Are you the type who remembers their dreams from the night before? How do you handle them?
—
C’mon, you know you wake up with some serious dream memories from the previous night. Most of us don’t remember our dreams. We all dream. We all have that subconscious awareness that thrives somewhere in our brain depicting foreseeable circumstances, or unfinished business from the past.
If you are one of the lucky ones to remember your dreams, write them down either in a journal or on several pieces of scratch paper strewn about your home then this is a good thing. It shows that you are paying attention to what your gut is telling you. Whether you choose to follow that dream to some new state of being, the choice is yours. Dreams play a vital part in our existence. Not just in waking life, but when our bodies are at slumber and mentally turned off from the events of the day. This is when those awesome dreams happen.
What your dreams say may or may not shock you. I recently spoke with a dream analyst who got so excited when I mentioned all the animal dreams I have. I’m talking grizzly bears attacking my mother, an over-sized praying mantis ready to pounce on me, white dogs running free in the woods, swimming with the largest mammals of the sea; these are all happening while I’m sleeping. My REM sleep dream state is working over time and having an incredible party in my mind.
I wake up, write them down, think about the meaning, look up the meaning, talk to others about their dreams, and if I’m paying attention, any of those particular dreams manifests in one way or another. It often blows my mind to smithereens to witness when any, or all, of my dreams come true. It’s digesting those dreams that have the greatest impact. I will actually make the time to understand them, share them with my closest relationships, and reflect on their meaning.
Often, waking up in the middle of the night due to an overwhelming dream that leaves you in a pile of sweat, these are the most significant to remember. Your intuition is spot on with some matter that has been left undone. It may not be a nightmare, per se, but you have to truly look at some aspect of your life that is staring you in the face, and either deal with it, or put it to rest. Whichever route you choose, those scary dreams and jarring dreams will continue to show up in some form or another, unless you can own up to something in real life that is bothering you.
Water dreams are the best dreams. It is a sign of a spiritual life happening on some level. Even the drowning dreams are pertinent; some aspect of your waking life is being swallowed up by your new found life. It is a very significant experience, and one that happens when you are willing and ready to take your life to the next level.
Animal dreams are signs to pay attention to independence, courage, strength, and new beginnings. Parental dreams usually mean that you have an issue with either your mother or father and it hasn’t gone away yet. Or, your own behavior is mimicking your parents’ behavior. These are just a few examples of poignant dreams that seem to exist somewhere at some point while we are sleeping.
Aerosmith sang about it quite beautifully many moons ago “Dream On” … have fun swimming around in your dreams!
Photo credit: Flickr/Andrew Beebe