by Mary Pat Lynch

Created on: March 03, 2008

Dreams are a wonderful, mysterious, fun way to learn about yourself. Recording and exploring your dreams can heal old wounds, help solve problems, and open up new worlds. But before you begin, there's one thing you should know: YOU are the only expert on your dreams, the only one who knows what they mean.

"What a minute," you say, "what about all those dream dictionaries? And the experts who say they know what my dreams mean?" Books and experts can help, but when you become a dream explorer, always listen for the "Aha!" within that tells you you're on to something. If the "Aha!" is missing, set the book aside and find another expert. The answer you're looking for is somewhere else.

Our dreams speak to us in a symbolic language; to understand the message, we need to learn how to read symbols. We share many symbols with others; the symbols of our religions, our nations, and our cultures are shared with thousands, perhaps millions, of people. Symbols that represent significant life experiences such as military service, or our careers, are also shared with many others. Any special skill or interest will have some symbols you share with others in that group, whether you were a Girl Scout or love to play World of Warcraft.

Yet each of us has a unique language of symbols all our own. Consider the snake. Freud saw snakes as a phallic symbol (one of many in his dictionary). Snakes can also be seen as symbols of evil (in the Garden of Eden), healing (on the medical caduceus) and regeneration (because they shed their skins). But most of us have very personal associations to snakes depending on whether we fear them, admire them, or just stay as far away from them as possible.

Will your dream snake mean the same thing as mine? Not likely.

Your Own Dream Dictionary

Our dreams include shared symbols, but emphasize personal symbols. The key to understanding your dreams is learning what the images and symbols mean to you. Where to begin? The first step is to take notes.

Making time to write down your dreams is a challenge in our busy world. On those mornings when you feel like you're running late before you're even out of bed, jot down a few key words or phrases. Later you might find these fragments are enough to bring back the whole dream, and you can add to your notes then. Do you sleep late at least one day a week? Add time to write dream reports on this day you're more likely to remember dreams when you wake up naturally anyway.

Look over your dream notes. Highlight things that

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