Dream Interpretation and Psychic Development
“In a night, or in a day, In a vision, or in none, Is it therefore the less gone? Is but a dream within a dream.” – Edgar Allan Poe
Many people debate the origin and reason why we dream. Some believe it is the result of neurochemical processes and nothing more; others look deeply into the symbolism to interpret and learn from. The Soul/Higher self/Source/Spirit works in mysterious ways. Understanding our dreams is the most direct way of tapping into this cosmic intelligence. This is one of the more accessible methods compared to other means, such as clairvoyant training and further psychic development.
Dream Interpretation
Dreams may be understood through various methods of dream interpretation that can also be applied in other areas. It can be and has been used successfully to interpret the symbols of our clairvoyant vision while in meditation. Understanding the symbology can assist one in bridging a transition onto higher and more abstract means of knowing.
Specific skills are essential for successful dream interpretation. One of which is a developed intuition. Unfortunately, this faculty is something that no dream interpretation book or website can have. It is something that only we can nurture.
Intuition and Dreams
Intuition is what binds and creates recognizable connections to seemingly unrelated dream interpretations and symbols. This, in turn, structures the links into a cohesive and meaningful message. Intuition is not mental reasoning. It is simply that inner knowing of feeling/sensing beyond logic and reason. Intuition is, in fact, an actual cognitive process.
Unfortunately, our modern civilization is heavily ‘mental-rationalization driven’ and therefore is not in the capacity to validate a higher-order process such as intuition. In other words, we have placed too much emphasis on logic, proving, and reasoning. Intuition sometimes doesn’t tell you the outcomes of events. In many cases, it is simply an inner knowing that explains and provides answers. That thought may be coming from the part of the ego/personality associated with body-mind survival.
What is a Dream?
Dreams have several explanations depending on the person you speak with. Every dreamer has asked why we dream and what those dreams mean. While every dream is unique to the person who dreams it, the world of dream interpretation is rich, fascinating, and exciting. We have included some of the most commonly asked questions about dreams and their analysis here.
Dreams can have significance in the real world. Dreams are told in a symbolic language, and the images in dreams tend to contain hidden meanings and messages. When embarking on dream interpretation and analysis, it is crucial to understand that the stories told in dreams are usually symbolic and not meant to be taken literally. The significance of dreams for each dreamer is a personal matter related to each person’s experience and emotions.
Recurring dreams are among the most common types of dreams. Most often, recurring dreams indicate that the dreamer has some issue that is not being confronted in his or her waking life. Examining these recurring dreams, and understanding what triggers them, can often allow the dreamer to resolve the underlying issue and banish the recurring dream.
Any feelings or thoughts repressed during the day are likely to appear in your dreams during the night. For example, if you wanted to show your anger to someone but could not, you may express anger to that person or a similar figure in a dream. In addition, those who have experienced traumatic events are often troubled by nightmares in which they relive that trauma.
We often remember bad dreams more than good ones. One reason is that the most vivid dreams tend to be placed, and nightmares are generally more explicit than good dreams. In addition, sleepers are often awakened by a particularly vivid nightmare, and waking during dream sleep means that the dream will most likely be remembered in its most minor details.
Experiencing a dream within a dream may be a way to deal with items from the subconscious mind. A dream within a dream may prevent the dreamer from waking up prematurely, and they often reflect a critical issue that the dreamer needs to confront and gain control of.
The many people who have described hitting the ground during a dream about falling are proof positive that hitting the ground in a dream is not a terminal experience. It is true, however, that dreams of falling often wake the dreamer, and that is probably where that old legend started.
Dream Journals
There is a guiding principle to dream interpretation, and Edgar Cayce said it best when he called for us to interpret the dreamer and not just the dream.
Dream interpretation is a tool. Just like the proverbial finger that points to the moon. Don’t focus on the finger, or you will miss out on all the celestial magic. Dreams are the finger, and they are pointing to the dreamer. Interpreting your dreams is an exercise in self-discovery and self-growth. They almost always refer back to you, and every character, image, and emotion usually refers to various parts of your psyche.
