rom the beginning of time, dreams have affected people's thoughts and lives, and have been looked upon and studied with interest. Although some people, especially creative and artistic individuals, have continued to treat their dreams with respect, after the beginning of the scientific era with its emphasis on tangible proof, dreams were relegated to fantasy. Today's renewal of interest in dreams intersects perfectly with the exploding Internet, our growing collective storehouse of wisdom. At this immense juncture of the personal and universal, we can learn, share and create, using our dreams, both at the personal level as well as global level. Here we attempt to bring together some of the best information to set you off on your own "Royal Road to the Unconscious." reams speak a universal language of metaphor using symbols. From the earliest cave paintings to the most sophisticated computer today, symbols stand for multiple, many-layered ideas. Finding your own personal significance to the symbol may come in ways that do not have words - a feeling, a new understanding, a memory or an expectation. You'll know it by the "ah-ha" recognition. "Interpretation" is NOT the main goal! You do not have to understand the meaning in order to benefit. Using dictionaries should be your last resort, not your first.

Remember your dreams!! The psyche will use other means to get your attention if you don't listen to your dreams first. Write your dreams down as soon as possible. Give each dream a title and include the date. Include the time of day if that seems significant too. Using a journal keeps your dreams in order. Talk about the dream using the present tense as if it is happening now. Time and space are not the same in the dream. See the dream as metaphor. It is symbolic rather than literal. Look both with a microscope up close at the personal level and with a telescope to see the mythical and universal. The dream is multi-leveled. Look at the dream upside down and backwards. You may be seeing a mirror image. "Compensation" may appear exactly opposite. Look for the hidden or missing parts. The dream comes to help you find balance, the point of tension between two opposite poles. Look for humor, word play, a catchy phrase that sums up the situation. Take plenty of time. The first impression is usually what you already know. Dreams are ahead of consciousness. They don't come to tell you what you already know. Some dreams are meant to be lived with for years- even a lifetime. Share your dreams with care. Sharing a dream is exposing a precious, vulnerable part of yourself. Don't let others spoil your images and messages. Honor your dreams. Do something concrete -here and now - to symbolize the dream. Create a ritual.

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Copyright 1999-2007 Susan Hendricks