Dream Journals and Dream Symbols
I always, always, always recommend that my readers keep a dream journal.
Dream analysis is utterly fascinating and the best way to get ALL you can from the experience is to keep a dream journal. Even if the dream seems unspectacular and commonplace, you should write down the details.
For example, in your dream journal you should include the following information:
- How you felt during the dream.
- How you felt when you first awoke.
- Who was in the dream with you.
- The predominant colors in your dream.
- Any dream symbols you recall
- The date
- VERY IMPORTANT: Include a few words about how you felt during the day. I’ll tell you why in a minute.
You don’t have to go into great, lengthy details in your dream journal (unless you want to, of course!). You can simply write down a series of words and names. Just remember to include HOW you felt during and after the dream. You don’t even HAVE to have an actual dream journal, you could most definitely use an old notebook! However, don’t use random loose sheets of paper. Why? They’ll inevitably get lost and unorganized. What you’re looking for is a pattern. You need to see what dream symbols you frequently dream about and what people show up often in your dreams.
You also want to watch for situations or emotions that recur in your dreams. Do you often lose things in your dreams (a sign that you feel overwhelmed)? Are you often mistreated in your dreams (a sign that you feel like a victim)? So, as you can see, it will greatly benefit you to have your dreams chronicled in a very organized and ordered manner.
Why What’s Happening in Your Life at the Time Matters
You want to include what’s going on in your life at the time of the dream. For example, if you’re feeling stressed at work, write it down! You’ll be able to see what sort of dream symbols and situations occur when you’re dealing with stress in your life. Also… and this is pretty cool…. you’ll often find out exactly WHAT or WHO is causing you the most stress! If you have recurring “frustration” dreams and a certain co-worker consistenly shows up in them, he or she is a source of your stress and frustration. It could be one small thing they do (or fail to do) that irritates you or it could be every single thing about them! On the other hand, the stress could possibly come from the fact you don’t know how to handle or deal with them. Only you will know for sure.
The thing is, the dream journal and your entries in it will give you a great place to start looking for the root of your stress.
Emotions we feel during the day impact our dreams like nothing else. If we experience FEAR during a movie, for example, we’ll probably face it again in an upcoming dream. That’s why we always say, “I dread my dreams tonight!” after seeing horror movies. We know all too well the fear factor will rear its ugly head again!
The same is true with other emotions. If we feel angry or annoyed, something will probably happen in our dreams that angers or annoys us. It’s as though our dream tries to sort out the strong emotions by “acting out” similar scenarios. Also, if we’re feeling particularly close to someone, we may have dreams that are very pleasant, positive, and even romantic.
This is why it’s so important to jot down a few words about how you’re feeling in “the real world” at the time of the dreams.
I hope you’ll strongly consider keeping a dream journal. The benefits are amazing and, trust me, you’ll have a really fun time!
The Bedside Dream Journal: A Nighttime Memory Book, shown at the top of the post, is an excellent dream journal. It’s available on Amazon for just a little over $10.
Dream Interpretation: Hole in the Road Nightmare
Hole in the Road Dreams: What they mean and why it matters!
A recent dreamer submitted a frustrating dream they were having for analysis. This dream involved a hole in the road that they knew they had to avoid. In fact, in the dream, they were aware of the fact that falling in the hole meant certain death.
The funny thing was, they could see into the hole and it was only about a foot deep and beautiful yellow flowers were on the bottom! The dreamer wondered why such a shallow, innocent looking hole would elicit such fear in the dream. As he/she pointed out, “… the thing that had me so frightened during the dream, and even after I first woke up, seems silly now. It looked like a flower bed that had sunk about a foot!” However, the dreamer also mentioned that this was actually one of the worst nightmares they’d had in a long time and that they woke up “frightened” and “breathing heavily.”
While it may seem that avoiding the hole would have been easy, the hole in the dream was on a very narrow road that the dreamer HAD to travel on. They simply HAD to get past the hole without falling in. Dreams are amazing like that, we just KNOW something but most dreamers have no idea where the knowledge stems from. What makes these dreams even more fascinating is the fact that the knowledge does stem from someplace… the dreamer’s subconsciousness. Which is, of course, why dream interpretation is so important and fascinating – our dreams truly do let us know what’s going on deep in our minds and hearts.
In the dream of the hole in the road, the dreamer KNEW that the innocent-looking hole was deadly. While this may be a bit extreme for what lies in their day to day world, make no mistake about it: There is something in their life that spells trouble. Whether it’s a relationship, hobbies, a goal, plans, job, etc… There is something that, while on the surface seems innocent (as lovely perhaps as a flower bed), could spell disaster. Deep in the dreamer’s subconsciousness, they know it.
The thing about this dream that worries me most is how the dreamer felt during the dream and upon waking. So much about a dream’s interpretation lies in how the dreamer felt (or feels). The intensity of the feelings indicates that the potential danger that lies within the dreamer’s real life isn’t something they should play around with. When our dreams are this intense and bring about such strong emotions and feelings, make no mistake about it, our subconscious mind REALLY wants us to listen!
