Since I was very young, I have seemed to know the meaning of dreams. It was pretty simple and wasn't anything I gave much thought. I remember various family members occasionally asking me what a dream meant and I would just tell them. That was about it.  
 

As I grew older, I wanted to know more about dreams and began looking for books and information on the subject. I was shocked at what I found.
 

For the most part, the only information available in the book stores or on line, were dream dictionaries in which you look up various images and there meaning. It was incredible to me to assume that our subconscious minds, which have infinite access to all the imagery and imagination within us, would attempt communication - using a means based on a book - which you have not read! This seemed incomprehensible and is the reason I've opened this topic, to share what I know about why we dream, and what our dreams mean...
 

Simplified version of why we dream; 
 

We dream to relay information from our unconscious mind which is capable of gaining insight and information from our Higher Selves, which is in turn infinity connected to our Source. I use the word Source meaning our Creator, our God, the Universal Mind, the infinite energy of all things in the universe which reaches far beyond our ability to comprehend in human form. Since we are in human form, we are body, mind and spirit. On this plane of existence we have the opportunity to discover and learn and grow in an atmosphere completely unique to the spiritual self which is eternal. Our higher selves constantly guide and coax and help us to find our way through those experiences. One very important way to get help and information is through dreaming.
 

In order to interpret a dream you must have an understanding of imagery;
 

Imagine yourself completely separate from you. You know everything you know. You know how you feel about everything. You know what images create what responses. This is the key. Understanding that the images in your dream, create responses, emotions, feelings and fears based on the information already present in your mind. Those are the tools your subconscious mind or higher self has to work with. Existing knowledge, existing beliefs, existing prejudices, existing frustrations. You have access to unlimited imagination to create a movie or story which will cause the appropriate response. And, it has to be in a format that you are capable of interpreting. Why would you create a completely confusing and uninspiring image which you had no possibility of understanding?
 

If in your dream, you have an image of an elephant, then who's perception of an elephant is important? Yours, or some book on some shelf in some book store? The elephant means to you what the elephant means to you! It's not a trick! You were given the image of the elephant in a dream because when you were three years old you saw an elephant at the zoo and had an extreme excitement of what it would be like to ride one, and at the same time an overwhelming resistance to be near something so massive. This may be your conscious feelings and responses to an elephant, so your higher self may throw an elephant in your dream if you're facing a situation which is exciting yet seems overwhelming. This is something no book could predict... how you... personally... feel about an elephant.
 

Look at the images in your dream and don't judge them. Understand that they are just to spark a response;
 

If you dream that you are doing something despicable, don't judge the despicable act or you will block yourself from the open-mindedness necessary to understand your dream. How do you feel about the despicable act? Trapped? Wrong? Judged? Caught? Look for your perception of the act. If you dream that you killed someone, and in your dream you felt vindicated but ashamed, then consciously you may feel that it will take extreme measures for you to be vindicated in you life situation. So extreme that you would never allow yourself to be that kind of a person, which may mean that until your conscious perception changes you will be unable to release the need for vindication because consciously, you feel that would be impossible, so you can't let it go.
 

Your subconscious mind shows you in sometimes graphic terms, how what you're doing right now in your life, feels like to your higher self, on a spiritual level.
 

The people in your dream usually aren't the "actual" people;
 

If the predominate person in your dream is "Uncle Bob", then the important issue is how you feel about "Uncle Bob". Even if he is no longer with us, it doesn't increase or decrease his ability to visit you in your dreams. It's very easy to get caught up in the visit from a loved one rather than the message behind their presence. You may just wake up confused because you really didn't even like your uncle, and can't figure out why he, of all people, would be in your dream. This may be the very reason! He may be the only person in the universe capable of bringing you a certain emotion. This is when you need to look deep inside your feeling for Uncle Bob and understand why you didn't like him.
 

For example, did you dislike him because he was mean, or because he never showed you any attention? In other words... are you being mean to yourself, or not showing yourself any attention?
 

This is not to say that dear old Uncle Bob can't make an impromptu visit to your dreams to send a message or visit, but most of the time it's your particular feeling about him that is the message.
 

The last thud of the dream;
 

Sometimes, the extreme lengths and elaborate facades your higher self creates to bring home a point are absolutely ridiculous! Sometimes it’s better to look past the beginning and the middle of the dream and just feel the emotion of the ending. For example;
 

Let’s say you had a dream in which you were stuck in the mud. For ninety percent of your dream you struggled and worked and felt hopelessly stuck and couldn’t get out. For what seemed like and eternity you were fighting the mud. Then, miraculously, you recognize that the mud isn’t mud at all, it’s water, and you can very easily swim to shore which is only a few feet away. You feel so confused, yet completely free. You feel a huge weight lifted off. You can’t imagine how you had never recognized the mud as water, but never the less, you’re free.
 

Instead of spending the day trying to find the significance of “mud”, recognize the last feeling this amazing orchestration of imagery left you… the feeling of freedom. Feel it. Do you recognize how it applies to your life and your deeper emotions? Is there some relief in knowing the truth and actuality of these emotions? This can be immensely helpful to your attitude and outlook, just to recognize consciously, what on a deeper level, is incredibly obvious.
 

If you need a dream interpretation;
 

If you have read this far and attempted all these tactics to understand your dream, but are still having a recurring dream, or a dream you can’t quite figure out, you can email me at  normanbennett@att.net.

Here’s the information I’ll need;
 

• Be as specific as possible.
• Recite your dream as best you can remember.
• After you finish telling about your dream, let me know how you feel about the imagery. If your dog is in the dream, let me know if it’s a beloved family dog, or if it bites you every time you try to play with it. If you’re back in your old school, what emotions does that old school bring out?

At this time there is no charge for my dream interpretations on line. As long as I can keep up with any request, I'm happy to do so.
 

Or… if you’re in the St Louis Missouri area and would like a personal interpretation just let me know.