There is great value in analysing your dreams only after they are safely recorded in your journal. This ensures that the tiny details are not forgotten while you are keenly interpreting the dream. In these tiny details you will find hidden messages that reveal much more than just the obvious symbols. When you include the tiny details in your interpretation you build a clearer image of the message and gift the dream intended to bring you.
I have found that these details may be important even years later! The subconscious mind does not forget anything and can go back to dreams from years before and begin building on that dream again. This happens because we learn the same lessons over and over at different levels of mastery but more on that in a future article. Meanwhile, here are some examples of the sort of detail you may want to record as you journal your dream.
A bunch of de thorned yellow roses means far more than a mere bunch of flowers doesn’t it? It is significant to record what type of flowers they are. Have they been snipped, leaves removed and ready for a vase, are they healthy or wilting? If they are wilting it may mean that you are dehydrated and need more water or nourishment of some kind. In terms of roses it is a common association to connect red to love, yellow to friendship and white to purity. Every flower however is a symbol with a particular meaning. Knowing this might change the entire interpretation of your dream. Surely it means something to be given roses and something else entirely to be given poison ivy!
Like flowers, trees also have meaning depending on what type they are. An olive tree symbolizes peace and hope while the appearance of a blackthorn is telling you that need more discipline and control. Most of us are also aware that gemstones or birthstones have specific meanings too. Recording the type a thing is then becomes quite important. It is good practice to try to observe these things in waking life, not only does it increase awareness but it teaches you to be observant at all times. This will transfer to the dream state quite easily for what is done in one dimension impacts upon all others. Sometimes in the dream you will be given specifics to aid you in identifying the tree or flower – you might see the fruit or the shape of the leaves or even the number of petals so you may easily look it up and expand your understanding of the symbol. It is a good idea to record these symbols in alphabetical order to create a dream dictionary that is personal to you. This will save you time in the long-term and you will see clearly how your dream symbols have evolved.
Funny as it is to say – size matters! Size is important especially if it is exaggerated. A fan recently dreamt that lots of money was coming to him, notes of all denominations. A great dream right? He noted however, the $50 notes were smaller than the $5, $10s and $20s and realized the money was counterfeit – that’s an entirely different meaning to receiving bundles of real money.
Colour is also important – for example: if you dream of the colour orange it is important to note if it is a beautiful bright orange or if it is a dirty looking orange. Orange often implies the relationship that you have with yourself and if it is a dirty orange it is indicating that there is work to be done on this relationship. Often green and orange are seen together and this makes perfect sense if we consider the chakras. The sacral (orange) and heart (green) chakras are so intimately connected they almost work in tandem. If the sacral is closed then so too is the heart. How the colours relate to each other in the dream can give deep messages about these energy centres.
Also note feelings in the dream, this is very important. You may be facing a challenging situation in your dream – perhaps a tsunami! There is a great difference in the interpretation if you are calm and just allow the wave to wash over you than if you are filled with terror and try to run but can’t.
Directions and numbers can give clues to many things. Direction can indicate past, present or future. Usually left represents the past and right is the future depending upon a person’s time line. Directions can also be related to the compass points, which are steeped in meaning. For example on the Native American Medicine Wheel the west is the place of dreams and the animal associated with this position is the bear. Dreaming about the west can mean you need pay closer attention to your dreams, or that you may need to hibernate for while. Just as directions are important so are numbers. Pay close attention to the numbers of things as well as the written numbers on houses, apartments, hotel rooms, letterboxes, or page numbers or anywhere else that numbers appear in your dream.
Lastly I just want to mention people. Often when we dream of people it is symbolic and not actually the person. The easiest way to work out what they symbolize is to think of the person, the first thing that comes to mind is usually the symbol they represent. For example “Uncle Bob” he might be always worried about money. Bob then is appearing in the dream to show that I am worrying about money. Aunt Rose might be someone who is always happy and laughing – appearing in a dream to remind me to play more or to just lighten up and be happier. Can you see how this works?
Here is a check list that might be helpful in reminding you of what to record when journalling your dreams.
Type – e.g. type of tree, flower, herb, stone, gem, car, vehicle, animal, bird, etc
Material – what is it made out of – wood, stone, plastic etc
Size – unusual sizes of things
Shape – shape can also be symbolic
Colour – colours of the dream symbols or dreamscape
Feelings – a reflection of how you feel about the situations you are in
Direction – left, right, up, down, spiral, compass direction
Numbers – on letterboxes, doors, pages etc
Who – people appearing in your dreams are symbolic of personality types or character traits
The most important thing is to have fun with your dreams and look upon unravelling their mysteries as an adventure of exploring the self.
Happy dreaming
I AM Julie-Anne