Understanding Dreams: What they are and how to interpret them. Nerys Dee
too long. Such a discovery is a sign pointing out that you must make up your mind where you are going in life. Missing a train or bus is a common occurrence in a dream too, clearly warning you not to miss an opportunity when it turns up.
colours and conversations
Most dreams are in colour but, like a dream itself, this fades leaving only the impression in black and white. If colour does not play a significant part, that is, if it does not have a specific message to impart, it is not registered. Dreams, among other things, are economical. Sometimes the colour of a dream is linked with its atmosphere, mood or feeling. An over-all grey scene relates to a grey or dull situation. Sunshine, on the other hand, offers a message of hope on the horizon. Individual colours in your dream should be noted because the seven colours of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet – each have a special dream-meaning, similar to that of waking awareness.
Conversations in your dream can themselves be colourfully symbolic and may include puns, sentences which at first appear to be nonsense, rhymes, keywords, numbers and apparently meaningless letters. Many words have double meanings so conversations may be in code, but since it is the dreamer who concocts them, the clue to their solution is also somewhere, within the dreamer.
red
relates to physical energy: in its positive form it offers an improvement in health; in its negative form it suggests antagonism – the proverbial red rag to a bull.
orange
is a friendly colour associated with social activity and cheerfulness. Depending on the circumstances this colour is either telling you to cheer up, or pointing out that you need to.
yellow
is the colour of sunshine and relates to intellectual matters. It is a clear colour, so seeing this in your dream tells you to think with your head – your intellect – to solve a problem.
green
means peace and relaxation. You either need more of this or you can expect it in the future, if this colour predominates.
blue
is the colour for protection. This, ties in with the blue sky which protects the earth from harmful radiation. Seeing blue in a dream may, therefore, indicate that you need to protect yourself in some way or, conversely, you are feeling ‘blue’.
indigo
symbolises intuitive and instinctive qualities so this colour encourages you to allow your heart, the seat of inner feeling, to rule for a while.
violet
the colour nearest to heaven, symbolises spiritual aspirations and religious beliefs.
previous associations
Events from the previous day often reappear in dreams as an action replay. A television programme from the night before may be used by your dreaming mind to convey a personal situation, or some past experience might be conjured up to draw attention to a particular problem, hope or aim that needs special understanding, so look for the link between past happenings and the present dream. These will reflect certain likenesses providing valuable information which, when piecing together all the component parts noted in your Dream Diary, goes to make up the dream as a whole.
Having recorded all the different aspects relating to a dream you will have transformed the scene and action into words, which serves as a permanent reminder. Later in the day, if not immediately convenient, write out your dream in detail. Do not, however, delay for too long, as time will tend to rob you of valuable details and evidence.
| dream 1 | day and date: | Wednesday, 6th june 1990 |
| time: | between 6.00am and 7.30am | |
| number: | 37 | |
| feeling/atmosphere: | perplexing | |
| theme: | lost in unknown territory | |
| movement/travel: | driving car | |
| objects, signs etc: | car, roads, trees, map | |
| colours/conversations: | dark – no colours, no conversation | |
| previous association: | none recalled |
the dream – ‘lost’
I was driving a car, not mine, down twisting lanes, and did not seem to know where it was leading. It was getting dark and no one was around to ask if I was on the right road. The map was open but I did not look at it. On waking I felt quite frightened. This feeling stayed with me most of the day. It was difficult to relate to a personal fear.
Some dreams are so real they make strong impressions which make them hard to forget. Others, however, are fleeting while yet others vanish without a trace. One way to remember them is positively to programme yourself before going to sleep. By appealing to the power of your creative imagination you can link a dream with your memory. This aspect of your unconscious is always ready to receive suggestions so all you have to do is to visualise and talk to yourself in a determined way.
Once you feel ready to go to sleep, turn your attention to dreams. Think of previous ones if you can. Then, relax by breathing in to the count of three, and breathing out to the count of ten. Repeat this twice more, then breathe normally. Without moving, imagine you have just woken up in the morning and as you do, you reach for the pen and write down a dream. Bring your attention back to the present and become aware of feeling comfortable and warm. Finally, before dropping off to sleep, speak to yourself, saying ‘In the morning I shall remember my dreams.’
The best book you will ever read on dreams is the one you write yourself. This is, of course, your Dream Diary.
