How To Interpret A Dream
(And Learn Your Own Secret Dream Language)
By JAMES CORONATO
Aegis Press
The technique given here may surprise you with the power it has to lay
bare the inner workings of a dream. I don't know who first formalized this
method, but many have used it successfully, so feel free to pass it on.
It will help you learn the secret (and quite personal) language in which
your dreams speak to you.
The 6-step method of Interpreting Dreams
-
Write out your dream in full. Details
are important, so include all you can.
-
Underline anything in the dream
description that seems like it could be significant. We'll call these
underlined terms "key phrases."
-
Make a separate list of your key
phrases.
-
Next to each key phrase, record whatever
comes to mind when you think about that term. Let your thoughts flow
freely, putting down as many as you like, and at this step paying little
concern to how reasonable they are.
-
Now, look at each key phrase and review the collection of word associations
you've made for it. Circle the ones
that satisfy you as the correct interpretation for the item.
-
Go back to the original dream description, and wherever
you find an underlined key phrase, replace it with the circled words
you selected to represent it. Now rewrite
the dream with all the new substitutions in it: the dream will read
like an ordinary explanation, and its meaning will pop out at you.
Example Dream: "Train wreck"
Step
1. Write out the dream.
The following dream came during a period in which my chief concerns were
with problems we were having as owners of a Minnesota fishing resort. The
dream's resort setting didn't look anything like the actual facility, but
the correspondence was hard to miss once the dream was written down.
I'm in the backyard of a country resort. A two-story l-shaped
building is ahead and to my left. On its right end is a low covered platform
adjoining train tracks, which terminate at this station. A passenger train
is approaching rapidly, but a freight train loaded with glowing orange
or dull reddish orange embers appears headed for a collision with it. I
rush across the yard to a phone to call 911, but voices in the earpiece
indicate that people are already using this line. I explain the urgency
of my call but the people are haughty and mocking and refuse to relinquish
the line.
I run back to the tracks. The train has arrived and unloaded
without incident, and most of the passengers have left. A teen standing
before me on the platform is drinking a can of soda pop. The freight train
is nowhere in sight, and the teen tells me that its load of glowing embers
was really only orange soda-pop cans.
The locomotive of the passenger train is parked at the platform,
its direction reversed from the way it entered the station. I wonder briefly
how they turned it around. The locomotive's cover or outer shell has been
removed, as it would be for repairs, and the engineer and a helper move
about on the wheeled portion that remains. No power plant is visible, just
a smooth deck. Toward the aft end a single, low seat is attached to the
floor. Its leather, cracked and gray, is like what you might see in the
cockpit of an old warplane in a museum. The engineer confirms that there
was no wreck, no casualties--only a bruise here and there among the passengers,
that's all: minor repairs. I rush back to cancel the 911 call in case it
had been sent, but the same uncooperative people still block my use of
the phone.
Step
2. Highlight key phrases.
Remember that if you were to have a similar dream you would likely use
symbols different than mine. Sometimes a word that really would be significant
isn't chosen as a key phrase because its meaning is clear. There are at
least five more key words or phrases that are not underlined here. See
if you can pick them out. You can click on a word to see its definition,
then use your browser's "Back" button to come back to the dream paragraph.
Okay, here we go:
I'm in the backyard of a country
resort. A two-story l-shaped building is
ahead and to my left. On its right end is a low covered platform adjoining
train tracks, which terminate at this station.
A passenger train is approaching
rapidly,
but a freight train loaded with
glowing
orange
or dull reddish orange
embers
appears headed for a collision with it. I rush
across the yard to a phone to call
911, but voices in the earpiece indicate
that people are already using this line.
I explain the urgency of my call but the people are
haughty
and mocking and refuse to relinquish the
line.
I run back to the tracks. The train has arrived and unloaded
without incident, and most of the passengers have left. A teen
standing before me on the platform is drinking a can of soda
pop. The freight train is nowhere in sight,
and the teen tells me that its load of glowing embers was really only orange
soda-pop cans.
