symbols & facts

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Tips on Better Sleep.
A good bit of info on improving sleep through simple lifestyle changes.

Tips on Better Dream Recall.
A practical and simple guide to remembering dreams and recording dreams. Includes guidelines for a Dream Journal.

Interpreting Your Own Dreams.
Fundamental guide to let you know what to expect before beginning self-interpretation, and suggestions on effective analysis.

About Normal Dreams.
How a dream occurs, and what our dreams reveal about our own psyche. Personal research and theory.

About Psychic Dreams.
Almost everyone has them, but who knows why or how to identify them? Here's some personal research you won't find anywhere else.

Popular Dream Symbols.
A separate page with some common dream symbols whose meanings are almost always the same. Alphabetized listing. Single link back to this page.

Site History and Facts.
A separate technical page which might be useful if you are adminstering your own site, and some fun facts the Romeo Destraio Dream Interpretation site. Single link back to this page.

Jump Station.
Bottom of the page with links to other site pages.

There are tons of tips to improve sleep. Here are some that work for most people most of the time.

Water - The basic rules are: For every cup of caffinated coffee or can of soda, drink two glasses of water; For every cup of caffinated the, drink one glass of water. Caffiene dehydrates the body and brain and makes one rather 'clunky.' So does getting drunk. For every serving of alcohol, immediately drink a glass or two of water. Not only will this improve your sleeping and dreaming, it will usually prevent hangovers.

Quite Hour - Use the hour before sleep for relaxation and reflection. Avoid caffeine and nicotine during this hour. Reflecting and emotionally directed thought prepares the psyche for unconscious thought.

If you are familiar with relaxtion, meditation and self-hypnosis, the hour before bed is a good time to practice. Sex is beneficial both just before and after sleep.

Diet - While I can't say here what anyone's diet should be, I can say diet has a significant affect on sleeping and dreaming.

Exercise - Some people benefit from a little physical exersion before bed, but just as many become stimulated and wakeful. Stretching exercises seem to be helpful just before bed. Exercise is best used throughout the day rather than just before bed. The two primary benefits of exercise in regards to sleep are that the body wants rest, and improved oxygen use makes brain and body functions more fluid and efficient.

Deep Breathing - Lye prone or sit cross-legged with a straight back (Yoga style). Using one hand, place the thumb against one nostril, and the middle finger against the other. Close the right nostril and inhale slowly and deeply for a count of three. Hold for three. Exhale for three. Hold out for three. Do this three times, then close the left nostril, open the right and repeat the steps above. Then, repeat the steps again inhaling through both nostrils and exhaling through your mouth. Follow with flexation.

Flexation - Flex and extend (or tense and release) every part of your body, one at a time, from feet to face. Lye on your back with your hands at your side and follow this order: Feet and calfs (point up, then away), thighs, buttocks, stomach, lower back (push down into mattress), chest (shoulders forward), upper back (shoulders back), neck 1 (head forward), neck 2 (head back), face 1 (frown really big, like a frog), face 2 (scrunch your face squeezing your eyes shut). Hold each for a three count. Do this three times, the first being the strongest flex, the last being barely anything at all.

Phasing Out of Consciousness - Thinking too much can keep you up all night. While lying in bed, you are likely to 'see' light and dark shapes and colors. Describe these visions without thinking about them. You aren't even trying to be accurate. Just 'blue shape,' 'boy playing,' 'moon,' etc. The images won't be concrete, you're pretty much babbling. The idea is to give the conscious nothing to think about by thinking about things that have no relationship to one another. It may also help to mouth your descriptions. Very often, a person will return to more cohesive, but less intense thought. At this point, the conscious is less active, and one should allow thoughts to slip into dreams.

Anticipate - One of the simplest effective habits is to look forward to sleep and to waking the next day refreshed.

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There are an average of 5 REM cycles during a normal night's sleep of which the first lasts about 5 minutes, the last about an hour, and each one in between progressively longer than the previous cycle. Most people remember dreams almost exclusively from the last cycle, but recall from the first cycle is fairly common. We rarely remember dreams from the second through fourth cycles, probably because we are in deep sleep and the conscious is at its lowest state of awareness and activity.

It is not unusual for people to go for years without recalling having any dreams, but such a person almost certainly dreams during REM cycles, and the issue is of recalling dreams rather than having them at all. Here are some simple tips that can help you remember your dreams:

Adjust Lifestyle - Try some of the tips on Better Sleep.

