For dream interpretation immediately this painting came to mind that I gave to my son, eleven years old at the time. He immediately associated it with, and called it "The Yellow Brick Road."(My own inspiration came from the heather fields in the North of Holland)
Love the story of the Yellow Brick Road with Dorothy, Tin Man, etc. traveling on it. It's a story of our journey in life, and how each personality deals with problems that come up.
In this blog post I'm going psychological on you, so beware, haha! I'll leave the psychological terms out, so we'll keep it as leisurely as possible, instead of you ending up with a head ache.
I decided to give you my expertise on dreaming since I studied long and hard, wrote a research dissertation with a title that is two lines long, and do have a dr. in front of my name. That's one reason.
Another reason is that once in a while I read such nonsense (meaning NO sense) on blogger, and when I keep perusing these particular blogs (none of the ones who comment or follow), I discover that they have only partial training ranging to the worst - no training at all (a weekend's seminar on dreams doesn't make one an expert!!).
On some subjects I can see wisdom in alternative methods, but not with dreams. Why?
To speak in terms of painting, one needs to have learned about design, light, the medium one works with, the characteristics of papers, brushes, and other tools, to make a good picture.
The people I just talked about see a still life in front of them, but have a vague idea about vantage point, or don't realize that shadows travel in the course of the day, they have only one brush, and think that the paper they make their painting on is the ONLY paper that exists, or that is good.
Why do I give an example about painting while I'm writing about dreaming? So that painters won't be insulted, because it's not about them, and the would-be dream experts won't be insulted, because I'm giving an example about painters. This way, everyone knows it's not my purpose to insult, but to tell what dream interpretation all includes.
All text and images are property of Jeannette StGermain. You may print this - only the posts about Dreams - and only for private use. No part of this may be reworked, edited in any way or form, or be used to sell.
A dream is a frame of intricate pieces fitting together in the life of the dreamer.
- A dream can have more than one interpretation.
- An interpretation depends on the age, gender, life's situation, job, particular life's history, own personality...you like me to go on?
- Once I had a dream that I was driving a big red off-road truck with unusual big tires, while in life I like to drive a medium compact car with a neutral color. So this part of the dream was saying to me, watch out, this is big, this (red) is danger, while if a teen male would have that big red truck in his dream, he might see it as fun, goofing off, a cool thing.
- To make it really confusing, there are things that will influence a dream, like brain-altering substances, like alcohol, marijuana, natural and chemical medications, food, physical or mental condition.
- To put the dream in a frame work, one needs to consider one's belief system and world view (religious, political, social, geographical location, etc.).
- One's individual reaction to particular life experiences may differ in people who are very closely connected, such as brothers and sister, husband and wife. For instance, two brothers may have served a term in Iraq. One brother is fine after a period of adjustment, but the other brother comes back with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). The difference is partly due to how each one is wired emotionally!
- A dream often brings up what we cannot face, or what we are not aware of, during the day. A dream might be a warning, or something we are trying to understand, grapple with, and the questions we have, are coming up or are repeated in different ways. Isn't it amazing that our brain gives us a second chance to "get" what we missed, or what we would like to miss?
- A dream present itself most often in a symbolic manner. The symbols are for the dreamer. If I would hate cats, a cat in my dream would not be a good thing. But if I would be a cat lover, a cat could mean something I really want. Almost all people dream regularly, but most of us have forgotten them, by the time we put our socks on. Most dreams are for and about ourselves.
These reasons above tell you why generic dream interpretations do not work! At least not in the long run. Do not get side tracked by people who are very good observers and have certain sensitivities. Anyone (almost anyone) can develop sensitivity in certain areas. If I have a green shirt on, there's a good chance I might like green. When I wear a wedding ring, I might be married, LOL.
With this I've given you a general overview about things to consider on the subject of dream interpretation. It depends on how much you like to know about it, how many blog posts I will spend on it, but it would not be more than once a week, otherwise I'll have nightmares about it (just kidding). Please tell me if you are interested in certain topics/questions.
33 comments:
Fascinating discussion. I have an interest in dreams, although I almost never remember any of my own. When I do remember a dream I am usually so staggered to find that my mind is up to playing with such intense images while my back is turned (figuratively speaking) that I loose interest in what the dream actually means.
This is an extremely interesting topic Jeannette and I for one would like to hear more.
I am going to set you a question but let me tell you this, I very, very seldom dream.
Some times I will have a dream and it will mean nothing but on occasion I will have one which bothers me or I get a "feeling" from. The subject matter is not alway the same, and does not have to be either good or bad. For example: I can dream I am climbing or siting on top of a hill. If I wake up with a "feeling" about it, I know something is going to happen. I do not know if it is going to be good or bad, just that something will happen and usually within 3 days it does. It might be a raise at work, it might be hearing a friend is ill, anything.
