Look up dream interpretations?

In summary, In my dream, the tiger represented something I have to face. It is the first time I have had that dream, so it made me interested in keeping track of my nightly adventures.
  • #1
Monique
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Do you guys know some good websites to look up dream interpretations? I was just searching through Google and couldn't find any website that looked reasonable.

Last night I had a nightmare about a tiger chasing me up flights of stairs and even up on ladders, apparently that means that I have to face difficult situations and overcome obstacles, which about fits my situation right now. It's the first time I've had that dream, so it made me interested in keeping track of my nightly adventures some more :smile:
 
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  • #2
"Steep inclines, ladders and stairs, and going up or down them, are symbolic representations of the sexual act. "

http://www.psychwww.com/books/interp/chap06e.htm
 
  • #3


I think dream interpretation is all in the eye...well, erm, brain of the beholder. What a tiger represents to you may not be the same to everyone.

When I try to figure out what a dream means I give it two seconds' thought, and whatever comes to mind I figure that's close enough :biggrin:.
 
  • #4
hamster143 said:
"Steep inclines, ladders and stairs, and going up or down them, are symbolic representations of the sexual act. "

http://www.psychwww.com/books/interp/chap06e.htm

lol, where did you dig that up? That interpretation would never have crossed my mind.
 
  • #5


Lucid dreaming, anyone? Its ubercool. Exhausting, but fun. And there's never bad endings.
 
  • #7


lisab said:
I think dream interpretation is all in the eye...well, erm, brain of the beholder. What a tiger represents to you may not be the same to everyone.

When I try to figure out what a dream means I give it two seconds' thought, and whatever comes to mind I figure that's close enough :biggrin:.
I don't know about that.. some dreams are just too strange. There seem to be some dreams that occur in populations that are very symbolic and they represent some deep psychology, like dreams where you lose your teeth. I've never studied the subject, so I'm no expert.
 
  • #8


It would be hard to study dreams, since you can never know what someone else dreamt. You always have to take their word for it.
Whenever I have a dream, I remember the basics of it for about 10 minutes after I wake up, then it gets more and more nebulous as time goes on. At the end of the day I've probably forgotten just about all of it.
I'll hear people tell me about their dreams they had a few days ago and they're giving me detail after detail. Makes me really doubt they actually dreamt that and instead just like to hear themselves talk.
 
  • #9


Hang in there, Monique, I hope things go better soon.
 
  • #10


Monique said:
I don't know about that.. some dreams are just too strange. There seem to be some dreams that occur in populations that are very symbolic and they represent some deep psychology, like dreams where you lose your teeth. I've never studied the subject, so I'm no expert.


Try to not interpret bad dreams! I won’t tell you what it means. :biggrin:


lisab said:
I think dream interpretation is all in the eye...well, erm, brain of the beholder. What a tiger represents to you may not be the same to everyone.

When I try to figure out what a dream means I give it two seconds' thought, and whatever comes to mind I figure that's close enough :biggrin:.

Haha, you’re quite right Lisab, the beholder’s environment does have some effect on shaping the meaning of the dream. However, I believe there are other natural symbols [bugs/sun/animals/rivers/mountains…etc] which have an exact meaning… IMHO.
 
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  • #11


Monique said:
Do you guys know some good websites to look up dream interpretations? I was just searching through Google and couldn't find any website that looked reasonable.

Last night I had a nightmare about a tiger chasing me up flights of stairs and even up on ladders, apparently that means that I have to face difficult situations and overcome obstacles, which about fits my situation right now. It's the first time I've had that dream, so it made me interested in keeping track of my nightly adventures some more :smile:

confirmation bias.
 
  • #12


i don't think there's much to be gained from dream interpretation, absent some divine intervention a la joseph and the pharaoh.

just randomization of recent experiences, things that are on your mind.
 
  • #13


Monique said:
I had a nightmare about a tiger chasing me up flights of stairs and even up on ladders, apparently that means that I have to face difficult situations and overcome obstacles

Or it might just mean that I finally finished building my tiger costume. :uhh:
 
  • #14


you really can't interpret your dreams very well. there are "common" meanings for some things but they fail to take into account all the other things going on, so it's basically a moot point. basically, if i could let go of an apple and have it not drop and said it was because it experienced no gravity, would you believe me? it's one explanation and under some conditions may very well be the explanation, however i could come up with countless other ways to do the same thing, one being a table.
 