Anticipate - As you go to sleep, look forward to dreaming. Tell yourself that you will remember your dreams and think about them as you wake.

Prolong Waking - Research suggests that if we do not think about our dreams within 8-10 minutes of 'waking,' then we are likely not to remember them. As you wake, avoid jumping right out of bed or forcing your self into conscious life (the 'I have to get up, I have to get up' syndrome). This is the number one reason people do not recall their dreams. Allow your dreams to become thought as your conscious mind becomes more active.

Record Your Dreams - This isn't a matter of recording your dreams first thing upon waking. Thinking about your dreams as you wake and do routine things (brushing your teeth, getting dressed, etc.) enforces the memory of the dream and improves recall. You can record the dream later in the day. Getting in the habit of recording your dreams gives dream recall a conscious priority and makes dream awareness a normal part of life.

The usefulness of a dream journal is that it helps improve recall, makes dream awarness a part of waking life, allows you to return to past dreams with new insight and to track your emotional life and growth, gives you a deeper understanding of self and helps you make better use of your unconscious.

Medium - Most people will either use a blank book or a computer. A blank book has the benefit of being permanent, portable, easily illustrated and not having to be booted up in the middle of the night to make a quick entry. A computer has the benefit of being editable. With a blank book, leave space in the margins for future notes. With a computer, keep a backup disk and printout of your dreams. Either is fine and pretty much a matter of personal taste, but I recommend the medium which is least difficult to write in for you. If you are a poor typist, use a blank book. If you are self-conscious about your handwriting, use a computer.

Writing - Don't worry about grammar, punctuation and style. The diary is a notebook for your personal use. If you are using a blank book, use a smooth flowing ink pen. Sanford© Uni-gel© pens are the best I've found. Fountain pens tend to be scratchy and sensitive to moisture.

Here is the fundamental process of recording a dream. The process is presented step-by-step to give you a baseline and starting place for your journal writing habits. Season to taste.

Header - Leave a few lines at the top of the entry to record the date, name and general subject of the dream later.

Initial Entry - To avoid frustrations in 'getting it right the first time,' make quick notes and hit the highlights. Note your feelings during and after the dream. Usually, if you record the main symbols and events in the dream you'll have enough to do a general analysis (get the gist of the dream). This quick entry also allows you to fill in the details later if you are busy at the moment, or woke momentarily in the middle of the night.

Detailed Entry - Detail the header with the date (the day you woke) and a name (use a key feature from the dream). After your initial entry, go through the dream again in more detail using the initial entry as a guide. Pay attention to colors, shapes and numbers of things, since these are important symbols that are often overlooked.

Analyse Your Dream - Refer to Inerpreting Your Own Dreams. The section following the detailed entry should list and attribute the meanings of each symbol and event. In a blank book, you'll pretty much have to enter one symbol, attribute its possible meanings, and then go to the next. As you interpret each symbol and event, the meaning of the dream should reveal itself.

Summary - You might find it useful to write a general meaning of the dream at the end of the symbols section.

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It is usually more difficult to interpret one's own dreams than to interpret someone else's. The benefit to people interpreting each other's dreams is that they see Truth in each other. Many people are defensive about their own Truth, but I assure you, the Truth will set you free.

Symbols Dictionary - The most valuable tool you can get is a good book of dream symbols. There are many publications about dream interpretation, but I have only found one book that is of value to me. Most books are compilations of theory and dated work which are too vague to be useful. Also, there is some timidity on the part of authors to concretely identify symbols. Again, too vague to be useful.

The one book I recommend is The Little Giant Book of Dream Symbols by Klaus Vollmar (Sterling. ISBN 0-8069-9787-7). The Nature Company© keeps this book in stock, but you can provide the book info above to a retailer and they can order it for you. The book retails for about $10 (it's not my book, I'm not trying to sell you anything).

Personal Symbol List - As you track your dreams, you will notice patterns, recurring themes and symbols. A symbol dictionary is useful for general analysis, but detailed analysis cannot be done without the dreamer. Even common symbols will take on personal characteristics. Keep a record of the appearance and meaning of symbols in your dreams.

This Site - Refer to this site periodically for updates, and send your dreams to me. Effective, outside analysis can at least get you started on your own analysis, and you can always ask me anything you like about dreams.

List Symbols - The most effective way I have found to interpret a dream is to list the symbols and events in order, and list their possible meanings beside them. The meaning of the dream becomes clearer as the symbols are defined, and you should understand the dream by the time you reach the end.