The locomotive of the passenger
train is parked at the platform, its direction
reversed from the way it entered the station. I wonder briefly how
they turned it around. The locomotive's cover
or outer shell has been removed, as it would be for repairs,
and the engineer and a helper move about on
the wheeled portion that remains. No power plant
is
visible, just a smooth deck. Toward the aft end a single, low
seat
is
attached to the floor. Its leather, cracked and gray,
is like what you might see in the cockpit of an old warplane in a museum.
The engineer confirms that there was no wreck, no casualties--only a bruise
here and there among the passengers, that's all: minor repairs.
I rush back to cancel the 911 call in case it had been sent, but the same
uncooperative people still block my use of the phone.
Steps
3, 4 and 5. List key phrases, collect interpretations, and choose the appropriate
ones.
In the following, the underlined (or italicized) terms are key words
or phrases, words on the right are the images I associated with
them (and appear for the most part just the way they came to me), and boldfaced
terms are "circled:" my interpretation of a key phrase's meaning.
| country
resort |
our resort (which is in the country), my
space, environment |
|
[our resort, my space] |
| backyard |
background, place I'm confined by the building, confined
space, limited view or movements, confines my movements (to rushing back
and forth) |
|
[background, place where my view
is confined to the resort and its problems and my movements to rushing
back and forth] |
| two-story
l-shaped building front and left |
fills my vision, all I can see, blocks the view ahead,
dominates my viewpoint or attention, surrounds, wraps around, place where
the building or resort and its problems loom over or enclose me |
|
[issue which looms over me and dominates my viewpoint
or attention] |
| call
911 |
call for help, try to solve problem, look for solutions
(using creative abilities) |
|
[all of these] |
| passenger
train |
ability to move forward on track (toward goals), carry
people who depend on me, move people (in consciousness) with what I (as
writer) produce |
|
[ability to move forward on track toward goals] |
| locomotive |
engine, the driving force, impetus, self-propelled vehicle,
something which moves or travels by means of its own mechanism or powers,
able to move independently from place to place, the heart or driving force
of my ability to move forward on track and achieve goals on my own |
|
[the heart or driving force of my ability to move forward
on track and achieve goals on my own] |
| collision,
wreck |
train wreck, catastrophe, financial crisis, calamity |
|
[financial crisis or calamity] |
| telephone,
phone line |
communication link with or ability to use intuition, spiritual
guidance, wisdom, or creativity, (Soul's) higher
viewpoint, Spirit, the Inner Master,
common sense |
|
[most of these] |
| approaching |
arriving, train's coming in, coming into its own, about
to manifest |
|
[coming into its own] |
| haughty
and mocking people, voices in earpiece |
mental or inward grumbling about money, health, resort,
relationships, etc., negative self-talk or mind chatter, anxiety |
|
[negative self-talk or mind chatter] |
| already
using the phone line |
tying up the phone, stopping my communication, clogging
the com-link, preventing access |
|
[stopping my communication, preventing access] |
| is
nowhere |
invisible, disappeared, illusory, an illusion |
|
[an illusion] |
| orange |
associated with cause
and effect, karma, or responsibility for one's actions (natural results
of my decisions or actions coming back to me) |
|
[cause and effect, results of my actions returning to
me] |
| freight
train (loaded with orange or dull reddish orange embers) |
trainload of 'heat' (stress) I'd set up or set in motion,
impending disaster bearing down on me, on a collision course with me and
others within my sphere, accumulated effects of poor decisions in one big
package, massive force threatening to derail the other train |
|
[accumulated effects of poor decisions, massive force
threatening to derail the other train] |
| embers |
heat but no fire, burned-down remnants of wood, coal heated
to very hot, ready for barbecuing, heat |
|
[heat] |
|
(for the entire freight train) |
|
[the accumulated effects of a group of bad or irresponsible
