Exploring Dreams - Insights vs. Imagination by Psychic Levana

Research tells us the individual dreams an average of 7 to 8 dreams per night, but we tend to forget most of these within five minutes of waking up.  Honestly, I cannot tell just how many dreams I forget in the morning, but very often my mind is bursting with the images, events, sounds and impressions from the dream of the night before. And they all don't always make sense, especially not immediately.

Like the other night when I dreamt of a friend of mine getting married - his face strangely covered in henna (usually it is limited to the hands!) and being smothered by his family around him. My friend has no plans of marriage looming and he is not a fan of henna! The dream only clicked into place when I met him later that day, realizing it was exactly his state of mind having visited family after a long time.

The details in this quick little dream were not just relevant but also accurate. From henna to family, each offered a window into his mental constitution at the time, as picked up by my intuitive mind. No, this wasn't just idle ramblings or my mind tripping out!

There are times when decoding a dream requires I ignore a few details to get to the bottom of things. These dreams can be so rich in their metaphors and representations, that paying equal attention to every single aspect can get overwhelming. Sometimes these details are there just to reinforce the core message of the dream; other times it is just the mind taking creative liberty.

Take for instance, a recent dream from a couple of nights ago. I spent hours and days traveling across the mountains. I journeyed by bus, train, and foot. There were vivid adventures, unknown locations and unknown faces I encountered, all the while a lone traveler in a beloved but strange landscape.

I woke up feeling like I had studied for a history test - my head was full of names, places, events and outcomes! But what stood out most was the distinct sense of feeling lost, like I was drifting. That emotion I knew was the key to this dream! All the detail it came with helped induce that feeling, but these details, the names and faces, were secondary to it.

How do you know which part of your dream matters, holds that nugget of insight, and which part is just your mind working on creative overtime? How do you know whether a detail or a dream is valuable insight into your subconscious or unconscious, or whether it is sheer imagination?

Truth be told, out dreams are just as diverse and individualized as the minds and faces that paint them into being. You may need to sit down and work out your own dream vocabulary to answer this question. But here are a few pointers to keep in mind.

When it comes to Dream Interpretation, how you feel is more important than what you see. In fact, a simple test to check just how significant a detail was is to check if you had an emotional response to it in the dream.

Did you focus on this detail in the dream, and did it elicit an emotional response from you while you were dreaming? Or is it something that has caught your fancy now that you are awake, maybe because of its visual richness, maybe because an online resource mentions it could be important, or maybe because you have a theory and focusing on the detail helps support it?

If you want to be sure, go back to what and how you experienced the events and images while in dream state. There could be a marked difference in how your mind projects its message when asleep and when awake, and the two may not always concur. Emotion offers a simple map to knowing what is important when asleep and dreaming.

Think of your dreams, however short or long, as a Hollywood movie production. There are going to be scenes, extras, sets and backdrops, musical scores, and detailed dialogue that could run into reams and reams of paper. But the original story, the core plot line could possibly be summed up in less than 500 words! Try doing the same for your dream, and you may find a lot of the details and aspects fall away from your focus.

If you want to really sharpen your dream interpretation skills, read up! There are vast resources about the meaning of elements, colors, animals, events, etc. Knowing what a symbol or a detail means puts you in a better position to determine its relevance.

I would recommend using your own dreams as a lesson plan.  Look up the different aspects and symbols your mind is projection to begin mapping out your own dream vocabulary. Also, it is best to not swallow all that you read whole - dreams are highly individualized and often situation specific in their imagery, so not every interpretation you find online or in a book may apply to you. You may have your own way of using a symbol, yet very often there is common ground to explore and these resources help with that.

This applies to all dreams - the terrifying nightmares and the wonderful fantasies. Do not, I repeat, do not let your fears take hold of the narrative. They will only color your dream in greys and blacks, and amplify the smallest concerns into the biggest challenges. Not only does your dream take on a gloomier interpretation, but you may lose focus of what is really being said, the little harmless details may seem more important than they really are!

For instance, dreaming that you are in a house full of tigers may sound harrowing. If your fears get to determine the script, it is an excruciating warning sign. But really the fact that you feel no fear while in this house and among these tigers, is a key into the benign nature of the dream, something that your fears are inclined to wash out.

Maintaining a dream journal is such a healthy tool because it allows us to record our dreams, step away and then come back to them. Being able to return to the dream, its story and details again and again can sometimes help you get a more neutral and grounded interpretation, especially when the details are just overwhelming and confusing. If something sticks out in your journal entry, even on the twentieth reading, you know it is more than just creative detailing.

Available Now and Coming Soon to Psychic Source by Levana:

• Learning to Interpret Your Dreams