Dream Watcher

Thank you all!

2009-09-13T09:13:00.000-07:00

I appreciate the following I have acquired and apologize that I have not been more active on this blog. I am going to make an effort to post more.

I also apologize to those of you who have emailed me with your dreams. Yahoo mail had an issue with the email address associated with this account and I was not getting alerted on my phone that I had been receiving emails. I think the issue has been resolved now. I have answered all emails that have come to me in the past few months, so please check your accounts (as well as spam folders) for my replies.

Thanks for your understanding.

Dreams for problem solving.

2009-06-14T04:45:00.000-07:00

Not only can you ask your dream guide for help with a certain problem. You can also solve problems with other people through dreams.

Case in point: About 2 weekends ago, the 13 year old boy across the street was playing basket ball in the street with his friend at 6:30 in the morning. I opened the door and said "REALLY? 6:30 on a Sunday morning an you are playing basketball?"
I said nothing more and shut the door. A week later on a weekday, he was out again, this time at 6AM. I said nothing, but turned on the outside light so that he knew that he woke me up. It didn't phase him.

I had made the decision to go outside and talk to him calmly about it, but by the time I got out of the shower he had gone inside. I had rehearsed what I would say.

The next night I had a dream that I went outside while he was playing and talked to him. I told him exactly what I had rehearsed. He was very nice and understanding and said he would not play that early anymore.

He hasn't played that early since I had the dream.

You can use your dreams to voice your opinion to the other person without having a confrontation. If you just need to speak your mind to feel better, dreams are a great place to do it.

Bogus! Revealed

2009-05-01T03:04:00.000-07:00

In yesterday's post I posted a dream about my SIL. We are close, but she hadn't returned my calls for a week. I thought she was mad at me. She called me and explained that she had taken herself off of caffeine, nicotine and pain pills all at the same time, so she was going through the withdrawal process.

My dream revealed to me that my feeling that she was mad at me was unfounded and indeed Bogus!. This dream had nothing to do with me at all, ie, she didn't talk to me in the dream, just like she didn't talk to me in real life. It was her, her car and the word Bogus on her car in the dream that made me see it was all about her. Of course, I didn't realize what it meant until she pointed out those facts to me.

Bogus!

2009-04-30T03:36:00.000-07:00

Last week I had the following dream. This was after about a week of not being able to talk to my SIL, with whom I am very close. I had a feeling she might be going through something, but somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought perhaps I might have done something wrong (although I didn't know what) and she wasn't returning my calls because she was mad at me.

I was at the mall with some of my friends. We were at a table in the food court? perhaps. S, my SIL drove up (somehow she was able to park inside the mall) in her car that she drives today. It is a yellow Firebird. On the windshield it had the word "bogus" across the top.

S comes over to us and starts talking to all of my friends, but doesn't acknowledge my presence. I was convinced that she was mad at me.
EOD (End of Dream)

I woke up thinking that she was taking care of everyone else and ignoring me.

The dream nagged at me and for each day that S didn't return my calls, I was absolutely convinced that I was at fault for something.

FINALLY after about a week S calls me. She tells me that she just spent the last week de-toxing. She quit the pot of coffee a day habit, the 2 pack of cigarettes a day habit and she took herself off of the pain pills that weren't doing her body any good and weren't helping her pain anyway. She hadn't been sleeping well due to the coffee, so she'd take the pain pills to help with her pain and to help her sleep, she was taking 5 a day. Smoking of course is a hard habit to break.. so she figured she do it all at once.

After talking to he a while, I told her about my dream, which stumped me. (Its hard to look inside to figure out my own dreams, easier to take a look from the outside to figure out others' dreams) I also told her my theory of her being mad at me.

She figured out my dream right away.. how about you?

Lets see how much you have learned. Please comment on what you all thin and I will reveal the interpretation tomorrow

Ask your Dream Guide

2009-04-25T09:40:00.000-07:00

Often, you will have dreams that you don't understand. Sometimes they are recurring. When this happens, you can ask your dream guide for help. A dream guide can be any one or any animal in your dream. If you find your dreams often have the same person or animal, this may very well be your dream guide. You can ask them for advice, to heal you or to show you the right way during your dream. Thsi is called dream incubation.. I touched on that in this post

You may also ask your dream guide, before you go to sleep for help with whatever has been hindering you. Just repeat the question or request over and over before you fall into a deep slumber. You can also write it on a piece of paper and put it under your pillow.

Phrase your question so that it is short, simple and to the point:

Should I...?
How can I heal Myself?
How can I solve...?
What is the status of my relationship with...?
How can I improve that relationship?
How can I make (current venture or project) a success?
How can I manifest abundance and prosperity?

or until you learn how your dreams will respond, you can ask more open ended questions like:
What should I do now?
Show me my path
Why... do I.. am I..
What is the divine purpose for me?

When you wake write down whatever thoughts, feeling, images, dreams, or dream fragments that come into your mind into your dream journal. Also, write the question or request at the top of your journal page.

Then you can begin to figure out what your dreams have to tell you.

Remember.. I set this blog up so you can send me your dreams so I can give you my take on them .. see right for email address

Picture credit: Kajama

Understanding your dreams.

2009-03-29T08:29:00.000-07:00

In order to better understand your dreams, you should start keeping a daily journal as well as a dream journal. After each day, and after writing in both of your journals, you can compare the two. But, if there is seemingly no connection between your dream and that days events, keep an open mind, look back through your past entries, you may just find the answer to something else you had journaled in the past.

You might be able to figure out the dream symbols and what they mean in relation to your waking life, just by determining what that symbol actually means in reality.

For instance, a caterpillar. What does a caterpillar do in real life, besides eat everything in sight? It changes into a beautiful butterfly. So you might be able to determine, based on the content of your dream as well as the things going on in your life and in your head, that you are in for some transformations in your life. Could YOU be the caterpillar, certainly. It might also represent a certain situation in your life that may be heading for a change.

This post was prompted from a dream my daughter, from The Water Bottle had after fretting about getting into to college.

