Although not commonly held, their is definitely a skill-set for helping one interpret one's dreams. This too can help one conquer traumatic lesions and better learn one's core essence hopefully helping the analysand move towards actualization. However, you are right that it is a rather low probability that real dream-work could be accomplished via a coldshot in an internet forum such as this.

Best,
Skunknuts

Originally posted by skunknuts
Although not commonly held, their is definitely a skill-set for helping one interpret one's dreams.

Exactly, there are skillsets for helping YOURSELF understand what they mean.. but you have to find that out for yourself. Relying on someone else to tell you what they mean is by far one of the most ridiculous things I've seen today.

extrapolate, though. Maybe the input of others is part of the reason that is found within their own dreams. In the same vein, who are you to tell them that the opinions of others don't count towards their meaning? How do you know so definitely? sorry for being so accusatory but i'm a little drunk. I guess my question is why do you care?

[edit on 3/19/10 by CSquared288]

put your effort into something that benefits yoiu instead of detriments others

I starred you, though, cause on somew level i agree with you. i figure its a need for control that drove you to call people out on this, and it's my opinion that that's a demon you still need to defeat

[edit on 3/19/10 by CSquared288]

Originally posted by Dank513
Exactly, there are skillsets for helping YOURSELF understand what they mean.. but you have to find that out for yourself.

Not everyone may be at your stage in life, and some aren't able to see certain things about themselves. Thus they may need an observer to help point them out.

If one needs someone to help them interpret their dreams, and by no means is their interpretation meant to be definitive and absolute (at least one shouldn't look at it as such) then I don't really see the harm. It may aid them in moving to the right direction for change. Nothing wrong with having a guide.

It is just constructive advice and opinion.

It's like how some people may need a psychiatrist to help point to things in their life that they have become blind to. Such patterns may be obvious to you but that has no bearing on what they need to do for themselves to get resolution. Such a stance is arrogant to take especially since you are speaking from a subjective standpoint.

You expect people not to take any sort of directional advice on what you consider to be obvious, yet you sort of bark orders as if we should take yours.

No point in berating people for doing any of this.

I personally don't find it ridiculous but your advice I find pretty abbrassive.

- Lee

I agree I did come off as abrasive, but I also stated it was my opinion. TO ME it seems like nonsense to have someone tell you what your dreams mean. I guess I'm directing that more towards the folk who take other's interpretations literally and not with a grain of salt.
And moreso, I'm directing it towards people who want an interpretation from a random individual on the internet.

Originally posted by Dank513
Noone else has your subconcious, your experiences, or your life. So how could they possibly be able to interpret a dream you had?

Take my opinion as you wish, that is all it is.

DanK

Despite the offensive tone of the OP, the topic is interesting.

I often post replies to dream threads. All my replies have the disclaimer that I don't interpret other people's dreams.

Obviously, that is not the same as having nothing to say about another person's dreams. Symbolic thought is not something that everybody is equally comfortable with. It is entirely appropriate, then, to talk things over with other people, the same as is it is appropriate to talk about other things that happen, other problems you are working on, etc.

In any case, the remedy to BS is not different BS. For example,

Noone else has your subconcious, your experiences, or your life.

BS, unless of course you have evidence to back it up.

Jung is usually credited with observing that much of the contents of the unconscious are shared among people, even across time and cultural differences. This is the so-called collective unconscious, and my "copy" of it is, for any practical purpose, identical to your "copy," or anybody else's.

Nor should this be surprising, given the obvious similarity in neural architecture within the species, and the visible similarities in the "template biography" we all share.

If you want clarity, learn to lucid dream

Fine, but not everybody easily dreams lucidly, and not everybody wants to dream lucidly, more than they do spontaneously.

There is no reason to think that being aware that you are dreaming while you are dreaming improves the quality of symbolic thought. And as to interpretation, the lucid dream web forums offer daily testimony that being aware of a dream while dreaming it does nothing for understanding.

But again, those are things that I had to find out for myself, noone else could tell me what my dreams meant for me.

Yes, ultimately the worker must do the work. That is no reason not to seek advice about how to do the work.

This is especially true of dreams with a high proportion of archetypal, collective unconscious, content. I can't imagine ever succeeding in interpreting a dream which billions of others have dreamt over the several millennia for which we have records, without knowing that you are the not the first to dream the dream.

And what you propose is worse than that. Not merely ignorance that a particular dream has been dreamt by billions, but the fantasy that on the contrary, you are the only one, ever, and the source of this dream is what is unique about "your unconscious, your experiences, or your life."

Once you know that you are not alone, then it is reasonable, even common-sensical, to ask "What did these other people make of the dream that is the same as mine?"