decisions, perhaps colored by selfishness or pride, which threaten to derail
my ability to move forward on track toward my goals] |
| terminates |
ends with me, buck stops here, it's my responsibility,
not going to bypass me, no avoiding them (or what they will bring) |
|
[no avoiding what they will bring] |
| teen |
adolescent, young, immature, undisciplined, resilient,
relaxed, play |
|
[all of these] |
| soda
pop |
soda is sweet, recreational, play, can be a craving, something
consumed in quantity but isn't healthy, like caffeine, sugar, or another
habit-forming thing, tasty but unhealthy habit, undisciplined or negative
mental and emotional habits, linked to sugar (since I'm often irritable
after eating sweets.) |
|
[tasty but unhealthy habit, undisciplined or negative
mental and emotional habits, linked to sugar] |
| engineer |
man in charge, operator of the vehicle, (Soul's) higher
viewpoint, Inner Master, innate wisdom |
|
[Inner Master
(my connection with God)] |
| locomotive's
cover or outer shell removed |
under the hood, the guts of the machinery, the truth about
the locomotive, engine exposed |
|
[under the hood, the truth, engine exposed] |
| seat |
guiding position for the engine, seat of power, viewpoint
when guiding engine |
|
[viewpoint when guiding engine] |
| gray |
suggests love of convention
or formality, also thoroughness and narrow-mindedness, lone wolf, likes
to do things his own way |
|
[all of this] |
| power
plant |
none visible, no real power |
|
[no real power] |
|
(for the entire disassembled
locomotive:) |
|
[There is no real power in my antiquated way of approaching
things. Thoroughness, rigor, and doing it my own way easily deteriorate
into narrow-mindedness and love of convention and formality] |
| parked |
stopped, at a standstill, not in use, put away, not being
used |
|
[at a standstill] |
| reversed
direction |
a change in direction or point of view, change of heart,
attention or heart (of the train) pointed outward, not inward. |
|
[all of these] |
| repair |
heal, rebuild, restore, make or become better or more effective,
growth |
|
[make or become better or more effective] |
| repairs |
adjustments, inconveniences, fixes, retool, changes |
|
[adjustments, inconveniences] |
|
|
Step
6. (a) Substitute new meanings for key phrases in original paragraph.
I'm in the backyard of a country resort. A two-story
l-shaped building is ahead and to my left. [a place in consciousness
where our resort and its problems fill my vision and confine my movements
to rushing back and forth ineffectually] On its right end is a low covered
platform adjoining train tracks, which terminate at this station
[there's no avoiding (what they're bringing)]. A passenger train
[my ability to move forward on track toward my goals] is approaching
[coming into its own] rapidly, but a freight train loaded with
glowing orange or dull reddish-orange embers [the accumulated
effects of bad or irresponsible decisions, perhaps colored by selfishness
or pride], appears headed for a collision with [ready
to derail] it. I rush across the
yard [place in consciousness
where our resort and its problems fill my vision and confine my movements
to rushing back and forth ineffectually] to a phone [communication
with my creative ability] to call 911 [look for a solution],
but voices in the earpiece [negative self-talk or mind
chatter] indicate that people [this negative self-talk
or anxiety] are already using this line [blocking my access].
I explain the urgency of my call [need to find a solution]
but the
people (who) are haughty and mocking [negative
self-talk] and refuse to relinquish it [continues to make
it difficult to find creative solutions].
I run back to the tracks. The train [my ability
to move forward on track toward my goals] has arrived and unloaded without
incident, and most of the passengers have left. A teen
[immaturity] standing before me on the platform is drinking a can
of soda pop [a tasty but unhealthy habit]. The freight
train [massive force that threatened to derail my ability to move
forward on track toward my goals] is nowhere in sight
[an illusion], and the teen [immaturity] tells me that
its load of glowing embers [accumulated effects of bad
or irresponsible decisions colored by selfishness or pride] was really
only orange [cause-and-effect play of]
soda-pop
cans [undisciplined mental and emotional habits, and diet, especially
sugar].