Improving Dream Recall

2009-02-28T14:43:00.000-08:00

(pic is from http://www.brilliantdreams.com/product/dream-entertainment.htm)

These tips are taken from Dreamwork for the Soul by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

1. Take dreams seriously and respect them
The number one rule for working with dreams applies to improving dream recall. If you think dreams are unimportant, they will be less likely to impress themselves on your memory. The more attention you pay to dreams, the more you will notice them.

2. Meditate or pray daily.
Meditation stills the mind, improves focus, and alleviates stress. What's more- and what's most important for dreams- is that meditation alters our state of consciousness, making it easier to access the intuition, the higher self, other dimensional realities, and the voice of God, all of which speak through dreams. A few minutes of meditation a day will reap big benefits. Start the day and end the evening with quiet time Prayer is really effective. It's more controversial, but even the chattiest of inner prayer eventually settles into profound zones of peace and quiet. Once you get into the habit of going within, you will notice a change in your dream life: You will remember dreams more easily and the nature of your dreams will change to include themes and imagery of a more spiritual nature. Pray specifically about dreams.

3. Think about people, animals and objects familiar to you in waking life.
These thoughts trigger associations, which van help reclaim dream memories.

10 Steps for Dream Incubation

2009-01-25T16:44:00.000-08:00

I found picture here http://www.easy-dream-interpretation.com/images/doorway.jpg

For those of you who wonder how you can possibly make a dream happen, here are some guidelines from Dreamwork for the Soul by Rosemary Ellen Guiley

Don't get frustrated if you can't get the dream/answer you are seeking. It takes practice. It also may take some time for your to recognize that the dream that has been givin to you MAY be the one you need. But keep following these tips, eventually your dream maker will give you a dream that you recognize. KEEP A JOURNAL!
It will be the only way you will begin to see the similarities and the symbols for which you seek.

1. Choose an important matter and be willing to explore it.

2. Phrase a question you would like your dreams to answer

3. Write a question in your dream journal.

4. Prepare the mind, body and soul.

5. At bedtime do an incubation ritual. (more on that in another post)

6. Write and say the incubation question again.

7. Follow guidelines for improving dream recall

8. Give extra attention to dream interpretation.

9. Watch for extra information that comes later.

10. Don't give up is success is not immediate.

Any questions on any of these tips PLEASE feel free to email them to me. There is too much detail for each of these tips to put here.

Six reasons we have bad dreams

2009-01-06T18:00:00.000-08:00

Picture is from http://open-eye-photography.blogspot.com/2008/04/joshua-hoffine-photography-nightmares.html

I saw this article at Yahoo.com by Brie Cadman from Divine Caroline at http://www.divinecaroline.com/article/22201/62493-six-reasons-dreams.

I thought they were great tips so I wanted to share them with you.

Here is what she has to say:

"No one likes being jolted awake from a deep sleep, especially when what riled you up was an assailant, a snake in the bed, or being engulfed by flames. Bad dreams—or worse, nightmares—aren’t just annoying; when reoccurring, they can disrupt a good night’s sleep, and sometimes, life.

On the spectrum of dreams, missing an important exam or showing up naked to work pales in comparison to nightmares, which are defined as bad dreams that wake the sleeper. They occur during rapid eye movement (REM) late in the evening and because we jerk awake during them, we usually remember all too clearly the fear, anxiety, and horrors.

Though more common among children, nightmares and bad dreams happen throughout life. But is there anything we can do to prevent the bad things from creeping into our sleep?

1. Anxiety and Stress
Anxiety and stress, often as the result of a traumatic life event, are sometimes the cause of nightmares and bad dreams. According to the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD), a major surgery or illness, grieving over the loss of a loved one, and suffering or witnessing an assault or major accident can trigger bad dreams and nightmares. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is also a common cause of recurrent nightmares.

Not all nightmare triggers have to be traumatic, however. Everyday stressors, such as job or financial anxiety, or major life transitions such as moving or divorce, can also cause nightmares.

2. Spicy Foods
When and what we eat may affect our nighttime rest, if not our tendency toward bad dreams. A small study published in the International Journal of Psychophysiology had a group of healthy men eat spicy meals before bed on some evenings and compared their quality of sleep on nights where they had non-spiced meals. On the spicy nights, the subjects spent more time awake and had poorer quality sleep. The explanation is that spicy food can elevate body temperatures and thus disrupt sleep. This may also be the reason why some people report bad dreams when they eat too close to bedtime. Though few studies have looked at it, eating close to bedtime increases metabolism and brain activity and may prompt bad dreams or nightmares.

3. Fat Content of Food
Though far from conclusive, some research has indicated that the more high-fat food you consume during the day, the greater the chance that the amount and quality of your sleep may suffer. A small study published in 2007 in Psychological Reports found that the dreams of people who ate a high amount of organic food differed from those who ate “junk foods.” The authors hypothesize that certain foods may negatively influence dreaming.

4. Alcohol
Though alcohol is a depressant that will help you fall asleep in the short term, once its effects wear off, it can cause you to wake up prematurely. Excess consumption can also lead to nightmares and bad sleep; nightmares are also a common occurrence for those going through alcohol withdrawal.

5. Drugs
Some drugs, including antidepressants, barbiturates, and narcotics, can cause nightmares as a side effect. For instance, a 2008 study published in the journal Pyschopharmacology looked at ketamine, a drug used in anesthesia and recreationally, and found that compared with a placebo, ketamine use resulted in more dream unpleasantness and increased the incidence of bad dreams. Similarly, anyone who has traveled to a country where malaria is endemic may have taken Lariam and had some interesting nightmares associated with it. Nightmares usually cease once the drug is cleared from the system.

6. Illness
Illnesses that include fever, such as the flu, can often trigger nightmares. And other sleeping disorders, including apnea and narcolepsy, may also increase the incidence of bad dreams and nightmares.

While bad dreams and nightmares are considered normal responses in dealing with everyday experiences, the IASD recommends consultation with a therapist if they last in intensity and severity. But trying to eliminate these six factors first may be the best place to start in your quest to sweeten your dreams and chase the nighttime demons away."

