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the dream is a little hidden door in the innermost and most secret recesses of the soul....Carl Jung
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Is It Possible? I Believe Most Anyone Can

*********************************************************** But Not Just Any Dictionary...The Power of Dreams Dictionary * |
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Everyone Can Use Anyone Can Particpate
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"Dreams are impartial, spontaneous products of the unconscious psyche, outside the control of the will. They are pure nature; they show us the unvarnished, natural truth, and are therefore fitted, as nothing else is, to give us back an attitude that accords with our basic human nature when our consciousness has strayed too far from its foundations and run into an impasse"....Carl Jung
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Introduction
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After 25 years of analyzing and interpreting dreams I have learned two things.
#1: Dreams are no longer a mystery. The language of symbols, what they represent, and their personal message can be determined when properly analyzed.
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#2: There is an easier way to analyze and interpret dreams without having to invest years of study of dreams and Jungian psyche {Jung's approach to dreams is the preeminent accepted dream science, beyond what Freud proposed}.
#One. Using the concepts of psychiatrist/psychoanalysis Carl Jung allows those who use his concepts {and there are a lot of us} to unravel and decode the language of the dream {symbol and metaphor with some literal applications} and extract a message from the unconscious. How? The dream is a direct link to the unconscious and within the unconscious is your true self, the emotional self and the energies that influence if not control the conscious ego life. Getting to and exposing this true self is what dreams attempt to do, it's nature's device to help bring about balance, harmony, and meaning to life. Interpreting and understanding our dreams help facilitate good psychologcial health by helping to resolve the emotional issues that plague us. It is as simple as that.
#Two. Because dreams are for the most part symbol and metaphor {interlaced with literal applications}, getting to the dream message can be attained by interpreting the images and action, by amplifying and expansing the images and actions. This amplification/expansion reveals the personal associations and revelance to the dreamer's life. The images and actions are presented in a terminology that when properly interpreted will get to their meaning as they apply to the dreamer. Normally it requires an experienced dream analyst to properly analyze dreams, an analyst who uses the concepts of psychologist Carl Jung>
But I believe I have found an easier way. By consulting a dream dictionary, not just any dictionary but a 'Jungian based' dream dictionary. These 'Jungian' dictionaries provide an expansion of the words to its greatest practical application, in a context of the dream plot, as well as its relevance to the emotional energies represented by the images. The dream plot is the actual and true plot of the dreamer's life. The dictionaries provides best possibilities to what fits with the dreamer's true life, emotional and practical.
Every word in a dream has not only a meaning but also an application that fits within the parameters of the emotional energies that motivate, influence and far too often control the dreamer's waking life. Position the amplified words together with their amplified possibilities and you will see a development of patterns of actions, the rendering of the emotional energies in symbolic expression as they fit within the dreamer's inner life. Much of what is learned about these unconscious energies are often unknown to the dreamer and the benefits come from the discovering what is unknown. By knowing about the energies the dreamer can make adjustments that can provide a more harmonious and balanced life . This is why we dream, it is nature's tool to help discover the emotional energies with an intent to help resolve those issues.
My goal in creating these pages, in addition to the research results I attain from participant response, is to provide detailed but simple instructions so the dreamer can interpret their own dreams using the dream dictionaries. Not just any dictionary since most are pure nonsense. But dream dictionaries that are 'Jungian based', that best define the emotional energies within dreams. .
About Dream Dictionaries
Years ago when you consulted a dream dictionary they would offer 'predictions' of wealth and fame or some other 'enriching' aspect, stating in almost certain terms what the dream image would represent. As an example the image of a beach house. The explanation was 'To see beach house indicates that you are going to be doing a lot of traveling throughout the years'. Or you would find dream symbols associated with the zodiac. A house in this interpretation state, 'To dream that you own an elegant house, denotes that you will soon leave your home for a better, and fortune will be kind to you'. These books were primarily outward looking at best, total fictional at the worst. If a dream dictionary tells you an object in your dream predicts an event, it is a dream dictionary that you need to use as a door stop.
Today things are much different. Because of the acceptance of dream psychology as a true science, and the in-depth exploration of dreams that grows each year, we now know {those of us who use Jungian concepts} the dream images are symbolic expressions of the emotional energies within the dreamer. There is also a recognition that dream symbols can be universal, universal patterns when applied in a personal aspect will fit the individual dreamer's emotional/practical life. As important is the acceptance of Carl Jung's archetypes, the archaic patterns and images that reside within the collective unconscious of people the world over. When we examine dream images and compare them to images in mythology, we discover another connection that is undeniable, another source that verifies the application of the dream images as symbolic representations. {Dreams and myth share the same archetypal images}. To understand how Jung has influenced the new dictionaries you need only to 'google' 'dream dictionaries'. You will find most all dream sites use the concepts Jung proposed. When you apply other Jungian concepts on dream analysis with these 'objective' dictionaries, getting to the interpretation of a dream is no longer a great mystery. With some effort I believe most anyone can interpret their own dreams.
The two dream dictionaries I use are comprehensively 'Jungian' based {based on Jungian concepts}. The Myths-Dreams-Symbols Dream Dictionary is my first dream dictionary. Th MDS dictionary is primarily taken from Eric Ackroyd's 'A Dictionary of Dream Symbols and was put together way back when. It provides more of a general application of the symbols. The Power of Dreams Dictionary was designed in 2017 and is a 'shared' dictionary with with three other on-line dictionaries, including the MDS Dream Dictionary. It offers more possible applications of dream images. There are not any other dictionaries on line that are as thoroughly 'Jungian' as these two dictionaries.
Just as nature provided the body with an immune system to protect and heal, so to it provided the psych{ology} with the dream. |
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Why Interpret Your Dreams
Discovering Who You Are and Why
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Dream therapy {interpreting your dreams} can aid in gaining emotional well-being. By consciously researching and understanding dreams one can find connections between dream images/actions and waking life, thus opening the mind to past experiences that possessed strong emotional energies that become the core of personality, personal attitudes and actions in the present life. Who you are and why you are that person can be found within the dream.
As an evolutionary process, dreams are and always will be a contribution to aid human beings in fulfilling his or her whole potential. Dreams focus on the areas that a person neglects and threaten full growth potential. When interpreting dreams, it is extremely important to pay attention to the context that the symbols are in, because a symbol in different contexts can have different meanings. It is important to note any association with the incident that comes to mind, such as people, background, etc. Dreams mostly use vivid pictorial language, something that is universally developed where an image does not just signify itself, but a multiplicity of associations in the human mind.
Expanding on Early Life
We all have 'issues'. And because everything in life is a psychological event those experiences that possess strong emotional energies stay with us, if not consciously then unconsciously. Many of these emotional experiences infuence our personal attitudes and often our personality. Especially if they occur early in life when the developing brain takes in the surrounding environment. What is 'learned' in early childhood, those experiences that were 'not usual/not normal' to normal development, or experiences that caused pain or great anxiety are implanted within the psyche and can influence if not dictate formation of personality and personal attitudes. The experiences are permanently fixed in the unconscious and can become 'motivator's for who we become and drive a person to do what was learned in early life. Or in some instances do the opposite since as individuals our DNA regulates certain actions or re-actions to a particular experience. Whatever the action it is stored within the unconscious and relived in our dreams.