The locomotive [heart or driving force] of
the
passenger train [my ability to move forward and achieve goals
on my own] is parked [at a standstill] at the platform,
its direction reversed [point of view directed outward
rather than inward] from the way it entered the station. I wonder briefly
how they turned it around. The locomotive[heart or driving
force of my ability to move forward and achieve goals on my own]'s cover
or outer shell has been removed [the truth exposed], as it would
be for repairs [to become better or more effective], and
the engineer [Inner Master, my connection with God] and
a helper move about on the wheeled portion that remains. No power
plant is [there is no real power] visible, just a smooth deck.
Toward the aft end a single, low seat [position from which
this engine is piloted] is attached to the floor [pretty
low]. Its leather [fabric], cracked and
gray
[colored by a love of convention or formality, also thoroughness and narrow-mindedness,
lone wolf, likes to do things his own way], is like what you might
see in the cockpit of an old warplane in a museum [a museum relic].
The engineer [Inner Master] confirms that there was no
wreck
[financial catastrophe], no casualties--only a bruise here and there among
the passengers, that's all; minor
repairs [inconveniences,
adjustments]. I rush back to cancel the 911 call [effort
to look for solutions] in case it had been sent, but the same uncooperative
people [negative self-talk or mind chatter] still block my use
of the phone [Soul's higher, more creative viewpoint].
Step
6. (b) Smooth out the wording a bit.
Now try to work the new meanings and the original narrative into a unified
whole. Your aim is to produce a clear and incisive portrait of all that
your dream is saying to you. Just remember to be kind to yourself; we accomplish
the most, not as a critic of the performance, but as the hero of the story:
I'm in a state of mind where the resort and its problems seem
to surround me. This condition fills my vision and limits my movements
to rushing ineffectually back and forth in the background of the situation.
My perception is of an impending financial "train wreck," a disaster brought
into my own back yard by the accumulated effects of bad decisions, which
I believe cannot be avoided: the 'heat' of the effects of my prior actions
(or lack thereof) threatens to derail my ability to move forward on track
toward my goals.
Though I may ask repeatedly, How can I solve this problem?
Negative mind chatter and disgruntled self-talk prevent me from gaining
the higher viewpoint and finding creative solutions to my problems. Even
when I see that a problem has evaporated, the old mental habits continue
to occupy my thoughts and restrict my use of the higher connection I could
have.
The truth is, the disaster I'm expecting is an illusion. Relax.
This perception is really a product of undisciplined emotional and mental
habits, probably aggravated by the effects of sugar, which in my body often
produces mood swings and irritability.
A peek under the hood of my independent or "self-reliant" way
of pursuing goals shows that there is no real power in my antiquated approach.
Thoroughness and doing things my own way easily degenerate into narrow-mindedness
and love of convention and formality. Further, the viewpoint (seat) I habitually
use to guide my affairs is too low: I'd be able to see better from a higher
viewpoint--the viewpoint of Soul--rather than the daily, self-involved
state of consciousness.
The good news is that there was no wreck, no casualties--just
a few bruises here and there, and only minor inconveniences are to be expected.
My connection with the Divine tells me that fixing this situation means
to quit worrying and get your attention off yourself, since mental hashing
over problems is a dead-end at best. Instead, open your heart center and
direct your attention outward to the world. Then it will be easier to maintain
the higher viewpoint of Soul and to avail yourself of your own creative
abilities.
Some tips on understanding dreams
You are the best interpreter
of your dreams
It's fine to consider what other people have to say about a dream or experience
you've had, but always reserve the final call for yourself. After all,
whether it's a communication with the Almighty, an out-of-body
experience, or a conversation with yourself, a dream, in the end, is
an exclusively personal event. Who can tell you with authority what your
experience means to you? Put another way: whom would you trust to stand
between you and the source of your dreams?
