Like myths and fairytales, dreams contain messages from beyond our consciousness, and require our careful listening, interpretation, and gratitude.  Consider them as from a wise elder within who knows the answers to our questions, and the direction we need to go in.
    
One night, I dreamed that I was in my living room, making a model house from popsicle sticks.  A knock came at the door.  It was a hippie type, wanting to stay with me for a while.  I let him in, and soon a friend of his showed up.  They hung out on the couch, lounging and enjoying themselves, while I continued to work carefully on my creation.  I began to feel indignant at the loungers.  Why weren’t they out looking for work, instead of sitting here being lazy?  I said something to them about this, and then left the room for a few minutes.  When I returned, the loungers and my model house were gone.  I ran out of the house and around the back, where there was a bayou.  Somehow I knew that they had taken the house and thrown it into the bayou, but I could not tell where they had thrown it, as the water was dark with muck and seaweed.  I ran to the front of the house, to the street, and saw the loungers taking off in their old VW van.  I yelled after them, “At least tell me where you threw it!”  They stopped the van, got out, and began coming towards me.  I became afraid that they were going to beat me up, but instead they stood on either side of me, flailed their arms like rappers, and made funny faces, mocking me.  I woke up.
    
For me, this was a message to lighten up, that I was being too serious and trying to order my life just so.  Truthfully, I have little control over what happens to me.  How did I arrive at this interpretation?  Well, I know how I live my life for one thing.  The most important interpretation is the dreamer’s, not one taken from a dream dictionary or given by a guru.  A house is often a symbol of consciousness, and the dark water symbolized the unknown.  The loungers were tricksters and part of my shadow, that part of me that I hide, repress, and deny.  They represented the lounger and trickster in me, which I was repressing in my focus to be serious and order things just the way I wanted them.  If I had not had, understood, and applied this dream to my life, then my shadow might have really knocked me down, perhaps getting me fired from my job through some stupid acting out.  I’m grateful for the dream, and for the trickster within.
    
If you want to remember your dreams, try this.  Keep a notebook and pen near your bed at night.  As you lay in bed, ready to sleep, tell yourself or your unconscious, “I want to remember my dreams.  I want to remember my dreams.”  You might even ask for an answer to a problem.  When you wake in the morning or during the night, don’t move or open your eyes.  Try lightly to catch a piece of your dream and then let it link up with other pieces.  Collect as many pieces of the dream as you can, and go over the whole dream sequence in your head before you open your eyes.  Then, immediately write everything down, as fast as you can.  You might draw images where words won’t do justice.  Don’t dismiss any detail as unimportant.  Be sure to write down any names or messages you heard or saw.  Also, be sure to focus on what you felt at different moments in the dream.  Try to not make interpretations or logical links, even if the dream seems disjointed and confusing.  When you’re done, say a thank you to the universe for having and remembering your dream.  Your intention and gratitude will help the dreams continue to surface.
    
For dream interpretation, Robert Johnson’s Inner Work is the best I’ve read.  He suggests that you take each image or event in the dream and brainstorm associations with it.  Don’t settle for one, but make as many associations as you can about each piece.  When you’ve made all your associations, then see if you can make sense of the associations and what these associations reflect about your life.  Johnson also recommends that after you make your interpretation, or even if you’re not sure what the dream was about, you perform some simple ritual to honor the dream.  The ritual may help you move through whatever change needs to happen, and the honoring spurs greater remembrance of your dreams.
    
In myth, fairy tale, and dreams, certain symbols have universal meaning.  For instance, a river or road may indicate your life path; a lake may be the feminine; a mountaintop or attic may be a place of wisdom or communion with god; your own house may be your consciousness; a place of darkness may be the unknown or mysterious, a cave may be sinking into a deeper part of yourself; falling or no brakes may mean you’re out of control; someone else in the driver’s seat may mean that you’ve given up your power.  I could go on.  More can be gleamed by reading books on dreams and symbols.  But again, be careful about believing explanations in a dream dictionary.
    
If you dream of your father in a dream, he may represent your father, or that part of you that is a father, or your Superego, or some characteristic of yours that your father holds up for you.  If you dream of a message from god, this may be a message from your higher consciousness or inner guide, or it may be from god!  Of course, dreaming of running water may just mean that you have to go to the bathroom.  Dreaming of chocolate cake may mean that you want chocolate cake.  We can look at dreams from many angles.  Don’t limit yourself to one system.
    
In the mornings during New Orleans Men’s Center retreats, some of us gather round a fire or coffee table and share our nocturnal dreams.  Some men bring recurring dreams or a powerful or perplexing dream they may have had months ago.  After a man shares the basic dream, we usually ask for more clarity about details, thoughts, or feelings the man had in the dream.  Then, each man offers what it brought up for him and what he thinks it’s about.  Just like story discussions, the interpretations are as varied as the number of men present.  In the end, of course, it’s up to the dreamer to find the right meaning.  I’ve found dream circles to be enormously helpful in understanding my own dreams, and I’ve received gifts from other dreams, too.

I’d love to hear your dream!