your waking life.
This type of internal study and discovery can help you to process emotions, guide yourself through certain life situations, and even uncover emotions that have been affecting your life that you didn’t even realize you had been holding on to.
Are You Ready To Discover Your Dreams True Meaning?
When you are interpreting your dreams it’s important to remember that even the smallest of dreams can alter their meanings. Dream interpretation is all about finding the deeper meaning of the symbols held within your dreams and using those symbols to help guide you through your waking life experiences.
Have you started interpreting your dreams? How have you found them to support and guide the paths you take in life?