How to Interpret Dreams

We are such stuff as dreams are made on,

and our little life

is rounded with a sleep.

~ William Shakespeare

Hey, Lovelies!

Are you one of those people experiencing vivid dreams lately?

And if you are, have you been wondering what they might mean?

Your dreams are yours alone. We all interpret dreams differently, based on our own personal internal dictionary of words, colours, signs and symbols. Using a dream decoder written by someone else will be next to useless except as an amusement, so instead I suggest the following technique, which is loosely based on the work of Carl Jung. It’s one of my favourite techniques, and it has worked for so many of my readers, students and community.

I had a dream once in which I was running around in this pair of sparkly red shoes, talking to all of these bizarre and interesting people. It was only near the end of the dream that I realized somewhere along the way I’d lost all of my clothes except my shoes. Not that anyone else was noticing…

So let’s work with this dream!

1. Give your dream a name, like a movie title. Make it dramatic and meaningful to you!  Lets call my dream “Oh My God – Me Naked in Red Shoes” 

2. Write down all the main characters. If they have no names, give them a description. For example: Me, Man with basket, Girl with dog.

3. Write a synopsis of your dream. This is like a summary, giving your dream a beginning, middle and end, where you put down all the main points, action and locations. At this stage in my dream about running around in red shoes, like a nude Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, I was pretty sure it was about me feeling exposed and vulnerable – out on display. Makes sense, hey? But bear with me, I’m not finished yet…

4. Write down any single image, phrase or action that stands out. For me, it was the image of the Red Shoes. These really stood out for me, as I’d NEVER in my life worn red shoes. (Mum impressed upon my sister and I that red shoes were very ‘cheap and flashy’.. Mind you I have two pairs now… Sorry, Mum!) Trust me – when you think back on your dream there will be one thing, and it might be a very small or seemingly insignificant detail, that just sticks in your head. You’d think the thing that stood out from this dream would have been the nudity, but no. That’s how the red shoes were for me. It was a smaller detail, but the one that stuck in my brain.

5. Now take a clean sheet of paper, draw a circle in the middle and write your image/action/phrase inside the circle. Do it just like the example below.

6. Draw several lines coming out from your circle – like little rays of sunshine a child would draw!

7. Now without giving this ANY thought (Don’t you DARE think!), use ‘stream of consciousness’ and immediately write connected words that you associate with red shoes, or whatever your particular thing is, coming off each of the lines. NO THINKING – JUST WRITE! My words in relation to red shoes were Television, Powerful, Confident, The Boss, Happy, Dancing, Joy, Self-Expression. Heaps different to my first ‘intellectual’ interpretation, don’t you agree?

8. Trust that what you bring through from your subconscious is actually what your dream is all about. All the rest of the dream is just filtering, and your BRAIN composting and analysing things.

Tips on Getting Ready To Dream

The Dream State is a powerful place for healing, transformation and Guidance. There are many ways that we can work with enhancing the dream state. These include reducing stimulants such as coffee and cola at least six hours before sleep, not going to bed on a hugely stuffed stomach, and avoiding arguments and violence or disturbing images in games, books or on television at least an hour before going to bed.

Dreaming Techniques for Conscious Connection

Get yourself a journal in which you can record your dreams, both waking (visions or daydreams) and in the sleep state. Before going to sleep, take half an hour to prepare yourself for conscious connection. Have a bath or shower, and imagine the water washing away any negativity.

When you are ready and warmly dressed, sit in meditation or lie quietly in bed ready for meditation. You may want to sip a cup of relaxing herbal tea first. It will soothe you and help you to move more easily into the meditative state.

Use a breathwork technique to calm yourself and slow your breathing. Give thanks for all of the positive events and energy you have encountered during your day. After drawing healing light into your body fill your body and aura with whatever colour comes to you. Literally fill yourself up with this colour.

Then sitting or lying quietly within your meditation, relax more deeply and offer up a prayer for Guidance. Ask that you be Guided in your dreams, and that you be opened up to higher and higher levels of Healing, Learning, Love and Light. Stay within the meditative pose for another ten or so minutes, being quiet, still and aware of any thoughts, sounds, images, colours or sensations that arise.

Record any information in your Dream Journal.

Before you go to sleep consciously ask to remember your dreams.

When you awake in the morning, keep your eyes closed, lie quietly on your back and do some breathwork, breathing in whatever colour light feels right for you. Visualise your whole aura flooded with this light.

Sit quietly and write any dreams or other impressions in your journal. (Make sure that you are comfortable and dressed warmly!) If you have time, once again sit in meditation for up to half an hour, and record any additional information or impressions that you receive.

Wishing you sweet dreams! Much love, Nicole xx