She also has links to other interesting articles on dreams. See them at the bottom of the article on her page.

Physic Dreams

2009-01-03T09:33:00.000-08:00

These are among the more rare dreams one can have. These will, more times than not, appear as Lucid Dreams. You may recall them as vividly as you saw them in your dream, however, you won't know that you had one, of course, until/if the event actually happens. Abraham Lincoln dreamt of his demise 3 days before he was assassinated. He recounted it to a friend, Ward Hill Lamon:

"About ten days ago, I retired very late. I had been up waiting for important dispatches from the front. I could not have been long in bed when I fell into a slumber, for I was weary. I soon began to dream. There seemed to be a death-like stillness about me. Then I heard subdued sobs, as if a number of people were weeping. I thought I left my bed and wandered downstairs. There the silence was broken by the same pitiful sobbing, but the mourners were invisible. I went from room to room; no living person was in sight, but the same mournful sounds of distress met me as I passed along. I saw light in all the rooms; every object was familiar to me; but where were all the people who were grieving as if their hearts would break? I was puzzled and alarmed. What could be the meaning of all this? Determined to find the cause of a state of things so mysterious and so shocking, I kept on until I arrived at the East Room, which I entered. There I met with a sickening surprise. Before me was a catafalque, on which rested a corpse wrapped in funeral vestments. Around it were stationed soldiers who were acting as guards; and there was a throng of people, gazing mournfully upon the corpse, whose face was covered, others weeping pitifully. 'Who is dead in the White House?' I demanded of one of the soldiers, 'The President,' was his answer; 'he was killed by an assassin.' Then came a loud burst of grief from the crowd, which woke me from my dream. I slept no more that night; and although it was only a dream, I have been strangely annoyed by it ever since."
SOURCE: p. 116-117 of Recollections of Abraham Lincoln 1847-1865 by Ward Hill Lamon (Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 1994).

Although he didn't dream of the actual event, he still dreamt of himself dead by an assassin.

This is why it is important to keep a dream journal. Dreams that may not make much sense to you at the time, might make sense at a later date.

Tips for Sweet Dreams

2008-12-10T17:03:00.000-08:00

Remember that nothing is quite what it seems-consider the symbolism of an object as well as it's actual function.

Dreams are usually composed of both literal and symbolic imagery. When interpreting a dream, consider what you were doing the day before, as the events of the day may recur in your dreams.

The mind often uses puns and word games in dreams.

Try to recall the colors of the dream landscape and the general shapes inherent in the dream-they may be important symbols.

If you are threatened by dream monsters, turn and confront them-they will often disappear.

Your physical condition may affect your dreams. While it is popularly believed that eating cheese gives you vivid dreams, it is more certain that going to bed hungry will lead to a disturbed night's sleep, and too much alcohol may induce intense dreams, sometimes of a nightmarish quality.

Tips from: The Handbook of Dreams

Dream Places: The House

2008-11-28T03:40:00.000-08:00

Jung was the first to believe that a house in a dream can often represent "the mansion of the soul". He theorized that each room in the house relates to a different part of one's personality.

The kitchen is a place of nourishment and nurture. The condition of the kitchen gives a deeper look into the dreamer's state of mind. A well stocked kitchen and neat kitchen, often reflects someone who is strong and can take care of themselves. If a dream is features continual cooking and other domestic hum-drum chores, it could signal that the dreamer is stressed and feels unappreciated and undervalued to other members of the household. If this dream kitchen is bare, the dreamer may feel like his physical and/or emotional needs are not being met.

Some dreams about baking (oven.. as in bun in the) have often times been linked to conception.

Basements and cellars are storage areas.. these rooms represent our memories where we store things we made need one day, and some place to put things which we wish to forget. If the basement is dark, it often symbolizes suppression of unwanted memories.. If the basement is full of light, is area and not as cluttered, it could mean the dreamier is mentally healthy. If you wake up feeling down and oppressed, it may be time for you to confront whatever problem prompted this dream.

Attics are where we store our junk, old possessions, much like the basement, they represent the recesses of our minds. But attics are closer to the heavens and therefore represent our highest aspirations, hopes, and dreams.So again, look at the condition of the attic. That may give you a good indication as to things are going the way you had planned for yourself.

Living rooms represent the here and now and the conscious mind. They are rooms used for public gatherings and entertainment. So if the living room is bright and cheery in your dreams, then you are generally happy with the person you are in the public eye. In contrast, if it is cramped, dark, cluttered and unclean, this could indicate that there is something you are not happy about your public self.

I will post more about dream places in other posts.

Source: The Handbook of Dreams

Freud vs. Jung on dreams

2008-11-22T08:40:00.000-08:00

What's the difference? Simply put, Sigmund Freud believed that all dreams had sexual connotations. He believed that that all of the worlds problems were caused by a repressed libido. He thought everything about dreams and the subconscious was all related to our mothers and the different stages of life that related to her in our infancy.

His now famous term "penis envy" can from his theory that womens' psychological problems stem from lack of having one. Pssssh whatever..
This theory was later proven incorrect.

Carl Jung speculated that the brain held forgotten memories and things we have learned. He suggested that in order for us to function properly in this world, that the conscious and subconscious minds have to work together. He believed our dreams helped us to grow , to learn more about, and to make ourselves better.

I follow Jung. I believe his theories make a lot more sense than do Freud's.

Stuck in the Past

2008-11-18T16:36:00.000-08:00

Slow Day at Work sent me this dream. The blog is entertaining, so go check it out!