We tend to act out what we 'unconsciously know', especially what we learn growing up. This is a fundamental part of nature in all animals. Even though a child may not consciously remember the event or the experience the emotional energies are stored within the unconscious. If you grown up in an environment where there is spousal abuse those experiences can {and often do} leave a deep mark on the psyche. Often the child will act out those same abusive tendencies, they too can be abusive toward their spouse. The simpliest experiences such as parents smoking will more often than not influence the child to smoke later in life. What you see {experience} is what you do. The developing brain of a child is influenced by environment *. This is why we often have dreams of small children or past childhood homes or environment. The child grows to adulthood seemingly with out harm but the 'inner' child is wounded and needs healing. This is the primary reason why we dream. To heal the wounded 'inner child'.
By interpreting your dreams you access these emotional energies. Dreams are a direct link to the unconscious. It is not unusal to forget, ignore or even repress experiences that possess strong emotional energies because they were/are painful. But these experiences are often part of the buiding blocks for personality and attitudes and when you do not know they exist you go through life being influenced if not governed by them. When you do become aware of them you can take steps to resolve the issues and in the process remove their influence. Dreams attempt to reveal these issues so they can be addressed, and resolved. Dreams are tools for healing.
Additional Reading: The importance of early bonding on the long-term mental health and resilience of children
Additional Reading: Here's How Psychologists Actually Analyze Your Dreams
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What Is Jungian Dream Psyche?
The Royal Road to the Unconscious
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Carl Jung was a psychiatrist/psychoanalyst and the founder of analytical psychology. Jung spent many years studying and practicing with Sigmund Freud, but their differing concepts of the unconscious led them to part ways. Jung was equipped with a background in Freudian theory but developed a much different style of analysis which today is more promienent with internet search as opposed to Freud. As to dreams Freud concluded that our dreams are able to access repressed or anxiety provoking thoughts mainly sexual desires that are otherwise not acted upon because of the fear of embarrassment. Jung believed that dreams are a representation of the unconscious mind and did not agree that everything presented in a dream related to a repressed sexual desire. Jung focused for on symbolism and imagery. He believed that dreams can have many different meanings depending on the dreamers associations.
Jung developed his own distinctive approach to the study of the human mind. In his early years when working in a Swiss hospital with schizophrenic patients and working with Sigmund Freud and the burgeoning psychoanalytic community, he took a closer look at the mysterious depths of the human unconscious. Fascinated by what he saw (and spurred on with even more passion by the experiences and questions of his personal life) he devoted his life to the exploration of the unconscious. Unlike many before him, Jung did not feel that experimenting using natural science was the best means to understand the soul. For him, an empirical investigation of the world of dream, myth, and soul represented the most promising road to deeper understanding. Self Realization is the final stage of Jung's stages of development and that within this stage there is still some room for growth and development. This process is also called individuation, which is the process of becoming an individual.
Jung surmised that the collective unconscious was one shared by all people. The foundation for this theory was based on archetypes and patterns that dictate how people process psychic images. Throughout history and across all cultures, mythology and dream study have maintained a common thread. Jung believed that each person strives to achieve wholeness by attaining a harmony within consciousness and unconsciousness and that this can be accomplished through dream study.
Jungian dream psychology, sometimes known as Jungian analysis, is an in-depth, analytical form of therapy designed to bring together the conscious and unconscious parts of the mind to help a person feel balanced and whole. Jungian psyche requires an examination of the deeper and often darker elements of the mind and look at the "real" self rather than the self presented to the outside world. Getting to the 'true self' and reconcilling what is out of balance psychologically. The best way to do is is by interpreting our dreams.
Jung's Archetypes ....inherit instinctive patterns of behavior
What is the archetype? An innate tendency which molds and transform the individual consciousness. A fact defined more through a drive than through specific inherited contents, images etc.; a matrix which influences the human behavior as well as his ideas and concepts on the ethical, moral religious and cultural levels. As first postulated by Carl Jung, an Archetype is representative of humanity's symbols which are universal. Perhaps the most common within humanity's psyche are the Mother and the Father, as everyone on the planet has parental beginnings. Also common is the Child, a good balance of playfulness and innocence for the seriousness of most adults.
Archetypes can be loosely compared to the instincts of animals. For example, birds instinctively know how to build nests and all the birds of a species build the exact same kind of nest. The bird is unaware that it has a special instinct for a particular form of nest building. Nevertheless, it does. Or we could say that dogs, as a species, are psychologically patterned to be loyal and obedient to the archetype of Master. Master is an archetype that is strongly developed in dogs; however, it does not appear to be an archetype that exists in the psyches of giraffes, snails, or buffaloes. ....read more about Jung's Archetypes
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Jung is known for his theories on personality types. The Myers & Briggs Type Indicator is primarily based on Jung's personality theories. See The Personality Theory of Carl Jung
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Basics of Dream Analysis/Interpretation
An Explicit Process Based On Emotional Patterns & Unconscious Energies
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Your Dreams Are About You
Your dreams are about you, and more specifically about your emotional energies. Always keep this is mind when interpreting an image/action {symbol} as well as the whole dream.
*People in general represent aspects of your own self.
*To see people you know in your dream signifies qualities and feelings they possess you desire or see in yourself
*To see people you don't know in your dream denotes hidden aspects of yourself that you need to confront or acknowledge
More About Known Persons
If you dream about a relative or known persons the dream is not about that person but how it affects you emotionally. They are in relationship to your emotions. There can be literal experiences with that person but again it is an experience that had an emotional affect on you. The other person may have something in common with you the dreamer or could have shared experiences {example: someone you grew up with and shared an experience that for you possessed strong emotional energies}. If someone dreams about you the same applies. Their dreams are about their emotions and your appearance is in relationship to them.
Note: Most dreams are negative because the nature's intent is to help resolve negative emotional experiences. Anxieties, insecurities, negative emotions brought about from negative experiences that possessed strong psyche energies. Unresolved they remain a factor in an unfulfilled life. Resolving the issues that underlie the negative forces will open the life to a more balanced and harmonious life.
For more on people see People in Dreams below
Dreams Are About Your Emotions
The thing that sets man apart from other animals are our highly developed emotions. And because of these highly developed emotions humans have to deal with the conflicts that stem from the experiences from which they came. Nature gave us the dream to do just this. When we dream the images and actions pictured are attempting to communicate the emotional energies that unconsciously affect if not control our waking existence. Dreams are about the emotional energies that form our waking psychology. But dreams are absent the bias of the ego and instead present our true selves, the truth about our lives that consciousness often neglects or represses because of the pain associated with the associated memories. Withot dreams painful memories would build up to the point where we could not function coherently and our waking lives would be more like zombies walking without logical orientation. The simple act of dreaming helps release the stress from conflicting emotional energies whether we take them serious or not.