Exercise your intuition
To build facility with your dreams, work with your intuition. For example,
when I'm working with a dream and have yet to find the correct meaning
for one of its symbols (key phrases), I'll often have an 'unresolved' feeling
or a vague sense of dissatisfaction with my efforts. When the right meaning
finally comes to me, there's a subtle relaxation, not only in my mind,
but also physically, as if my body, too, were saying, "Aha, that's it."
Watch for ways in which you respond other than just mentally, and use this
awareness to plumb the effects your dream images and the memories behind
them have on you.
Dreams are relevant today!
Chances are good that a dream is telling you something about your life
right now. To put a dream in context, therefore, examine it against a backdrop
of the problems facing you during the day.
One way is to look for similarities between feelings experienced while
in the dream and your emotional habits during the daytime. When you notice
a correspondence, you may also find your dream contains clues to how this
emotional pattern is intertwined with the roots of your everyday conditions.
In the example dream, anxiety, my pleading 911 call, and the condemning
phone people were evocative of my daytime response to stress. I would think
constantly about my problems with a 'why me?' helplessness, then alternate
between castigating myself for being in the situation, and looking for
scapegoats I could blame it on. The emotions revealed themselves as keys
both to solving the problem and to understanding how I had arrived there.
The dream is a whole
Study them, and your dreams will expose not only the source of your spiritual
malaise, but also how you arrived at that point, and how to leave it gracefully.
In our example, the locomotive's symbol serves as a conductor's baton,
inviting the dreamer to compare first one view, and then another, of the
train's direction, speed, payload, power plant, and outlook for the immediate
future. In each case the contrast seems to point the dreamer down a road
that leads to a place of greater freedom for him.
In my dreams, minuses are balanced by pluses; insights are often accompanied
by the secret of how they were earned; and problems, as they are described,
usually suggest the natures of their solutions. Look for this balance in
your dreams.
Tips for good dreaming
There are several things you can try that have made a big difference in
the quality of my own dreaming. One is to fill yourself with a loving feeling
as you fall asleep. Try thinking of a loved one or a time in the past when
you felt truly loved, and let that feeling follow you into sleep. You may
be surprised at how your dreams will change.
Another is to sing HU as you go to sleep. HU (pronounced like the word
hue
), is a sacred name for the Creator that a person of any faith can use.
Think of it as a love song to God. My dreams are dramatically more interesting
and helpful when I do this. You can also experiment with other spiritually
charged words to find the ones that work for you.
A third technique is to ask for a dream of some nature. You could say:
God, I give you permission to give me the insight or experience I need
most at this time. Then go to sleep without giving it another thought.
Notes from the text
-
Soul
-
The Being wearing this body.
-
Cause and effect
-
In some teachings, various inner worlds are charcterized by particular
colors. Orange is identified with the Causal, or Third, Plane. Here one
encounters the seeds of all experiences and the laws governing the movement
and appearance of events in one's life.
-
Dull reddish orange (or gray)
-
A color's "meaning" is an individual thing and probably owes a lot to one's
experiences in the past. If you have no particular feeling for a color's
significance, do what I do. Look in a book (e.g., Paul Twitchell's ECK-Vidya:
Ancient Science of Prophecy, p. 111), or ask those you're close to
what they think. You can also try just putting some attention on the matter.
Say inwardly: Give me some insight on what this color might mean to me;
then go about your business and keep an ear cocked for information that
might come your way.
-
Inner Master
-
The highest consciousness; one which may be called upon for aid or to gain
greater awareness or understanding. An extension or manifestation of God.
-
Out-of-body experience
-
One view is that dreams correspond to the experiences we're having when
we leave the body during sleep and visit other worlds. For information,
including techniques, see The
Eternal Dreamer: Mahanta Transcripts, Book 7 or The
Spiritual Exercises of ECK, both by Harold Klemp.
Questions or comments?
© 1999 James Coronato All rights reserved.
