I’ve always been fascinated by dreams. It’s so amazing to me that our sub-conscience can create an entire world of impossibilities while we’re reenergizing for a new day. A couple years ago, I began keeping a dream journal; my dreams were always so odd and adventurous that I wanted to keep a record of them. Fast-forward to 5 years later, and I’ve gone through 1.75 journals. Writing my dreams down had a really interesting effect on me. When I go back and read my dreams, even the ones from five years ago, I find that I remember exactly what happened in the dream; I can picture it in my mind as clearly as I did the first night I had it.
Basically, I’m pretty into dreams.
So, this post is going to reflect that! I’ve put some tips for dreaming (for those who simply can’t seem to remember them when you wake up), tips for journaling those dreams, and a few interpretations of common objects and themes found in dreams.
Dreaming
It used to be believed that dreaming only occurred when you were in REM sleep, but this has been debunked. It is now found that dreams happen in all stages of sleep; however, the dreams had in REM sleep seem more realistic. Everyone has tons of dreams at night, though remember only a few or none at all. Here are some tips for remembering those adventures!
Get 8 hours of sleep.
I know. I get it. I’m in college; getting 8 hours of sleep? You might as well ask me to climb Mt. Everest. But it’s true. The more sleep you get, the more dreams you’ll remember.
Use your bed only for sleeping.
This one, too. Studying while sitting on my bed is so comfortable! But when you use your bed for anything other than sleep, your sub-conscience has a harder time sleeping when in the same space. Since the space has now been used for more than just sleep, it will be harder for the sub-conscience to associate the bed with sleeping. So, only sleep on your bed (I know. I’ll probably ignore this, too)!
Try to get all your sleep cycles in.
There’s actually a sleep calculator that, after you tell it what time you’re going to bed, tells you when to wake up so that you go through all your sleep cycles. Not only will this make you feel more awake—nothing is worse than having to wake up when you’re in the middle of deep sleep—but it will also help you to remember your dreams!
Journaling
 |
| That's right, Elena. Write all about your dreams of your vampire boyfriends! (Image Source) |
My favorite thing! A lot of my dreams have inspired some of the short stories I’ve written.
Write in present tense.
This is so important!!! In order to put yourself back in the dream, you have to write it in present tense. When doing so, you picture your dream occurring at the same time as you’re writing it. It’s like writing down a live stream of what’s happening right in front of you. When I first started dream journaling, I wrote in past tense. But once I switched to present tense, I found that I was able to remember more of what progressed in my dreams.
Write it down as soon as you can!
It’s no secret that dreams seem to fade from your mind as soon as you wake up. Therefore, it’s imperative that you write it down as soon as you possibly can before too much of the dream fades from your memory! I’ve even typed up my dreams before to write down later, since physically writing dreams takes a lot longer. But no one said a dream journal had to be in an actual journal! Yours could be on your computer if it’s easier for you to type it up!
Try to stay true to what happened.
I find myself almost convincing myself that certain things happened in my dreams without them actually occurring at all! It’s very hard to remember exactly what happened and not edit your dreams. If you had a dream about a woman named Patches (I did once) make sure to keep her name the same (even though it makes no sense).
I remember that I had a dream about umbrellas once; there were umbrellas strewn on the ground throughout my entire dream. As soon as I woke up, I immediately searched for what umbrellas mean in a dream. It turns out umbrellas equal emotional protection from disappointments, which I thought was pretty deep for seeing umbrellas while I was asleep (DreamBible.Com). Here are some of the more common objects and themes and what their presences in dreams mean (Meanings found at DreamBible.Com).
Being Chased
The rising terror bubbling in your throat as you can’t seem to run fast enough to get away from some unknown entity—we’ve all been there. And it’s terrifying. Especially when you feel like you’re running in slow motion. Being chased in a dream represents situations that you want to avoid or feel are impossible to overcome. DreamBible.Com says that it “may also reflect something you don’t want to acknowledge”—running from the truth, essentially (DreamBible.Com). All I know is that I wake up panting and scared.
Nudity
Mm, the classic. Everyone has it. You’re going through your day when, all of a sudden, you look down and notice that you must have forgotten to put on clothes. Dreaming of being naked means that you may be feeling vulnerable. DreamBible suggests that an unexpected change might be causing you to feel like your private life is on display. So, basically exactly what you’d think. No clothes = no protection = vulnerability. It’s not fun.
School
I used to have dreams of going throughout my day at school; everything was completely normal…except I could fly. So, that was pretty fun. But dreaming of being at school usually represents social concerns or insecurities. It also may represent anxiety about how you’re perceived by others. DreamBible suggests that there may be something happening in your life that you’re sensitive about (DreamBible.Com). Sounds like high school to me.
Animals
I don’t usually dream of animals, personally, but when I do, they’re usually my pets who’ve turned into other animals! DreamBible says that to dream of animals represents parts of your personality based on the animal you see. They may also represent the untamed parts of yourself. If you’re fighting with an animal in your dream, it usually represents a part of yourself that you want or are trying to reject. Dreaming of a dead animal may reflect loss. Now that I think of it, I dreamt of a baby chick once—what does that say about my personality?
Death
Unfortunately, I’ve frequently had dreams about loved ones dying. DreamBible says “To dream about death represents change” (DreamBible.Com). It says that something in your life is transforming either for the better or for the worse. A part of your life has come to a close, and things are changing. DreamBible also suggests that death could mean failure or an actual loss.
Guns
I actually haven’t had too many dreams with guns in them, thank goodness. The meanings of guns in dreams varies depending on who is wielding the weapon. For instance, if you dream you are holding the gun, it represents a decision you need to make. On the other hand, if you dream of someone else wielding the gun, it symbolizes a decision that embarrassed you, or a bad choice (DreamBible.Com). Dreaming of actually shooting someone bad represents a decision where you overcame negative thinking. Dreaming of shooting someone good represents giving into negative thinking.
Flying
My favorite! The feeling of flying high up in the clouds is the most euphoric feeling I’ve encountered—of course, I was sleeping, but still! Dreaming of flying represents feelings of freedom from restrictions. You feel like nothing can hold you back. DreamBible says that flying in your dream may be a reflection of creative freedom of expression in waking life or escaping a burden (DreamBible.Com). On the other hand, dreaming of flying may show that you enjoy running from your responsibilities.
And that’s it! If you’ve experienced a theme or object frequently in your dreams, and it’s not listed here, try DreamBible.Com! All you do is type in the keyword, and tons of results come up! What’s the strangest dream you’ve ever had? Tell me in the comments! Thank you for reading!
Until next time!
-Emiliana Maye