  • #15


leroyjenkens said:
I'll hear people tell me about their dreams they had a few days ago and they're giving me detail after detail. Makes me really doubt they actually dreamt that and instead just like to hear themselves talk.

have you considered the possibility that they are smarter than you? If i remember my dreams i tend to be able to recount most details for a good amount of time.
 
  • #16
hamster143 said:
"Steep inclines, ladders and stairs, and going up or down them, are symbolic representations of the sexual act. "

http://www.psychwww.com/books/interp/chap06e.htm

It's not the ladder and stairs that are the representation of sexual act. Representation of the sexual act is the Tiger (woods).
 
  • #17


Monique said:
lol, where did you dig that up? That interpretation would never have crossed my mind.

That's the dream interpretation classic, "The Interpretation of Dreams" by Sigmund Freud, 1899.

P.S. interestingly, that exact same line is quoted in the Wikipedia article about the book (I didn't put it there, I swear.)
 
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  • #18


hamster143 said:
That's the dream interpretation classic, "The Interpretation of Dreams" by Sigmund Freud, 1899.

Better watch a porn movie. Better technology, same content :devil:
 
  • #19


AUK 1138 said:
have you considered the possibility that they are smarter than you? If i remember my dreams i tend to be able to recount most details for a good amount of time.

I could just as easily say I'm smarter because my brain doesn't waste energy remembering pointless things like dreams.
Sounds deliberately offensive to go straight to "smarter than you".
 
  • #20


Carl Jung has respected works on dream interpretation.
 
  • #21


I'm suspicious of dream interpretation. It may be that there is meaning to general themes like going to school or work naked, or being chased, or falling. However, something specific like a tiger could just be some free association related from the brand of cereal you had for breakfast.
 
  • #22


Jimmy Snyder said:
I'm suspicious of dream interpretation. It may be that there is meaning to general themes like going to school or work naked, or being chased, or falling. However, something specific like a tiger could just be some free association related from the brand of cereal you had for breakfast.

Absolutely agree.

For example, when I think of 'tiger' I get a strong emotional response against cruelty, because for me: tiger = circus = people who force animals to perform to "entertain" people (something I detest).

Others won't have that association. Someone else might have an association related to Danger's tiger pajamas. It might actually be a pleasant emotional response :wink:.

So how can there be general guide for dream images?
 
  • #23


The best dream interpreter is the dreamer herself. Evolution of metaphor and meaning move me.
 
  • #24


I happen to think that it's utterly impossible to have even a broad template for applying really obscure meanings to specific things in a dream. Everyone associates one thing with another, and another, and it becomes a string of syllogisms that don't work for everyone.

What I really want to know is the chemical or biological reason behind dreaming. You need to sleep, but why dream?
 
  • #25


I think that dream interpretation benefits the bookseller more than anything.

I suppose there may be specific generic images of a religious nature for religious folk, but aside from that, I really can't see how a dream of a tiger can mean one thing only to all people.
 
  • #26


True story,

The other night I dreamt that I walked into my office and there were flies everywhere.

As soon as I awoke, I understood the meaning of my dream: I had forgotten to take out the trash.
 
  • #27


Throughout our waking period we are relegating all kinds of thoughts to our unconscious mind. These are feelings and moods that for one reason or another we do not wish to process at that time at the conscious level and instead suppress or store in the unconscious mind. So to use the analogy with the computer, the conscious mind is like the active processor, and the unconscious mind is the reservoir that stores vast amounts of data (thoughts and ideas in the mind). The conscious mind represents just the tip of the total mind.

When we sleep, some of these thoughts of concern to us, bubble up to the surface in disguised forms as dreams. We have about 4 or 5 dreams a night. We usually remember the last dream only if we wake up within a 10 minute period after having the dream; otherwise it's forgotten. When they do dream research, they can wake up the person precisely during the dream phase by observing their REM wave activity.

Some generalizations have been made about dream behavior that account for some of the interpretations, just as for other forms of waking behavior that are used in mental therapy for instance. I don't necessarily discount them.
 
  • #28


The other night I had a dream that a bulldozer was next to my apartment and it started a landslide and destroyed my place.

