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Can you find the time to write what you remember?
It can be tempting when we wake up with a nice clear memory of our dream from the night before to take our time in writing it down. When our dreams seem so sure in our mind, it is easy to forget how quickly they can dissolve in the light of day. By having a bit of discipline and writing down our dreams as soon as we are able, preferably as soon as we wake up, we are far more likely to capture the essence of our dreams while it still fresh in our minds. If there isn’t much time to write first thing, try just writing a few key symbols or strong emotions. You can always come back an update the details later, but even better is to write as much detail as we can in the first place.
Dreams seem to be like ice cream, they just melt away in the sunshine! So capturing them when we have that precious opportunity is vital.
When did the events of your dreams really start?
In ancient times, numbers were believed to hold mystical powers, and even today we still hold certain numbers in high regards as “lucky numbers” and are suspicious of others as potentially bringing bad luck. The special associations we give to certain numbers often continues into our dreams. Just as certain numbers gain significance through history, so too can numbers gain special meaning through our own personal history. Some scholars suggest the number 13 is believed to be unlucky in Western Christian society because it was the thirteenth disciple, Judas, who betrayed Jesus, among other reasons. But in ancient pagan times 13 was not considered unlucky at all. (By the way, those who have an extreme fear of the number 13 are said to suffer from “triskaidekaphobia.”) When deciphering our dreams, it can be helpful to look back through our own lives and see when a number became significant to us. Moments of trauma, achievement and transition are the most common times a number gains a special personal significance to us.
If when we write our dreams, we use the number symbol instead of the word for any numbers that appear in our dreams, it can be easier to recognise them later. It is easy to scan a page to see “7″ than “seven” for instance. This can be applied to things like dreaming of 6 white birds, a 4 year old child, choosing between 3 doors, getting out a lift on the 20th floor, for example.
Numbers in dreams can refer to our age, or the age we were when a significant even occurred. Numbers can also appear in dreams as indicators of an address or house number we lived when an event happened. Numbers may also have special meaning such as number on a jersey or strip we wore when playing a team sport, the license plate on our first car or where we finished in an important competition, such as first second or third.
Another way numbers can play an important role in our dreams is an indicator of time. Numbers can give clues about when events hapenned in waking life that we are now dreaming about. Maybe we are dreaming about a stressful situation that is quite like another we had 5 years ago. Maybe this is about a project we started 3 months ago, or maybe it reminding us the importance of what somebody said 2 days ago when we weren’t really paying attention. Most dreams will draw on recent memories, usually within the last few days, unless the event we are dreaming about has connections or similarities with a significant even that occurred some time ago, even years ago.
Another common association dream numbers can have is to represent dates. This may be personal dates like birthdays, anniversaries and so on, or it could apply to newly significantdates like a looming deadline, then end of holiday’s or the day we start a new job. And of course, some numbers we have a special attachment to, and call them our “lucky” numbers. Dreaming of our lucky numbers in some way can be our subconscious helping us make a decision. If how we dream of our lucky numbers seems good, it can indicate to go with our choice; but if the outcome is negative (such as our 7 white birds falling our of the sky) this might encourage us to consider a different option, as to pursue our current course of action could be “unlucky.”
While our subconscious can reveal things we know deep down about how long things may take to happen in the future, it is wise to exercise great caution when interpreting numbers this way. While it may be one thing to dream of wedding on the 9th or a job interview on the 26th, it is quite another thing to assume we can predict a completely unknown event on a day that has not yet occurred. Numbers in dreams can be very easily misinterpreted when used in this way, so often the wisest behaviour is first, to come understand how numbers are communicating about our past and present, and try to do that accurately first. This will help us to identify patterns and repeating significance in our dreams, and that can reveal deep meaning as to the subconscious patterns at play in our waking lives.
What new parts of your self are you discovering?
It is quite common to dream of finding new rooms in a house. It may be the house we live in now, an old house or building we remember, or an entirely new and different dream house. While dreaming of particular rooms such as the kitchen, bedroom or bathroom can each have their on symbolic meaning, this post is specifically about the dream where we discover a new room in the house, one we did not know was there before.
Our feelings and reactions to this new room, or the series of new rooms will give us important clues as to how this relates to our lives. Do you feel awe inspired, excited and amazed? Do you feel a sense of nervousness and trepidation? Or do you simply not want to know, and decide to lock the door and keep this room hidden, a secret?
