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Sleeping Prophecy
An Introduction to Dream Interpretation

Human beings spend an average of one or two hours a night lost in another world. In the parallel world of dreams, pictures, places and sounds combine in ways unlike our waking realities. While we are not always sure what to make of our dream lives, it is clear that dreams hold the key to greater self-knowledge and a connection to the collective unconscious. Through accessing folk wisdom about the topic, we can begin our own journey into the depths of our sleeping selves.

Four thousand years ago primal societies saw the dream realm as not only an extension of reality but a more powerful world. Ancient societies saw dreams as largely prophetic. Correctly interpreted, they often helped decide the next course of political and military action and aided in diagnosing diseases. For some Native American and Mexican civilizations, dreams were a means to connect with ancestors who had died and they also served as a way that wisdom could be passed to new generations. In the early 19th century, Sigmund Freud revived the study of dreams as he made dream interpretation an important tool within psychotherapy.

Dream interpretation continues today often employing methods of interpretation gleaned from folk and psychoanalytic sources. Tradition tells us that dreams of a prophetic nature usually occur during the deepest part of your night's sleep, between 2am and 7am. After awaking, a dreamer can often recall the major feature or fact within the dream's narrative and at that point it helps to consult a guide to dream symbols or a specialist in interpretation.

By connecting the details to the dream's major features, one can create meaning out of what initially appeared cryptic. For example, a dream about a dog indicates good luck is on the way while dreaming about a seemingly harmless package of cookies can indicate that you are headed for a dispute with someone. A stomachache can foretell success while an exposed abdomen may point to the fact that someone close to you will betray your confidence. Using more modern interpretive techniques can also aid in lending meaning to dream life. Chase dreams are said to stem from feelings of anxiety in waking life while nudity in a dream symbolizes the feeling of being emotionally exposed or caught off guard.

As you begin your journey into the internal world of dreams, it is helpful to keep a dream diary. After consulting an online dream guide, you can add interpretive information to your journal. By writing down your dreams as they occur, you can discover patterns that may help you to analyze your emotional state and uncover your own prophetic powers.

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