All Dreams Have at Least Two Meanings/Applications
All dreams, if all images in dreams, have at least two meanings or applications. In my approach to dream analysis I interpret the images and actions as having two applications to the dreamer's life. There could be more but the two aspects I specifically look for are related to the foundations/early life experiences for the dreamer's emotional life and the second about recent emotional experiences {that often can be traced to foundations from early life}. We all have 'issues' from childhood and those experiences with strong emotional energies go with us throughout life, or until they are resolved. The more recent emotional experiences would also have strong emotional energies that cause conflict in the dreamer's psyche {conscious and or unconscious}. As long as the emotional energies remain unresolved they will be a part of the dream. They unconsciously affect personality, traits and attitudes. The reason as outlined below is to help the dreamer resolve the issues/conflicts.
Dreams Are Nature's Tool For Healing the Psyche
Just as the body has the immune system to heal and protect the body, the psych{ology} has the dream. It is an evolutionary process as is the whole body system. This is my theorem and although it is not one of Jungian concepts it is a common sense application. Jung did believe that the archetypal images that come through dreams are derived from different organs and thought centers in the body, and as such represent evolutionary drives. Dreams have a specific biological function with the intent to heal emotional conflicts and bring about wholeness to the dreamer's life.
Literal vs Symbolic/Metaphorical
Although the language of dreams is primarily symbolic there will be occasions when the images/actions can/will also* be literal. For instance, when there is a dream statement that reads 'I was in my childhood home' the reference will be symbolic/metaphorical because the house represents the dreamer's psyche {see house in Dream Dictionary}. But there can be a literal application as well if there were specific experiences that possessed strong emotional energies that occurred in the childhood home.
Metaphors As Symbolism.
A metaphor is where one thing is spoken as if it were another. The house in a dream is almost always a metaphor for the dreamer, the house being a representation of the dreamer. The house would represent the dreamer's psychological, physical and/or spiritual condition, a proxy for the complexes. In most instances you should take dream symbols as metaphorical references to the dreamer's condition and not a literal interpretation, to fully understand the message in the dream.
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The Science: Neuroscience Studies
Regarding the biological evolution of REM sleep and dreaming, emotion theorist Jaak Panksepp (1998) comments that: "People who hold dream experience in great esteem may be correctly affirming the importance of affective information that is encoded through our ancient emotional urges for the proper conduct of our waking activities... the REM system may now allow ancient emotional impulses to be integrated with the newer cognitive skills of the more recently evolved brain waking systems. This could help explain many striking attributes of REM sleep, ranging from its heavy emotional content to its apparent functions of enhancing learning and solidifying memory consolidation."
In other words what Jungian psyche has proposed about the dream has been verified by recent neuorscience studies.
Read: Why Do We Dream? Recent Developments In Neuroscience May Have The Answer
Common Images in Dreams
Note: The example dreams I provide in this section are dreams posted at the Power of Dreams Dream Forum and have my analysis, most with an amplification of the images/actions as well as a response from the dreamer> The response from the dreamer is how I verify whther the analysis is correct.
People in Dreams
People are common in dreams. Unknown people represents aspects about the dreamer, usually unknown or hidden/repressed aspects. Dreaming about someone from your past often is about a person who had a meaningful impact on our life positive or negative. If someone in your past bullied you, you might have a dream about that person later in life because a more recent event or experience relates to the past experience. This is a literal application but with a focus on the 'bullying' more so than the person. Keep in mind that people, known or unknown, are representative of aspects or relationships of the dreamer.
On the other hand {a second application which shold be looked at first} the bully could be an inner aspect. You are bullying yourself because of some type emotional stimulus. The bully is a metaphor for an inner weakness or a repressed rage. These qualities would be related to earlier life experiences {more often from childhood} that have become an innate attitude or personality trait.
For specific types or actions of people see Characters from the Dream Dictionary.
Houses
This is probably the most common dream symbol I see when analyzing dreams. A quick explanation of what a house in dreams represent.
Your self-image, your soul {Greek for psyche}. The rooms may be your emotions, attitudes, complexes. If it is parental home, what you may feel may say a lot about your childhood feelings. In general, the attic represents your intellect, the basement represents the unconscious. References to something high up in a house could also be pointing to the intellect since it is the highest part of the body {mind}. So too a reference of digging a hole under the house could be pointing to the unconscious. The deeper you dig the deeper into the unconscious.
An old, run-down house represents old beliefs, attitudes. A situation in your current life may be bringing about those same old attitudes and feelings. Alternatively, the old house may symbolize your need to update you mode of thinking.
Being inside a stranger's or an unknown person's house indicates that there is something that you have yet to discover about yourself. There may be repressed memories, fears or emotions that you are not confronting.
For more about what houses represent see Houses from the Dream Dictionary.
For definitions on houses and related terms such as attic, rooms, basement, etc. see House and Related Terms
An example of a house dream is one from renowed author, speaker and Jungian scholar Jean Raffa. This is a dream posted on her blog MATRIGNOSIS: A BLOG ABOUT INNER WISDOM. I interpreted the dream {on her blog} and posted at the Dream Forum. Her response is included in the post at the Dream Forum. The dream is titled 'Revisiting My Childhood Home'.
Another example of a house dream is old house, dead people, and blood everywhere {a dream posted in 2008}.
Another dream involves the dreamer's mother's house {the second dream of two posted}. This dream involves the relationship with the dreamer's mother and illustrates how relationships play out in dreams and the emotional energies involved.
Cars/Autos
The car is you and generally represents the direction in life you have taken. Your position in a car usually defines who or what emotional energies has control of your life. If someone you know is driving the car then that person has in some way control of yor life. Other people {unknown} in a car represents unknown aspects related to your personality or personal attitudes. Those attributes are controlling factors in your life. There are many more situations involving cars listed in the dream dictionary under cars.
An example of a car dream was posted at the dream forum in February of 2016. It is titled Car Accident Dreams.
Water
Water in dreams represents the unconscious and your emotional state of mind. The deeper the water the deeper the unconscious associations {oceans often represent repressed aspects hidden deep within the unconscious}.
An example of a water dream is In Water- Women asks to hold my head & kiss me. Strong emotional energies involving the dreamer's mother.
Being Chased
What is bothering you emotionally? What are you running from? Being chased is one of several common dream theme stemming from feelings of anxiety in your waking life. In such dreams, you could be running from an attacker, an animal, a monster or some unknown figure who wants to hurt or possibly kill you. Some reasons why you wold have chase dreams are:
Being chased signifies avoidance of some issue or past experience
Being chased signifies running away from yourself. You may be suppressing or rejecting certain feelings or certain characteristics of your Self {true self}
Being chased signifies fear. This may involve feeling vulnerable in some aspect. It is a metaphor for some form of insecurity. Often such feelings stem from childhood.
Avoiding or running away from a situation you feel incapable of handling.
Chasing someone or some thing may represent a desire to obtain something these things possess.
Death/Dead/Dying
These are some of our most frightening dreams. But in reality they seldom have anything to do with death. Death is usually a symbol of some type of closure or end. If you are the dead person in your dream, it could imply that you would like to leave all of your worries and struggles behind and begin anew. Dreaming about someone that you care about dying may express your fear of losing them.