New rooms in a house can relate to areas in our lives where we are discovering new skills, abilities or strengths within ourselves. While we may feel we know who we are and what we are capable of, dreams of new rooms invite us to open our minds to the possibility that we have even greater potential than we thought. New rooms are like an extension of ourselves. Just because a house is built does not mean we need to move out when we need more space, we can extend and build to make the house accommodate our growing and changing needs. So too can we extend our own personality, to embrace new ways of living. Dreams of new rooms invite us to look at what we thought were our limitations, and to recognise that we can move beyond them.
How the room is decorated, who is in there with us, and what other furniture and items we see there can give us clues as to what area of our life we are expanding. Turning the light on in a dark room can be like shining the light of our conscious mind into a part of our life that we may have ignored or neglected up until now. Finding old momentos from childhood may indicate hobbies or past-times we gave up but now have new significance, and maybe are able to return to. Feeling that we haven’t been here for a long time but are returning, can also be a sign that we are getting back in touch with important areas of our lives that we may have forgotten. Clearing out or throwing things away can be a sign of letting go of old behaviours or beliefs that held us back, and clearing space to let a new confidence in. Finding rooms grandly embellished and furnished luxuriously can indicate we have come to a very rich and rewarding part of our selves. Maybe we are expressing ourselves freely for the first time. Opening the doors and windows can be a symbol of being open to new ideas and opportunities. Like fresh air coming into the house, so too can a fresh and revitalising energy flow though our lives. If we met people there, and are welcomed in, this can be a particularly potent symbol of reaching and getting in touch with new aspects of our personality. If we unlock the door to enter, this can be a symbol of “unlocking our potential.” We may even have recurring dreams of many new rooms over a series of dreams and different nights, as our new life starts to unfold before us.
Are you ready to embrace your new potential?
It is not unusual to feel a little nervous as we first discover these new rooms. After-all, we think we know ourselves quite well, so to suddenly stumble upon new capabilities within ourselves can take a little getting used to. But if we react to this room with fear, and lock the door or decide to keep the room secret, this could indicate a sense of shame or a concern that we can’t let others see the real person that we are. In many cases, this can lead to stress and frustration, as there is a very important part of our life that we keep secret. If we are unable to integrate all aspects our life and personality peacefully, this may lead to recurring dreams, anxiety and health problems. It might be helpful to start sharing a little of our true self with someone we can really trust, or alternatively, doing something completely new with a group of strangers who have no expectations of us and therefore will not judge. This could be taking a drama class with a community group none of our friends know, wearing our outrageous clothes when away on holiday, or reading our poetry as a volunteer to the elderly. Whatever it is, the important thing is to find a way that we can express ourselves, and live true to who we are. Volunteer work is great for this, as people will be grateful for things that matter, such as your kindness, and far less likely to judge you for superficial things.
Dreams of new rooms can be exciting dreams of emerging new potential and the promise of growth and experience. If we explore these new rooms bravely, and embrace the chance to learn and be more, new room dreams can be a gift that takes us beyond who we thought we were, beyond our self imposed limitations, and lets us break through barriers to expand in ways we may never have thought was even possible.
What are you welcoming into your life?
Dreaming of arms will create very different feelings and have very different meanings depending on precisely what those arms are up to! Like all dreams, we can look to see if any puns or sayings are at play, and how these might associate with our waking life. For instance, the dream may have us carrying many things, which might be an indication that in our waking life we have our “arms full” and maybe have too much work, responsibility or activities to do, leaving us no time for things that really matter. Carrying something on our shoulders might be a sign we feel we have “the weight of the world on our shoulders” or simply that we are happy to “shoulder a burden.” Something small might be a “chip on our shoulder.” By understanding what that chip is, we may gain some insight into a resentment we are harbouring. We also use the phrase “to stand on the shoulders of giants,” which means to have made progress in life thanks to the hard work and success of those who have gone before us. If you dream of standing on someone’s shoulders, it can be helpful to consider what they have done or achieved that may assist you to progress in your own life.
Arms can be symbols of strength and power. We use our arms to carry and lift and move things, but we also use them to protect ourselves and others. ”Arms” may also be used to refer to weapons that attack, or as “armour” to defend. To understand if this may be the meaning of arms in a particular dream, look for other symbols of weapons, feelings of being attacked, or a sense of aggression. Dreaming of arms in this context may mean there is some conflict in your life, and a feeling of a need to defend a position, belief or opinion. Or it could be a sign of creating tension your self, through an attacking behaviour.
