.:Website
by:.
| DREAM
CATEGORIES By Rosemary Watts, © 1991 Dreams are a very important aspect of our daily lives that need more conscious attention and consideration. Whether we dream in vague snippets or full-blown epic movies, the information your sleeping mind is sharing should not be overlooked. With more focus and value given to your dreams, you will remember more dreams and learn incomparable lessons. I have found that dreams often fall into ten different categories. When approaching dreams, know that several categories usually apply to one dream. The deeper you explore, the more levels of meaning you can find. I present these categories so that you may begin to look at your own dreams to discover the multi-dimensional aspects within these nightly scenarios. 1. Daily wash or daily review dreams. These are the most common of dreams and, unfortunately, are often easily dismissed. An example might be: you have dinner  with
a friend and that night you dream about having dinner with this friend.
In the dream, you have all the food on your side of the table as your
friend sits there watching you eat. Suddenly, she begins crying uncontrollably.
Then, as you watch, she turns into a small, wounded bird fluttering
on the chair, seeming to cry out for attention. You are then changed
into a colorful parrot talking a mile a minute. There are several
possible reasons for having this type of dream: a.) The dream might
be showing you explicitly the choices you made. With the food on your
side of the table, you become aware that you were the one nourished
through your encounter with your friend. b.) The dream might be sharing
reactions you overlooked. Your subconscious picks up on subtle emotional
nuances and presents them to you in the dream. Your friend was upset
and you were not consciously aware of this, thus your dream presents
her emotional state in a dramatic version so that you will listen.
c.) A third reason for this type of dream might be to act as a character
study. Through the bird symbol, you clearly understand each of your
roles from the previous evening. In a waking state you can now correct
the imbalances from your dinner by calling to listen, support and
nourish your friend. Rather than quickly tossing these dream images
aside, look more closely into the messages behind dreams. Please don't
dismiss any dream fragments or "obvious" messages; dreams are more
complex and deserve your attention. 2. Character review dreams. Most characters presented in dreams are an aspect of yourself. When you dream about your mother she is likely to be personifying an aspect of yourself of which you may not be aware. 
When friends from the past pop up in a dream, you should look back
either to your relationship with them or the time period you knew
them to see what messages they present. The "character review" category
can serve several functions: a.) It can highlight your own strengths.
Perhaps your dream shows positive aspects about yourself that you
are presently overlooking. For example, you dream about a beautiful
dancer being showered with roses upon her curtain call. She then presents
the roses to you backstage. The dream is showing your potential for
sharing creativity with others and being rewarded. However, consciously
you have put these talents "backstage" and the dream is showing you
the rewards of bringing them "on stage." b.) It can point out
weaknesses. You dream about standing in line, then you get stuck in
traffic, and then your date is late. When you awaken, you see the
comedy in this frustrating dream and understand your own need to be
patient with circumstances that are out of your control. c.) It can
also give suggestions for balancing. You dream about being chained
to your desk with mounds of work in front of you. Meanwhile, outside
the window, you see people playing. You wake up knowing that "all
work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," and you vow to take more
time for yourself. 3. Problem solving dreams. Dreams are very helpful, like a good friend trying to relay messages to you ... all you have to do is ask. There are several ways these problem solving tools can be used. a.) Dreams can present  business
or study advice. One night, I gave myself a pre-sleep suggestion about
whether to take a job I was considering. That night, I dreamt that
I was walking a close, unidentified friend to the elevator in a high
rise apartment building. I turned to go back down the hall to my apartment.
Suddenly, the elevator cable snapped and I heard the elevator crash
to the bottom, my friend screaming. I woke up and immediately knew
I shouldn't take this particular job because it could "crash" to the
ground and in the process I would lose something close to me. b.)
Dreams can aid in interpersonal clarification. You are having some
misunderstandings with your spouse and you go to bed upset. That night,
your dream shows you some key to this conflict, and you awaken with
a resolution and a better understanding of your partner's feelings.
c.) They can give clues for the best choice to be made. Perhaps you
are considering moving and have narrowed your choice down to several
locations. Still undecided, you go to sleep and you dream about the
most appropriate location for you. Dreams may not be presented in
a literal scenario, but when working with the symbols of the dream,
the deeper meaning becomes much more evident. Listen to your own inner
voice or "heart" to validate your impressions. As the dreamer, you
will know when you've "gotten" the message from your dream. d.) Finally,
dreams can share suppressed emotions about a situation. In college,
my sister and I had many misunderstandings. I dreamt shortly before
she was getting married that her best friend and I completely missed
the wedding. We showed up without our bridesmaids' dresses on, embarrassed
to be so late. My dream warned me about my negative feelings and how
they could potentially sabotage my sister's wedding. 4. Body and health awareness dreams. Dreams can a.) show imbalances, b.) give health-aid suggestions, and c.) share mental or emotional effects on the body. Perhaps you dream about a vicious dog attacking your stomach and ripping out your intestines. Your doctor (or someone you don't actually know in waking life, 
but this person reminds you of your doctor) appears, leading a cow.