My dream started out that I was back in high school and I was at a football game (I never played football in high school, I played soccer.) I was watching the game when all of a sudden the coach asked if anyone from our high school could kick. So I volunteered and kicked a field goal. He said that I did such a great job kicking that he was going to put me on the field on defense. (Random I know, but that's how my mind is.) I started playing defense and the other team was trash talking about how they were going to just annihilate us. I remember they wore black uniforms and white helmets. The other team then went to throw the ball and I found myself intercepting the ball. I started running towards our end zone and got really close to the sideline when about 4 tacklers jumped on me. All of a sudden I was trying to get to a first down marker (Don't know why, there wouldn't have been any downs because I had just intercepted the ball.) I pulled these 4 tacklers along with me for about 4-5 yards and lunged at the marker just barely making a first down. I remember thinking as I was pulling them along that there was no way they were going to stop me. That was basically the end of my dream. I remember that it was a night game and that the lights were kind of dim.

The setting of a school could indicate the desire to further you education either in school, at work, or whatever you desire to learn about. Because you are on a field, it could be whatever field your profession is. The sport you are watching in your dream is very competitive. Perhaps you are sitting passively as something in your life is happening that you so badly want to be a part. Is there a position at work that you want? You volunteered to get involved. You did something good by kicking (reaching?) a goal. The feat did not go unnoticed. The coach (boss?) asked you to be a part of the team by playing defense (an aggressive position). The other team starting talking badly about the new team (jealousy). They are also wearing black uniforms. Black is a color that can hide or obscure things, since it was on their bodies, I would venture to say they are hiding their true actions. White, being the opposite color, worn on their heads may mean that they want to share their thoughts or intentions with you (contradictory, I know) You intercepted the ball (information obtained by you?) When you almost reached another goal, 4 tacklers jumped on you (the number 4 could represent physical strength or many other things. only you know for sure what it means to you) You dragged them 4-5 yards (again with the numbers) The number 5 could represent a man (a head, 2 legs, 2 arms), or your offspring, or many other things. But whatever the numbers mean, you were able to overcome things holding you back or trying, quite literally to drag you down) The night time setting could be an indication of aspects of yourself that you were not previously aware. In a nutshell, I feel this dream was a representation of the struggles you are facing maybe at work. It indicates to me that whatever obstacles you think are holding you back are not as bad as you think. So go for that promotion.

Dream Theme: Being Chased

2008-11-15T06:28:00.000-08:00

Many of us dream the same type of dream constantly. These genre of dreams are called themes. They, too, can mean different things for different people.

Let's say you are being chased in your dreams. This can happen from childhood to
adulthood. The reason is that you look back and your childhood memories can trigger so many different fears. How did you handle your fears when you were that young? You probably ran from them. A bully, an older sibling relentlessly picking on you, abusive family members. It is natural to run. You fears just change from the bully stealing your lunch money, to "How in the hell am I going to pay the mortgage this month?" This could explain why some people have these types of dreams their whole lives.

What is chasing you is what you should be considering. Is it a monster, is it your boss, people you know, strangers, zombies, animals? Whatever it is, you probably recognize the symbol that is chasing you. Again, different symbols mean different things for different people. So it would be hard for anyone to say what it means. They can only reflect on what it means for them.

It could mean that you are literally running away from something. Bills, husband, responsibility etc.. Upon awakening you can ask yourself what is happening in your your life that you need to address. Then think of ways to face them head on and then act on it. Be proactive in your waking life.

If you are able to get away, then perhaps, it indicates that you are strong and can handle what ever is going on in your life. If you can not get away, then perhaps this indicates that you feel hopeless and helpless; that there is no easy way out of this situation.

Whatever it means to you, generally, these dreams are about vulnerability, fear, boredom of the humdrum rut called life you find yourself, a stressful job, or a troubled marriage, or even health concerns. Until you can literally face these fears, confront them, and deal with them, you will continue to dream this theme. You can, be proactive in your dream world too. Once you practice and get a hang of lucid dreaming turn around in the dream and say "WHY ARE YOU CHASING ME?" Because it is your subconscious higher, knowing self that is producing the dream, you will more than likely get your answer.

This is why it is important to keep a waking journal and a dream journal. Once you see the correlation between the two, you can focus on what needs to be done and then do it. These dreams will then decrease or stop altogether.

Most Common Dream Symbols

2008-11-13T04:59:00.001-08:00

I found these here

These symbols are the twenty-five most requested symbols in dream psychology (listed in alphabetical order). Their interpretations are meant as starting points and will vary in their meaning depending upon the individual dreamer. See dream dictionary for specific symbols.

1.Animals - Instinctive part of self attuned to nature and survival (survival in the social world). Animals sometimes represents one's parents, especially their relationship to a parent (love, hate, etc.). Being chased by an animal may represent some repressed emotion or aggression. Look at the particular animal to determine the symbol it may represent.

2.Baby - may symbolize vulnerability, or your need for love. Also your pure, innocent, true self (other than the ego). It may represent some new development in your life. A baby commonly appears in the dreams of pregnant women and may be a straightforward expression of pregnancy.

3.Clothes - Clothes may represent your persona, how you look at yourself and how you feel others may see you. Old and worn out clothes mat symbolize anxiety about your attractiveness or you need to discard some habitual way of thinking.
Changing your clothes may indicate a change in your lifestyle (past, present or future). Clothes in a dream being worn by someone else may suggests that there is some part of you that you relate to in that particular person. See naked listed below.

4.Cross - Represents perfect balance (as in the Christ within or Buddha consciousness). It may be a symbol for a crossroads in your life or a burden to heavy to carry. It also may be a symbol of death, something coming to an end in your life (relationships, job, change of lifestyle, etc).

5.Death - Death or dying in a dream most often represents changes in one's life, something is coming to an end. Very seldom does death symbolize true dying of a person. The old is dying and with the death of the old comes new beginnings. The death and resurrection of Christ is a good example in mythology of the death motif. What it represents is the death of the egoself and its resurrection to a spiritual realization.
A dead person in a dream may relate to past relationships with that particular person. If the dead person is you then consider your true condition as you see it, I feel dead because of my job, life, relationships, etc. Or death may simply represent your anxiety about dying.

6.Falling - Falling - May represent your real life fear of letting go of something or someone. It also may suggest a loss of control in a situation. Self-inflation is another possibility. Are you above yourself and due a fall?

7.Food - Food represents knowledge. Physically food nourishes the body. Mentally knowledge nourishes the mind, thus the old adage of "food for thought".

