Dream Interpretation
8 Different Types of Dreams and What They Mean
Dreams are an important part of life, and if it wasn’t, then we wouldn’t dream
Many mystics, gurus, and seers have always been intrigued by dreams.
Although nobody is sure why we dream, many people agree these subconscious experiences can teach us a lot about ourselves. They serve a purpose, and it’s up to us to figure out what our dreams mean.
Dreams are still unexplained by science, but we are aware our brains are immensely powerful organs with the capability of creating new ideas and our reality. Dreams are an important part of life, and if it wasn’t, then we wouldn't dream.
The adventures that go on in our sleep can be so convincing it's hard to believe it’s just a mere illusion.
Dreams give us a chance to act out our deepest desires or come to terms with our biggest fears. They allow us to sort through unresolved and repressed emotions.
There are different types of dreams, and because dreams are symbolic and not straightforward, it can be confusing and hard to interpret them.
1. Processing Dreams
Most of our dreams are just garbage or processing dreams, meaning are they have no meaning. It’s the mind’s way of relaxing and dealing with the events of the day.
Our brains create processing dreams when it’s processing outside distractions, like how the next-door neighbor’s barking dog can be worked into a dream sequence.
These dreams are often forgotten quickly.
Another example of this is watching a scary movie and seeing the monster chasing you in your dream.
They have no meaning at all.
2. Problem-Solving Dreams
Sometimes our subconscious or higher self steps in to warn us or help us sort through a tricky problem. These are problem-solving dreams.
In problem-solving dreams, your inner self draws you into scenarios that can point you towards a decision, or warn you against something that’s been on your mind during waking hours.
These dreams appear to have a more practical purpose that leads us to the answers we’ve been searching for.
Sometimes, the meaning of dreams hides behind the story or is hidden in the scenarios, objects or symbols that come up.
3. Healing Dreams
Healing dreams are when your unconscious mind brings up things that are repressed and need healing in you. These are things you are unaware of in your waking hours.
They are super important and have a lot of meaning. You will know it’s a healing dream because it’s shedding light on something.
Here’s an example: Let’s say you had a fight with your friend right before he or she passed. You never got to say sorry, or they didn’t get to apologize for something they said.
You may keep dreaming about this person where you are screaming at them or they screaming at you.
This dream might be suggesting there is still some healing work to be done. It might be showing you to heal, forgive yourself, forgive them, and let it go.
Healing dreams are when your unconscious mind brings up things that are repressed and need healing in you.
4. Guidance Dreams
Guidance dreams are dreams where the universe is trying to guide you to the next steps to take.
These dreams come to help you with a decision you need to make.
Guidance dreams differ from the healing dream because you are not healing anything — you’re just being guided towards or away from something.
For example, you might take a power nap and dream you are walking somewhere and a being or stranger comes to you and has a conversation with you that sticks with you after you wake up.
You realize the things you were told in the dream are just what you needed to make a decision.
Guidance dreams are dreams where the universe is trying to guide you to the next steps to take.
5. Precognitive Dreams
Can we really see the future before it happens? People who’ve had a precognitive dream swear they can.
Precognitive dreams are dreams that foretell a possible future. It is the consciousness of a person tapping into a different timeline.
Dreams that predict the future aren’t always filled with end of the world revelations or lottery tips. Precognitive dreams come when you need to course-correct your life. They might foretell something closer to home.
Here’s an example: An alcoholic man who really needs to stop drinking might have a precognitive dream where he dies or gets injured in a car accident because he was drunk driving.
This man may wake up, put the pieces together, and never drink again — changing his future or he may ignore his dream, and the only way he will know if it was real is when the dream comes true.
Some people have this gift of foretelling the possible future and bring the information into everyday life.
These dreams don’t always happen exactly as you dreamt. It depends on the action you take now.
The future is never set in stone and is dependent on the present moment.
6. Lucid dreams
Have you ever had a time where you just couldn’t keep your eyes open? Whether you’re sitting in class or in the back of a bus, it’s hard to resist sleep when your eyelids are just so heavy.
These impromptu power naps are sometimes worth giving in to — if you’re lucky, you might even get to experience a lucid dream.
Flying in your sleep is often described as a lucid dream — an experience where you are aware you are dreaming while the adventure is happening. As you soar over the entire city, your inner self feels a rush of freedom and you feel as though you are capable of anything.
Lucid dreams are common just before a change is due, often happening when you’re contemplating exciting things.
The adventures that go on in our sleep can be so convincing it's hard to believe it’s just a mere illusion.
7. Astral Projection Dreams
Your soul projects out of your body during the dream state. This happens every night, but you just don’t remember it because you’re not supposed to.
But in an astral projection type of dream, you remember the travelings your soul does. Your soul lets you remember, and it happens when your soul wants you to see the work it’s doing.
It happens when you are receiving an energy upgrade during the night. They are rare and often feel otherworldly. They are often galactic or cosmic and can have imagery like flying in the skies.
They can feel like they don’t have meaning, but they aren’t processing dreams because they mean something.
They make such a strong impression on you — you have to pinch yourself to know it's not real. Others are so hazy but leave a lingering feeling on into the morning.
Your soul projects out of your body during the dream state. This happens every night, but you just don’t remember it because you’re not supposed to.
8. Nightmares
These dreams are terrifying and upsetting and nobody should underestimate how frightened a nightmare can make someone feel, especially a recurring one.
But they are not real.
Nightmares are the product of your subconscious mind holding up your fears and insecurities for you to deal with. All the unsettling things you see are the product of your own mind.
Your inner self wants you to face your fears.
The good news is there are things you can do to tackle them once and for all because you are in control of your nightmares.
Once you shine a light on those dark things, you’ll understand the only thing to fear is fear itself.
Dream Ground Rules
Most of our dreams can’t be taken literally. They are an intense bundle of ideas and images — the output of the complex human brain.
Dreams are often symbolic. Interpreting your dream literally will cause you to panic. What you are looking for is the symbolic interpretation of your dream.
Let’s say you have a dream and you are drowning in the ocean. This does not mean you will drown in the ocean. In this case, the ocean could represent your emotions or your subconscious mind.
You might be drowning in your emotions in real life.
The symbolism means different things to different people, and so you have to rely on your own inner guidance. Sometimes a symbol for you may differ from a symbol for me.
Your intuition can help you find the meaning of these symbols. The most important part is not what you see, it’s how you feel during and right after the dream.
If you get better at listening to your intuition, you will get better at interpreting your dreams.
Your instinctive reaction is the right interpretation of your dream.
Final Thoughts
Dreams are a path of personal experience. When you are on a spiritual path, you learn through experience and you prize your experience and inner knowing above anything else.
It doesn’t mean you don’t learn from the outside anymore; it means you learn from the outside, but you match your outer learning to your inner knowing.
If you figure out the symbolism of your dreams, it's best to record them as soon as you wake up or the memory of the dream will fade quickly.
Most dreams come to guide, heal, inform and warn you, so you must follow through with action. If you don't, you will keep repeating the same dream over and over again, until you get the message.
