Dreams can give you insight into your life, your emotions, what you want and don’t want, and can be a way for your Spirit Guides and loved ones who have passed to share messages with you. Pretty cool, right? You can get so much guidance through your dreams, so here’s how to start remembering and interpreting them.
How to remember your dreams
Before you go to sleep, imagine that when you wake up in the morning, you remember your dream vividly. Picture yourself writing it down and understanding what it means. Keep a notebook by your bed (or use an app on your phone) so you can write down your dream while it’s still fresh in your mind.
If you wake up in the middle of the night, take a moment to remember what you were just dreaming. I’ve found that I wake up right after I’ve received a special message in my dream.
What to write down
Write down any special messages you received and details that stood out to you, including people, places, the weather, repeated phrases that were spoken, or numbers. Summarize the key aspects of your dream.
Even if you don’t remember many details, write down how the dream made you feel. Feelings are the most important and the key to understanding what your dreams mean.
Interpreting your dreams
Focus on feelings first
How did you feel in your dream? Notice if those feelings correspond to how you’ve been feeling in your life. For example, let’s say you had a dream that your loved one was getting swept away in a flood, and you felt helpless because you couldn’t save them. In real life, maybe a loved one has been making some unhealthy decisions, not listening to your warnings, and you feel helpless to get them to a safer path.
Interpret the symbols
You don’t have to interpret every detail, but certain symbols will stand out to you, and those are the ones to interpret. Ask yourself what the symbol means to you. What words come to mind? What feeling does the symbol evoke?
The flood in the dream example above is a symbol that could represent something out of your control, being swept away, and a force bigger than you are. To someone else, a flood could mean being washed clean and starting with a clean slate.
Because you are unique and have unique associations, it is very important to figure out what each symbol means to you before you look up symbol interpretations written by someone else.
People in your dream
People in your dream can represent an aspect of yourself. Notice how they were acting in your dream, and then ask yourself if that could apply to how you are acting in your life.
If you saw a loved one who has passed and are wondering if it could have actually been their spirit visiting you, check out my post on seeing spirits in dreams.
Numbers in your dream
When you have numbers in your dream, add the digits together until you get a single digit. For example, if your apartment number in your dream is 237, add those digits to get 12. Add 1+2 to get 3. So, 237 = 3. Then, think about your personal associations with that number, or look up what the number 3 means in a dream dictionary.
Overall meaning of your dream
Once you’ve interpreted the symbols, look for the overall meaning. What is this dream trying to tell you? What insight is it giving you about your life?
It gets easier
When you first start interpreting your dreams, it might take a while, depending on how thorough you are and if you use the dream dictionary for each item in your dream. Remember to focus on the key feelings and symbols to give you the story, rather than interpreting every detail.
Once you become more comfortable trusting your own interpretation, you will be able to get meaning from your dreams in a fraction of the time.
If you’re going through a difficult time or faced with feeling stuck, you might find a private reading most helpful. I share messages from your Guides to give you the clarity and peace of mind you’re looking for right away. Learn more about getting a reading.
Happy dreaming!