An example of a death dream is Semi-Truck death
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Amplification of Symbols/Images and Actions in a Dream
Expanding the Associations to the Dream Images
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What Is Amplification of Symbols?*
The Amplification technique is derived from the dream interpretation approach of Carl Jung. It is a simple, but valuable way of working with the symbols without doing the injustice of saying at the first opportunity, "Of course, this symbol means..." Amplification is an attempt to expand the dreamer's associations to, and familiarity with, the symbol, without subjecting the symbol to a cut-and-dried intellectual translation.
If, for example, a person dreamed about a fish, an intellectual approach would be to discern that abstract meaning of fish, ex. "Fish means the Christ." However, using amplification, the dreamer would instead ask himself, "What is a fish?" or "What does a fish do?" or :"What does a fish remind me of?" or "what do I like or dislike about a fish?" In this way, the dreamer becomes more and more familiar with the peculiarities of the symbol that may have been overlooked by a pre-emptive intellectual translation.
The Amplification technique is especially helpful in working with personal symbols, whose meaning is almost entirely linked to one's personal associations. Yet it can and should be used with archetypal symbols as well, for we all have different associations to them....{www.seabc.org/amplification.htm}
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Note: The word symbol{s} is the same as an image or action. A house is an image but it is symbolic. Running is an action but again it is symbolic.
This is the critical part in ananlyzing and interpreting your dreams. Amplifying the symbols, expanding them to their greatest possible fit to your life. Just as the example with the fish in the above quote, every image and action {the symbols} will have meaning and application to your life. And although the dream dictionaries provide good possibilities to what symbols may represent it is not always clear which fits your life. That is until you recognize, by amplifying the symbols, to how they represent an emotional energy in your life. There may be more than one representation that fits and if so determine which fits best and go with it. If after interpreting the other symbols that follow and preceed the symbol and you find the selected meaning doesn't fit within a story line then try other application/meaning. The dream should and will take the form of a recognizable story depicting some part of your life where the experiences took on strong emotional energies. The strong energies will either cause an emotional conflict and/or are important in the development of your personality and personal attitudes. Because most all dreams are negative there is a need to resolve the issues so your conscious life will be less emotional motivated and more productive.{if all dreams were positive there would not be emotional conflicts to resolve, and no need for the dream}.
the dream is to the psych{ology} as the immune system is to the body. Nature's tool to protect and heal
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Themes and Patterns
When amplifying symbols correctly themes will develop. The themes will 'mirror' patterns of conscious actions, behavior, personality traits and/or attitudes. But they will also be intermingled with how you really feel, how you should really act/re-act in your conscious life. A recognizable story line will develop and themes of emotional patterns will emerge. The emotional patterns are energies that influence if not control your conscious life. If in your waking life you have tendencies to make wrong choices in relationships then most likely there are discernable reasons for those choices {Example: As a child you experienced multiple 'step-fathers', your mother also made wrong choices in relationships}. The choice of relationships will be a theme and the patterns will fit not only how you make decisions but also how you made the wrong decisions. Something is out of balance from what should be the correct or best choices. This causes conflicts within the unconscious if not consciously. You may or may not be aware they exist but that does not stop them from having an influence. Dreams are nature's tool in helping to recognize what is out balance and if not offering a solution {not rare but not always the norm} will demonstrate where you are in your emotional life {the dream ending}.
What Is Your 'True Self'?Your true self is who really are, how you really feel about yourself, the world, other people that is not always reflected in your conscious life. The ego self perceives what best fits the ego desires and is not always how you truly feel or what you want in life. Your self image/ego is different from what lies within the unconscious, the self that is full of emotional energies. We all have 'secrets', things we would never want others to know. But more important are the aspects about our individual lives we do not know, that are ignored, not recognized or aspects that are repressed. These aspects are not only hidden from others but from oneself. The dream is a direct link to the unconscious, not controlled by the ego but by what really motivates the personality, personal attitudes, and even actions and re-actions in the conscious life. Gives true meaning to duality, the conscious life vs/opposite the unconscious life.
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Preparations Prior to Interpreting Your Dream |
{Remembering & Recording Your Dream} |
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Step 1: Remembering and Recording Your Dream
Remembering Your Dreams
The first thing to do when interpreting a dream is remembering it. It is still a mystery why 95 to 99% of people forget their dreams but one theory is you're not concentrating on them while you're sleeping. Another theory is due to the hormone associated with memory (norepinephrine) is turned off while asleep. People who think dreams are important are more likely to remember them.
Upon waking from a dream lay still in your bed, keeping your eyes closed and moving as little as possible. Wake up slowly and stay relax. Hold on to the feelings you have and let your mind wander to the images of what you have just dreamt.
The important thing to do to remember your dream is to learn to lay still when you awake and go over the dream in your mind. Repeat this until you have it set in your mind or you will forget important parts of the dream. At first this can be difficult because we are progarmmed to a routine that is counter to memory. Changing habits can be difficult at best. But being able to remember your dreams is the first important step in interpreting them.
Recording Your Dreams
Because dreams are lost within minutes if not seconds it is important to have a method of recording your dream as soon as you awake. Either record your dream using a pen/pencil and paper or record your dream on a voice recording device. A voice device is best since it is faster to voice your dream instead of writing it down. Either way be sure to record your dream just as you remember it and after that is done add any additional information to feel relevant to the dream. Each word has meaning and properly recording is essential. Write down or record as many details in your dream as you can, no matter how minute or seemingly unimportant it may be. Do not worry if it makes sense. Many dreams don't. The idea is to record the dream so you can evaluate it later.
More Reading Dream Moods: Tips To Recalling Your Dreams>
For more on Dream Structure see The Structure of Dreams
Note: The use of the word IMAGE will be interchangeable with the words actions and symbol. Every dream is a story with a plot, full of images and actions. And because dreams use a language of symbol and metaphor the images are symbolic, a symbol representing some aspect of the dreamer's life.
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Interpreting Your Dream
Amplification of Images/Actions/Symbols
Now that you have written your dream down or recorded it, it is time to interpret the dream image by image, action by action. Analyzing and amplifying each IMAGE to its best possible application that fits your life. Every image has meaning and finding which meaning/application fits best is how you find the message{s} of the dream {every dream has at least two}. The Dream Dictionaries I have put together will help in determining the image's application and consequencely help you discover its meaning. The best way to do this is to take an example dream I have provided and interpret/amplify the images. The dream I have chosen is a very short dream making it easier to analyze. It was posted at the Power of Dreams/Myths-Dreams-Symbols Dream Forum and the response to my analysis was confirmed.
Step 2: Think About the Dream
Are there any aspects of the dream that have meaning to you? Or seem to apply to or fit with an experience recent or in the distant past? Remember, the dream is attemping to communicate an emotional issue{s} that is in conflict {albeit it unconscious} that needs understanding and resolution. There may be parts that seem logical to your life and others that are just plain weird or even frightening. The worst dream is just that, a dream. But its meaning is most important and its symbolic language has a message{s} that can bring about wholeness and direction to an otherwise rudderless life.