Dream Structure - Refer to the About Normal Dreams section below to understand the structure of dreams. You won't find this information anywhere else.

Commonly Overlooked Symbols - Pay attention to colors, numbers of things, and left and right. Colors and numbers have their own meanings. Left refers to the other-oriented, feminine, unconscious and the emotional. Right refers to the self-oriented, masculine, conscious and rational.

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How Dreams Occur:

Normal dreams are rationalizations of the irrational. Essentially, the unconscious feels its way through something causing emotional reactions that the conscious perceives. The conscious mind imagines what could be causing the emotional reaction providing visual and other sense data. That's why normal dreams are entirely metaphorical.

To demonstrate this process, consider how we rationally describe our emotions. We can identify emotions by name (a racing heart and the urge to run is fear). We can identify emotions by describing physical sensation ('My heart was racing and time seemed to slow.'). But the most common description of emotion is by metaphor ('It was like someone reached into my chest and squeezed my heart.'). This is the rationalization of the irrational, and that is exactly how normal dreams occur.

Continuity - Most dreams are not contiguous. They occur in several acts. The breaks between acts are important to understand because there is a definite reason why they occur. The first act of a dream usually reveals the nature of a dilemma the unconscious is exploring. The next act usually does one of two things: Explores the same dilemma more closely or from a different angle, or, especially where the first act reveals an accomplishment instead of a dilemma, explores the effects of the subject of the first act.

Focal Areas - The most important symbols and events in dreams are those that the dreamer focuses on. This is a sort of target fixation that makes everything around the symbol invisible for a brief time. The dreamer notices details that should be particularly well interpreted.

End of Dream - There are two things to take note of at the end of the dream: What question is left hanging (what the unconscious needs the conscious to resolve), and how the dreamer feels (which is a general implication about the dream).

The most important reason to understand your dreams is to realize True Self (a process Jung identified as 'individuation'). Making better use of your unconscious ability to perceive Truth approaches your use of your whole psyche, instead of relying overly much on your rational mind. The Truth revealed in dreams almost always requires conscious decision and action, but each decisive action is a step toward realizing True Self.

The unconscious is particularly good at feeling things through - at least as effective as the conscious is at thinking things through. Utilizing both approaches is approaching life with your entire mind.

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Psychic dreams are notoriously difficult to identify and define before the event dreamed about occurs. I have identified two common types of psychic dreams; the Literal and the Semi-metaphorical.

There are so many well documented literal psychic dreams that there is no question most people have them sometime in their life. Literal psychic dreams are exact in every detail. To identify a literal psychic dream, you have to be thouroughly familiar with what psychic dreams are not; normal dreams. The only way I have found to identify a psychic dream before it occurs is by identifying it as 'not a normal dream.'

I have noticed that people who have contiguous dream tend to have regular occurances of psychic dreams. Psychic dreamers also tend to have their dreams about the same time prior to the dreamed event each time. Some people dream about a week before the event, others dream several months in advance.

Literal psychic dreams tend toward the mundane. Conversations are common. I am sure that deja vu is living through an event that a person had dreamed of, but didn't recall having the dream. Essntially, the dream is remembered as an actual past event, and when the event finally occurs, the dreamer is sure they had been in that same exact place, with the same exact people doing and saying the exact same things. Everyone I know has had a deja vu experience, which means psychic dreams are an inherent part of being human.

When is a metaphorical dream a psychic dream? When it comes true. Here's the dilemma. A semi-metaphorical dream lends itself well to normal interpretation, so there is little about the dream that identifies it as psychic. As with literla dreams, the best you can do is know normal dreams so well that you can recognize anomolies within the dream.

Semi-metaphorical dreams have a t least one or two literal elements, usually people. They are not commonly reported because the dreamer doesn't even know what the dream means, so never associates it with the actual event (although I suspect that when people say 'I knew something like this was going to happen,' they did).

If you're a really good analyst and find yourself saying 'Why I was dreaming about that I don't know,' then you it may be you are dealing with a psychic dream. There is another irritating quality about semi-metaphorical psychic dreams. Sometimes precognition seems to occur right in the middle of a normal dream. I once had a dream I'm used to having about forcing my emotions through too narrow a channel when there was an explosion, and an old friend of mine came flying over the gorge, and landed near me breaking both arms. A week and a half later, a mutual friend calls me and says the friend I dreamed of was in the emergency room after having flown over his handlebars in a cycling race.

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