Closely linked to defence and attack, arms can also indicate the opposite meanings, and be signs of surrender or welcome. If the dream is of open arms, it might imply welcoming something or someone new into our lives. Dreams of arms raised might mean they are held up in surrender, which can indicate giving up some long held belief or behaviour, or submitting to a force stronger than us. We need to look at the associated symbols and feelings in the rest of the dream to understand better whether this surrender is a positive thing for us or not. Giving in to feelings of love for someone may be a positive thing, but surrendering our power to a dominant person who intimidates us might be more negative. Alternatively, it may be that the raised arms are done so in joy, celebration or even exultation, which would likely mean a very positive experience in our lives. These kind of dreams can indicate a sense of profound gratitude, of freedom, or of release from some kind of constraint. Conversely, to dream of having arms tied behind our back can be a symbol of frustration, loss of power or restriction in some area in our life.
Is there a burden you are happy to shoulder?
And of course, we use our arms to hug, to embrace, to hold onto things and people. An embrace in a dream can mean we are literally embracing something or someone new, maybe a new idea or new lifestyle. Hugs and cuddles can be a sign of nuturing and caring for a part of ourselves. By understanding the symbol behind who or what we are hugging we can also see what it is we caring for and inviting into our life. We can also “link arms” to show unity or friendship. If you dream of arms in this way, there may different parts of your life that are starting to come together, or conflicting beliefs that have become reconciled.
To dream of a broken arm then, can be a sign that our power, strength, or ability to care for or manage a part of our life is in some way compromised. An arm dropping off may have a similar theme of loss of power, or it might refer to “throwing down arms” and indicate a new period of peace.
Do you know what is good for you?
Dreaming of food is relatively common for some people, yet others will dream of food hardly at all. Even if the dream is of seeing, trying to attain or having some food, the actual act of eating may not be dominant in the dream. This may be because in waking life we pay little attention to eating, often doing other things such as watching TV or working while we eat, so the textures, tastes and sensations of eating are not so noticeable to us, and the visual or auditory signals play a more important role.
When we do dream of food then, it may take on a more symbolic meaning. The act of eating can play important physical and psychological roles in our life. We eat to survive, but we also eat to feel certain ways, an our dreams can reflect this. Dreams of food invite us to consider:
- Are we in need of nourishment, either spiritually or emotionally?
- What are we doing in life to feed our soul, or to feed our imagination?
- How are we ensuring we have enough energy to get through a difficult time?
- How in touch with our body and feelings are we?
While different foods can have very different meanings for those who dream of them, we can start to understand food dreams by thinking back to when in our lives this particular food may have been important to us. Was this food a comfort food when going through a break-up? Was this food something your mother made to show her love, your grandmother made to make you feel better when you were sick, your dad gave you as weekend treat? This can be our own dreaming mind behaving as mother, grandmother or father, trying to give us a message of love, comfort or being treated, especially if in waking life we have been hard on ourselves, or been having some kind of difficulties. Dreaming of a banquet or lavish spread can indicate general abundance in life, not just in terms of material comforts, but a sense of having as much as you need of everything: love, time, friendship etc. Or maybe the opposite is true, and we “too much on our plate” which can imply we need to simply our life a little! Similarly, dreaming of an empty table, bare cupboards, empty plates and so on can indicate we feel we are not getting the nourishment we need in life, that we are missing out on something that is vitally important to our well-being. Sharing food in a dream can be a very rewarding feeling, creating a sense that there is something of value we are able to offer to others. In waking life this may be someone we are caring for, providing guidance, assistance or emotional support in some way. To be offered food in a dream can be our subconscious mind trying to give us a gift, so if we have influence in such a dream we should try to accept it. It may not be immediately obvious what this gift is, but just as food in waking life give us energy, makes us stronger, provides immunity from diseases and helps us to grow, so too can our subconscious mind “feed” us psychologically.
The phrase “you are what you eat” is especially true in dreams, where everything, even objects, can reflect a part of our own self. To understand the meaning of a particular food in a dream, it can be helpful to describe it. Try asking, how am I like this food? Is it warm and comforting, substantial and hearty, light and refreshing? Fast food in dreams may be a sign of trying to sustain our self on something that seems easy, but provides little real value.
While we may not recall taste all that often, when we do, it can be helpful to look at how we would describe the taste itself. Was the food bitter or sweet? Did it leave a bad taste in your mouth, or was it absolutely delicious? We can then look for experiences in our waking life that this might relate to.
Dreaming of food can also be a signal from our subconscious that we physically need to eat a certain food when awake. If we are lacking a certain nutrient, such as fibre or vitamin C, we may dream of vegetables or orange juice, as our subconscious dreaming mind picks up the subtle messages from our body and attempts to communicate with our conscious mind.