I woke up, went to the bathroom, sprained my ankle, and was lying in bed until the sun came up. Then I heard a strange noise outside, so I ran out and there was this guy in a bulldozer dumping dirt into the severely eroded areas among the rocks holding up the hillside next to my apartment (the land has been sliding down). What a mess! The bulldozer dug big ruts in the grass and tore everything up.

I told Kurdt about this amazing coincidence and he said "pffttt". :frown:
 
  • #29


Evo said:
The other night I had a dream that a bulldozer was next to my apartment and it started a landslide and destroyed my place.

I woke up, went to the bathroom, sprained my ankle, and was lying in bed until the sun came up. Then I heard a strange noise outside, so I ran out and there was this guy in a bulldozer dumping dirt into the severely eroded areas among the rocks holding up the hillside next to my apartment (the land has been sliding down). What a mess! The bulldozer dug big ruts in the grass and tore everything up.

I told Kurdt about this amazing coincidence and he said "pffttt". :frown:

Be glad it wasn't a so-called "dream of prediction," and your house is still standing. :wink: Btw, I don't think there's any scientific basis yet for "dreams that predict."

It is quite a coincidence that a bulldozer appeared in your dream and also the next morning. Also that after your dream, you "wrecked" your ankle. Sometimes there are subtle clues that we gather from our environment that later on show up in dreams... like the erosion going on outside the apartment. And then there's the possibility that the dream is totally symbolic for some other issue that's lurking beneath the surface.
 
  • #30


runner said:
It is quite a coincidence that a bulldozer appeared in your dream and also the next morning.

Evo may have heard something about a bulldozer going to show in the place and don't remember it consciously.

Also that after your dream, you "wrecked" your ankle.

Nothing strange in it, after all, Evo is Evo :devil:
 
  • #31


lompocus said:
What I really want to know is the chemical or biological reason behind dreaming. You need to sleep, but why dream?

I often wonder the same thing. Speaking of which, not too long ago I had a dream that I was investigating that very subject. Weird, huh? Dreaming about dream studies.

In my dream I had discovered that, contrary to other theories, that dreams occur as a form of a distraction. In the process of sleeping, the brain processes and reorganizes memories. And in the physical/neurological sense, it involves various neurons. It's the process involving what things end up getting stored as long term memories and what things do not, and it involves changing chemistry of particular, related neurons in the process. (I'm in no way stating any of this as true fact: this was all simply part of my dream -- I haven't actually discovered any such thing in real-life.)

So, in the dream I had, I had discovered that when the brain is processing a particular memory, it produces a dream in order to distract the active part of the brain from accessing that particular memory while the associated neurons are being processed/manipulated. While others had theorized that while dreaming, the mind thinks about the very things which are being stored in memory, I had discovered that dreams are a mechanism to temporarily inhibit the mind from thinking about the very things which are being stored in memory. [Edit: although dreams sometimes take on an overall theme regarding what is being stored in memory, the memory itself is seldom accessed directly due to the abundance of distractions.]

In my dream, I was going to write a paper about it, or speak at a conference about it (or something like that), but then I woke up.

Of course, it was all just a dream. So I take the whole thing with a grain of salt. I have no idea why people dream.
 
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  • #32


leroyjenkens said:
I could just as easily say I'm smarter because my brain doesn't waste energy remembering pointless things like dreams.
Sounds deliberately offensive to go straight to "smarter than you".

well, i was being deliberately offensive. so, kudos.
 
  • #33


I personally consider dreams to be the "random noise" of the subconscious mind forced into structured situations.

Evo said:
The other night I had a dream that a bulldozer was next to my apartment and it started a landslide and destroyed my place.

I woke up, went to the bathroom, sprained my ankle, and was lying in bed until the sun came up. Then I heard a strange noise outside, so I ran out and there was this guy in a bulldozer dumping dirt into the severely eroded areas among the rocks holding up the hillside next to my apartment (the land has been sliding down). What a mess! The bulldozer dug big ruts in the grass and tore everything up.

I told Kurdt about this amazing coincidence and he said "pffttt". :frown:

Is it not common that we react to noises and other sensations while we sleep and include the implied cause of them in the dream? For example, if someone are rattling with dishes while you are asleep this may cause you to find yourself in a gun-fight in your dream, or some other crazy thing. It might very well have been the bulldozer you heard, and by recognizing the sound it makes you included it in your dream. Not much of a coincidence other than that you recognized the correct cause of the noise.
 