Step 3: Give Thought to the Emotional Issues in Your Life
Emotional issues/conflicts and emotional energies are what your dreams are trying to communicate {and help you resolve}. The emotional issues that plague you. What have you experienced in life that could have caused emotional distress? Failed relationships, living conditions and issues with financial support, raising and the nurturing of children and all that goes with the family unit, anything and everything that was capable of producing emotional energies that would/could cause a conflict to the norms in living your life.
In the process of analyzing your life give particular attention to childhood. Childhood experiences and influences are the foundations for later life traits and attitudes and although most are unconscious the energies associated with the experiences go with you throughout life. In childhood there may have been experiences where parenting was not what it should/could have been. We are wired to receive affection, nourishment, love and attention from day one. It doesn't need to be outright neglect, merely where, as a child, your relationship with parents wasn't as 'normal' as should have been. The earliest years in life are where foundations to who and what you become in later life are formed. Personality is usually complete by age 9. The first 3 years are the most important because our neurological sensory organs and archetypal senses are at their maximum in perceiving the environment in which we exist. What you 'learn' from your environment in these years are implanted and influence who you become in later life.
Levels of Emotional Energies in Dreams {All dreams, if not all symbols, have at least two or more meanings/applications}
Level 1: Underlying Structures
Look for these: Experiences in early life that could have created emotional issues/conflicts, especially within the family and social environments. Parents constantly arguing {especially if there was physical abuse}, living in a one parent home, a childhood where there were recurring experiences causing emotional pain, neglect, physical or/and psychological abuse by anyone, general negative experiences, experiences that take away from a normal life especially in childhood. Also physical/emotional injuries unrelated to family; loss of friends or due to death, physical injuries that left a psychological mark, any experience that would cause emotional pain. The list is endless but the emotional energies associated with them are all too real. Such experiences cause conflict in your conscious life, the unconscious and often unknown psyche energies possessing the ability to alter your conscious self {but never taking away from the true self which the dream is attempting to reconcile}. But more than that they are the building blocks for personality and attitudes. Your early life evironment greatly determines who you become later in life. An introverted or extroverted person1 is hardwired to be that personality type but environment can and does alter it. Conflict sets in, an out of balanced natural psyche altered not to be its original intended self evolves. Your dreams will sometimes feature conflicts of and to personality. Decoding the language of the symbolic images/actions will lead you to the source of conflicting energies and allow a resolution/healing to take place.
Beyond the personality aspects is the development of attitudes2. Family interaction, peer pressures, environmental conditioning, etc. are precursors for developed personal attitudes and when there is something out of synch conflicts form that are played out in the conscious life {making life less rewarding, harmoneous, positive}. You basically become what you learn {factored in with the inherent predisposed archetypal factors} from your environment, the conditions in which you grow up in. If those years are not stable/normal or have experiences with strong emotional energies that unconsciously/consciously causes conflict to your set parameters they can become factors to behavioral attitudes and actions in later life {who among us does not have something?}. And because there is a conflict that affects wholeness they become the focus of our dreams.
1}Extroversion, Introversion, and the Brain
2} 8 Factors Responsible for Development of Attitudes
Level 2: Recent Experiences
Look for these: Conflicts in your life from recent experiences that possess strong emtional energies. These emotional experiences most likely will have associations to developed attitudes and personality from early life. But the recent experience alone will possess emotional energies beyond the normal life experiences, and because they caused an emotional conflict they will be stored in the unconscious as an unresolved emotional energy. As examples. You are reprimanded by your boss that left you numb, or you have a conflict with a fellow employee you think of as over bearing {which could be a result as projecting a trait in your father onto that 'male' person}. Or you have a minor auto accident that disrupts your normal routine but left you thinking. The images/symbols that are addressing the dream tryant representing your father and his tyrannical attitude would at the same time represent your boss and his demanding temperament. The dream is addressing both aspects of emotional conflicts using the same images/symbols.
And then there are issues of temperament that are a result of early life 'training'. If you are prone to easily anger the anger you feel needs resolution but more important the reasons/foundations for the anger need work as well {because they are a result related to developed traits}. All personality traits and personal attitudes have foundations and most come from early life indoctrination. The anger you feel is ofetn an inner anger brought about from childhood. You are as much angry at yourself as you are angry at the world arond you because of the unknown/unresolved emotional energies.
Level 3: Dormant Emotional Energies Related to Later Life Experiences
Look for these: You are in a relationship but for no legitimate reason have doubts to the fidelity of your partner. This could be a result of a past relationship where your partner was unfaithful. Experiences where there was infidelity or issues of trust often leave a deep emotional mark on the psyche. Your suspicions, whether right or wrong1, could very well be related to the stored emotional energies from your past failed relationship. The dream is attempting to help resolve the issue.
1} Intutiveness: The Intuitive Mind
But there is likely more to these emotions of reasoning. The baseless doubts as well as the choice of partners are likely related to feelings of insecurity, which in turn will go back to foundational experiences from early life. There may have been 'same' or similiar experiences in the relationship of your father and mother which would have caused issues with insecurity. Often the choice of partners is based on foundational experiences and if there are issues of insecurity there could be an inclination to choice someone to supplement those emotional issues who is not an ideal choice. Issues of insecurity, self doubt, constant indecision are ingredients usually related to foundations. From this example you can see why the different levels of emotional energies are being addressed by the same images/symbols. They are often related.
Level 4: Trauma Experiences
Look for these: Carl Jung delivered a seminar in 1938 that explored the dreams of individuals suffering from "Shell Shock" the diagnosis of psychologically affected returning soldiers that preceded the modern diagnosis of PTSD. Jung explained how recurring dreams from trauma {shell shock} indicate an absolute shift in the psychic system, and are a singular exception to the way dreams typically process and digest material from life.
The dream is never a mere repetition of previous experiences, with only one specific exception: shock or shell shock dreams, which sometimes are completely identical repetitions of reality. That, in fact, is proof of the traumatic effect. The shock can no longer be psychified. This can be seen especially clearly in healing processes in which the psyche tries to translate the shock into a psychical anxiety situation. {Carl Jung, Children's Dreams, pp. 21-22}
Trauma, PTSD, and Dreaming: Understanding recurring dreams and nightmares
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Typical dreams are never just repetitions of daily events, but total repetition can occur if the dreams are the result of a traumatic event. These dreams seem to overpower or overwhelm the symbol making function of psyche and likely also come with a physical residue of trauma that must also gradually be worked through by professional counseling. The language of symbol and metaphor that dreams normally use is not in use in some cases of trauma experiences
Again, keep this in mind when analyzing your dreams. Your dreams are about you and your emotions. Experiences in your life that possessed strong emotional energies that, although not thought of consciously, remain within your unconscious psyche. Your personality and personal attitudes are essentially linked to these emotional experiences. They are often motivators for who you become later in life. Discovering and understanding these energies will lead you to your true self. Resolving the issues associated to the emotional experiences will allow you to be all you can be, find wholeness and harmony in life.
Note: Two aspects of Jungian psychology related to discovery of your true self is the spiritual Self and the creative self. Two aspects within the psyche that are natural and life changing.
