I get a lot of requests to interpret dream meaning and symbolism. Of course, I always have impressions to share, but I continue to stand firmly in the knowledge that dreams are personal oracles.
What do I mean by that? I mean your dream is a message for you and only you. Dreams are a form of self-communication. Dreams arise when certain aspects of yourself are reaching out to contact other aspects of yourself. That sounds redundant, but it’s not, really.
I contend humans are a sum of many, many parts (aspects, personalities, motives, heritages, etc), and dreams are a means of communication amongst these parts.
For example, a deep-rooted aspect of myself that moves from a place of insecurity may send a prophetic dream to a higher, more sure-footed aspect of myself whose job it is to interpret the dream. The dream meaning in this context holds a key to soothing or healing that insecure aspect.
If this sounds confusing, don’t let it. Here’s an analogy:
We are each an ocean. Our waters rise and fall in cyclical rhythms that are at once natural and mystical. And, within our waters stirs ancient life in infinite varietes. Some of this life we know intimately. Others lurk more deeply, and our knowledge of these life forms is slight.
Dreams churn our energetic waters, move the silt, and bring deeper aspects in contact with more familiar waters. This allows us to pick up new treasures and discoveries (in the form of personalities, tendencies and behaviors) that have surfaced in awareness.
Should we fear the unknowns in our watery depths? Not at all.
There is nothing in the grand body that does not know itself. There is nothing within the totality of the ocean that is excluded – all is known – all is accepted.
Making an effort to contemplate various dream meaning is a form of self-acceptance as well as self-communication.
In the end, we must swim in ourselves, and do so playfully – as a child would splash in the waters of the sea, fearless, unabashed and exilerated by the experience.
Better yet, be adventursome in the pursuit of determining your own dream meanings. There’s something empowering and alluring about self-discovery.
Go exploring. Approach your energetic waters like a saucy pirate lustily stroking the crest of a wave as if it were a lover by your side.
I digress…
Succinctly put, dreaming meaning and self-communication boils down to the grand tennet:
“Temet Nosce.” Know Thyself.
Sleepwalk through my other pages on dream meaning:
Common Dream Symbols and their Meanings
“In the end, we must swim in ourselves.” Boy, you ain’t just whistling dixie … 😕 Loved the post! Argh!
I just finished taking my walk and have more to add … all that blood circulating to the brain, I think. I find that there are other things going on in dreams that surpass internal communication. Maybe you do, too. For example, I’ve had strong karmic ties to individual(s), for better or worse, and those ties manifest in dreams, i.e., knowing when they are thinking of me, knowing when they come a’knocking. I’ve had intense competitive tendencies manifest in dreams. Also, dreams will tell me if someone I know or have met (always face to face) is a past life memory. I had a dream once about a gal I worked. She and I were priestess in a wooded temple, bringing gifts to the earth. When our karma resolved itself (in thise case quietly), the dreams went away, and the relationship dissolved.
Interesting.
D~
Holy crayola Donna, what a fabulous way of knowing! That’s got so many layers to it, it puts me in a spin. Love the complexity, depth and richness that you’re describing here. I keep coming to the word “layers” …. you know, life and energy is impressed on itself time after time after time. AND knowing is impressed upon itself too – like a luscious stack of Pringles potato chips. Outstanding. Thanks so much for sharing this.
I just love pringles.
:-}~
I’m finding dreams to be a wonderful indication of progress in my process, a truth-telling window into my inner landscape. I LOVE and am comforted by the fact that so much can be happening in me and that my head does not have to be consciously aware of it!
To me, this is the mystery and magic of being partners and co-creators with the universe, and deep confirmation that there is unknown and inseen support at all times.
Right on, right on! Relish how you phrased this response Licia!
hi, i was hoping to ask you about cardinals.. only not in dreams i have a friend who has one follow him around and knocks on his window every morning. his grandfather mentioned sending him red birds before he passed… is there soemthing my friend should do?
@Sarah,
These may offer more clarity to your process:
http://www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-symbolism-cardinal.html
-and-
http://www.symbolic-meanings.com/2007/09/28/symbolic-meaning-of-cardinals/
Be well.
Avia
hi…i had a dream about saturns and witches haunting me….wat does tat mean….curious to know….?
Durka, I recommend Liara Covert: http://blog.dreambuilders.com.au/services/ or Michele Knight: http://www.micheleknight.co.uk/ for an interpretation.
what would a dream of yourself in animated form mean? anyone know?
I had a dream i turned into a wolf and ran through a forest at night. I dont know what this means and ive had a few more dreams with wolves in them. The wolves werent hostile. In one, they were quite happy and were colored black and white.
Comments, thoughts, suggested web pages greatly appreciated.
Thanks, Pyxis
Ive been dreaming about this man but its blurred, and i dont even know if its a dream or a nightmare, its constant really, and now i’ve been afraid of sleeping, cause the mere fact that i thought i was awake while im seeings that blurred man standing before me terrified me, it kept on happening. But recently he’s not just standing, cause he’s beside me and he poked my side i screamed but my voice is muffled. I dont know but i think its not healthy anymore, im afraid of him i’ve tried lucid dreaming but im afraid i might caught sleep paralysis,.. please tell me what can i do ?? It frustate me really