Dreams containing imagery of self-reflection, own likeness and their connection to the dreamer’s personality traits

reflectionWhen awake, we are bombarded by external forces and stimuli which influence how we behave and project ourselves to the world. As we sleep, we carry all this information into the dream world, so that we can process and reflect on the events that happened during the day. During waking hours, our mind is constantly aware of the surroundings and the outer world, but when we dream our subconscious shifts its attention to the inner world for introspection. It is the time for internalizing all the information we absorbed and finding possible connections in seemingly random images. This is why so many people see images of themselves or their reflections in dreams.

Could self-reflections be a projection of existing psychological issues?

When it comes to self-reflection, it can be a case of too much or too little. Why? Seeing a reflection of yourself on a glassy surface or a mirror in a dream can often manifest as a projection of the dreamer’s need for self-examination or as a result of being too self-conscious. The former propels the dreamer into action towards increased self-awareness, while the latter warns against the possibility of spiraling into vanity, narcissism and even crippling self-doubt. Either way, scrutinizing your reflection serves as a critique of your current state. It suggests an imbalance that needs to be corrected for the dreamer to live in harmony with others.

Are fragmented and distorted reflections within dreams valid and analyzable?

Self-reflections and mirror images are oftentimes benign and merely gentle prodding of our subconscious to put us into tip-top shape emotionally and psychologically. It becomes more concerning, however, when the images appear distorted, fragmented or broken. These types of manifestations are usually associated with nightmare scenarios and should be analyzed more seriously to get to the root of the issue. A fragmented reflection, maybe seen in a broken mirror in a dream, could portend illness, accidents and even death. These cases would require a careful evaluation of critical aspects of your existence to help counteract the bad omen conveyed by the vision.

Do common interpretations of seeing your own likeness reveal your personality flaws?

Among the most common self-reflection themes in dreams are an absence of reflection, a blurry image and having someone else instead of your own reflection or image. In these cases, dreams about the absence of reflection could be pointing to a loss of identity. There may be incidents in which you could be coerced to act against your principles or perhaps you would behave according to the will of others in order to be liked or to please them. Meanwhile, a blurry self image depicts a lack of conviction. Some dreamers who experience this dream scenario end up getting passed over for a promotion or not getting hired because of their erratic nature and inconsistent behavior. Finally, when someone else is looking at you from your reflection or image in a dream, it means you are insecure and afraid of being judged. In certain instances, this type of dream depicts an upcoming social gathering or event which would put you into the spotlight or require you to have your best foot forward.

Dreams could reveal our hidden desires, suppressed feelings and developing issues. In rare instances, they can give us a glimpse of what is to come. They can provide solace or add to our trepidation, depending on the dreamer’s state of mind. In the case of visions with self-reflection, identity comes to the fore. To unlock the message of these dreams, a follow-up self-examination is essential. While it is easy to disregard dream symbols and consider them mere distractions from daily existence, there is merit in interpreting their meaning to help identify and anticipate issues that may have been buried in the busyness of day-to-day life. Who knows, understanding how your mind works may unlock insights and aspects of yourself you never even thought existed.

Colors of dream visions: Bridges to metaphysical states and palettes of perception

Bridges to metaphysical statesWithout jumping in stormy waters of attempting to answer questions like “Can visually-impaired people have  colored dreams”, let’s consider the effects of colors on our subconscious states and the most commonly-interpreted meanings of these dreams. Colors in dream interpretation are usually closely associated with parallel symbolic elements of a dream and, generally speaking, it is common that certain colors add to the emotional charge of a dream, thereby detailing and making dream recollections more saturated and prominent, but not necessarily easier to interpret. Rather than trying to focus on particular colors or colors in isolation, it is more interesting and thought-provoking to outline some of the most frequently recalled and discussed color associations, combinations and patterns in dream interpretation.