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Instructions
Instructions On How To Interpret Your Dreams {with Sample Dream}
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Keep this in mind when analyzing your dreams {see Basics of Dream Analysis/Interpretation}
* Your dreams are about you and other people in your dreams are either you or in relationship to you * Dreams are about the emotions * All dreams have at least two meanings/applications * Dreams are fundamentally symbolic/metaphorical but will also have literal applications * Dreams are nature's tool for healing the psyche.
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The
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Instructions
POWER of DREAMS
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A Simple Guide For Interpreting Your Own Dreams
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Short List of Important Facts When Interpreting Dreams {printable} 
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Getting Started
The first step is to break the dream down by sentence {and paragraph in longer dreams}. Then take the images and actions {symbols} from each sentence and amplify/reduce their possibilities using the best application that fits a continuing narrative and with your personal life {using the Dream Dictionaries}. Take the results and put them into a narrative where the interpreted images form a coherent statement or story. Compare that to your actual life. If it fits it is most likely a proper interpretation.
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Below is an 'amplified' dream {fictional} about a middle aged man who has been dependent on his mother for emotional and financial support. The dream, after amplifying the symbols, will reflect his dependence on his mother, his true self that he does not realize. This dream, as with all dreams, is attempting to inform the dreamer of the emotional issues so he can make corrections and have a better life as a result.
The second dream, Crazy Insane Man, is from the POD Dream Forum where the posted dream has an analysis and a response from the dreamer {confirming the analysis}. The format is a bit different but breaks the dream down by image/action linking each to the dream dictionaries. |
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| Dream #One
| Dream #2 Crazy Insane Man
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Dream Title: Mother Driving Car
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I was in my car in the passenger seat and my mother was driving. We were pulling a trailer full of items from my childhood. The load was too heavy and it made the car swere and wreck the car causing me to wake up. |
Amplifying the images/actions, taking each and determining which application/meaning in the dream dictionaries best fits.
Note: The title often provides clues to the dream message. The amplification of the title is provided in the interpreted symbols below
I was in my car in the passenger seat and my mother was driving. |
You will need to look up | car | , | passenger | , | seat {chair} | , | mother | & | driving | in Dream Dictionaries |
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-I was in my car |
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From POD dictionary. You, your ego, your personality, your persona, your life and it's direction.
The first dictionary application for a car states, 'You, your ego, your personality, your persona, your life and it's direction'.
This generally fits with all car dreams so use it as the first application. The car is you and the direcion you have taken in life {being in the car}.
From POD dictionary. To dream that you are a passenger suggests that you are not in control of your life. You are letting others decide for you.
Note: Emotionally speaking the dreamer is not in control of his aspects of his life because of the underlying unconscious emotional energies.
From POD dictionary. To see a chair in your dream symbolizes your need to sit down and take time out to contemplate a situation before proceeding
The second image and application is 'in the passenger seat'. From the dictionaries {for car}; who is driving the car? If someone else is in the driver's seat, they may be controlling your life. The POD dictionary states, 'To dream that you are a passenger suggests that you are not in control of your life. You are letting others decide for you. This fits the dreamer's life, he is letting others {his mother} decide his path in life psychologically {dreams are about our psychology}. He is not in control of his life as he should be and this has caused problems emotionally as well as literally {in relationships with dependency as well as women}.
The term seat is not listed in either dictionary but in the POD dictionary it refers us to the word chair. The first application fits here. 'To see a chair in your dream symbolizes your need to sit down and take time out to contemplate a situation before proceeding'. This is what the dream is trying to get the dreamer to do. Contemplate what the dream is offering and using it before proceeding in a direction that is not condusive to good psychological help.
From MDS dictionary- May be telling you something about your relationship with your mother.
From POD dictionary- To see your mother in your dream represents the nurturing aspect of your own character. Mothers offer shelter, comfort, life, guidance and protection. Some people may have problems freeing themselves from their mothers and are thus seeking their own individuality and development.
The mother image is most important because it names a known person and who is driving the car {the dreamer}. This is where a literal application of a symbol is relevant {when the general rule is images are symbolic}. From the MDS dictionary for mother {which provides a more basic application}, 'May be telling you something about your relationship with your mother'. Implifications in this manner are important becaause they point to influences and experiences with the actual mother.
Note: If the 'mother' was someone other than his actual mother or an unknown mother then the image would likely be symbolic and not literal. In such a case the nurturing, shelter, guidance, etc. would fit in the image {and fit the dreamer's life}. Example: 'Someone's mother was driving my car' would point to nurturing/shelter/guidance and those qualities would point to aspects the dreamer lacks in his life. The lack of those qualities would be what is driving the dreamer. Mother can also symbolize the unconscious related to feminine qualities {see Mother in MDS Dream Dictionary} |
The POD list of possible applications has this. 'To dream that someone else is driving you represents your dependence on the driver. You are not in control of your life and following the goals of others instead of your own'. The dreamer is following the unconscious energies he learned early in life and throughout life with his mother. He is in a passive position, not in control. His goals in life are dependent on what he learned and knows from the experiences and influences with his mother. Exactly why this is the case {his dependence on mother} is for other dreams to expose. There is a reason for everything.
In the dream it is the man's mother driving the car. He is in the passenger's seat, not driving his own car. We know the man is dependent on his mother so this application would fit; the mother is driving his car and fits with her 'driving' his life. The golden rule in interpreting what best fits the dream image/action is, 'if it fits then use it' {the dream appliaction as the meaning of the image/actions}. If it fits with your waking life it most likely is what the dream is attempting to communicate.
The Dream Thus Far
I was in my car in the passenger seat and my mother is driving. The dreamer is in the passenger seat {a passive position} and his mother is driving his car {him}. We know the dreamer is dependent on his mother in his waking life, she drives his life. His goals in life related to relationships {and other ass[ects as well} are influenced if not controlled by those energies.
If it fits.....
The House Is You
 Home To Your Emotions |
The Language of Dreams? Symbol & Metaphor
{With Some Literal Applications}
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Metaphorically The house is YOU A Symbolic Image The rooms are your emotions, attitudes, complexes, etc. Definitive aspects of your psyche, representative of emotional energies.
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The Car Is You
 What's Driving Your Emotions?
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We were pulling a trailor full of items from my childhood. | |  |
You will need to Look up | pulling | , | trailer | , | items {not in Dict.} Think Emotions | & | childhood | in Dream Dictionaries |
What is being pulled? A trailer full of items from childhood. First let's focus on the word childhood. Whenever there is a mention of childhood in the beginning of a dream {especially the first very sentences} then you can count on a literal application pointing to childhood years, the foundations, those earliest years in life where personality, personal traits and attitudes are formed. These go with you throughout life and if negative and need resolution will be 'featured' in your dreams. I have found this to be true {childhood applications in the beginning of dreams} time and again and have had this position verified by the dreamers in their responses.
From POD dictionary. To dream that you are pulling something refers to your burdens and struggles. You have difficulties accomplishing your tasks and goals. Perhaps it is a relationship that you need to let go of.
From POD dictionary. To see a trailer in your dream suggests that you are feeling overburdened. You are carrying more weight on your shoulders than you need to. The dream may also indicate that you are more of a follower than a leader.
