Someone posts on Facebook. “I had this dream last night. Any thoughts? ” They then describe the usual puzzling, often bizarre symbols and narratives so common in dreams. People weigh in.
“Interesting images” says one person, One might share a definition from a dream dictionary. Others stab at it. Often the message is seen as literal (“my mother is going to die.”) Some symbols might make some sense, maybe. A few might feel the outline of something. But something is wrong with this picture?
Dreams are a baffling mystery to most of us, especially why we have them in the first place. Often we sense something important is going on, something significant is being communicated, if we could only grasp it. To those who know dreams, however,their structures, rules and purpose are very clear, know how to unlock that mystery, and realize what an amazing tool for healing they are.
The dreamimg mind is an inlaid genius intelligent mechanism within the self. It is remarkable in its precision in revealing the landscape of the psyche of the individual, and more astonishingly always seeks to integrate that self to wholeness throgh its communication. But in attempting to understand them, the great majority of people do not understand the first great rule that powerfully guides us to correct interpretation.
This first great rule of dreams is they are a commentary on the waking life and what **the dreamer** is thinking, feeling, and responding to about situations, people and events _at the time of the dream_ in that waking life. Furthermore, they are most likely triggered by something that happened the day of the dream.
I have worked with dreams for over 25 years and very, very few people are aware of this. You might as well say “I felt bad yesterday, any comments?” Without the conscious life back story, unless a person is extremely psychic, it is virtually impossible to understand the dream’s meaning, With the proper context, the dream becomes far more accessible. Every dream worker worth their salt will emphasize this point.
Dreams express and clarify the waking life. Unless they come from what I call “Higher Self” energies, nothing can appear in a dream that is not internalized in in our daily “regular” existence.
An important corallary. Life issues can interface with and inform the content of depth of inner feelings about current life events. See my posts, “The Four Arcs of the Dream”-one writrten, one as video.
Moreover, dreams change only as the waking life changes. This is why recurring dreams are very similar or havev similar core elements, until a life change affects them.
Example.
A man has a recurring dream. He is in college but he continually finds himself in a labyrinth. (maze). He is looking for the Student Union where a fire burns at the hearth , bratwursts are plentiful with beverages, and there is warmth and fellowship. But he wanders lost and can never find the way to his friends.
What is this dream about?
The dream changes. It still opens up with him wandering in the labyrinth. But this time, over and over, the way opens up and he finds his way to his friends, the food, the warmth, the fellowship.
Why did the dream change? What is its meaning?
Can we see the absurdity in trying to understand the dream, or any dream, without the context of waking life?
With a quick back story, all becomes clear.
This man’s first marriage was not working out and his emotional life and feelings throughout were similar to feeling trapped in a never ending maze where access to the good feeling and warmth of life (primal associations in college) were always out of reach. When he divorced and remarried, and had a successful second union, the dream kept recurring but reflected his life changes. The warmth, good feeling, sense of release, and pleasure he now felt directly made their presence available in his dream as he no longer felt blocked.
It should be clear from this example that knowing the life story is crucial to understanding the dream. As important as this is, and it is foundational, it is but one component in being able to know our dreams. But if one does not create this “bridge”, as Gayle Delaney (yoursleepinggenius.com) calls it, then almost all attempts to know the dream’s meaning are fruitless.
I suggest the next time you share a dream, especially on social media, if you want any meaningful feedback, you have to share what was happening to you at the time of the dream also. You will be surprised at the leap in knowledge and insight.