Of course, that doesn't mean these other people got it right. But it is difficult to see how ignoring others' experience improves your chances of understanding, and easy to see how fantasies that you are the first will decrease your chances of understanding.

you must REALLY not know who you are.

There is nothing shameful about not knowing something. And this bit of shouting is hardly an argument for not seeking advice about what a dream has shown you about who you are.

[edit on 19-3-2010 by eight bits]

I thought that one of the purposes for ATS was to share information, and dreams can, and do have sometimes very important information hidden in them, and the dreamer may not know the significance of the dream. There are many on ATS with a good knowledge of the world and what is going on around them, and to have a few interpretations of ones dream, can only be a good thing in helping the dreamer work our what their dream means, right? It may also shed light on certain situations going on that one may not have thought about.

Through history even some of the greatest kings and leaders, have had people on hand to offer an interpretation of the meaning of the leaders dream, Nostradamus i believe was one such person. because they have always had a kind of mystery to them, been seen and held as either, contact with another dimension, or the spirit world, where revelations could be of great importance.

So IMHO, people using ATS for such interpretations is one of the reasons for the site, but that doesn't mean that anyone has to look at the post if they find it offensive, or of little or no interest to them. You have the choice to ignore the post.

I don't want to discourage anyone from asking for dream interpretations. Though I think sometimes people (ab)use that to get people to read about their dream. Especially when they are like "help!"

If you go on and on about how you think your dream is a prophecy and how it's significant you are showing what sort of answer you are looking for.

Just tell the dream and don't try to manipulate the feedback you get, it will be tainted if you do. And it's annoying knowing someone just wants to hear me tell them they had a prophetic or profound experience, and they aren't going to listen if I give an objective answer.

Ultimately the best thing you can do with dreams is simply "Do it yourself" as the OP suggested. Journalling, educate youreself on lucid dreaming websites and books, it's very easy to get into and have your own experience in no time - anyone can do it.

But I welcome people sharing their dreams certainly, the more time you spend reading about dreams, reading others dreams and sharing your own, the more success you will have in dreaming. To be able to share them in the open-minded attitude of ATS is a good backdrop especially if you are looking at dreams in a spiritual or psychic fashion. Which is a little bit out there, but I think if anyone has any reason to think something paranormal is occuring they SHOULD post it, and let the thread speak for itself. But I don't think they should try to manipulate the feedback they receive.

It's been my profound experience that a connection en masse collective understanding is happening, if not always consciously understood.

For that reason I see no problem in anyone asking for ideas.

If you view people as complete separate entities your belief might make sense.
If you view people as interconnected you may see it as an altogether different opportunity.

This place is all about sharing stuff with people who are some-what like minded.
I have no problem with people asking to have their dreams interpreted, or give my intuition on a dream someone had.

If you can help someone, why not?

gotta agree with OP here. I dont think there is a human alive who will accurately interpret your dreams. So, if you want a lot of misleading conjecture then ask away.

Then, im sure there are people fishing for points as well.

No, I disagree with the OP.

Voicing out is NEVER stupidity. True stupidity is when something is bothering you and yet refuse to speak up.

There are millions of readers here, some registered, some guests. While I, rightfully may not have the solutions they seek for I am no genius, there MAY be others who do, and can help.

It is often when one clams up does one begins to live in a world of his/her own, and delusional beliefs cames in. Better to share ideas - for no one is the perfect intelligent person, none in this world in these present times - discuss it out and perhaps find the best course of remedy or solution to try.

Sorry if I sound harsh, but I will defend anyone's freedom to speak, even if i disagree with what was said. That right is and must be universal, for that's where progress and human evolution will come. 2 heads are better than one anytime. The cultural, education and experiences shared and exchanged are worth its weight more than gold.

Edgar Cayce, however, did many accurate dream interpretations to his patients.

Originally posted by JahKinG SouLJaH
Edgar Cayce, however, did many accurate dream interpretations to his patients.

What constitutes "accurate" in this situation? That he was able to come up with plausible scenarios or possibilities that their dreams could mean?

I could just as easily convince someone of what their dreams mean, this does not in any way constitute accuracy, but just another interpretation.

I'm going to do a little more research on Edgar Cayce but from what I have read so far, his interpretations are just another person giving their opinion on someone elses subconcious thoughts.

I call bull#.

Although there are many archetypal coincidences between any 2 person's dreams, this is only because we all have somewhat similiar experiences in life. We all have similiar tv channels, radio stations, movies, governments, textbooks.. the list goes on and on.. . Just because someone has a similiar dream as you, does not in any way mean it holds the same significance to both parties.

That is like saying if one person falls down a flight of stairs and breaks his leg, that the next person to fall down the same stairs, will have the exact same injury.
It is nonsense to believe such.


[edit on 23-3-2010 by Dank513]