Dreams are an excellent way to get in touch with yourself in a very direct fashion. They are tailored to your psyche exactly, so once you have begun to understand the language of your own psyche there are few methods that are better for self understanding.
Since each dream is tailored so individually there is no real shortcut to getting to understand the language that is used. Much like learning any language it takes time, effort and a genuine desire to learn. There are universal elements to dream analysis which are extremely helpful to understand as there are broad similarities between how our minds work.
How to recall your dreams.
The first element in successful dream analysis is actually being able to remember your dreams. A great deal of people complain that they do not dream, or that they cannot remember them when they awake. There can be several reasons for this, but the most common reason is that they are simply not taught to do so. Our culture here in the west teaches us that dreams are waste products of the psyche, like the waste bin of our mind or that they are simply all the data that we could not process from throughout the day. While there is definitely an element of our dreams that is simply refuse data that needs to be disregarded, this process usually occur at the very beginning of our sleep cycles. I am sure we have all had that situation when our brain runs through everything that happened during the day before we try and get to sleep.
Letting this waste material pass through our minds before we sleep is a good way to let go of the stresses of the day in order to relax and it also prepares the mind to get on with more interesting projects in the deeper cycles. Whether you want to meditate to do this or simply let the images play in the theatre of your mind is up to you, it shouldn't last too long. Don't try and stop it, just ride it out till it is all gone. Kind of like seeing the road moving before your eyes after a long day driving. Getting rid of this junk will improve your dream recall greatly.
Secondly, have a journal or notebook ready by your bed with a pen and a light. Doing this sets your intention to take the process seriously and even just placing a journal nearby can really prime you for some great dreams. Thus when you awaken with a dream you can scribe down some notes. It doesn't matter how detailed they are, or even if they are that legible, doing so creates a mnemonic anchor to that point as so you can go back and recall writing it down. Telling it to another person also creates the same link (be careful with this, most dreams are long and boring to other people unless they are actively involved in dreamwork!). If you don't note it down you WILL forget it unless you have been doing this for years. Eventually you will develop the ability for greater recall, I can remember dreams without needing to write them down and I can even recall dreams for up to several hours after waking.
Thirdly is not get attached to the content of the dream before noting it down. 90% of dreams will seem nonsensical to your mind immediately upon waking, just deal with that and take notes. Don't ignore elements that you find distasteful or seem to clash with your ideas on yourself, it is just a dream and the mind will often try and reject certain elements of the dream. If you can note these down and bring yourself to look at them, they are the most fruitful part. When we awake we are still struggling with reality and naturally we will want to suppress elements of a dream we find distasteful to ourselves, because the sleepy part of us perceives it as real.
Recalling dreams is like catching fish, they are extremely slippery. If you let them go, they will escape you and unless you are very, very skilled they are almost impossible to retrieve.
Dream Books
Having a good resources library for analysis is a must. There are a lot of really terrible dream analysis books out there that are simply lists of associations that have little or no value. If you find a book that starts linking objects with meanings that appear to have no connection, steer well clear (i.e. dreaming of a hedgehog means you will receive money in the mail). These books are personal symbols and will have absolutely no relevance to you. It is the equivalent of following someone else's directions on how to get to their home from their favourite venue. (Take a look to the right where you will find links to the books I use regularly!)
Personal symbols
The reason most people go wrong with dream analysis is to do with the fact that they do not understand what their dreams are trying to tell them. Dreams communicate in symbols, most of the symbols that dreams will use are personal symbols with a deeper underlying universality. For example a baby is a universal symbol, one that has meaning to everyone that is similar i.e. a new life, something new. There is no person on earth and arguably even in the animal kingdom that doesn't recognise that a baby is linked to these things. Now each person also has a personal association. Some people associate a baby with responsibility, some with their baby, some people may even have negative associations with babies (someone who lost their child).
A dream symbol is BOTH of these elements. But more importantly it is the meaning that resonates personally with you, this is especially true with personal symbols.
Universal Symbols
Carl Jung has been the modern pioneer of the archetypal symbol. If you have a genuine interest in dream symbolism you would be well advised to read his works on dream analysis. The universal symbol or archetype has a meaning that is separate from the personal. It has a power and meaning beyond us. For example a river is an archetype, it is the concept that pre-exists the actual reality of an individual river. It is similar to Socrates's ideas in that they have a reality of their own which is not dependent on any river. There are certain mental, emotional and spiritual connections to archetypes, those that have been deeply impressed onto the collective unconscious by the processes of all our ancestors.
So when a symbol appears it is good to have an idea of what that particular symbol connects to regardless of our own personal associations. For example, the sea connects us to the universal unconscious, so if the sea appears in the dream it will have a relevance to this idea, regardless of how tenuous it may seem. This is understood in that if a better symbol were available, then that would have been used instead. It this connection were irrelevant, then it may have been in a swimming pool, or a lake or in a body of water that wasn't the sea.