What is pulling at the dreamer? Consciously he probably is not aware of the unconscious energies that are pulling him to do things he probably shouldn't do {in relationships/meeting and achieving goals in other aspects}. He loves his m other {or does he?} and those energies related to her are what pull him in a particular direction in life.
Much of what applies in these applications are probably unconscious more so than conscious. It is an emotional conflict because the dreamer's dependence on his mother causes him to unconsciously carry weight on his shoulders in relationships with other women in later life {he is middle aged}. He is unconsciously following what he learned early in life and re-inforced through childhood; his mother. He isn't driving/leading his own life, he is following what he learned.
Note: The unconscious energies we develope early in life are motivators for attitudes and actions later in life.
-items | |  |
emotional burdens
Alternatively, it suggests that certain aspects of your childhood has not yet been integrated into your adult personality. On the other hand, some childhood anxiety has yet to be resolved in your adult life.
We suggests more than one which suggests collaboration between two or more people. From the POM dictionary for 'pulling', the first possible application is, 'refers to your burdens and struggles'. The dreamer is struggling with burdens in his life and he is sharing those burdens with his mother {again fitting with his true waking life}. The next 'best' application for pulling is 'perhaps it is a relationship that you need to let go of'. Overly dependent on a mother often leads to an 'emotional disorder' and can/will make it difficult in forming lasting relationships with women. Or/and push the person to look for women who will 'mother' them, a replacement for mother when she is longer available to care for him. This is an emotional conflict which the dream is attempting to express so the dreamer will realize he has the issue. And because these first sentences {or first paragraph} usually lay out what the initial if not the primary situation the dream is attempting to communicate {see The Structure of the Dream} the beginning of a dream should be given a lot of attention. The dreamer is unconsciously if not consciously struggling with life because of his over dependence on his mother.
As I eluded to above the items, or burdens began in childhood. He is pulling these burdens in later life/middle age because he has yet to resolve the issues of dependence on his mother. His life is full of the emotional energies that motivate his adult life. This is what the dream is attempting to communicate so he will realize and unedrstand what they are and find resolution. If not resolved his life will remain dependent on these emotional and motivating energies which will not lend themselves to having a balanced and harmoneous life {image being married to your mother}.
The load was too heavy and it made the car swere and wreck the car causing me to wake up. |
You will need to Look up | load | , | heavy | , | swerve {not in Dict.} Google Definition | , | wreck | | & | Wake | in Dream Dictionaries |
This is where the issue with his mother dependence is illuminated. The load is too heavy which suggests at mid-life {see The Mid-Life Crisis And Dreams} he is coming to grips with the considerable emotional energies and the negative affects it is having in his life {not fully in control of his emotions and the results there of}. He has to deviate/swerve from what should be a normal life {specifically in relationships} to make life consciously agreeable. From the POM dictionary in amplifying the word wreck:
Amplified Images/Actions
-load | |  |
From POD dictionary. To see or carry a load in your dream symbolizes the huge emotional responsibilities that are being carried.
From POD dictionary. Heavy symbolizes burdens, work load and responsibilities, an overload of emotional energies
divate from what should be a normal psyche {swerve is not in dictionaries. Google definition for swerve}.
From POD dictionary. To see a wreck in your dream represents obstacles and barriers toward your goals. You feel that you are being held back or that you are not making any progress.
In general this is saying the dreamer's emotional life is a wreck. And if the emotional life is so damaged the waking conscious life will follow suit. This would be easy to determine by the dreamer since the conscious life would have an obvious damaged delineation.
From POD dictionary. To dream that you are waking up in your dream indicates that something is missing or lacking in your life. There is an aspect of your life that you are not utilizing to its fullest potential. You are not recognizing your abilities.
Summary of the 'Wrecked Car' and Waking Up
To see a wreck in your dream represents obstacles and barriers toward your goals. You feel that you are being held back or that you are not making any progress. The dreamer needs to wake up to this condition if he is to live a life free from the negative emotional energies that cause damage to his waking life.
Translated: The dreamer's emotional life and aspects of his material life is in a literal wreck and preventing a 'normal' ability to set and reach goals. Too much dependence on his mother and not able to serve himself. There is a need to 'wake up' to these issues/barriers and find resolution {the natural function of dreams}.
This last sentence goes to the heart of the issue as it pertains to the dreamer's life at mid-life. Dreams reveal what is true at the time of the dream. The obstacles to having a fully productive life has barriers, created and re-inforced in childhood. His life {car} is a 'wreck'.
Note: Because it is an issue with his mother there is a good possibility there are issues related to women, and nurturing. Something was excessive in the relationship with his mother and often in later life compensation is used to fill the void. He either has tendencies to find a 'mother' type female for relationships or avoid relationships altogether because he feels he can never replace his mother.
The words 'too heavy' have meaning. Too heavy of an emotional load at the time he had the dream. When we reach mid-life we consciously tend to to focus on the past. The dream is 'reflecting' on the emotional energies that have become 'too heavy' to ignore. What is the load that has become too heavy? Look at who is driving his car. Being too heavy could also suggest there is depression involved with a more urgent need to resolve the issues.
The Ending: Waking Up/Not A Part of Dream/Or Is It?
It is not by co-incidence the dreamer included in his dream the final words, 'causing me to wake up'. What is unconsciously known will be expressed in a conscious way. And this is exactly the dream is attempting to do. Waking the dreamer to the emotional energies that motivate the dreamer's life. Dreams are nature's device to help resolve emotional conflicts in the dreamer's life. Just as the body has an immune system to help heal and protect the body, the psych{ology} has the dream. Understanding how the dream functions and the meaning of the symbolic images/actions is what Jung provided with his theories and concepts. Not the mystery they were in the past, and not even a mystery in how to decode their meaning. Using dream dictionaries along with Jungian concepts we all have access to interpreting dreams. Especially our own.
Sum total of amplified images and actions with its final message
Dream: I was in my car in the passenger seat and my mother was driving. We were pulling a trailer full of items from my childhood. The load was too heavy and it made the car swere and wreck the car causing me to wake up.
-I was in my car-the dreamer and his direction in life/his current situation
-in the passenger's seat-dreamer is not in control of some IMPORTANT' aspects in his life/a passive position
-my mother was driving
---mother-literal application of a relationship with mother {can also be symbolic but would have to fit}
---was driving-dependence on who is driving
-we were pulling-burdens and struggles pulling at and being 'pulled' by the dreamer {unconsciously if not consciously}. These are aspects the dreamer needs to let go of {and the intention of the dream by unconsciously informing the dreamer through the dream}.
-a trailer-what is being 'pulled'/ an over burdened emotional life/following rather than leading
-full of items from childhood-emotional items/issues related to childhood
--childhood-aspects of dreamer's childhood has not yet been integrated into adult personality. Childhood anxieties have yet to be resolved in adult life.
Note the strike of not yet. Sometimes it is necessary to look beyond the posted application in the deam dictionaries and use what actually fits. That is why the 'on the other hand' comment is in the dictionary {related to childhood anxieties}. Take all of what is given in the dictionaries and like a puzzle out the individual 'pieces' together to form a coherent picture.