Are you getting enough nourishment?
Dreaming of food can be a way to heal and care for our selves on may levels. We may even dream of eating bad food, or something that is poisonous. This is often a sure sign that some belief we hold, a behaviour we are engaging in, or relationship we have is not good for us and may be even “poisoning” us. It might be time to consider our emotional needs and what is healthy for us. If we dream of something getting stuck in our throats, there may be some information some one is telling us, or maybe even a story we are telling ourselves, that we find “hard to swallow.” Maybe we need to take a second look. Dreaming of not being able to finish eating something, or of trying to eat something large can be a sign that we feel somewhere in life we may have “bitten off more than we can chew.”
It is also not unusual to dream of food when we are dieting, as we spend so much time thinking about what we are denying ourselves, that our subconscious mind will go on dreaming about it even as we dream. In a similar way, starving people often dream of food, as the body cries out for what it needs and the subconscious mind can’t ignore it.
While we will often dream of familiar foods, sometimes we will dream of exotic new foods, and maybe even things we have never really tasted in waking life. This often happens when we are having or seeking new experiences, and our minds are being opened to new exciting delights.
Food dreams ask us to consider what is healthy for us, what sustains us and how we can share with others. In waking life, if we start to pay more attention to what we eat, to savour the taste and be consciously grateful for what we have, our dreaming mind will recognise this, and is likely to reward us with dreams of delicious experiences and abundance.
What fleeting thing is passing from your life?
It can be devastating when we dream of someone dying. We may mourn emotionally in the dream, but we may also wake up with a terrible sense of dread, of loss or a fear that this dream was a premonition and that we must some how warn the person or prevent the event that occurred in our dream. But other times, we may have a terribly sad dream of someone dying, only to wake and feel strangely calm, and surprised at how unemotional we feel given the events of the night. Yet other times the death in the dream may create a sense of peacefulness and calm in the dream, or of a strange kind of detachment. We may even feel joyful, celebrating someone’s departure.
All of these feelings are valid, and make a lot of sense when we remember that when we dream of other things or other people, we are only dreaming of a part of ourselves. We should apply the usual process of understanding what these people represent to us (see Dream Symbols: Other People, Dream Symbols: Loved Ones.) You may even feel it is your own death you dream of. So death in a dream might ask to look at what part of our selves, or what aspect of our life, is dying or has died? And how do we feel about that? It is not always a sad or fearful thing.
Death is part of nature, part of the cycle of life. Death must occur in order that new life begin. The forest and bush fires of California and Australia destroy so much life, but they create ash that fertilises the soil so that new growth may arise, they heat seed pods and stimulate growth. Without these fires, and the death or destruction they bring, these forests would stagnate and become unhealthy, eventually unable to sustain life. On even a micro level, our hair strands die and fall out and our skin cells shed. These cells must die in order for us to grow and live. Plants or animals must die so that other plants or animals may live. This is the way of our world.
So when we dream of death, we must remind ourselves not to think of this as a negative things, as
What can you let go of in order to grow?
a sad ending, but rather part of the process of growing and evolving. We must let go of some things in our life when they no longer serve us. We may even dream of death as we give up an old habit, as we move to a new location or take on a new job, give up a relationship or move into a new phase of an existing relationship. It is as natural to be sad when we say goodbye to something as it is to celebrate is departure. The important thing is to recognise when we must let go, and when that time comes, we can respect what we have lost, but the time has come for moving forward. To grow and live again.
Dreams of death invite us to:
- Appreciate the short and precious time we have
- Reflect on what must leave or let go of
- Mourn what is lost, and heal from this
- Release our feelings and recognise what may have been “dead” inside us, what feeling we refused to feel
- Marvel at the wonder of new life, of cycles and transitions
- Feel joy at the release of that which was trapped
- Say goodbye, find closure, feel completion and peace
And while I maintain dreaming of death is rarely anything other than metaphorical, I don’t presume to
Was Mr Lincoln dreaming of the future, or of his own subconscious fears?
know all that there is to know about dreaming and its mysteries. Abraham Lincoln is reported to have dreamed of his own assasination. He told his wife that he dreamed he walked into a room in the White House, where people were crying and mourning. He saw a black coffin, and when asked who was dead in the White House, he was told ”the President, who was killed by an assasin.” This is a fascinating story, and it shows we all have much to learn yet of dreams and what they mean. Was this dream a pure prophecy? Lincoln had been advised against assassins, and appeared not to take the threat seriously. Was it his subconscious warning him? Was it an expression of his fears? Was it simply a coincidence? I share this story with you in the spirit of free thought, but I do urge you, if you have dreamed of death that scared or panicked you, try looking to the major changes and perhaps losses you may be experiencing first, instead.
