Part 2 of 3
HOW TO WORK WITH YOUR DREAMS

WHY DO WE DREAM ANYWAY?
*Some of the most prevalent observations have been that we require this mysterious sleep experience in order to maintain a certain level of mental and emotional balance.

*The nonsensical, fragmentary dreams usually seen during the dozing off/ non-REM stage serve as a recording or saving device for the important information / experiences received during the previous waking hours - while this sleep process also removes from our outer consciousness the previous days’ events – which we don’t need to keep so readily available in our minds, and stores it away in the sub or inner consciousness. However, as when working with a computer, we can sometimes ‘undo delete’ when necessary… with the help of a skilled operator or mind technician such as a hypnotherapist or past life regressionist, or by the being relaxing well enough and observing certain mind training techniques which may allow certain images or memories to come forth and return to the surface for recall. This hidden data will also re-surface in your dreams at times, when necessary.

*Dreams relate to balance and imbalance in our emotional life – commenting on and making corrections regarding our conscious, waking state of awareness in a symbolic language which can be interpreted. Those skilled in psychoanalysis can examine dreams and the events which dreams allow us to experience in order to detect much about character, motives, and the state of mental/emotional health of the dreamer… when we would ordinarily in waking life go out of our way to avoid these matters.

THE IMPORTANCE OF DREAMS
Dreams arising from a clear mind, without tensions, concentrated with an intention of finding a solution to a problem; be it in a sleepful or wakeful state, have contributed greatly to technological, cultural, religious and spiritual progress of man-kind. To have concern about deciphering one’s dreams is one path to being actively involved in one’s self-realization, self-improvement and evolution. Beings on this earth plane of awareness are embarking on a journey of self-discovery – perhaps in order to recognize and return to the Source. This journey is open to pathways which lead to higher awareness & consciousness which is attuned to solving problems and dissolving obstructions to progressing on the path, to assist with balancing the energies of problems created. Considering dreams for such purposes is a new idea to many however, dream utilization in this manner has been practiced in ancient civilizations all over the world.

While non-dreaming periods of sleep (NREM) are very important for maintaining ones’ physical health – dream periods of sleep (REM) are very important for ones’ psychological/mental health. This is also one reason why dreams often seem so ‘real’, leaving a big impression, and having an obvious sense of importance to us that we often cannot consciously identify … they often are important and carry vital messages which are important for our psychological health and well-being. Dreams also feel so real due to dreams actually being a state of mind similar to the wakeful states of being… this having been determined by decades of scientific dream research showing similar EEG activity (EEG is an Electroencephalograph used for the recording of electrical activity/brainwaves, along the scalp which are produced by the transmission of nerve impulses within the brain.) As we fall asleep from stage one and onward, our sense of the outer world progressively diminishes, and our sense of the inner world and the cosmos increases. It is different planes of awareness – and the objective, external world is not any more real than the other dimensions of being; in fact it is illusory according to the spiritual teachings of the east. This raises the question as to what exactly can be labeled “real”… Reality really can not be determined by our limited views and levels of awareness of what is real, in reality, really!

How does one determine which dreams should be taken seriously and/or studied carefully? One way is to know the different reasons for having the dreams we have; that is, what are the various causes of dream dramas played out within our minds as directed by our greater and/or inner consciousness. If you know that you just had a dream of being strangled to death –only due to the scarf you were too tired to remove, being awkwardly wrapped around your neck, tight enough to cause you difficulties in breathing while you were asleep, then you can rest at ease upon waking from the dream, knowing that it was not real and it was not a terrible precognitive dream; it was an immediate warning. You may be eternally grateful to the dream consciousness for using such imagery and symbolism to save you from leaving in such a ridiculous manner!

Another way to determine which dreams should be paid attention to more so than others is by the feeling one has after the dream. Often important dreams leave one with a feeling of awe and wonderment … or a feeling of wanting to know what the dream signifies. At other times we intuitively know that the dream is a premonition, or an answer to a question we had in mind, etc. There is an account of a woman who awoke at 2:30 AM of a terrible dream one night :
a large chandelier which hung over their baby’s crib in the next room, fell into the crib and crushed the baby. The clock in the dream read 4:35 AM, and there was a violent storm outside. The woman woke her husband up to tell him the dream and he laughed saying it was silly, and advised her to go back to sleep. Out of her love & concern for the baby; due to the dream feeling so terribly real, she took the baby out of it’s bed and brought the young one to bed with her. The woman started feeling foolish, as she mentally noted that the weather outside was calm- not stormy as in the dream… until two hours later when she and her husband were awakened by a large crashing sound – of the chandelier falling directly into the crib. The woman notes that the clock on the dresser, just as in the dream, read 4:35 AM, and that the weather had changed to a severe storm. And this time her husband did not laugh. This is an example of a dream where the dreamer KNOWS …

Usually deciphering dreams requires disciplined attention and time to analyze them fully and accurately.
Therefore the key to dreams are:
(1) understanding the different types of dreams we have, as well as
(2) learning how to decipher dreams
(3) working with and utilizing your dreams in a practical and beneficial way.

Author's Bio: 

Shakeenah Kedem is a service oriented entrepreneur, and an Alternative Health Entrepreneur and Akashic Researcher living in the Northwest region of Arkansas, USA. Studying and practicing alternative healing methods for over 25 years and pendulum divining for over 5 years. She has developed her own method of interpreting dreams by working attentively with the dreamer. Visit www.YourAkashikReader.com now, to discover a healthy, spirit-filled resource of information and services.