Have you ever written yourself a letter in which you unload your
concerns, worries, hopes and deep-felt thoughts? Probably not... though
the Dr. Phils of our world would probably applaud the practice as
deliciously therapeutic in the quest for self-awareness!
Each
time you enter the world of dreams, you are, in essence, writing
yourself such a letter. Your subconscious mind, without the distractions
of the day, puts your life, your feelings, your emotions, your hopes
and your plans all together. All the insight you could hope for is right
there, ripe for analyzing!
Examining the nightly escapades which
occur behind your eyelids will give you all of the insight and
inspiration you need. Like the swallows to Capiatiano, you'll return
again and again to your dreams to give you the answers you seek.
How can Dream Analysis actually help you?
First
of all, it helps to understand that what occurs in our minds when we
are fully asleep is reflective of the emotions and thoughts we have
while fully awake......granted sometimes they suffer in the translation,
but our emotions are certainly at the root. The basic feelings make
their way from our consciousness to our unconsciousness.
The
difference is that when we are awake, we are too blamed busy to stop and
say, "I'm wrapped tighter than a plus-sized woman in spandex.......I
need some down time." We just keep getting after whatever it is that's
stressing us out and don't take any time to really look at the condition
of our psyche.....something that quite often isn't in as good working
order as we suspect.
However if you're having particularly
troublesome, mad-as-a-hatter dreams, you can discern that you need to
take a good long look at your lifestyle. Are you too busy? Are you being
pulled in more directions than you can possibly stretch without
snapping? Is there something in your life which is more bothersome to
you than you gave it credit for? Try to work some time into your day
that's all about relaxing, whether it's yoga, golf, walking,
reading....whatever you can do that gives your brain a break.
Other
times our dreams let us know that we simply need to start paying more
attention to certain people in our life that we may be taking for
granted. If we dream about a relative we haven't seen in a while, we
should give them a call. If we dream of starting an argument with our
spouse, we should give them a little more attention than usual. Many
times, our proverbial "guilty conscience" knows only one way to reach
us, and that's while we are asleep.
Another very interesting way
dreams help us is in the healing process after a traumatic experience.
Following such an occurrence, we will often dream about the tragedy
itself, or of something equally morbid. It's our mind's way of wrapping
itself around what has happened. The dreams will eventually stop all
together, as soon as your subconscious has come to grips with
everything.
Sometimes it helps to discuss your dreams with others.
If you think your dreams are trying to tell you something in
particular, discuss it with someone. An outside opinion can often do a
world of good.
When you take an honest look at your life and at
your typical day, it will be obvious what your dreams are trying to tell
you. Most people miss out on so much because they discard their dreams
and forget all about them.
