Dream Interpretation and Symbols

As shown by Dream researcher Jon Tolaas, day-memory is often incorporated into the dream. Many times negative, ambivalent or neutral events are incorporated. It is difficult to answer why mostly negative events are incorporated, it may be that the negative events make stronger impressions on us. Or that not many positive events occur during the day. It may be that the brain is working on these negative events so that it may handle it better next time.

The most qualified person to interpret your dream is yourself, you know all the details from the dream, you remember what you did the previous day and you know what your problems are. But dream interpretation isn't always that easy. If you fail to interpret your dream, it is nice to know that there are many people on the internet that you can turn to. A good place to start is posting your dream to alt.dreams. But sit down and think about your dream before doing so, try to find the meaning and try to think about what you have done the last few days.

Keep in mind that the language of dreams are metaphors. Sharing dreams with others are a great way of paying attention to your dreams. Writing them down, reading those of others and discussing them will increase your dream recall. Be sure to include factors from your life that might be relevant to your dream. This may help on the interpretation.

What does this [symbol] mean?

Symbols are one way of interpreting dreams. Researchers have tried to find, for each common dream occurrence, a psychological situation that matches the dream in some way and link it as a cause. A well-known example of this approach is Freud's interpretation. Asking for symbols allows for (sometimes too easy) interpretation of dreams by given rules. But this is a questionably approach. Dream interpretation using a catalog of symbols doesn't take into account individual differences between dreamers. You can imagine this flaw by taking into account that the cultural background is an important point that should not be neglected. Freud's theories, that give high importance to hidden signs of sexual desires, are based on a society that has suppressed sexuality. And so on. In a more global context, asking for special symbols is of dubious value. Nonetheless, in a certain given context, these symbols can have a valuable meaning.

Is this [dream scene] common?

Probably so, one way of finding that out is posting your dream to alt.dreams. You might also stick around and see if other people post similar dreams. Or you might check the archive at www.dejanews.com and maybe do a search on a few keywords from your dream.

Is there anything special about recurring dreams?

Yes. If you have recurring patterns or themes in your dreams, they deserve special attention. They indicate thoughts that occupy the dreamer a lot, consciously or unconsciously. You should try to compare the context of your dream with your current life situation or problems. It is very likely your subconscious that is trying to tell you something. You should try to figure out what the dream means and make some changes to your life.