Numinous Symbols
These for me are the most exciting and interesting. They are relatively rare and it is possible that if if your life is mundane that you will never encounter one of these symbols. Calling them symbols somewhat takes away from their power and awe. When a numinous element appears in a dream it has a brilliance and clarity that is unmissable. They are symbols which are distinctive and somewhat alien. They can appear to be luminous or be very vividly coloured, beyond the normal palette. They are often unrelated to our mundane lives, such a bright white unicorn that dominates your dream or a individual that you do not recognise as being a typical dream element. Often there is an uplifting or profound feeling that accompanies numinous symbols. Regardless, when one of these shows up pay attention!
Details and meaning
Dreams are always packed full of details, so much so that we fail to see much of it and it gets lost or never analysed. Dreams require detective work and deep awareness. Pay attention to every minute detail as everything has a symbolism that points to some meaning. Here are a couple of things to watch for:
*How bright or dim was the dream, was it night or day? Illumination relates to awareness.
*What perspective where you observing the dream. Where you in it? Watching from afar? From someone else's perspective. The further away you are, the less connection you feel to the events.
*Where was the dream taking place? A park, a work place, a school...your school? What floor where you on? This relates to the level of awareness.
*Who was involved? A friend, a partner, a stranger? Other people can represent elements of yourself.
* How many people were involved? Numbers can also be important. Three figures often relate to our body, mind and soul.
*What was the feeling of the dream? Did it feel depressing, melancholy or was it happy and laid back. Try and relate these feelings to situations in your life that have the same timbre.
Common Themes
Many dreams have a common thread. We may find all our dreams take place in the same place, or with the same people. Pay attention to these details as there is meaning to this. Reoccurring dreams happen because we don't understand what is being communicated to us by our own psyche...or we don't want to see it. You are being bombarded with a message because there is something for you to see. Dreams are not trying to judge you, it is simply your psyche trying to find a way to get you out of a situation you are both stuck in!
Nightmares
We are given the false impression that only children suffer from nightmares or bad dreams. This is patently silly. Nightmares happen when our situation has become unbearable and our psyche is trying to desperately warn us of the danger. When this happens acknowledging the dream is the first step, recognise something is upsetting us. Our dreams often hold the key to our dilemmas, looking carefully at the dream can often show you the way out of the problem using a method you may not have even considered. Understanding the symbols in the dream will really help. Nudity can be anxiety. The undead are often unconscious elements that are seeking our energy and awareness. Monsters represent fears. Weapons and violence are connected to frustration and anger that is unresolved.
The Shadow
The shadow it the sum representation of all our fears and unacknowledged parts that we project outwards on to the world. The shadow is a common occurrence in dreams. Usually the shadow appears to bring awareness to a part of us that we do not want to admit to or acknowledge exists. If we are prudish, then the shadow may appear as a sexually promiscuous character. If we are passive, then the shadow with appear as a violent character or monster. The shadow appears in our dreams to bring awareness and balance back to our personality. Those unresolved elements represent untapped potentials, which if they remain unbalanced can represent serious blocks to our growth. If we acknowledge that these tendencies exist within us and utilise the power they represent, we gain much. If we fail to tap them, they they find expression in our dreams and worse in our lives.
The person in your office who you just cannot stand? They are representions your shadow, the part of you and your behaviour that you do not want to admit exists. Dreams are a good area to work these elements out, free of consequence. The shadow, because of what it represents to us is always somewhat threatening although that repulsion may take different forms. When you can spot the shadow is your dreams (or in your life!) then a great opportunity to assimilate that energy exists. If you can work out what judgement you hold against that type of behaviour and let it go, then your shadow will disappear and you will cease to have trouble from that energy.
Putting it together
In the end, analysing your dreams is only something you can do. You can get help from professionals, but only you will know when you have hit upon the truth of the matter. This is the final key and the most important one. If the analysis does not feel right, then you are not there yet. It should strike a chord in your when you get on the right track. You may not want to see it at first, but you do know when you have got to the heart of the matter. This feeling of resonance is the true test. Also you may find that simply acknowledging the feelings and meaning of the dream is enough to resolve it for you.
If the dream continues to occur, then there may be something you have missed. Once you start paying attention then the dream will respond to your inquiry. It will re-occur but the context and content may change to reflect what you understood or what elements you may have missed.
Good luck!
If you do have any dream related questions please feel free to drop me an email and I will see if I can help in any way.
Resources
There are several books I recommend for helping gain insight into your dreams. The first has a great overview and a dictionary of symbols which is invaluable (there is a link to it on the right hand side of the page). Another guide book is Robert Moss's Conscious dreaming book, which is a great read. The third book is only for those who are really interested in going deeply into archetypal and universal symbolism. I have included shortcuts to them on Amazon on the right hand banner bar.