How to Read Dreams

When you read dreams, you may want to interpret their meaning. Ancient civilizations thought dreams were messages from deities. One of the earliest records of dream interpretation comes from the "Epic of Gilgamesh," when Gilgamesh's mother Ninsun read his dream. Psychologists Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung believed dreams were a way for an individual's unconscious and conscious mind to interact, and that the unconscious mind develops dreams. While no one is certain of why humans dream, the Psychics & Mediums Network believes dreams are essential to emotional balance, inner well-being and give the mind the chance to explore its potential.

Instructions

The Storyline Method

• 1

  Write down the details of a recurring dream. Give your dream a title.

• 2

  Break the story down into four parts. Jane Teresa Anderson's Dream Site suggests the following parts: the situation or introduction, the problem/question, how you attempt to solve the problem, and how the dream concludes or is resolved. It is okay if you cannot fill in some of the parts.

• 3

  Examine how the dream relates to your life. Think about how the rooms, people, animals and other objects represent parts of who you are or wish you were.

Examine the People in Your Dream

• 4

  Write a list of ten or less real people that have appeared in your dreams. Anderson's site states this list should consist of people you personally know, have seen in the movies or on TV. Underline the names of the people in the list not related to you. Then, write a list of ten or less characters that are not real that have appeared in your dreams, like a cartoon character or a hooded man.

• 5

  Write about a dream you had where one of the underlined people appeared. Do the same for a non-underlined person in the first list as well. Give each dream a title. Then, write about a dream where one of the characters from your second list of characters appeared and give the dream a title.

• 6

  Evaluate a person whose names you underlined. Anderson's site says you should write down what the person is like, when you saw them last, how you know the person, their role in the world and in your life, if the person reminds you of someone else, what you admire about them and if there are any unresolved issues with any of them.

• 7

  Write down what your main dream person whose name you underlined in the first list symbolizes in your life. Repeat step 3 with the name of a character from your second list in step 1.

• 8

  Evaluate the theme your dream reflects.