You awaken, aware that this stomach pain could be a serious problem,
perhaps an ulcer. Your dream shows the importance of making an appointment
to see your doctor and that you should drink more milk to soothe your
ulceric problems. The dog is showing how your uncontrollable anger,
even if suppressed, is the cause of this attack on your stomach and
intestines. Dreams are not always presented so simplistically as these
examples, and you may not be aware of their meaning upon waking; however,
if given attention, dreams will make their meaning clear and relay
their individually unique message. Often just reading the dream out
loud allows for greater clarity and subtle messages to be "heard."
5. Inspiration dreams. a.) Dreams can give specific answers to questions. My brother, a computer scientist, has told me of going to bed exhausted from working on an unsolved issue. In the morning, the solution to the  problem
is clear. Dreams used for problem solving and inspiration have been
greatly noted by a variety of people such as scientists, inventors,
writers and other artists, and business people. b.) Dreams can show
creativity in action. During college, I was taking a choreography
class. I took a short nap before rehearsal one day. In my dream, I
woke up at 6:10 pm., although the meeting was to begin at 5:00. I
dashed over to the studio and everyone had already been working for
over an hour. In the dream, we completed the dance and felt very creative.
When I woke up, it was indeed 6:10 pm. AGH! My partners had left by
then without working on our project. The next day, I shared the dance
ideas presented in my dream and many of these ideas were incorporated
into our final dance project. My dreams were working on my dance project
even though my body was sleeping. c.) Dreams can provide motivation
to continue in a specific creative endeavor. As an actress, there
are times when I lose sight of my goals. Usually during this time,
I will dream of being cast in a great role and I wake up with renewed
determination. 6. Bad dreams or nightmares. Everyone has had a bad dream at some point in their lives. Often these are the only dream experiences remembered. With an on-rush of adrenaline, you wake with a start and the emotions overwhelm you while reliving those scary scenes. "Bad" dreams, above all, should be paid close attention. There are several possible reasons for these types of dreams. a.) Nightmares shock you 
into remembering and/or facing certain fears, emotions, or blocks.
Your conscious mind hasn't gotten the message (you don't remember
the "simpler" dreams or else you don't pay attention to their messages).
So your subconscious "slaps you awake" with a scenario that is so
dramatic that you will remember and with such an emotional
impact that it has an effect! Unfortunately, most people treat nightmares
as "only a dream." Instead, the dreamer should view these dreams as
highly important - a last, drastic attempt by the subconscious to
get through. Take a look at the dream characters and actions, break
them down into specific characteristics and see how they might apply
to your waking life. b.) They are acting out possible negative scenarios
to release negative energy. It shows you that waking reality isn't
so bad. All actors are familiar with "the actor's nightmare." You
go out on stage to do a musical and suddenly the rest of the cast
is doing Shakespeare. You're in the wrong costume and you don't know
any of the lines. AGH! At the next rehearsal in your waking life,
everyone else is still doing the same show you thought you were in.
Relieved by this affirming reality, you have more confidence as you
step onto the stage. c.) Nightmares personify negative feelings in
order to deal better with fears. Shirley MacLaine, at her Higher Self
Seminar, shared a recurring childhood nightmare. In the dream, she
was being chased by a huge, mean gorilla. She ran and ran, barely
keeping out of reach of the gorilla. Finally, she came to the edge
of a cliff. This is where she usually woke up - terrified. One night,
she was having the same dream, only this time when she reached the
edge of the cliff, she turned. "What do you want?" she cried out to
the gorilla. He replied, "I don't know, little girl. It's your dream."
This humorous anecdote shows how we create the scary images from our
dreams and we can control the outcome. By understanding what is behind
our fear, we can overcome the possible negative outcome and make that
dream character our ally. d.) Coming out of the dream state into a
more wakeful state, the conscious mind can become aware of and evaluate
the dream material. Those dreams where you are being chased but can't
move are likely to be times when the conscious mind checks in on the
dream, yet realizes the body is "frozen" in its R.E.M. stage, thus
the feeling of not being able to move. The conscious mind doesn't
realize that this state is a dream and panics, waking you up in distress.
Please don't brush aside these bad dreams just to relieve yourself.
