How To Analyze Your Dreams More Effectively

August 1st, 2007

This article is part of the series Mastering the Art of Lucid Dreaming. If this is your first visit to the site, I recommend starting at the beginning of the series.

When analyzing their dreams, too many dreamers fall back on the standard definitions found in a dream dictionary. Dream symbolism can vary considerably from person to person, making most dream dictionaries only marginally useful. Dreamers should never rely solely on the standard dream dictionary definitions for interpretation.

We all have our own personal filters through which we interpret information, both while awake and asleep. These filters create the personal context in which our mind creates each dream scene. When analyzing a dream to discover its meaning, it's important to consider not only the overall context in which a particular dream symbol appeared but also the personal context.

After recording the details of your dream in your journal, you must ask yourself what each dream symbol means to you personally. An object or event that means one thing to one person may mean something entirely different to someone else, and as such, a dream symbol that holds one meaning for you may hold a different meaning for someone else. A dream symbol may have a frightening meaning for some dreamers, while for other dreamers it may hold no fear whatsoever. To most people, a knife might seem frightening. To a chef in a fancy restaurant, a knife is nothing more than another kitchen tool.

For this reason, it's extremely important to ask yourself, "What does this (object, place, event) represent for me personally?" By asking yourself this question, you'll be able to develop your own personal dream dictionary containing definitions that represent your own interpretations of individual dream symbols and what they really mean to you, not what they mean to anyone else.

When analyzing your dreams, it is important to keep in mind that other characters in your dreams may represent aspects of yourself. Though a friend or family member may appear in your dreams, that person may represent himself or may instead represent a quality or aspect of yourself. He may even represent a quality or trait you recognize in that friend and desire for yourself, or may have an entirely separate symbolic meaning.

The appearance of your father in a dream may be your unconscious mind's portrayal of your father himself, or instead may be a metaphor for something you associate with your father, such as authority, leadership, or support. Likewise, a particular friend may represent freedom, spontaneity, sorrow, or any number of other qualities.

The same is true of the appearance of animals within our dreams. Animals often represent hidden aspects of our own personality, or traits and qualities we subconsciously would like to adopt in order to handle a particular situation or relationship.

Consider the individual animal featured in the dream and which traits and qualities are readily identifiable in that animal. Are they traits and qualities you feel you lack? Or traits and qualities you think you exhibit too strongly? Also consider your personal relationship to that type of animal in waking life. Your relationship with the animal will help you interpret its significance in the dream. For example, one person may have a strong dislike for snakes, while another may keep a snake as a pet. What the snake symbolizes for the first person may differ greatly from what it symbolizes for the second person. You must determine what each person, animal, or object signifies for you personally.

You also may find that your emotions take on tangible form in your dreams. Emotions such as anger, frustration, jealousy, joy, love, or concern may take on the role of a person, object, or even a place within your dreams. A specific fear may be embodied by a particular person or creature in your dream, or may appear as a frightening item.

After you record your dream in your journal, take the opportunity to explore what each aspect of the dream means to you. Consider first the people, objects, or events that stood out the most. Which part of the dream was most vivid? Was there a specific thing that grabbed your attention? What did it look like and what was it doing? What could that item represent or what could it mean to you in waking life?

Always go back to the same question: What does this represent for me personally?

If you're uncertain what a particular dream symbol may mean to you, try this freenoting technique: Using a pen or pencil and a piece of paper, contemplate the dream symbol for a moment then quickly jot down anything that comes to mind, no matter how irrelevant or obscure the thought may be. Your unconscious mind speaks in symbols and metaphor, and symbols often have unexpected meanings, so don't worry if something seems unrelated. Write it down anyway. Continue to write down any words or ideas that pop into your mind. Allow your mind to freely wander through its own list of potential interpretations. Don't try to control the process. That usually does nothing more than stifle the flow of thought. Don't concentrate too intently on any one word, unless that word suddenly strikes you as the correct interpretation. When that sudden burst of recognition occurs, it is most likely a signal from your unconscious mind that you have stumbled onto the appropriate answer.

If a particular mood or tone was prevalent in the dream, take that into consideration when evaluating the dream's potential meaning. How you feel when you first awaken from the dream may be a strong indicator of whether or not the dream is a simple rehashing of the day's events or whether it holds greater significance. If a specific emotion was strongest in the dream, consider which situations in waking life most often trigger that particular emotion. There's a good chance the dream is a reflection of those situation in your waking life.

Observe your dream journal entries over time to identify patterns. Your unconscious mind may be sending you the same message in various forms, or you may have a specific mental or emotional issue that frequently surfaces in your dreams. The more dreams you record, the more likely you are to identify your personal dream symbols and patterns.

Keep in mind not every dream has life-changing significance. There are several different dream types. Some dreams act as a way for your mind to review the events of the day, some allow you to release pent up emotions, and others act as wish fulfillment. Some dreams may hold more significance, triggered by your unconscious mind in its effort to guide your conscious mind toward important information or to help you make the best decisions. Some dreams may have more collective or archetypal connotations. Many dreams will contain elements of more than one dream type. Only you can determine if a dream has deeper meaning for you.

In order to encourage dreams of significant meaning to occur more often, spend a few minutes each night reviewing the day's events. You may write about the events of the day in a journal or simply spend a few minutes in quiet contemplation replaying the day in your mind. By doing this immediately before bedtime, you'll relieve your unconscious mind of the need to rehash the day's events in symbolic form in your dreams, which will free up your dream time for more beneficial pursuits.