The Fundamentals of Dream Interpretation

Key Principles for Dream Interpretation

Have you ever experienced a language barrier? Where one person is trying to communicate, but you have no idea what that person is saying? You walk away, frustrated, wondering what the other was trying to say and wishing you could have figured it out.

When it comes to dream interpretation, understanding the language of dreams is key to how we interpret them. The thing to understand, however, is that dreams and their meanings are always unique to the individual. Each person needs to become fluent in their own dream metaphors and symbols; their “dreaming language.”

I’ve spent the last 8 years helping others find revelation in their own dreams. During that time, I’ve noticed that many people have either preconceived ideas about dreams or some other type of “language barrier” which is holding them back from extracting the meaning of their dreams for them. Here, I’ve compiled a list of the most common barriers that people experience when trying to understand their dreams and how to interpret them.

Everyone Dreams

Everyone dreams, every night. However, not everyone remembers their dreams. You might not think that you dream and so when you remember one, it surprises you. It made an impression on you, you can’t seem to shake the feeling that it means something.

Dreams are your hearts (or call it subconscious) way of communicating with you about things that are currently happening.  Perhaps you have been ignoring a situation, or you have an intense desire for something to happen, or you’ve been mulling over something. Your heart is trying to process these things. Dreams are extremely personal and reveal the intimate details of your life.

(To understand the physiological side of dreaming and why dreams are necessary for mental health, please see this article about The Science of Sleep.)

Principle #1: Do Not Interpret your Dreams Literally.

Dreaming about walking into the office naked doesn’t mean you are going to tomorrow. Dreaming about being intimate with a specific person does not mean you want to or are about to have sex with them. Your heart is using images from daily life to make connections between events and your emotions. In order to learn to interpret your dreams, you have to view them as metaphors. Taking dreams in a literal sense is a huge barrier to learning the language of your dreams. The only instance where dreams can be interpreted literally is in the case of Prophetic dreams which only account for about 5% of dreams. All other dreams should always be seen as metaphorical.

Principle #2: Dreams are symbolic, but only YOU can understand their symbolism. 

The meaning of your dreams can only be derived by you. Although there is a formula to dream interpretation (I can help you. Click here), only you will be able to answer what the symbols in your dreams mean.  So-called “dream dictionaries” are not likely to be accurate or helpful because they try to force your own subconscious minds symbols into someone else’s meanings. More often than not, trying to use a dream dictionary will lead to either nonsense and/or confusion. The meaning of the symbols in your dream is entirely subject to the interpretation of you, the dreamer. Your heart is trying to communicate with you about what is going on currently in your life. No dictionary can interpret what your opinion about something is.

For example, I am not a cat lover. I’m allergic. Cats annoy me. However, I know many people who adore cats. Cats create a sense of peace within them. If I were to dream about a cat, I would ask myself, where in my life am I annoyed right now?  If someone else who equates cats with peace were to dream about a cat, then they would need to ask where they are feeling peace in their life. Two very different translations can come from the same dream, depending on who the dreamer is.

Principle #3: Dreams are time sensitive – Interpreting a dream from years ago is unlikely. 

Dreams evolve with the dreamer. Dreams are subject to the opinions of the dreamer and opinions change. A dream that you had many years ago will be difficult if not impossible to interpret. There are two factors involved here: Your opinions might have changed or you might not remember what was happening at that point in time in your life.

Most dreams are what I call Life Dreams. Most people’s dreams have to do with the current events of their life and how they are processing those events. You might have had a dream several years ago that was pertinent to that time. Recalling what was going on in your life at that time and how you felt about it might be difficult now that many years have passed.

Although rare, I have helped interpret dreams that were over a decade old. Those dreams had to do with unmistakable life events, such as a death in the family.

Principle #4: Dreams use similes, figures of speech, and plays on words.

Your dreams might use a play on words. These are rare, but definitely, do happen. It happens when your dream uses a phrase that relates to something currently going on in reality.

A cool example: The dream. “I was driving down the road and made a mistake while driving. I muttered, that it was a “knee-jerk reaction.” The key phrase for that person’s life and its translations relates to the phrase “knee-jerk reaction.” The current life events reveal that the dreamer is dating a man by the last name Nee. This person had been a jerk and she was having a reaction. There is more to the meaning of the dream, but the simile or play on words is what I would like you to see.

Principle # 5: Although Dreams are not literal, they pull from your life. 

Perhaps you just watched a movie and that night you dreamed of a character from that movie. Or your family is there to visit and you dream about an activity that you all did. Your life creates a database for your dreams to pull from and communicate with you. You might be dreaming about a character from a movie that you just watched but its meaning is not “I just watched that movie.” The meaning is found when you determine your thoughts about the character in your dream and how it currently interacts with your life.

Principle #6: Dreams use a language that we need to learn.

Our dreams speak to us using a language that most people do not understand. I have been studying this language since 2008. I have created a free dreams analysis for anyone to use to help them learn. There are a series of questions it will take you through to help you self-interpret. These questions are the same questions I would ask in a paid session and I’ve displayed them for free.  I’ve written this article in hopes to build on the analysis and better help people understand the language of dreams.

I’m fluent in the language of dreams. Even if you work through the questions on the dream analysis and still find yourself at a loss for your dreams meaning, please contact me and schedule a session.

Sessions are $97 per dream and average thirty minutes to an hour.

Sweet Dreams!