-load was too heavy-emotional load has become substantial and needs attention and resolution. At mid-life and later life, and when the dreamer is without the support of his mother, these issues come to the forefront in life. Having grown up depending too much on his mother he lacks the tools to live life on his own. Childhood foundations are SET IN STONE and are unconscious motivators for attitudes/actions throughout life. This is true for everyone.
-made car swerve-changing direction from what should have been if the dreamer had had a normal childhood and not so dependent on his mother
-wreck the car-obstacles and barriers related to his dependence on his mother have caused a lack of personal progress. Emotiomally if not literally the dreamer's life is a 'wreck'.
Note. As noted at the beginning the dream title often provides insights/clues to the dream's intended message. I have found this to be true in many dreams I have analyzed. The naming of a dream is as much unconscious as conscious and driven by unconscious energies.
Repercussions Related to Excessive Dependency On Parent/Mother {Mother Driving His Car}
Influences On Later Life Due to Unconscious Motivating Energies/Dependent Personality Disorder* *
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There are real effects in later life of being 'driven' by an excessive dependency on one parent {mother}. {The/this dream would address those issues using the same images and actions, and at the same time address the underlying energies as with the analysis of this dream}. The single most frequent problem in the mother-son relationship is over-nurturing. If a man's mother did everything for him as a child then, logically, that's how he will then expect to be treated for the rest of his life.
"His expectation will be that his wife or partner will do everything for him because to him, love is around 'doing things for me'." Needless to say, this creates conflict, and he will end up pondering, somewhat sadly, why so few women fit into the old template.
The old idea that we marry our mother can come true, he says: "If a man is insecure and anxious he may end up with someone who mirrors the emotional relationship he had with his mother."
Dependent Personality Disorder
This dependency could result in a 'dependent personality disorder'. Dependent personality disorder is described as a pervasive and excessive need to be taken care of that leads to submissive and clinging behavior as well as fears of separation. The pattern is stable and of long duration, which means its onset can be traced back to at least adolescence or early adulthood. This pattern is not better accounted for as a manifestation or consequence of another mental disorder and is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (such as drug abuse, medication, exposure to a toxin) or a general medical condition (such as head trauma).
This persistent pattern is inflexible and pervasive across a broad range of personal and social situations, and can lead to clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational or other important areas of functioning. Individuals with dependent personality disorder have great difficulty making everyday decisions (such as what shirt to wear or whether to carry an umbrella) without an excessive amount of advice and reassurance from others. These individuals tend to be passive and allow other people (often a single other person) to take the initiative and assume responsibility for most major areas of their lives. Adults with this disorder typically depend on a parent or spouse to decide where they should live, what kind of job they should have, and which neighbors to befriend.
In conclusion and referencing the dream. The dream is focused on a dependency on the mother. She is driving his car/life while he is passively {in the passenger seat} living life on a dependency formed in childhood. When I analyze a dream and have limited information about the dreamer {age and gender} I can provide an outline of the emotional energies. When analyzed by the dreamer, and with knowledge of the personal life, current waking life experences can be derived from the dream as well. There is a good chance this dreamer has a personality disorder as described above. Dreams attempt to inform the dreamer of of the emotional energies that influence if not control the dreamer's life. The outline of the energies go the source of how they developed. The depth of personal knowledge can bring the dreamer to a recognition of the current experiences that result in a need to be 'mothered' in adult life. If realized a resolution can be obtained and with a better future life. This mechanism of nature is why we dream. All that is left is to properly interpret the dream.
Notes on Analyzing Dreams & Using a Dream Dictionary
Although this is a fictional person and fictional dream it is very much typical of dreams I have analyzed at the Dream Forum. The differnce in the analyzed dreams at the Forum and this fictional dream is I had only the age and gender to work with and not any other personal information. But even with that I am able to provide an accurate outline of the emotional energies. The verification of my analysis came from the posted response by those who posted their dreams. Sometimes that was in the form of additional personal information and sometimes in was in a verified response my analysis was correct. It is not uncommon to have received a response such as "WOW!", or "Yes, you hit it on the head with your interpretation". Over the past 12+ years the Dream Forum has been on line I have time and again seen positive responses to my interpretations {{you have to analyze a dream to get an interpretation}. I like the recognition of my abilities but to be honest there are many like myself who can analyze dreams successfully, using Jungian concepts. With these pages on interpreting dreams using a dream dictionary {but not just any dream dictionary} I enter into a new phase of analyzing dreams, not just for myself but the science of dream analysis.
New Phase
There will be criticism of this attempt to interpret dreams using a dream dictionary. It is contrary to what is still believed in most scientific circles that dreams are still a mystery, let alone to be able to interpret dreams using a dream dictionary. For the first 11 years of analyzing dreams at the Forum I relied on my intuitive abilities {and a functional knowledge of Jungian concepts} to interpret dreams. Over the past year {beginning in February 2017} I made it a practice to amplify the images and actions with the assistance of dream dictionaries. I have always attempted to explain my interpretations as simple as I could and the dream dictionaries not only helped supplement my intuitive mind but also provided resources for those who posted dreams see how I came to my conclusions. Now that I have had 12 months of practical use of the dictionaries I feel there is a sound premsis in using these two dictionaries to get to a successful analysis. If I am correct in my assumptions that it is possible to interpret dreams with this method it would be an advancement in understanding dreams, their function and mre importantly removing once and for all the belief dreams are a great mystery. I have been of this mind for many years and if this is successful hopefully it will convince everyone else dreams are what interpretable and that Jung got it right. Its is without a doubt his concepts and research that has paved the way to dismystifying dreams, their intent and their message.
Participation
My aim is to get as many people as possible to try using this method in interpreting their dreams. What is important is obtaining responses from those who do try this method. I am one who believes in proving by example {you can verify my success in anlayzing dreams by reading the posted dreams at the Dream Forum} and that requires evidence. I have set up a message forum to help with questions about the use of these instructions as well as questions about personal dreams from those who participate {I will not interpret posted dreams, only assist in helping others interpret their own dreams}. Feedback will assist in determining if I am onto something. My intuitive mind says I am, not because I have a brillant mind because it is normal at best. But because what Jung discovered was from the natural realm and intuitive understanding of that aspect of reality is 'naturally' correct. Just as I am an intuitive Jungian with an intuitive understanding of his theories and concepts, it is because it is from that natural dimension Jung extracted from the invisible NATURAL truth. IT IS NATURAL LAW we are dealing with.
We all possess an intuitive quality, it is a part of our evloution. Tapping into that zone of the unknown isn't a mystical endeavor, it is a scientific one. I hope many of you who read this will participate in my 'experiement'. But more than that my wish is to help everyone I can pay attention to their dreams because they are windows to seeing 'withing' oneself. My life has changed because of my working with dreams. And for the best. Dreams can do the same for those who take the time to see what is within. They will find their true self and as the addage goes, 'truth will set them free'. In the least psychologically, for the most your whole approach to life.

Free Forum for posting questions, comments about interpreting your dreams
Do not post dreams for interpretation. This forum is for questions and comments only
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