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  • #34
From: http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/brain_basics/understanding_sleep.htm#dreaming

REM sleep stimulates the brain regions used in learning. This may be important for normal brain development during infancy, which would explain why infants spend much more time in REM sleep than adults (see Sleep: A Dynamic Activity ). Like deep sleep, REM sleep is associated with increased production of proteins. One study found that REM sleep affects learning of certain mental skills. People taught a skill and then deprived of non-REM sleep could recall what they had learned after sleeping, while people deprived of REM sleep could not.

Some scientists believe dreams are the cortex's attempt to find meaning in the random signals that it receives during REM sleep. The cortex is the part of the brain that interprets and organizes information from the environment during consciousness. It may be that, given random signals from the pons during REM sleep, the cortex tries to interpret these signals as well, creating a "story" out of fragmented brain activity.
 
  • #35


Jarle said:
I personally consider dreams to be the "random noise" of the subconscious mind forced into structured situations.



Is it not common that we react to noises and other sensations while we sleep and include the implied cause of them in the dream? For example, if someone are rattling with dishes while you are asleep this may cause you to find yourself in a gun-fight in your dream, or some other crazy thing. It might very well have been the bulldozer you heard, and by recognizing the sound it makes you included it in your dream. Not much of a coincidence other than that you recognized the correct cause of the noise.
if you read my post you will see that that the dream was hours earlier before the sun came up. So, no, I didn't hear anything in my sleep.
 
<h2>1. What is the purpose of looking up dream interpretations?</h2><p>The purpose of looking up dream interpretations is to gain a better understanding of the symbols, themes, and meanings present in your dreams. It can also help you identify any underlying emotions or issues that may be affecting your subconscious mind.</p><h2>2. Are dream interpretations accurate?</h2><p>Dream interpretations are subjective and can vary depending on the individual's personal experiences and beliefs. While some interpretations may resonate with you, others may not. It's important to approach dream interpretations with an open mind and use them as a tool for self-reflection rather than absolute truth.</p><h2>3. Can dream interpretations predict the future?</h2><p>No, dream interpretations cannot predict the future. Dreams are a product of our subconscious mind and are influenced by our thoughts, feelings, and experiences. While they may offer insights into our current state of mind, they cannot predict future events.</p><h2>4. Is there a universal meaning for dream symbols?</h2><p>No, there is no universal meaning for dream symbols. While some symbols may have common interpretations, they can also hold different meanings for different individuals. It's important to consider your personal associations and emotions towards a symbol when interpreting your dreams.</p><h2>5. Can dream interpretations be used for therapy?</h2><p>Dream interpretations can be a helpful tool for self-discovery and personal growth. However, they should not be used as a substitute for professional therapy. If you are struggling with recurring or disturbing dreams, it's important to seek guidance from a licensed therapist.</p>

1. What is the purpose of looking up dream interpretations?

The purpose of looking up dream interpretations is to gain a better understanding of the symbols, themes, and meanings present in your dreams. It can also help you identify any underlying emotions or issues that may be affecting your subconscious mind.

2. Are dream interpretations accurate?

Dream interpretations are subjective and can vary depending on the individual's personal experiences and beliefs. While some interpretations may resonate with you, others may not. It's important to approach dream interpretations with an open mind and use them as a tool for self-reflection rather than absolute truth.

3. Can dream interpretations predict the future?

No, dream interpretations cannot predict the future. Dreams are a product of our subconscious mind and are influenced by our thoughts, feelings, and experiences. While they may offer insights into our current state of mind, they cannot predict future events.

4. Is there a universal meaning for dream symbols?

No, there is no universal meaning for dream symbols. While some symbols may have common interpretations, they can also hold different meanings for different individuals. It's important to consider your personal associations and emotions towards a symbol when interpreting your dreams.

5. Can dream interpretations be used for therapy?

Dream interpretations can be a helpful tool for self-discovery and personal growth. However, they should not be used as a substitute for professional therapy. If you are struggling with recurring or disturbing dreams, it's important to seek guidance from a licensed therapist.

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