Death is natural and comes to us all, but our dreams show us that we can have small deaths along the way, and that we can learn to embrace these, and accept, and maybe even celebrate, that there is good that comes along with losing, letting go, or moving on.
What kind of alarm are you really hearing?
Sounds are one of the most invasive things into our dreams. But rather than wake us up, sounds often become incorporated into our dream, the external sound woven into the fabric of the dream as though it really belonged there. This can be the sound of an alarm that instead of waking us as planned, we hear and try to make sense of. This may result in us actually “hearing” the strange sound of a fire engine in the distance, someone in the traffic honking their horn, or even in some bizarre cases, the words that some dream character speaks to us. Perhaps even stranger is that we might even understand their weird braying alarm noise voice. Noises like roadworks, storms, parties at the neighbour’s house, can all slip into our dreams.
These kind of external influences that creep in from the outside to dominate our dreams may have a particular meaning, but often they are simply a distraction. If the alarm goes off in the morning, and instead of waking we dream of a fire engine, that is not to say that fire engine has any special significance in our waking life, other than the fact that at a subconscious level, we have a sense of urgency. We know deep down we need to wake, as that is why we set the alarm in the fist place. It is fascinating that our dreaming mind won’t simply create a dream image that seems to match the sound we are physically hearing, but also one that portrays the relevant emotion. Thus, when we fail to wake at the alarm, the fire engine we dream of doesn’t just sound like a fire engine, but also creates tension and a sense of urgency in our sleep. This “emergency” feeling, combined with the persistence of the sound, may be enough to wake us as we had intended. This is almost like an “emergency exit” from our dream.
We may hear voices and music from a party, and actually dream we amongst those people in the party. Or we may be having a relatively normal dream of an adventure through the countryside, when the road works outside cause us to dream they are laying a new road right through the forrest we are in. If there is no urgency, we simply fall back into deep sleep when the noise subsides, but if it persists long enough we are likely to wake. And it is likely our dreams will become increasingly distorted or frustrating until we do. This is the external waking world overwhelming the relaxed sleeping mind.
We can't turn off our ears even when we are asleep!
In a similar way, we can use pleasant sounds to induce pleasant dreams. Going to sleep with the calming sound of waves or the wind in the trees may not just result ina tranquil rest, but can also help seed images of the sea and nature into our sleeping mind. Particular music may have different effects as well, depending on our emotional reaction to it.
However, sometimes this kind of continual external influence is enough to stop us from dropping into deep sleep. This makes it more likely we will have dreams, but may result in feeling tired the next day. Noises outside that keep us on the edge of waking and sleeping can also help to elicit lucid dreams in those who seek them.
The important thing to remember is that though our dreams can be invaded by the external stimulus of sound, this does not necessarily mean our dream symbols in such cases have any relevance beyond the sound itself. And that while sounds that can cause us tension may distort our dreams, pleasant sounds can be a useful tool to relaxation and dreams we enjoy. We can’t turn off our ears even in sleep, and it is a good thing to know that if we need to wake up when we hear a certain noise, our dreaming mind will make sure we can’t ignore the sound, and that we will wake up.
Is it time to shed your skin?
Like any animal dream, snakes in dreams can have a wide variety of meanings. But as snakes are found the world over, and many cultures and religions through-out history have used snakes in their myths and legends, these animals more than most may share common meanings to different people who dream of them. When snakes appear to indicate a symbolic meaning, rather than simply being the biological animal, they are often referred to as “serpents.”
Freud would have us believe that snakes are a symbol of sex, and little more. And while snakes might indicate a sexual energy in our dreams, especially if they slide into bed with us or the dream in some other way is erotically charged, snakes are more likely to appear in our dreams for several other profound reasons.
In ancient times, harmless snakes would be left in temples where people seeking cures to an illness would go to dream. The dreams people had in these temples amongst the snakes would then be interpreted by the holy people there, who would reveal the cure the dream was showing. Hippocrates, he of the medical profession’s “Hippocratic Oath” and a powerful ancient healer, had as his symbol the snake. Even modern medicine still uses the symbol of two snakes entwined around a staff as its symbol (caduceus). These associations mean that snakes can be a symbol of healing in our dreams, either physically or emotionally.