So my question is: are these dreams premonitions? If so where do they come from? Why do other dreams not have this "feeling attached to it?
Is this too much to answer or too complicated? Just over a week ago I had one of these, and then a friend of mine stopped writing.
Lots of talks on dreams in the blogs lately!
Like your presentation of the subject (and see why you have a DR in front of the name).
You talk of food having an influence and it is surprising just how much an influence sugar or things like pasta can do to our dreams. I will not claim any more expertise than that statement. I like your clarifications ( and the painting also)
Barry,
Glad you brought this up!
Remember, most dreams are symbolic, so don't be afraid of the intensity, or that they might say something you really don't like to know!
Try this. Write it down -
what happened
which people
your feelings
your role (were you in it, or were you watching?
- immediately after you wake up - sometimes after 20 min. being awake, only a vague feeling is left, and some bits and pieces.
When you find out what the symbols might mean, you may see your dream in a very different light. Also, I'm open to answer any questions by email (email adress is underneath "Leave a comment.")
Thanks for visiting!
Joan,
I'm afraid there are no simple answers, like: it's this, or it's that.
I see dreams as "information", whether we have that forewarning feeling or not.
For starters, when you meet anyone for the first time(the cash register person in the grocery store, or the waiter in the restaurant - fleeting meetings, not friendships),
do you have immediately some sense about the person,
or not?
Later, sometimes years later, do you discover you were 90% of the time right
or 50% of the time wrong?
(I know mathematically that does not make sense, but these are approximations, please give me your percentages:) )
Joey,
Because everything is turned upside down for many, many people in the world right now, it's almost to be expected that a lot of people will remember that they had a dream :)
Actually, Joey, maybe you can shed some light on what happens in our body and brain that will effect our dreams when we ingest sugar. My medical knowledge falls short here.
What I know from experience is for a great deal from my years in the counseling room after my dr.
(usually I actually try to hide my dr, but some of these blog people are so blind sighted, that I felt I should give some backup & explanation for the word "expertise.")
Very interesting post. I would like to hear more of what you have to say about dreaming.
I dream alot. Sometimes they make sense, sometimes they are random odds and ends.
How I view or participate in dreams changes too. There are times that I dream in third person, like an observer, other times I am the story.
My dream settings can be hazy, with a surreal feeling or crystal clear like I am actually living the moment.
I have had several dreams that have really shaken me with life altering images, or premonitions. At the hour my mother died, I dreamt she died, exactly like she did. Sounds strange, but it's true.
I usually only spend time thinking about the dreams that seem like they could really happen. I don't steer my life by what I experience in them or analyze different components, I look at them more as a whole, what the general scope of the dream might be telling me.
Dreams sure a quirky part of our lives.
My first impressions on meeting a stranger are almost always correct Jeannette. Even if it has taken months or years, sooner or later I am proved right so I would say 99%. Maybe some people are more sensitive to people than others. I do not even have to talk to the person, just watch them.
Jen,
In this day and age, we don't pay much attention to dreams, because everything needs to be "rational" (it's Greek thinking), but there was a time that dream interpreters were part of the Middle Eastern's Kings closest advisors.
I am glad we have dreams, because if we would only go by our logic, we would miss a lot!
It seems to happen more often that we dream what is happening to a person close to us, like your grandmother dying.
Was it comforting to you that you knew what was going to happen, or was it more of a warning, so you could accept her death?
Joan,
Your people skills are very developed. I would say that these dreams that come true are preparing you for what is going to happen.
Your dream life reminds me of that of my hubby - he seldom dreams, but when he does, it is often a warning (after I tell him what it might mean LOL, because he mostly can't make anything of it :) ).
If you have dreams of premonition, I would pay more attention to your dreams. Write them down immediately when you wake up. I have a notebloc next to my bed for that reason!
I don't dream often, and when I do it's usually about people that I've lost such as my parents, my brother, my nephew. So, when I wake up, I lit a candle in his/her memory and try to think whether there was some message conveyed.
For example, once I got the feeling that my Mom was not pleased with me not being in touch with a certain cousin. So I made the first move and phoned to that particular cousin , just to please my mother's spirit.
Very nice artwork and I really enjoy looking at the colors in it...it's peaceful to me.
About the dreams...what an interesting topic of posting; very enjoyable to read...so interesting.
Thank you for sharing this insight...so many people have no clue, really.
I dream vividly, in color and in great detail. My dreams are like movies. They are also very symbolic and often I can figure out the symbolism, but not always. Very often my dreams deal with unresolved issues from the past. Emotional hurts that I have not gotten over yet, or I dream about my children, one of whom is dead. I never dislike my dreams, even when they deal with stressful situations, because I think I have them to learn from them. I find them interesting for the most part and sometimes fascinating and joyful. Some of them make me very happy.
