Why Interpret Our Dreams?

Why interpret dreams?

Welcome to the wonderful world of dreams! I am your tour-guide through the mysterious, magical, weird, confusing, intriguing, and sometimes comical landscapes of the dreamworld.

You might ask yourself, 'Why does someone become a dream interpreter?'  Well, my mother often asked me that question, so I have an answer for you!

I love dreams. I love the magic and adventure of the dreamworld, and now that I understand the symbolic language of dreams, I love to dig in, follow the thread of the story and discover what it's trying to tell me. In truth, every dream does have a meaning, and every dream wants to enlarge your understanding of your life -- and life in general. I love dreams because they help me understand myself by taking me to other worlds, embroiling me in interesting and often outrageous situations, and letting me see how I deal with it.

I trained at the C.G. Jung Institute in Zürich, Switzerland, studied the theories of the famous Swiss psychologist, Carl G. Jung, and discovered for myself how the human psyche and the Unconscious works. I agree with Jung who felt that dreams are really messages from your Self or your Soul, the part of you which knows who you really are and what you really want out of life.

Dreams give us a larger perspective on life, beyond our ego-knowledge. Dreams come from the Soul and connect us to Spirit.  Dreams give us the truth of ourselves.

So I began my life-long study of dreams, which entails studying all sorts of ancient myths, legends, fairy tales and religious/esoteric systems that contribute to the symbolic language of dreams. Can you begin to see why my mother often asked this question about my work -- what exactly was I supposed to do with this kind of knowledge in the modern world?

Well, Joseph Campbell, the great mythologist, partly answered those questions in his interviews with Bill Moyer called The Power of Myth. Campbell, like Jung and Freud, said that myths are still alive and well in our modern culture. And one of the ways these ancient stories show up in our lives is through our dreams. By understanding what these dream stories tell us about the myth of our lives, we can navigate through life's journey with the wisdom of the ages as our guide.

We need this wisdom because frankly, our society is not meeting our needs. At this time of great change and transformation, we must see ourselves as a united world to deal with the global issues facing us. That means we have to look at our priorities and values, face ourselves and take charge of our future. And believe it or not, dreams can guide us to that knowledge.

All four of my children turned out to be great dreamers. When they were young, my oldest son came down to breakfast one morning and said, 'Mom, I hate dreams!' You can imagine my surprise and dismay. When I asked him why, he said, 'Because you have to wake up!' 

Needless to say, he still pays attention to his dreams, and because all my children still ask me about their dreams, I have a perfect way of keeping an eye on how they're really doing in their lives. This certainly gives me an advantage over parents who say they don't understand their kids! 

Dreams tell us the truth of what we are experiencing, not just our ego sense of things.  If you want to understand yourself, your partner, your family and friends as well as your place in the world, take the time to pay attention to your dreams.

It is well worth it.