Black and white dreams. Based on traditional dream interpretation sources, black and white dreams are indications of mundane and uneventful existence the dreamer is immersed in. Having colored dreams has always been explained as the fact that a dreamer who experiences color-saturated dream visions is still developing emotionally, physically and spiritually. A person who has colorful dreams could also be living a very active lifestyle with a multitude and great variety of people he or she is surrounded by in everyday life. Some sources indicate that inability to recall any colors from a dream points to accelerated aging, problems with cognitive perception and even memory deficiencies.

globeWhite and pale colors. Although arguable, the dominance of whiter and paler color combinations in dream visions are often referred to and interpreted as aspects more characteristic of physical body functions, bodily fluids and the like, especially if the colors accompany anatomical details, metabolic processes or similar scenes. Colors of white, if they stand out from the background or grab attention in a particular dream, represent notations and tendencies to create fences and build walls inside the dreamer’s mind protecting and safeguarding the person from the outside world. A ballerina with ambitious, but reclusive attitude; white and snowy Christmas landscape with the feelings of complete isolation from the rest of society for the time being; or a hospital setting when all we can think about is our own body and possible threats to its well-being; are some of the most characteristic examples of these dream visions.

neonNeon and screaming colors. Depending on details and settings experienced within these dreams, these color schemes are indicators of mechanistic pressure, subliminal reflections of overexcitement and urban buzz, projections of existing or growing anxieties and feelings of being out of place. The transformation of human race into urban-dwelling homo sapiens desensitized these visions almost to the point of being perceived as ordinary dreaming experiences compared to say, imagery appearing in a dream after attending a circus or a local fair or traveling by train half a century ago. Interestingly, glowing and pulsating colors, especially when contrasted with dark backgrounds, are often referred to as innate affinity to magic, supernatural and cosmic, whether these attributes are cultivated in the mind of the dreamer in reality, or just a subconscious manifestation of some dormant undiscovered abilities and predispositions.

Irregular and misplaced colors. Sometimes dream visions can contain scenes and images painted with distorted, out of place colors, which could evoke mixed feelings after they occur, a stir in emotional state and the resulting worries, concerns and curiosity to find out why these colors were perceived this way. The answers offered by dream interpreters usually include notions of accentuating subconsciously and focusing dreamer’s attention on a particular person, object or act, assigning a completely different value to something following a shocking discovery or less than pleasing information contradicting previously held personal opinions or beliefs. More often, misplaced colors in a dream are viewed by interpreters as voids in the logical progression of a dream, markers which highlight something left out of the whole picture by the dreamer and, therefore, serve as a more concentrated substrate for interpretation of these dreams.

What is your personal experience with colors in your subconscious state?

Dream symbols over the span of human life: evolution of symbolic representations about reality

We spend one third of our lives in a state of sleep (unconscious existence), which is referred to as a natural mechanism for restoring energy and giving our bodies much-needed rest at night. As we get older, the duration of such rest tends to become more and more prolonged in order to maintain our vital functions at an appropriate rate as we age. But what about the subconscious side of brain activity? Does it go through a completely different set of transformations compared to the young age and how do symbolic visions change over the span of our life?

Trash CanUndeniably, during the younger formative years, when the very foundation of memory and cognition is shaped, our subconscious reflections capture a great variety of new imagery, visual and sensory aspects of the everyday life. No wonder, adolescents experience very diverse, if not chaotic dream visions comprised of interwoven symbolic elements accumulated during the wake hours. It would probably be a complicated task for a young person to sort out distinct and discernible visions contained in their dreams in order to interpret them in a meaningful way. The exploratory nature of human mind causes us to retain important moments of our lives, but in a very erratic and disorderly way, so their analysis as far as dream interpretation is concerned, becomes difficult, if not impossible altogether. At this stage we could draw an analogy of subconscious brain activity resembling a computer file system which is being constantly updated without a whole lot of sorting and categorizing of the individual files within that system.

Old recordsAs we age, we gain more experience and start to separate discrete events in our “file system” into more stable and recognizable elements, which are often compiled, coded and stored based on their importance to us. Over the span of our lives, we increasingly attribute more significance to some events while forgetting or even completely ignoring those that seem mundane and unworthy of remembering to us. Figuratively speaking, the subconscious retention at this stage could probably be compared to an old vinyl record etched with certain well-defined and vivid symbolic visions coming alive during our sleep and leaving lasting recollections long after we wake up and go on with the conscious existence.

Therefore, it is clear that only discrete and isolated symbolic dream visions become more profound and prominent as we go through the process of maturation. And the biggest questions for any dreamer who is experiencing these recurring symbols and visions later in life are why do some certain symbolic dream elements take over less important ones and how could they be interpreted in a meaningful way, since they were “distilled” by the memory and recorded as distinct marks in our subconsciousness.

Would it be fair to say that older people are capable of finding and identifying much more relevant meanings for the dreams they experience because the “search terms” of their inquiries are considerably narrower, more precise and more defined? Does the number of years lived matter in symbolic dream interpretation just because our long life experience helped us keep only the most memorable life moments and important milestones retained as symbols and visions of our dreams?