The Symbology of Dreams

(This blog was originally posted on October 2, 2014)

Photo courtesy of Microsoft

             Dreams always show or reveal what is going on in your life. The circumstances in your dream may be literal, inferred or symbolic. They are also very specific to you and are not transferable to anyone else.

               For example, a dream about flying may represent venting the feeling of escaping to more pleasant surroundings. Or, if your emotions are negative (e.g., sad, angry or fearful) when you wake up from an escape dream, it may represent a fear of loss of control, an out-of-body experience or fear of possession. Frustration about direction may also reflect your inability to make a decision.

                As a general rule, the content of what you have worked through in therapy or experienced during the course of the day will be vented out in an early-morning dream. Some dreams are so vivid that you may (temporarily) believe that the dream is true. However, be careful not to take the content of your dream literally. Rather, it is the message that is revealed to you through the symbols of your dream that is important. The timing of your dream is also very important because it tells you where the dream started or what jogged your memory of an event or situation. Timing of the dream also indicates how far back you must go to interpret its content or meaning.

                Finally, the way you feel when the dream is over reveals where you are in terms of dealing with an issue. “You can have a fairly traumatic dream and feel pretty good when you awaken or have a fairly traumatic dream and feel pretty bad,” said Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder John Kappas, Ph.D. “The kind of feelings a person has determines if [you’re] trying to let it go or take it back.”

                Your mind will hold onto the dream (i.e., the dream will recur) until it is interpreted, often adding circumstances or elements to facilitate the venting process. Once the dream is expressed, “it starts to decompose” and will not return, Dr. Kappas explained. If an issue is not vented out in a dream, it can be brought up during a hypnotherapy session.

              “Dreams can be very revealing and is an important part of therapy,” the hypnotherapist said.

Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in Southern California. She graduated with honors from the Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.

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