Short, Sweet, and Simple in Dream Interpretation

Short and simple in dream interpretation Some of us are mega-dreamers, not just in amount of dreams, often several every night, but also in length. It takes considerable time to record or recount epic adventures with intricate plots, rich details, and elaborate thoughts and emotions.

How does a dreamer keep up with it all? Who has several hours a day to write down all of the dreams, and how does a person interpret them?

Keep it simple!

While every detail in a dream has potential significance, not every one is critical. If we are able to single out five to seven most important symbols and details of a dream and interpret them, we can arrive at an accurate dream interpretation. Factoring in too many details and scenes makes it difficult to discover the main message.

Practice and experience teach us to identify the major symbols, sensing the ‘weightiness’ of each in relation to each other. We learn to focus on what is most essential, and use the lesser details to support or confirm.

Keeping it short, sweet, and simple works for dream interpretation—and also for recording your dreams.

Most of us only consider recording a dream by writing it down line by line in a notebook or online dream journal, but there are quicker ways that are more creative and less linear, such as drawing a picture of the dream, diagramming it out, using lines or boxes or doodles. Jotting down the major symbols first thing upon awakening helps jog our memory later if we need to get the ‘bones’ down on paper—and come back later to add ‘meat’ to those bones.

For some of us, visualizing the dream as a snapshot instead of reading through lines of writing will unlock the interpretation. In my teaching and working with people, I often will draw out the dream—it helps us to conceptualize the whole ‘big picture’.

In ancient scriptures, Daniel was a nationally sought-out dream interpreter. Once, when he had a massive and momentous dream, we are told, ‘Daniel wrote down the main facts.” (Daniel 7:1)

Relax and enjoy your dream time, and don’t get overwhelmed or perfectionistic about requiring every fine point down on paper.

This principle generally works well in life, too. We can choose to simplify the complex, or to complicate the simple.

Short, Sweet, and Simple in Dream Interpretation