These are important dreams with important messages and should be given
your waking focus. If you ignore these dreams, then the problems or
difficult situations are almost forced to manifest in your waking
life. 7. Clarification dreams. Further dreams can a.) clarify previous dreams, b.) give a clearer message, or c.) using the same symbol, show a different scenario that clarifies that symbol. For  example,
I had several dreams about my high school vocal coach. The first time
I dreamt about him, I assumed the dream content would relate to his
life at that time. Since we are still friends, I contacted him, but
he could not confirm the dream's message as relating to him. So I
asked my dreams for clarification. My next dream dealt with my own
career progress at that time and was easily interpreted. Again, I
asked for dream clarification about my former voice teacher. The next
time I dreamt about this man, I clearly understood that he represented
a time when I was very clear about my career goals and aspirations.
He had personally been very supportive of my desires. He, as a symbol,
represented this memory and support of those goals. Now when he appears
in my dreams, it is usually at a time when I really need this support.
8. Assistance for others dreams. They can give a.) general aids, b.) insight into specific problems (often seen symbolically rather than literally), and c.) symbolic understanding of trends and probable future events. Just like in your own 
"body and health awareness" dreams, you can pick up on health problems
in a close friend or family. But it doesn't have to be specifically
health-related. You can dream about a brother who is overworking himself;
in the dream he begins to make mistakes, eventually getting fired.
You can check with this brother to see if he is indeed overworking
himself. In any dream that seems to deal directly with another person,
check with that other person first to see if the dream has significance
for them. However, whether there is significance for the other or
not, realize that you had the dream for a reason. Maybe you are overworking
yourself and can't see it, so the dream non-threateningly shares this
information. It is important to always take the dream content back
to the dreamer and apply the messages and symbols, however subtle,
to the dreamer's personal life. 9. Psychic awareness dreams. This category gets the most phenomena attention. Most people have had at least one form of psychic awareness through a dream. The most common is a.) connections with "other world" people. Your  grandmother
has died recently and one night you dream that she visits to tell
you that she is all right and very safe. "There is nothing to fear
in death. I am still with you," she shares. Another common experience
is b.) telepathy about past, present or future events for: 1.) yourself.
For example, you dream about skidding on the ice and your car swerves
off the road. The next day as you travel in those winter conditions
seen in your dream, you are particularly cautious. Your car hits the
ice patch and you are able to correct your car before sliding off
into the ditch. 2.) your friends or family. You dream that your mother
falls down the stairs. The next day, because of your awareness from
this dream, you stop by your mother's house and arrive just after
she indeed has fallen. By your prompt arrival, the situation turns
out to be much less serious. 3.) your community. Many people in a
community often dream about a significant event that will happen in
their area. For example, some might dream about a tornado hitting
their town. When weather conditions sour a few days later, they are
more prepared to face the potential disaster. 4.) national or global.
Several people, including the President, foresaw Lincoln's assassination
in their dreams. Again, the important thing to do with these clairvoyant
dreams is first to react to them literally. Then look internally to
see why that dream might have significance for your personally. Perhaps
your emotional life is about to experience a "tornado" and you need
to go within to your "shelter" to withstand the impending storm. A
third psychic category is c.) past-life memories. You awaken from
a very vivid dream about life during King Arthur's reign. The dream
seems so much more "real" than waking life. All day you can't shake
the images. Perhaps you are tuning into past-life memories of a life
during that time period. As with any past-life work, it is important
to apply any insights, messages or lessons to the present. By tuning
into that past life during King Arthur's reign, you may rekindle that
feeling of a noble and charitable life, when standing up for "right"
did enable "might." 10. Spiritual connection dreams. These dreams can share a.) spiritual lessons, b.) universal truths, c.) unconditional love, and d.) connection with angels, guides, teachers, your Higher Self, and God. I had an incredible dream experience a few years ago that I feel falls under this category. The dream was very long and 
complicated, but one section I'd like to share. I was with a close
friend. When I looked over at him, we zoomed out of our bodies and
flew up high over the earth. The earth looked so clear and beautiful.
When we returned to earth, we did not rejoin our bodies. Instead,
when I looked at my friend, I saw only his etheric body, vibrant energy
and light! As I looked into this energy field, I saw in a flash (not
like in a movie, but instant knowing) all of his many lives and experiences.
When I looked down at my own energy field, I was of the same type
of energy and light, and also knew all that I'd ever experienced.
We discussed the many choices we'd made and laughed at how complicated
we'd made life, and how many times we'd lost perspective. Then an
overwhelming feeling of unconditional love swept over me. It was like
nothing I'd ever experienced before! This experience left me with
such heightened perspective and love flowed over into all areas of
my life. Dreams are a precious gift we give ourselves nightly. By learning to remember and unravel the various layers, dreams can add a special awareness to our lives and the choices we make. Dreams can be likened to a nightly therapy session. The only cost is the attention paid to explore these rich, nightly scenarios. Keep these categories in mind when viewing your own dreams and good luck in this rewarding avenue of personal discovery. (Original printing: Dream Network Journal, Volume 11, Numbers 1 and 2, 1992.)
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||