Five Habits of Dream Experts
At one time or another, we’ve all had a dream capture our heart. It thoroughly drenches our intellect with confusion yet seizes our curiosity with a fervor that won’t let go. Different times through the following days and weeks feelings and images from our dream experience catapult themselves into the path of our conscious thoughts. A fleeting smile appears on our face then vanishes. A surge of emotion erupts like a flare from the fiery belly of a volcano, leaving no trace of its existence short moments later.
If one of these moments happens to apprehend you while we’re perusing through a brick and mortar bookstore — all the better! There are at least a dozen books on dreams in close proximity. Once you’re standing in front of the dream book selection you find the thickest one, pull it from the shelf and turn to the dictionary. It can’t be that difficult to understand, right? I mean it’s only a dream.
Contrary to popular belief it’s nearly impossible to extract the true meaning from a dream by figuring out the meaning of a few symbols. One must look at the whole dream and apply the principles that govern both symbols as well as dreams in order to secure its meaning. You cannot simply glance in the direction of your dream and fully understand it. Dream experts know that the meaning of a dream is hard to pin down. It takes work, a whole lot of intentionality, and an understanding of metaphorical thinking.
Dreamers encounter many mysterious things in the land of Nod. Some seem to be on the tip of our tongues and others are shrouded in secrets too wonderfully mysterious to understand. The hearts of novices and experts alike are captured by these mysteries. But the difference between discovery and giving up all hope of understanding is revealed in the habits of those who have become dream experts.
Although there is much more to becoming a dream expert than learning these five habits, you can exchange bad habits for good and be well on your way to a better understanding of what you dream.
First, do not consult dream dictionaries or search engines to figure out what the symbols in your dreams mean. Instead, rely on dream principles that are tried and true. These include reducing your dream symbol down to its simplest meaning, avoid obsessing over bizarre symbols, consider interactions between the symbols (which can often affect their meaning), and be on the look out for word play.
Second, don’t be in a hurry. Take your time to write your dream down and then read through it to make sure you haven’t forgotten any important details. Dreams are often conversation starters. Once a dream kicks off a conversation it could take many dreams and several months to get the conversation moving, Take a deep breath, and allow yourself to be open to meandering through a dream instead of rocketing through it.
Third, don’t embark on the journey of understanding your dream alone. If you don’t personally know someone who interprets dreams I encourage you to send me your dream and I’ll work through it, One of most discouraging things you can do when you’re just beginning to understand dreams is to work in seclusion.
Fourth, title your dream. Very often when you force yourself to come up with a title of a dream, you pick up on a main theme without even realizing it. For example, if you have a dream where you find yourself attending three different football games you may choose the title “Game Day”. Those two words elude to a competition, and a field where something is going to be decided based on strategy, skill, and determination.
Fifth, be patient. I cannot tell you how many times I have been stuck trying to figure out a dream. I have to force myself to walk away and come back to it. It’s not that I forget about the dream, only that i don’t keep the dream as a focus of my attention. I move on to another dream, or do something else for a couple of days to allow my focus and perspective to shift. Many times after I come back to the dream problem after forcing myself to take a break from it, I get revelations that unlock the meaning I’ve been searching for.
It’s also important to do dream work everyday in order to become good at it. Everyone I know who grows in this gift seeks out opportunity to practice and does it often. You’ll make mistakes and that’s okay. No one is an expert at anything their first day. If you want to become a dream expert study your gift, become a good listener, and practice. It’s worth everything you put in.
If you’ve begun to put these habits into practice, how have they changed your understanding of dreams?
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EB