The primary purpose of dreams is to attempt to balance the psyche. Keeping this in mind will help you understand the meaning of your dreams and prevent you from getting way off track in your interpretation.
Trying to understand one dream in isolation is like trying to understand a person by spending one day with them. By recording all of your dreams in a dream journal, you will, over time, find it easier to understand individual dreams you have in the future.
Dreams are like plays or movies we create every night and have a similar structure. Looking for this structure when trying to understand your dreams can be helpful. Dream interpretation can be organized in the following ways:
- Location
- Where does the dream take place? How do you feel about that place? What emotions arise within you as you think about it? Does it have any relationship with a real place you know?
- Characters
- Who are the characters? How are you presented? Who is the antagonist? How do you feel about each of those people (including the presentation of yourself), and how do they relate to parts of your personality or people you know?
- Plot
- How does the action unfold? There is usually a beginning (where the story is established and begins to build), a middle (where a crisis peaks), and an end (where the problem gets resolved though sometimes dreams don’t provide the solution and ending in the middle of the story because it is up to you to provide the resolution).
Sometimes dreams can be very literal, and they are easy to understand. There is nothing wrong with asking whether the face value of the dream may have meaning for you.
Most often, however, dreams are shrouded in symbolism that points beyond the literal image. They can be trying to communicate a particular message that applies to your waking life, they may be merely trying to balance your emotional life, or they may hint at some thoughts or emotions in progress without any final resolution yet in mind.
Meaning of Dreams
Dreams are often messages from our subconscious mind that are resisted by our conscious mind. For this reason, the subconscious often cloaks the message in symbols, so the conscious mind can’t immediately reject or avoid the dream.
Unraveling these symbols can be very difficult but also a lot of fun. It’s the ultimate mystery and the most elaborate puzzle, but the answer is always within you.
Sometimes the answers are as simple as consulting a dream dictionary for the meaning of common symbols and archetypes. However, each person is different and has their dream dictionary. Your dream dictionary can change over time.
Dreams as Premonitions
Being able to foresee an unfortunate fact of life, like death, disaster, or illness, through a dream is very common. Anyone may dream of something good or bad happening to someone or themselves.
Based on the dictionary meaning, a premonition is a presentiment of the future; or a warning in advance, while a dream is a series of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations occurring involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep.’
We all know that dreams do play a role in our daily lives. The majority of people pay little attention to dreams. Dream interpretation can help us find solutions to our everyday problems and see things from a different perspective. Whenever we dream, we can be who or what we want to be, even though sometimes it cannot be in real life. Dreams have their interpretation. For example, dreaming about loose, rotten, or missing teeth indicates that a family member or close friend is very sick or near death. You can learn the meaning of your dreams by referencing a Dream Dictionary.
A premonition, as defined earlier, maybe a warning in advance. Many people have had visions in different types of situations. When we say premonition, it is conveyed through dreams. A certain foreboding of what will happen soon, but in a vague sense. Many cases of suspicions are documented before a disaster, such as when the Titanic sank in 1912. There were over fifty counts of recorded premonitions before the event. Some of the passengers who had a hunch canceled their tickets before riding the Titanic and were saved from the horrible disaster that ended up taking place.
Dreams serve as a premonition depending on the dream itself. If a person dreams about the whole scenario of an event, it can or may happen in the future. Yet, in another view, it can be just a dream that she had but has a different significant meaning. Unfortunately, a dream can serve as a premonition, yet, at the same time, it also cannot be.
We could say that a dream served as a premonition when it foretold something that could happen in real life. But, if your dream was out of glorious anticipation of what you have been thinking, it may be just from your subconscious mind.
Whether the dream you had has something to do with what could happen or, instead, maybe just the subconscious mind revealed through a dream can be hard to decipher. At the end of the day, when you are interpreting your dreams, you must tap into your intuition and listen closely to what it has to say.