8.Devil - Evil spirits, not necessarily religious. It may represent some repressed emotions that need to be expressed. It may symbolize a need to change one's behavior (devilish) and find a spiritual center.

9.Hair - Represents knowledge, most often conscious knowledge (or the lack of). Abundant hair may signify virility or male sexuality (Freud). Cutting hair may symbolize lost of virility, or castration. Loss of hair may express a fear of getting old or being unwanted.

10.Hands - Symbolize ability, particularly practical and social abilities. Tied hands represent a feeling of an inability to succeed in a particular endeavor. Washing your hands often symbolizes guilt- what are you trying to get rid of?

11.House - A symbol representing yourself. The rooms or different floors may represent emotions, attitudes, complexes, ideas. Going upstairs symbolizes conscious thinking. The basement represents the deep unconscious.

12.Killing - May represent repression/suppression of some aspect of yourself - you want or need to kill that part of your personality. May indicate hatred or envy between siblings or hostility towards some person. Also putting an end to negative feelings or unwanted situations in one's life.

13.Marriage - A blending of intellectual and intuitive parts or masculine and feminine aspects of oneself. A bridge between the conscious mind and the unconscious self (as in dreams).

14.Money - Represents one's values in life. May symbolize self worth. In exchanging money, it may represent changes about to happen in your life. Take note of any numbers and find their meaning(s). For instance, five often symbolizes changes in life.

15.Mountain - Climbing a mountain may symbolize achievements or tasks to be performed. Looking from a mountain may symbolize your life under review, without the conscious emotional involvement (dreams looks at your life without prejudgicies). A mountain may represent obstacles in your life.

16.Naked - Being nude may symbolize the 'naked truth' about oneself. Totally open and exposed. It may be an expression for childhhood innocence and freedom from artificial inhibitions. Showing off your nudity may be a desire for sex, or a desire for recognition.

17.People - Most often represents the different aspects of oneself; emotions, attitudes, desires, fears, etc. look to the particular characteristics of a person or persons in the dream.

18.Radio - Communication between conscious and unconscious self (as in dream). Communications (or lack of) between aspects of self or between persons in your life.

19.Roads - Your direction in life, the road you are following (may need changing or modifications). Patterns in your life, something that you continually do that may be harmful or unnecessary. Goals in life. What is your path in life?

20.School - Lessons in life. Self understanding is learning to know yourself (psychological). Life's experiences. Have you learned from them or do you ignore what is evident for what is convenient?

21.Sex - Sex with a partner may symbolize a unification of unconscious aspects in your life to a conscious realization. Uniting parts of oneself that was previously separated due to repression/suppression. May be a straight forward desire for sex. Uninhibited sex may suggest one's actual persona is uninhibited.

22.Teacher - A symbol for your higher self (spiritual or creative). Insights that show you the way on your path.

23.Teeth - Assimilating of knowledge (unconscious) so to understand and make use of it.Losing teeth symbolizes change in one's way of thinking. Also symbolizes a fear of getting old. May symbolize aggression.

24.Vehicles - A symbol representing yourself. Are you driving (in control), in the back or passenger seat (not in control). Is your mother driving? Perhaps she has too much control of your life. A bus may symbolize yourself and the passengers aspects of your personality.

25.Water - Water represents the unconscious self (mind). Pools of water, lakes, rivers, symbolize the personal unconscious, whereas oceans and seas represent the deeper collective (universal) unconscious.

I agree with a lot of these "definitions" but like it states at the top, and like I will continue to maintain, symbols can vary from person to person based on their upbringing and their beliefs.
You will notice that in none of these definitions does it say "dreaming about a _____ means_____" This is what a lot of the dream dictionaries I warned you about will do.

You can keep an on-line dream journal (That site is one of my personal favorites.) You can look up symbols on that site as well.

Tumbling

2008-11-12T11:40:00.000-08:00

This dream was sent to me by So Sue Me

*Bruce and I are riding in his big Jeep down a paved road, and my son is in back in his car seat. There is a big empty lot next to us. Another truck drives by and it forces us off the road. The way the tires hit the dirt it caused the Jeep to roll quite a few times before we came to a rest on the drivers side. For some reason I did not have my belt on and was tumbling around in the cab. But somehow half through the rolling I was able to grab onto something and keep from tumbling any more. When the truck finally stopped all the glass had blown out and I was able to squeeze through the windshield to get out. Bruce was kind of trapped but was able to get my son out and hand him to me. Then with lots of wiggling we got Bruce out too. Then I saw *some good friends coming over to help us... All of them past and present. and they helped Bruce get the jeep turned back up on its wheels.... and strange it was like all the guys approved of him and he liked them too... Then I woke up.... weird

*Names and some details changed at the dreamer's request

A vehicle can sometimes represent the mode through which you travel through life. It was Bruce's car and he was driving. He was in control by driving his vehicle. Is he the dominant one in your relationship (not a bad thing, some relationships work well like that)

Another vehicle forced him off the road (Is someone else trying to interfere with your relationship?) He loses control (maybe seeing that it is OK to not be so dominant) The Jeep starts to roll (maybe a tumultuous relationship?) It stops rolling and ends on the driver's side (do you feel you might be trapping him, or do you feel as if he feels trapped?) With you not being "secured" and tumbling around, you may not be sure where this relationship is going. '

You got out safely (perhaps you realize things might work out well). Bruce was able to get your son and then himself out of the Jeep (perhaps an indication or confirmation that he is not "trapped")

Your friends from the present and past, who care for you deeply, show up to make sure everything is alright (do they support you and this relationship? have the past ones always been there for you?)

They help Bruce turn the Jeep back on its wheels (perhaps confirming that your friends are behind you and support you)

So all in all it seemed like a good dream to me. Your possible feelings about this newfound relationship may have been shown to you through this dream. It may have shown you that even though it looks uncertain now, in the end it all works out just fine.

