Five Steps to Dream Interpretation

 

1. Feelings

What feelings do you or the people in your dream have?

Examples : fear, humiliation, anger, excitement, pleasure

2. Find Theme

Describe what is happening in your dream in one or two sentences.

Example : I am walking along the beach. The ocean is beautiful. I feel such strength and peace from it. Then I come to an area of huge boulders and ravines that block my passage. It seems too dangerous to go on. I feel frustrated. As I begin to wake up, I have the feeling that I could have flown over the obstacles but it is too late and I wake up.

Theme : Not using available capabilities to overcome obstacles that block progress.

3. Meaning of Symbols

Use a dream dictionary to help.

Is the symbol:

What  symbols appear in your dream?

What do you associate with these symbols?

What do you like or dislike about them?

4. Preliminary Understanding

An aspect of you? - a child could be your childish self.

Literal? - a dog is  actually a dog.

An archetype? - a monster may represent your inner fears.

A play on words? -  a bull could mean being "bull headed"

5. Applying the Dream

While others may assist in dream interpretation only the dreamer can really say if a particular interpretation is correct.

A particular interpretation may "strike a chord" or "feel right".

By applying the understanding or insight gained from the dream the dreamer may experience the interpretation as correct.

More than one interpretation may be just as valid. The dream may be saying several things to the dreamer.

Can the dream be applied literally to a current life concern?

Does the dream compensate for some extreme in your waking attitudes or experiences?

Is the dream representing a current fear or desire?

If you experienced the dream in waking life what would you learn?

If some daytime situation reminded you of the dream does the dream have something to say about that situation?

Is the dream a solution to a problem?

Is the dream a lesson of some kind?

Is the dream indicating what may happen in the future if you continue on a certain path?

Is the dream showing a new way of looking at something?