If you want to write more about the subject then I'm certainly interested.
XOX
Irene
Duta,
I can't exactly give you an answer, because I would need to know more of your background - I don't want to put you on the spot though, where you would have to reveal very personal things in public. So, it you like, give me an email (amail adress, above in the comment box)
If you don't want to, no harm done!
thank you Heather about the art, and about the dreams:) Before my training I always wondered about my dreams, but the explanations they gave me never made sense, so that's why I think I was very interested in this topic from the beginning!
Irene,
Sounds like you're good to go! And that your dreams are helping you to resolve issues - great - I love it!
Some of my dreams are so vivid that they stay with me for more than a year. Often I gain insight for certain precarious situations in my dreams, or encouragement for people I'm closely connected with.
Fortunately I have no vivid dreams. I have dreams but cannot remember them. Thanks for your comment and visit. Have a great weekkend!
Reader Wil,
wow, you can't remember any of them? Or, you just don't write them down right after you get up? Especially with a background like yours, you would have some interesting dreams:)
Thank you too for your visit and comment!
Jeannette,
I think the dream prepared me for the phone call I got a few hours later from my sister telling me that our mom had passed.
This was a really interesting post and insightful. It was neat to be able to read other's comments as well, and hear a bit about how other people dream.
Jeannette.....I dream all night but like Wil, I'm hardly ever able to recall what I dreamed except that I know I dreamed!
It is never the contend of the dream that bothers me, just the feeling I have when I wake up from it. I should pay more attentention to the content as maybe that is telling me more about it. Next time I will write it down and let you know what it was about. They are never of the 'nightmare' type though. :) Thank goodness!!
The science is relatively simple, sugars (carbs are also sugars) are broken down in the body to form energy, pat of that reaction creates a C-OH molecule (alcohol). that of course is simplistic and it is not quiet the same as drinking alcohol, but the mood interaction is. Increases in insulin and all of those processes affect our brain. A diabetic can go into shock and die if things are not regulated, so you wonder why it affects our dreams. all this is from those wonderful biochemistry courses I took so many years ago.
Jeannette, I went to your website and read through most of what you have on there. I enjoyed getting to know about you a little more and your artwork.
Your Revelation paintings struck a chord with me. I could get to the the heart of what is was all about. Simply wonderful. Thanks for bringing forth such wonderful truths in your expressive and soulful work.
Jen comment 1 and 2,
wonder if you were shook up right after the dream, or did you think it couldn't be real (till you got the phone call)?
Thank you Jen, but I thank the Giver of the gift who gave me the inspiration even more. I am just the brush that does the work.
Carol,
Wow, since you love writing and have such great imagination (I remember very well your make-believe story a while ago, so believable that some readers thought it was true!), I thought you would remember at least some of your dreams!
Do you sleep well, and a normal 6-8 hours? Or do you take any kind of meds?
Joan,
Yes, I am glad they're not night mares! Okay, I'm looking forward to some dreams you'll have:)
Joey,
sorry, there's a misunderstanding, which is my fault by not being clear enough. I thought you meant that you had info. about specific influences sugar had related to dreams. (Just an arbitrary and made-up finding as example: heavy alchol users have more violent dreams than people who occasionally drink alchol, or people with low blood sugar have more depressive dreams than people with normal levels of blood sugar), etc.)
This is interesting, thank you for sharing this topic.
I do belived on what you've written about "A dream often brings up what we cannot face, or what we are not aware of, during the day. A dream might be a warning"
Occassionally, I dream of seeing someone dear that has passed on, sign of missing that person? and not so long ago death of someone, a possible sign that I fear death of that particular person? What do you think? I would wake up with a trouble mind from the dreams.
Thanks
I used to have all kinds of dramatic, vivid dreams, in colour almost every night. After my spouse's passing away, i seem to lose even the ability to dream. What do you think it means??
EVen if i do dream, it seems to be bits and pieces of missing jig saw puzzles.
Wow. What an insightful,informed and interesting post. I have always been fascinated by my dreams. Sometimes they are extremely strange, but there are always tidbits of things that are important to me. They cause me to reflect on those things. My daughters frequently wake up and tell me about their dreams. Thanks!
Silver,
I posted your comment but then forgot to respond to it - sorry!
I'll adress some of your gurestions in my next post of dreaming - thanks for the patience!
Neetzy,
I am not surprized that you have a developed dream life, as well as your daughters - it's the artistic mind that "sees" things quicker than auditory-oriented people.
In a dream nothing is strange, because it refers to something else!
These dream posts have been very enlightening. I am going to have to bookmark these.
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