Of course, changes in our lives shouldn’t be made on the grounds of a dream alone. The dream should serve as a reason to look more closely at what’s going on in our lives.
If you’ve ever had a dream about a hole in the road (or along your path) that you were afraid of falling in, realize that it’s symbolic of something in your life – something that you’re afraid of “falling into” or “falling prey to.”
Some people, who have recently quit smoking, will have hole dreams. The dream symbolism is that they’re afraid of falling back into a harmful habit. Many times, realizing that their subconscious mind fears for their well-being is JUST the extra incentive they need to avoid the pitfalls while awake as surely as they do in their dream.
Have you ever personally had hole dreams. Do you realize what the hole in the dream symbolized? Share your dream and experiences in the comments!
Dreaming of Being Left Behind
What does it mean to dream of being left behind? If you dream that you have been left behind, it is symbolic of an inner feeling of inadequacy. Many people feel that this type of dream means they have been wronged in some way or that others don’t like them. In all actuality, however, dreaming of being left behind has absolutely nothing to do with anyone else. It’s all you, sport!
This is the perfect example of why I always say that dreams can be very helpful in self improvement and self growth. When we get tuned in to our dreams and dream symbols, we’ll realize just how much they tell us about ourselves. We can then, of course, take this information and use it constructively and proactively.
If you have a dream where you have been left behind, mark it down: There is something about you that you feel insecure or unsure about. It could be physical or it could not be physical! Below are just some of the areas in a person’s life that could cause them to have feelings of insecurity:
- Weight
- Intelligence
- Personality
- Shyness
- Grammar
- Education
- Vehicle they drive
- House they live in
- Friends
- Family
- Guilt over something they’ve done
- Job or “title”
- Speech
- General appearance
The list, of course, goes on and on. The point is, the insecurity could come from just about anyplace – only the dreamer knows for sure. However, there may be clues in the dream that point to the area of insecurity. Look for the following four clues:
- In the dream, do the people who are leaving you behind have anything in common? For example, are they all rich, skinny, outgoing, etc? If they are glaring similar in some way, you may feel that you are lacking in this area.
- In the dream, is money involved in any way? If someone has left you behind while they go shopping, you may feel insecure about your financial situation.
- In the dream, has EVERYONE left you behind – that is to say EVERY single person in the dream? You probably feel lonely and isolated in your day to day life and are (whether rightly or wrongly) pointing your fingers at the area in which you feel insecure or inefficient.
- In the dream, has everyone left you behind because they’re angry at you? If this is the case, you may feel insecure about something you’ve done or something you failed to do. Feelings of guilt cause us to feel that we don’t quite measure up to others and that we’re worthy of being abandoned.
Here’s a completely different dream about being left behind: What if YOU are the one leaving someone or something behind? This type of dream has a different meaning, all together. If you dream that you have or are leaving someone, something, or someplace behind, the symbolism is that you are “leaving behind” the past. This could be a bad habit, a feeling of guilt, anger or resentment toward someone in particular, etc. It could also symbolize leaving a job, school, home, or relationship.
If you’ve had any dreams similar to these, please tell us about them in the comments!
What Does it Mean to Dream About Snakes?
Snake dreams continue to be the most popular type of dream here on Dream Prophesy. The reason for this is pretty clear and totally understandable, however that’s of little comfort when someone has such an unsettling dream!
The reason snake dreams are so popular and common is this: Snakes are (deservedly or not) a universal symbol of everything evil, wrong, scary, frightening, and bad.
Thanks, Eve.
Snakes represent, to most of us anyway, great fear and uncommon anxiety. Granted, there are those who love snakes with the same type of adoration the rest of us have for our cats, dogs, birds, guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, and so on. As a matter of fact, when a lot of people talk about their beloved pet, they’re referring to a snake. And when these snake-lovers have dreams about snakes, they usually symbolize something entirely different. When they dream about snakes, they’re no more alarmed that I would be if I dreamed about cats. As someone with four cats, this is completely common for me and I never give it a second thought.
For most of us, however, snakes do represent BAD (fear, anxiety, frustration…). Common symbol for BAD = A common dream.
Here’s something that I find to be extremely fascinating. I’ve been a dreamologist for over 10 years. That’s a lot of dreams to be analyzed and studied! I’ve noticed something over the years that fascinates me. MANY adults who work with kids, particularly teachers, frequently have a similar dream involving snakes:
They’ll confront a snake (or another representation of evil) that they’re trying valiantly to destroy. Many will even say things like, “I know it’s going to hurt a lot of people and I want to stop it…” However, they can’t get anyone to get on board with them and help out. The frustration of the dream stays with these dreamers as much as the image of the snake or snakes do. One of the reasons I believe this is so common is that teachers, undoubtedly, often feel very much “up against it.” They love kids and sincerely want to help them. They’ve dedicated their lives to them, so they obviously feel very strongly about young people. However, they can’t do everything.