Snakes also shed their skin, and have been associated in many cultures as symbols of wisdom. These
For centuries, snakes have been associated with wisdom and healing
associations can indicate snakes as powerful sign of personal transformation. This can suggest we look at what old patterns of behaviour or beliefs we are outgrowing, and what new thought processes or new stage in our life we preparing to step into. This transformative power is especially strong if in your dream you look the snake in the eye, connect with it in some way, or it bites you and you recover or don’t die. When combined with the healing elements that snakes can indicate, this may imply a significant transformation through healing, almost like an initiation. These snake dreams, though they may be be scary, and make us anxious, may provide us with an important opportunity to leave behind something that hurt and restricted us, moving forward into a new way of being.
Sometimes snakes dreams can be profoundly unsettling, and leave us with a sense of being deceived. This is especially true if we dream of being in a pit of vipers or if we are surrounded by many snakes. This kind of symbolic meaning may arise from recalling the snake that spoke in the garden of Eden lied to Eve, or knowing that snakes have forked tongues, which some feel indicates that they can speak multiple stories, which must be lies for there is only one truth. Snakes are also hard to see, and can be stumbled upon by surprise, which can associate them with secrets. The phrase “snake in the grass” refers to this sense of someone who cannot be trusted, who may lie or deceive. If we dream of snakes and have this sense, there may be a truth that we know but are deceiving ourselves, denying what we know to be true. And given the multi-layered aspect of dreams, it may be that when this truth is finally revealed to ourselves (whatever that truth may be) that this will lead to healing and transformation, the gifts of the snake.
Is something restricting you?
Dreaming a snake that is coiling around us like a python and squeezing tight may be an indication that we feel restricted somewhere in life. This may be by our own self-limiting beliefs, our refusal to admit what we know we must do, or it can be an indicator of external factors inhibiting us, such as a job, lack of experience or education for something we wish to achieve, or a dominating and controlling relationship. If the snakes dream is constricting us so we can’t get enough air, this may mean it is time to make some changes, to stand up and act, to create some air, some breathing space in our lives.
Essentially snakes in dreams can be potent symbols that we often fear because of the change they bring and the energy they contain. A snake rising up, coming awake after hibernation, or uncoiling and springing to life can indicate our own energy flowing freely again, our passion, our motivation, our love for life. Some eastern cultures refer to this as the awakening “Kundalini,” an energy that coils up from the base of the spine to the crown of our head and then beyond, a process of spiritual growth. The dream snake’s poison is far more likely to transform us than it is to destroy us. It is up to us how we choose to either fight, run from, or embrace the transition.
Our dreaming minds may play back to us images we have seen and responded to
Our dreaming mind is very efficient. When looking for symbols to communicate its message, our dreaming mind will pull from almost anywhere to give us a powerful and multi-layered message. As we have looked at in previous posts, people we know often star in our nightly personal stories as symbolic representations (see”Dream Symbols: Other People”), but sometimes the people who star in our dreams we have never met at all. Indeed, we may dream of movie stars, politicians and sports heroes. Like dreaming of other people we know, we need to try and look at what this person represents to us, rather than literally interpret their presence.
This is sometimes easier than it may be for dreaming of people close to us. If we start by asking ourselves what it is we like or dislike about this person, we can get a list of values, behaviours and character traits that the famous person may stand for. We then need to look at how those characteristics may be present or missing in our own lives.
It is not just the stars themselves that may sneak from the waking world into our dreams. Our dreams can be influenced by the plots we watch in films and movies, and by the emotions that they raise in us. For this reason most parents know not to let young children watch scary movies, especially before bed time, as they may give the child nightmares. While as adults we may not be as sensitive or susceptible to the fear these kind of films can create, we can still be influenced by the images and feelings films and TV shows evoke. This is especially true when the film resonates with us, when it is showing us something that we find familiar to our own lives. Our dreaming mind will leap on such opportunities. This is a way for our subconscious to say “great! The conscious mind recognises this deep inside me, I am going to use this language to play back my message because I know the waking mind already partly understands this.”
We can learn the language of images from tv and films
Because dreams communicate to us in images, they have much in common with how we watch films. There is even some evidence to suggest that people of a previous generation who used to recall dreaming in black and white (instead of colour) may have done so because they watched black and white TVs and films. This might indicate that we learn the language of images in dreams from the images we see in waking life. So dreaming of presidential campaigners and movie stars should be remarkably common for us in this day and age!
