Tapping the Power of Your Dreams
Do you know how to remember and interpret your dreams? Try using these strategies!
Strategies for Remembering and Interpreting Dreams and their Life-Changing Message
As a psychiatrist, I believe that dreams provide extraordinary insights into improving your health, relationships, and career. I consult my dreams for all important decisions using a technique which I describe in “Emotional Freedom” and below. You’d be surprised at the invaluable advice that your dreams give, either spontaneously or on request.
Science magazine reports that sleeping on something or “unconscious thought” can result in smarter decisions than over-thinking–especially with important choices. For instance, if you’re going crazy analyzing the pros and cons of a relationship, the Science study says that won’t get you very far. Rather, it proposes that you think less and sleep on the dilemma, to give your subconscious an opportunity to solve the problem.
I subscribe to the “sleep on it” school of decision-making which involves drawing on the wisdom of dreams. Why do we dream? To find answers, resolve emotional conflicts, and discharge negativity. Also to stabilize our biochemistry and mood. But, to me, another interesting question is, “Why do we wake up? Native American and Aboriginal cultures revere dream-time over waking life–they base tribal law on information obtained there. The Maoris believe that when we die, we return to the dream world. Kalahari Bushmen say, “There is a dream and it is dreaming us.” So, in your own life, your dreams can contain advice that goes beyond the Annals of Internal Medicine.
How to Remember and Interpret Your Dreams from Emotional Freedom
I recommend the following 5 strategies to remember your dreams.
1. Keep a dream journal and pen by your bed.
2. Write a question (just one!) in the journal before sleep.
3. Wake up slowly. In the morning, spend some quiet moments remembering your dream. Luxuriate in a peaceful feeling between sleep and waking, what’s called the “hypnagogic state.” Those initial moments provide a doorway.
4. Record your dream immediately – otherwise, it will evaporate. You may recall a face, object, color, scenario, or feel an emotion. It doesn’t matter if it makes perfect sense. Do not censor anything. Nothing is too “strange” or “weird.”
5. See how the dream answers your question. Act on this answer and see if your life improves.
Try this every day for a week. Keep at it. You are programming your subconscious to remember. Soon it will become second nature to you.
How do you interpret dreams? One key is to notice the most highly charged emotion in the dream—for instance, anger, fear, or joy. Next, ask yourself, “Where in my life am I feeling these emotions?” Then, consider, how you can heal the situation or else celebrate a success. In addition, here are some common dreams and their interpretations.
A Guide to Interpreting Common Psychological Dreams
Dreams about your fears, anxieties, and insecurities
~ You’re standing buck naked in front of a group of people who are pointing at you. Meaning: You feel exposed, vulnerable, and unsafe about a situation.
~ You’re taking a test and panic that you don’t know the answers. Meaning: You feel unprepared to meet a challenge or solve an emotional dilemma.
~ You’re being chased by a horrifying pursuer. Meaning: You’re trying to escape a scary person or emotion (past or present) instead of facing it.
~ You lose your wallet and are stranded without credit cards or cash. Meaning: You’re afraid you’re without the emotional resources to cope with one or more aspects of your life.
~ Your teeth fall out, crack, or decay. Meaning: You feel that a source of power has been taken away in your life; you can’t bite back or assert your needs in a situation. Also, you may experience a lack of energy or nurturing from others. (Without strong teeth, it’s hard to chew food and assimilate its nutrients necessary for vitality).
~ You’re wandering around lost, unable to find your way home. Meaning: You lack a sense of inner or outer direction. You don’t know how to get back on track with a situation or relationship and don’t feel emotionally supported
Click HERE to Connect with your Daily Horoscope!
You will also enjoy Dream Visitation: Why the Deceased Show Up in Your Sleep
About the Author
Dr. Orloff is a best-selling author, a psychiatrist, an empath, and is on the UCLA Psychiatric Clinical Faculty. She synthesizes the pearls of traditional medicine with cutting edge knowledge of intuition, energy, and spirituality. Dr. Orloff also specializes in treating empaths and highly sensitive people in her private practice. drjudithorloff.com