Lucid Dreaming

2008-11-09T09:03:00.000-08:00

Lucid dreams are being aware that you are dreaming while dreaming. How much lucidity you have while dreaming can vary. From a simple "Oh I get it, I'm flying, so I'm dreaming" to the more complicated of being aware AND being able to control what happens.

Lucid dreams occur during REM and non-REM sleep. Many lucid dreams have elements of precognition, creativity, healing, and spiritual content.

"How do I do it?" Good question. The number one answer of course is practice. That it unless you have the natural ability to have these types of dreams.

For the rest of us though, here are some beginner and more advanced tips from The Dreamer's Way by Rosemary Ellen Guiley:

Incubation Affirmations

You can train yourself with affirmation and intention to recognize lucidity such as:
Tonight I will be lucid in my dreams and I will be able to maintain lucidity.

As you fall into sleep, try to maintain awareness as long as you can.
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Concentrate on your hands prior to sleep.

Many people report success with a method popularized by Carlos Castenada in his Don Juan books. First you concentrate on your hands prior to sleep; then in the dream, see your hands and raise them to your face. Looking at your hands or touching them while dreaming can help to anchor and maintain lucidity. Lucid dream expert Robert Waggoner recognizes lucidity by saying in dreams "This is a dream," and also using his hands in front of him as a visual anchor to help him remain lucid.
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Meditation Visualizations

Visualizing blue lights at chakra points aids lucidity for some dreamers. Rosemary states that she has had some success with presleep visualizations of a blue light at the throat chakra at the base of the throat and at the brow chakra between the eyebrows.
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Sleeping postures

Some techniques call for sleeping on either the right side or the left side, combined with the aforementioned affirmations and/or visualizations. Monroe's technique called "rotation" or "peel off," calls for lying prone on your back. as you slip into a hypnagogic state, (between the sleeping state and the awake state),
slowly turn over without using your arms or legs for assistance. When you have turned 180 degrees, think of floating up and away as though backing up from your body
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Herbs are also very helpful in the facilitation of lucid dreams. Mugwort has a long history in folklore of inducing prophetic and dreams and astral travel.

Please always check with your doctor first before implementing any new herbal therapies, as they can interfere with your medications.
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Touching and observing dream objects

Once you realize you are lucid, try touching objects to feel their solidity. Another technique is to see a clock, look away, and then look immediately back at the clock. If the clock or it's time has changed, you are dreaming.
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I have used a lot of these techniques myself with varied success. It takes a lot of patience as well as practice to perfect one of these dreams. I have also found that if I realize that I am in a lucid dream, if I spin counter-clockwise in the dream, I can stay in it longer.

I hope you will find some of the techniques helpful. Good Luck and let me know!

10 Amazing Dream facts

2008-11-06T17:57:00.000-08:00

I found these facts here

1. You are paralyzed while you sleep

Believe it or not, your body is virtually paralyzed during your sleep - most likely to prevent your body from acting out aspects of your dreams. According to the Wikipedia article on dreaming, “Glands begin to secrete a hormone that helps induce sleep and neurons send signals to the spinal cord which cause the body to relax and later become essentially paralyzed.”

I know there are a lot of times I will wake up, but not be fully awake, and find myself not able to move. That is VERY scary!

2. External Stimuli Invade our Dreams

This is called Dream Incorporation and it is the experience that most of us have had where a sound from reality is heard in our dream and incorporated in some way. A similar (though less external) example would be when you are physically thirsty and your mind incorporates that feeling in to your dream. My own experience of this includes repeatedly drinking a large glass of water in the dream which satisfies me, only to find the thirst returning shortly after - this thirst… drink… thirst… loop often recurs until I wake up and have a real drink. The famous painting above (Dream Caused by the Flight of a Bee around a Pomegranate a Second Before Awakening) by Salvador Dali, depicts this concept.

Sirens, alarms, cats, voices, they all invade our dreams, it is fascinating to me how we can incorporate it, but know at the same time that it doesn't fit in with the context we are dreaming.

3. Quitters have more vivid dreams>

People who have smoked cigarettes for a long time who stop, have reported much more vivid dreams than they would normally experience. Additionally, according to the Journal of Abnormal Psychology: “Among 293 smokers abstinent for between 1 and 4 weeks, 33% reported having at least 1 dream about smoking. In most dreams, subjects caught themselves smoking and felt strong negative emotions, such as panic and guilt. Dreams about smoking were the result of tobacco withdrawal, as 97% of subjects did not have them while smoking, and their occurrence was significantly related to the duration of abstinence. They were rated as more vivid than the usual dreams and were as common as most major tobacco withdrawal symptoms.” [Source]

I don't have any experience with this.. unless you count all of the times I tried to quit the internet.

4. Dreams are not about what they are about

If you dream about some particular subject it is not often that the dream is about that. Dreams speak in a deeply symbolic language. The unconscious mind tries to compare your dream to something else, which is similar. Its like writing a poem and saying that a group of ants were like machines that never stop. But you would never compare something to itself, for example: “That beautiful sunset was like a beautiful sunset”. So whatever symbol your dream picks on it is most unlikely to be a symbol for itself.

This is something I have known all along. This is why dreams intrigue me

5. Not Everyone Dreams in Color

A full 12% of sighted people dream exclusively in black and white. The remaining number dream in full color. People also tend to have common themes in dreams, which are situations relating to school, being chased, running slowly/in place, sexual experiences, falling, arriving too late, a person now alive being dead, teeth falling out, flying, failing an examination, or a car accident. It is unknown whether the impact of a dream relating to violence or death is more emotionally charged for a person who dreams in color than one who dreams in black and white. [Source]

I usually always dream in color, rarely do I dream (or remember dreaming) in black and white.

6. We Only Dream of What We Know

Our dreams are frequently full of strangers who play out certain parts - did you know that your mind is not inventing those faces - they are real faces of real people that you have seen during your life but may not know or remember? The evil killer in your latest dream may be the guy who pumped petrol in to your Dad’s car when you were just a little kid. We have all seen hundreds of thousands of faces through our lives, so we have an endless supply of characters for our brain to utilize during our dreams.

