Table of Contents
Introduction
Dreaming is so personal it can be hard to explain to someone else. How many times have we been beside ourselves with excitement to tell someone about a dream, only to get blank stares back. And you cant even say, I guess you had to be there. This is why we wrote The Complete Idiots Guide Dream Dictionary which you hold in your hands. There is a language for each dreamer, yet there are universal truths to our individual dreams.
Everyone dreams, and each of us has a distinctive dream style. Whether youre the kind of dreamer who remembers every dream moment in high-definition detail and with instant recall; who gets flash insights and remembers vivid visuals strung together piecework by waking memory; or whether all you can bring back from your dreams are a few colors, a bunch of numbers, a face, a voice, or a fast-action download blur shorter than your digital cameras video memory capability, it doesnt matter. Whatever kind of dreamer you are, youre just like everyone else who is dreaming: fascinated, curious, and eager to figure it all out. What do your dreams mean?
How to Use This Dictionary
Dreamers love to read dream dictionaries, and were guessing that you may have a collection of themalways looking for new insights, combinations, and interpretations. The Complete Idiots Guide Dream Dictionary arranges more than 1,500 entries in A to Z format, covering topics of interest for dream interpretation as far-ranging as dreams themselveseverything from specifics such as butterfly, best friend, cell phone, or fast food to concepts such as breaking up, dropping the ball, or the wrong size. Dreamers also find entries for the usual dream suspects from flying to falling, numbers, colors, body parts, animals, celebrities, seasons, money, and more. Plus, The Complete Idiots Guide Dream Dictionary showcases the most up-to-date vocabulary of dream symbols and dream meaningsstuff older, outdated references either dont include at all, or cant interpret in a way thats so, well, now.
Dream Words: A to Z Entries
Each A to Z dream dictionary entry is defined, and its dream interpretive meanings fully explored. Where appropriate, cross-references to related entries will appear. For example, the entry on ringtone includes the tag See alsocell phone, phone. Blind entries lead dreamers to core concepts; for example, lottery: Seewinning. All of the entries in The Complete Idiots Guide Dream Dictionary focus on dream symbols and their interpretations to allow dreamers to reach for the fullest selection of extrapolated dream meanings possible. The content of A to Z entries provides hands-on instructional insight leading to innovative dream interpretation. This dictionary will not include entries on the science of sleep or the psychology of dreaming; only symbols, meanings, interpretations, and much more!
At the end of each A to Z dream entry, The Complete Idiots Guide Dream Dictionary includes two great features: Yin/Yang Dream Shadows and the Dream Themes Index.
Yin/Yang Dream Shadows
Psychologist Carl Jung often wrote about the challenge of acknowledging our shadow, that is, of recognizing and embracing the darker or flip side of our emotions and experiences. Dreams often show us seemingly confusing images, and it is up to dreamers to puzzle out the full dream meaning. That can include exploring both light and dark, yin and yang possibilities. When you see the symbol
, following it youll find a list of opposite or complementary dream dictionary entries to explore. For example, the yin/yang shadow of
girl is
boy, or for
glass, it is
rock. In Eastern philosophy, balance and understanding are achieved by considering opposites, united in harmony. Dreamers may be surprised at what can be seen in dream shadows!
Dream Themes Index
The Dream Themes Index lists collections of dream dictionary entries by topic of interest, allowing dreamers to search quickly and easily for deeper, more resonant dream meanings. Dreamers can access Dream Theme power in two ways: 1. by looking at the Dream Themes Index at the back of the dictionary, where all the Dream Themes are collected; and 2. by looking for the Dream Theme symbol
in the A to Z entries to find a list of Dream Themes to explore.
For example, looking in the Dream Themes Index at the back of the dictionary, here are the entries linked to the Dream Theme for Color:
Color: artist, black, blonde hair, blue, brunette hair, green, jewels, pink, purple, red, red hair, yellow.
Turning to the A to Z entry for artist, the Dream Themes of beauty, color, and creativity are listed. The more connections dreamers look up, the more dream insights and interpretations become possible.
Plus More!
In addition to the Dream Themes Index, a complete listing of the more than 1,500 A to Z entry words is included in a Dream Words appendix to help dreamers locate entries at a glance. Weve included a Tuck-in Time appendix to help dreamers invite, induce, and remember dream messages. A Dream Interpretation Checklist details how dreamers can interpret dreams step-by-step.
Put it all together and The Complete Idiots Guide Dream Dictionary is a dream come true. From teenagers to New Agers, from students of dreams and dreaming to each of us who just wants to understand a little bit more about ourselvesall kinds of dreamers can enjoy this dictionary and find something new, fun, and informative to reveal, stimulate, and provoke insight and understanding about dreams and what they might mean. Were all dream genies!
Acknowledgments
From Eve:
Youre writing a dream dictionary? Let me tell you my dream So many people spoke these words to me during the course of writing this book, and so many of these dreams provided even deeper insight for me into how dream interpretation works. Thanks to all of you who shared your dreams, good and bad, scary and hilarious, and everything in between. It has been, and continues to be, a fascinating dream journey. Thanks also to my family, so often a part of my dreams; and to Ben, who laughs in his sleep.
From Gayle:
My dreams have saved me a ton of money I would have spent at the psychiatrists office, seriously. Im convinced my mind sorts my problems out at night and presents solutions to me wrapped in pretty dream packages. Well theyre not all pretty. Remember, this dictionary is a tool, and you are your own best interpreter because you know whats causing you to dream this weird stuff. Also, pay attention to your day-dreams. Theyre the ones that will really get you in trouble. And speaking of trouble, all my thanks to Lee Ann.
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