The Language of Dreams

Questioning the Subconscious

Open Your Mind

Dreams are one of the great mysteries of human consciousness. We all experience them, and while some of us write about it, many choose to ignore or dismiss their unconscious visualizations.

What if there are different levels to the unconscious dimension?

Maybe if you believe your dreams are meaningless, they will be. Maybe someone who sees dreams as a chance to experience limitless creative and spiritual freedom can ascend to a realm of the subconscious that is only accessible when the dreamer embraces the unknown rather than avoiding it.

The truth is, there is no definitive explanation for why we dream or how we should interpret the things we see or places we go when we enter the otherworld. So why not explore the possibilities?

Whether or not it’s delusional to believe we can connect with some kind of higher intelligence through dreams, I think we should pay attention to this realm. If we can potentially receive profound messages and celestial connections in our sleep, why would we take that for granted?

I believe that everything should be questioned. Every single thing.

I start every day by questioning my own subconscious. Questions like these have become a ritualistic part of my morning routine:

• Where did you just take me? What does this mean?
• Why am experiencing the presence of certain people in dreams?
• Did I create the environments in my dreams? Am I just an observer?

What time is it? …Back to reality, whatever that means.

I’ve found that questioning dreams after waking up is far less effective than asking for answers before falling asleep.

Machiel Klerk, psychotherapist and author of the book Dream Guidance, believes the dreamworld wants to engage with us, and that it can provide answers to our deepest wonderings. It’s also helpful to write these questions down and consider them again when you wake up. For example:

• What should I focus on right now?
• What obstacles am I facing?
• Where do I need healing?

You can ask about anything and everything — these are questions for your higher self. The answers come from your psyche, your soul, or however you prefer to think of your truest self without interference from the outer world or ego. It’s important to remember that these questions will most likely be answered indirectly.

The natural language of the brain is metaphorical.

Metaphors tend to rebel against logic the same way dreams do. We can comprehend that “an elephant in the room” usually refers to a topic of conversation that everyone is avoiding, even though the phrase is not literal.

Understanding the metaphors in dreams is no different, except that they are specific to you. Learning to understand the language of your dreams is an ongoing discovery, but you may notice significant patterns if you make a conscious effort to interact with the dream world.

There are numerous studies about the evolution of language and the metaphorical language of the brain. The way we think has always been vastly different than the way we communicate. Translating creative thoughts to written language is often cathartic, but can also be an excruciating challenge.

As I’ve said before, attempting to delineate the realm of dreams with only words feels like trying to mime Shakespeare.

Dreams are one of the most difficult things to accurately portray in writing or even using visuals because they are such individual, enigmatic experiences.

For the same reason, I think the meaning of dreams can only be determined by the dreamer. You don’t need a fortune teller or a spiritual guru to interpret your dreams for you. Trust your own intuition. The messages are coming from you, after all.

“Dreams are not just a personal psychological event; they are messages from the soul.” — James Hillman

Lucidity

Do you ever experience the sensation of free falling while you’re asleep? Does it wake you up?

Fun fact: Falling is actually the most commonly experienced dream (in America) according to a survey by Amerisleep. Also, apparently writers commonly dream about being back in school.

If there are multiple levels to the subconscious dimension, perhaps one of these levels includes the stereotypical dreams that a lot of people seem to experience, like being chased, suddenly finding yourself naked in public, or watching your teeth fall out of your mouth.

Lucid dreaming is a completely different level.

I recently had a dream that I was riding a bike next to a lake. I vividly remember being surrounded by dark, looming trees and a thick fog that felt increasingly intimidating. I also remember thinking, “I haven’t ridden a bike in years. Is this a dream?”

The path I was on suddenly curved and sent me directly into the lake. I remember spinning out on the bike, sinking into the murky water, then floating. I saw crocodiles swimming toward me from all directions.

A faceless person pulled me out of the water and specifically told me, “There are crocodiles — not ‘gators… crocodiles in the water. It’s not safe.”

I ended up back on my bike somehow, but this time I was in my hometown. At this point I realized I was definitely dreaming.

Colors and lights became iridescent as the ground beneath me disappeared. I left my body and watched myself travel effortlessly through my dream’s version of the neighborhood I grew up in, which is wildly inaccurate but still somehow recognizable.

This fluorescent abyss evaporated into darkness like a forgotten dream.

I was transported ~ in the blink of a third eye ~ into a place where space and time cease to exist. I felt the presence of love without hate, peace without violence, and light without darkness. I was surrounded by a multitude of guardian angels, and I became aware of the limitless nature of the soul.

Then I woke up.

Before going to sleep, I had written down the question, “Where am I supposed to be?”

This is all I wrote when I woke up:

“I was biking next to a lake The road suddenly went into the lake I remember spinning, sinking, floating.

There were crocodiles, not alligators. ‘It’s not safe!’

I was back on Hope Avenue, biking again

I see vivid colors that don’t exist, I leave my body — Lucidity and a glimpse of …Heaven?”

Even my writing about my own dreams begins and ends with questions.

I don’t think this dream was trying to tell me that I should start biking again, or that I need to visit the city I grew up in. I believe it implies that it’s time to slow down and redirect my path with careful consideration. I also need to remember the big picture when I’m focused on the more trivial aspects of existence.

I have a tendency to speed through dream worlds in various vehicles; I often end up on endless rollercoasters in the sky, or in this case, on a bike. Lack of control is a common theme.

My life seems to mirror this tendency of moving too quickly for my own good. I end up missing important warnings and worrying so much about where I’m going that I forget how far I’ve come.

This reality has always made me somewhat restless, but the rare moments when I experience a complete untethering of my consciousness from the physical world give me hope. If our souls are the only thing we take with us when we leave this life, I’m at peace with that.

Did that just get too existential? I’m going to leave it in.

I have been contemplating my restlessness so much lately that I made a short film about it — Parasomnia is available to watch exclusively on YouTube :)

If you’re interested in exploring and interpreting your dreams, I encourage you to meditate on a specific, personal question before going to sleep, and write down what you remember about your dreams when you wake up. You never know what kind of answers you’ll find!

Thank you for reading!

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