I did not know this fact. I just thought our brains created these people.

7. Dreams Prevent Psychosis

In a recent sleep study, students who were awakened at the beginning of each dream, but still allowed their 8 hours of sleep, all experienced difficulty in concentration, irritability, hallucinations, and signs of psychosis after only 3 days. When finally allowed their REM sleep the student’s brains made up for lost time by greatly increasing the percentage of sleep spent in the REM stage. [Source]

I know if I don't get enough sleep, I go craz(ier)

8. Everybody Dreams

Every human being dreams (except in cases of extreme psychological disorder) but men and women have different dreams and different physical reactions. Men tend to dream more about other men, while women tend to dream equally about men and women. In addition, both men and women experience sexually related physical reactions to their dreams regardless of whether the dream is sexual in nature; males experience erections and females experience increased vaginal blood flow.

Very ...ahem.... interesting facts

9. You Forget 90% of your Dreams

Within 5 minutes of waking, half of your dream if forgotten. Within 10, 90% is gone. The famous poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, woke one morning having had a fantastic dream (likely opium induced) - he put pen to paper and began to describe his “vision in a dream” in what has become one of English’s most famous poems: Kubla Khan. Part way through (54 lines in fact) he was interrupted by a “Person from Porlock“. Coleridge returned to his poem but could not remember the rest of his dream. The poem was never completed.

In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome decree:
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Through caverns measureless to man
Down to a sunless sea.
[…]

Curiously, Robert Louis Stevenson came up with the story of Doctor Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde whilst he was dreaming. Wikipedia has more on that here. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was also the brainchild of a dream.

I hate forgetting my dreams, only to "see" snippets of them during the day

10. Blind People Dream

People who become blind after birth can see images in their dreams. People who are born blind do not see any images, but have dreams equally vivid involving their other senses of sound, smell, touch and emotion. It is hard for a seeing person to imagine, but the body’s need for sleep is so strong that it is able to handle virtually all physical situations to make it happen.

This makes sense

Bonus: Extra Facts

1. When you are snoring, you are not dreaming.
2. Toddlers do not dream about themselves until around the age of 3. From the same age, children typically have many more nightmares than adults do until age 7 or 8.
3. If you are awakened out of REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep, you are more likely to remember your dream in a more vivid way than you would if you woke from a full night sleep.

"My seemingly journey to nowhere"

2008-11-02T12:02:00.000-08:00

This dream was sent to me by :
Life as I go

"HI, I had a dream about going to church and I was in a class, then it was time for my second class which was gonna be Greek Language. So between classes, I took my son to get a pizza snack in the church kitchen, it took forever! I was obviously going to be late. When it was time to look for my class it was nearly impossible cuz they changed all the numbers on the out side of the doors to Greek. So I was wandering around trying to figure out where the class was. The church was endlessly big and I found a room where you had to climb a ladder on a tree to get to the upper level. After I looked upstairs for the room, I had to get back down, but the only way down was to climb down the branches of the same tree that I climbed up. At this point I had my children with me and I was trying to climb down and help my children get down without falling. Then when we got to the bottom, a lady informed us that we were not allowed to climb down the tree like that. I told her that it was the only way that there was to get down. I don't remember much of the dream after that. Seems like a silly dream to me, but I'm always late to everything in my dream, or I can't get where I am going, or can't find it. That part is recurring. I love your blog by the way."

Firstly, besides the obvious religious connotations that the church has, religion, spirituality, your beliefs, there are other possibilities as to what it could symbolize. It could represent you as a complete being, or your journey to find yourself. In your dream, you are going to school which I gather is IN the church itself. This indicates to me that you are trying to learn more about yourself, but "it's all Greek to you."
" The church was endlessly big" There is a LOT you need to learn about yourself. This is something new to you that you don't understand. Your life recently (what I gather from your blog anyway) has been about anybody BUT you. Your husband, your kids, your siblings, their kids...etc. So now you are on your way to learning something new. You are having trouble finding your way and you are late. Yes of course you are late, because up until now you have not done this for yourself. The upper lever room you climbed the ladder to, is to your higher consciousness, your "knower" if you will. This resides in all of us, our higher consciousness, knows everything we need to know on our lower levels, if you will. We just have to learn how to ask, and then listen for and listen to the answers. You climbed there to get answers about yourself and what you needed to do. (You may have gotten your answer and just don't realize it yet or you already know and are seeking confirmation) When it was time to come down, you had to go a "different way" Which to me, indicates that what you learned was to stop doing things the same way and go down a different path. Your kids were with you on the way down. You want to make sure that your kids are going to be ok during your journey to find yourself. So they are there to help remind you not to lose focus on them in the process. The lady at the bottom of the tree (tree of knowledge perhaps?) might have been you, fighting yourself because you may not think that you are doing the right thing. But then you told her it was the "only way" which just reaffirms what you just learned in the "upper room"

-So you see.. your "Journey to nowhere" was actually a journey to "KNOWwhere" you are going now.

-OH! Dreaming that you are late to everywhere you go, or can't find what you are looking for, is VERY common. It happens to me constantly. Nobody likes to be late, or lost in either the dreamworld or the waking world.

-Thank you for sending me this dream and the opportunity to give my opinion. I hope it helped, or at least gives you something to think about.

Nightmares are not always bad

2008-11-02T10:44:00.001-08:00

Your subconscious has a funny way of getting your attention when nothing else seems to be working. Once you start ignoring your dreams that give you clues, as well as the waking life clues you are given on a daily basis, your mind gets desperate to get your attention.

So, are the start of the nightmares. Someone chasing you, a tiger trying to eat you, someone shooting you.. etc. All of these horrific scenarios are trying to tell you something. If you would get over the fact that they were scary, and stop dismissing them as "just a nightmare", you will begin to understand the messages.

For example, if someone is chasing you in a dream, who is it? If you can identify who it is, you can began to understand why. Is it a boss? Maybe you have been slacking off at work lately, your dream might be giving you the signal that you will be "caught" soon if you don't start doing what you are supposed to be doing.