Dreams and the Ancient World
Dream Interpretation by dream experts may be almost as old as dreaming itself. We know that all humans, and many animals, dream every night, and humans have always been fascinated to learn what causes dreams and what they mean.
Dream Interpretation dates back at least as far as 3000-4000 B.C. We know that because the variations of dreams were recorded in permanent form on clay tablets. It is thought that many primitive peoples could not initially distinguish between the natural and dream worlds. In many cases, these people looked upon the dream world as an extension of the physical world around them, and in many cases, they saw the dream world as more potent than the waking one.
Dream interpretation was an essential field in the ancient Greek and Roman world, and dream interpreters often accompanied generals and other military leaders into battles. Dreams were taken extremely seriously; the Greeks and Romans, in particular, often viewed dreams as messages sent by their Gods.
Dreams also had a religious context in ancient Egypt, and priests there doubled as dream interpreters. Dreams were among the items recorded by the ancient Egyptians in the form of hieroglyphics. Those whose dreams were exceptionally vivid or significant were thought to be blessed and were given special status in these ancient societies. Likewise, people who could interpret dreams were considered to receive these gifts directly from the gods and enjoyed a special status in society.
There are over 700 mentions of dreams in the bible, and people in biblical times saw dreams as very significant. Dreams and their interpretations are mentioned in many of the most important books of the bible and other holy scriptures.
In many cases, dreams were often seen as a form of prophecy. People often interpreted their dreams as omens or warnings and adjusted their activities accordingly. Dreams were often thought of as omens from deities, as messages from spirits or departed souls. In some cases, dreams were even seen as the work of demons, meant to confuse and trouble the dreamer.
Dreams were so important that they often dictated the actions of political and military leaders, affecting everything from the prosecution of a battle to the outcome of a political decision. Dreams were also thought to provide vital clues to healers, and they were used in the diagnosis and treatment of all manners of illness.
Dreaming was often looked upon by indigenous peoples as a way to commune directly with Gods and Spirits, and dreams are still used in this way by cultures around the world. Many people believed, and some still do, that the soul leaves the body during dream sleep and communes with the spirit world.
The Chinese were one culture that believed that the soul left the body each night during dream sleep. They thought that if the dreamer were suddenly awakened, the soul might not be able to return to the body. That is why some Chinese are still cautious about using alarm clocks. This is just one example of how ancient legends can linger in the modern world.
Some Indigenous Mexican and Native American societies share this ancient view of the importance of dreams and share the belief in a separate dimension that is visited during dream sleep. These people believed their departed ancestors lived in their dreams and that they could take forms like animals and plants. Thus dreams were seen as a way for them to commune with their recent and ancient ancestors and to gather wisdom and knowledge that would serve them in their waking lives. Dreams were also seen as ways to collect information about their purpose or mission in life.
The respect for dreams changed radically early in the 19th century, and dreams in that era were often dismissed as reactions to anxiety, outside noises, or even lousy food and indigestion. During this period, dreams were thought to have no meaning, and interest in dream interpretation evaporated. However, this changed with Sigmund Freud’s arrival in the 19th century. Sigmund Freud stunned the world of psychiatry by stressing the importance of dreams, and he revived the once-dead art of dream interpretation.
A Psychic Perspective
Dream interpretation may offer a window into what is occurring in our unconscious mind. Empowering yourself by setting intentions for restful sleep and a vibrant dream space is possible. Learning to understand dreams and use this as a catalyst for greater personal awareness or even to manifest your desired life. It is possible to look at the dream space clairvoyantly. There may be messages your spirit is trying to convey to you. Using clairvoyant meditation and tools, it is possible to ground and set the energy for dreamtime, adding a deeper energetic connection to your experiences.
If you want to explore psychic tools, meditation, and psychic development, sign up for our Clairvoyant Meditation Free Open House to learn about course offerings or book a psychic reading or spiritual healing through The Psychic School.