They feel very overwhelmed, at times, due to a lack of parental support and/or a lack of support from the school system, principal, school board, etc. Teachers aren’t even paid as much as they deserve – no doubt the frustration sometimes gets to them. How could it not? Although most handle it admirably and you’d never really know the lack of support they sometimes encounter, their subconscious mind ALWAYS knows. the subconscious mind realizes just how much the individual sometimes feels as though he or she is fighting for a child or children without anyone backing them up.
Enter the snake.
Honestly, this is such a recurring theme for people involved in education and kids that books could be written. Needless to say, the theme is actually beautiful – the thought that people who are in charge of kids care so much about “saving” them and protecting them that it carries over to their dreams.
Snakes, for most people are dream symbols for something (anything, really) that’s evil, bad, scary, or undesired in any way. When we have things on our mind during the day that are negative, to put it simply, they show up in our dreams dressed as snakes.
Appropriate attire for evil.
Whether you work with kids or not, snakes symbolize something that you are afraid of, intimidated by, anxious about, or worried about. It may be a tiny seed of fear deep inside of you – one that you barely even know exists. The thing is, your subconscious mind knows it’s there. Dreams are its way of getting the fear out into the open, allowing you to confront it and deal with it.
If, like teachers, you find yourself trying to do something about the snake but can’t seem to find any support or help – your dream interpretation is similar to the teacher’s. You feel, in your waking life, a lack of support from the people around you. You often feel that you’re fighting a battle alone.
Snake dreams will usually subside once you realize that this fear, and possible isolation, exists. A word of caution, however: As with all unsettling dreams – try very hard not to dwell on them, especially right before going to sleep. Doing so only invites the dream to RECUR, and when it comes to snake dreams, that’s the last thing any of us want.
When You Dream of Bad Things Happening to Someone You Love
Although this is a common type of dream, it’s one that few people really want to think about – let alone try to find the dream interpretation!
Have you ever dreamed that something bad happened, or was about to happen to someone you love, as you watched? A recent reader recently sent me a dream to analyze that involved her watching as her husband was robbed by someone dressed as Richard Nixon.
How amazing is that?!
Anyway, she said that she watched as her husband handed over all of his money to “President Nixon.” She wanted to help her husband, especially since at one point it looked as though he was about to be hit on the head with a bat, but she was frozen in place.
When analyzing dreams, I often go with my initial gut reaction and this time I felt 110 percent confident with it. After complimenting her brain on its creativity (!!!), I e-mailed her back something along these lines:
While we often dream about something happening to our loved ones as a reaction to being worried about them (even more than usual) – we often dream these types of dreams when we’re upset with them – even incredibly angry at them! This dream would be that type of dream. The fact that the husband was the only one in any sort of danger indicates that he alone is on the recieving end of negative feelings. The good news is that since he wasn’t actually harmed, the feelings weren’t terribly bad!
Something else that’s interesting is the symbolism of money. The fact that the husband had to give all of his money away, while the wife retained her own purse and possessions indicates that the negative feelings spring from a financial disagreement, difference of opinion, or even resentment.
The only thing that mystified me was the Richard Nixon mask. I kept wondering why him? I went over a few things in my mind, such as what he represented:
- Trickiness (“Tricky Dicky”)?
- Dishonesty?
- History?
- Maligned?
I simply e-mailed her my thoughts, ignoring our ex-Presidentfor the time-being. I got an e-mail back within a few hours. It was filled with exclamation marks, because she thought I’d nailed it.
Apparently, her husband had recently spent a great deal of money on purchase that she felt was frivolous. She explained how they’d argued, how she had wanted a kitchen hutch, how he had stormed off to sit and sulk in McDonald’s for 3 hours (I love this guy! – I pointed out how lucky she was that he drowned his anger in milkshakes as opposed to something else!).
Then, she said the magic words that solved my Nixon mystery – she said that on the day he’d gotten his bonus check, he called and said he’d be home a few hours late, that he had to “pick something up.” She thought the something was the kitchen hutch she’d been eyeing for months. SO, when McDonald’s Mike (not his real name) showed up with a golfer’s dream set in the pick-up rather than a wife’s dream, she was floored. She said she met him outside and lit into him. She told him that it all felt like a “dirty trick” – aha! That’s where the Richard Nixon mask came in! Tricky Dicky strikes again.
It reminds me of the time my oldest two daughters had a HUGE fight when they were younger. The oldest one told me the following day that she’d had a dream that her younger sister was attacked and eaten by a crocodile. I asked, “Awww, are you upset by the dream?” (I was ready to reassure her that it was just a dream, and that nothing like that would ever happen.) My speech wasn’t necessary, though, because when asked if she was upset by the dream, she just said, “No, not really.” Then she smiled and went outside to ride her bike!
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