Define Dream Symbols

Use this technique when you have time to work with your dream.

1. Circle the main symbols in your dream, e.g., objects and characters such as furniture, vehicles, animals, people.

2. Give a brief definition (1 to 3 words) for each symbol. The definition is yours and not from a dictionary or dream book.

3. Rewrite your dream, replacing the definitions in step 2.

4. What meaning do you get from the new dream?

5. What action or changes do you want to make based on this dream?

Example

Dream: I come into my office one morning, and everything has been rearranged. My desk is gone, but I have a new one. Bill walks into my office. I haven't seen him for a long time. He tells me that all the file cabinets were put out in the center of a nearby shopping mall. He grabbed me two new ones. My old file cabinets were old and dented and had black marks on them.

1. Main Symbols:

Office, Desk, Bill, File Cabinets, Shopping Mall

2. Brief Definition:

Office = where I work

Desk = what I work on

Bill = my life partner at the time when I no longer had a job

File Cabinets = materials I use to do my job

Shopping Mall = where I get new things

3. Rewritten Dream:

I come into the place where I work one morning, and everything has been rearranged. What I work on is gone, but I have new work, and it's better. I no longer have a job walks into my office. I haven't seen I no longer have a job for a long time. I am told that all of the material I used to do my job were put out in the center of where I get new things. He grabbed me two new materials to do my job. My old material I use to do my job were old and dented and had black marks on them.

4. Understanding of Dream:

The dream seems to suggest that I might lose my job like I did when I was with Bill. At that time, I had ventured into different kinds of work, doing things I loved. The dream also seems to be suggesting that the job I have now isn't all that great, and that I will get new and better work. Maybe I need to "shop" for new work that fulfills me.

5. Action:

I will consider the possibility that I might lose my job. I also will examine what I like and dislike about my job and what other talents I might use for work. I will be open to future dreams about the possibility that I might lose my job, knowing that my dreams will provide me with alternatives.

Three months after having this dream, I lost my job.