DREAMS….the letters from the unconscious mind only written in a different language we use in waking reality.. we do have the ability to study our dreams and interpret the common dream symbols they contain.. yet everything is not hard-and-fast universal.. before one can interpret them, one first needs to remember dreams.. not every single element of a dream has an unconscious meaning, sometimes, it's just background score.. “..The dream as remembered is not the real thing at all, but a distorted substitute which, by calling up other substitute-ideas, provides us into consciousness the unconscious thoughts underlying the dream. If our recollection was at fault, all that has happened is that a further distortion of the substitute has taken place, and this distortion itself cannot be without motivation. We can interpret our own dreams as well as those of others; indeed, we learn more from our own and the process carries more conviction. Now if we experiment in this direction, we notice that something is working against us. Associations come, it is true, but we do not admit them all; we are moved to criticize and to select. We say to ourselves of one association: "No, that does not fit in-it is irrelevant," and of another: "That is too absurd," and of a third: "That is quite beside the point"; and then we can observe further that in making such objections we stifle, and in the end actually banish, the associations before they have become quite clear. So on the one hand we tend to hold too closely to the initial idea, that is, the dream-element itself, and on the other, by allowing ourselves to select, we vitiate the results of the process of free association. If we are not attempting the interpretation by ourselves, but are allowing someone else to interpret, we shall clearly perceive another motive impelling us to this selection, for- bidden as we know it to be. We find ourselves thinking at times: ‘No, this association is too unpleasant; I cannot, or will not, tell’....” Sigmund Freud Common Distraction Dreams The dream-mind is just like the waking mind - if distracted it will not function very effectively. If left to concentrate on important matters then the dream mind will dwell over emotional issues, relationship problems, important intellectual thoughts. Yet if distracted the dream mind will simply lose concentration. There are many ways the mind can be distracted during dreams. If you have a full bladder and desperately want to go to the toilet then that's a distraction. In waking life you cannot concentrate properly when you need to go to the toilet so why should it be any different during dreams. If you are in great pain then your dreams may be linked to the pain. How can you think about anything else - your mind is completely distracted. Noises can distract us. In some ways this is not really the mind being distracted. We can hear during dreams and these can be incorporated into the dreams. In some cases these noises are harmless but in other cases we are trying to sense danger. What are the meanings of any such dreams? These dreams probably do not mean a great deal - if truly understood they would translate into the following types of thoughts - "I have toothache!", "What is that noise!", "I need to go to the toilet". Try to look out for such dreams by looking out for possible distractions during sleep. Their meanings are simple. If you know you're being distracted it's easy. Just see how the dream's symbols translate into reality. If you want to go to the toilet and have a dream full of flowing water then try to see how that dream fits as a metaphor. It's quite a simple metaphor. The following dream is a Distraction dream There was someone lying on top on me. The dream felt very real. First I started to rise up off the bed. Then I slipped back into my body again. Then someone was lying on top of me. This is a special type of distraction dream known as sleep paralysis. Sleep paralysis is a semi state of consciousness. Basically we are half awake and yet cannot move. This is extremely disturbing to the dream mind. In the dream we get symbols our minds fear as we are feeling very uncomfortable. Basically the mind is distracted by this unpleasant feeling and the dreams we get link to the intense and immediate fears. Some people get the sensation of someone pressing down on them. But really the cause of the paralysis is that you are paralysed in a semi awake state. Its not caused by someone actually lying on top of you. It’s the same sensation as if someone is lying on top of you. Common Personality Dreams Personality dreams are linked to the questions we ask about our own behaviour. In waking life we constantly monitor how well or badly we are doing. Our dreams are often linked to these types of thoughts: I wonder if I could of done that better? I coped well with that! I do not seem to be doing as well as I could? I do not like the way I am behaving! I have noticed how I seem to have changed - I seem to be a bit more... Personality dreams are very much about psychology. They show us monitoring our own behavior. They pinpoint changes in our behavior. Just see where you have been asking yourself questions like these then start to see if the dream symbols could have portrayed such thoughts. The following dream is a personality dream. The dreamer dreams she is a cat person! For him this is a very negative dream. But see how the dream was asking deep questions. The dreamer is questioning her own behavior. In real life she was a woman who disliked people who kept cats. If she was keeping cats then its really a dream about her asking the following question "I am becoming exactly the thing that I despise! The sort of person who keeps cats"! She feels she is developing the very qualities that cat people exhibit.