See, if you take a look at the whole dream, figure out what the symbols mean to you (they can differ from person to person which is why I don't like the dream encyclopedias) and then take action, your nightmares will soon come to an end.

More dream recall tips.

2008-11-01T06:38:00.000-07:00

Tell yourself all day that you will remember your dreams

Don't drink or take any type of drug (unless of course you are sick and/or they are prescribed) before you go to bed.

As you fall asleep, re-affirm that you will remember your dreams.

Upon awakening, lay still with your eyes closed allowing only the dream images to enter your thoughts, not the worries and stresses of the coming day.

While still in bed, write down your dreams, dream segments, anything you are feeling, remembering etc. Name and date each segment or dream. This will help you keep track of your dreams and how they coincide with your waking life.

As you journal your dreams, you may see a recurring theme and/or symbols. IE... money, work, family, health. Pay attention to those as well, for your dreams are repeating these things until you take action.

ok... so no one else wants to post their dreams.. that's ok...

2008-10-31T16:33:00.000-07:00

Instead, until I get another taker, I will post some tips for you to be able to remember your dreams and work them them a little more

Keep a notebook, a pen and a booklight by your bed at all times. When you wake up, write down anything you can remember. Write down any images, thoughts, feelings, colors. If you're lucky, you can remember the whole dream, or at least a majority of it. Write it down as if you were still having it. Use phrases like "I am" instead of "I was" this will help keep you in flow with the dream keeps you seeing it as it replays in your mind.

Don't try to reason with what you dreamt about, just write. On another page, you can write down the things that are happening in your waking life. You know better than anyone else how you feel, what you are thinking, what your fears are.. etc. You may be able to figure out your own dreams by keeping both a dream journal and a waking journal.

Jumping without a parachute

2008-10-22T03:20:00.000-07:00

This is one of my own dreams that I had just before waking up sneezing my head off.

I will let you all take a crack at your dream knowledge.

I had to be at a friends house at a certain time to meet her for church. I wasn't supposed to be late; the congregation didn't like people showing up late. But as usual I was running late. I wet my hair a slathered on shampoo 5 minutes fore I was supposed to be there. I didn't rinse it or take a full shower. (not sure why I was going to church)

I left out so quickly, I left my parachute on the couch.

I never went to church, I don't remember getting on the plane. The next thing I remember, I jumped out of the plane after a guy I am not sure that I know. I reached back to pull the chute, but then realized that I had forgotten it. I caught up to the guy, and grabbed his hand after telling him I forgot my chute.

While this is happening, I am also at a place I don't recognize (I am assuming it's home). My husband is home. (I am not sure that he can see me.) He sees that I left the parachute at home and yells "Great, she left the parachute I paid 50 bucks for on the couch!" Then he looks out the window to see if he can see me jumping. I look out with him wondering how I can be 2 places at once.

EOD (End of Dream)

Now, for the record, I have never jumped out a perfectly good plane.. not ever.

Bootsie, the escape artist

2008-10-18T08:05:00.001-07:00

Hey, Dizzblnd,

I love your idea for this blog, by the way. I think you'd really help a lot of people out!

And here is my dream:

If you read my entry about what happened to my kitty Bootsy, then you're up to par.

Well, last night, I had a dream about her. Like all my other dreams with her, she pops out of no where, therefore creating a surprise feeling for me and I'm filled with happiness. Anyway, she was smaller than usual, like, she was a kitten again. And she was her usual loving self, yes, but she was always want to get out of my grasp when I held her. She was in freak out mode. After a few times of attempting to just hold onto her as long as possible when she refused, she finally gave in.
And my mom, my brother and my dad and I all joined in and petted her, telling how happy we were to see her and all you can hear was her purring. At one point, she sucked on my finger and bit it a few times.

But what my question is, why is she always trying to escape my grasp when holding her? Is she trying to tell me something?

Thanks,

-AD

Thank you AD. I am glad you like this idea!

Bootsie sounds like she was/is a free spirit. Although she clearly loves you you and your family. She feels the need to be independent (like most cats) So while she enjoys the love and attention, she doesn't want to be "held back" .

She continues to visit you in your dreams because she knows you are not comfortable with her showing her energy form in your waking life. Continue to enjoy her when she comes to visit. She does love you, she misses you, but not as much as she misses being "free"

I hope this helps and thank your for being my guinea pig.

Welcome to the Dream Watcher

2008-10-17T19:26:00.002-07:00

I have worked with my dreams for a very long time. I have read many books on dreams, their meanings and how to interpret dreams. I do not believe in the traditional "dream dictionaries/encyclopedias" . These will tell you if you "see the color green in your dreams, you will receive money". These books do not take into consideration the context of the dream, how you felt in the dream, how you felt when you woke up..etc. I created this blog to help you better understand your dreams, based on all of my dream work and past experiences.

I believe in the views of Carl Jung. If you are familiar with his work, then you will know his beliefs about dreams are more spiritual. He used to study under Freud, but after a while made his realization that dreams are a way to communicate with our subconscious, the spirit world, etc.

Occasionally, I will be posting tips and such related to dreams. If you have ANY questions, please feel free to ask.

Please look to the right for the link to my email to send me your dream. If you do not want your dream published, let me know in the email.

Everyone can feel free to chime in and offer their own opinions on any dream posted. Please do not post the nonsense from the afore mentioned dream dictionaries/encyclopedias. They do not follow my views. Please be respectful to each other, realize that we are ALL different, come from different backgrounds and we may not all agree on what dreams are/aren't. I reserve the right to delete a comment I find disrespectful, rude or hurtful.

I do not claim to know everything there is to know about dreams, I do not have any type of degree. I will NEVER claim to be right about something that goes on in your head to which I haven't a clue. I will just read your dreams and give my opinion based on what I know. I advise each of you to read up on dreams and work with your own. Write them down.

DISCLAIMER: Only the dreamer can interpret his/her own dreams. Outsiders, like myself can only look in from outside and give our views, opinions and suggestions.