The Dictionary of Dreams
Gustavus Hindman Miller, Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson


Dreams have always fascinated me and I am lucky enough to enjoy vivid, colourful dreams Which can be good or bad, depending on the content of that dream. When I studied Counselling my favourite subject was dream interpretation and I would have loved a book like this to help me put together some of the offbeat things that can arise during your dreams.

Whilst the book gives “meanings” to words it still requires the skill of the dreamer to put together the various components of a dream, along with the feelings your dreams give rise to. I believe the feelings you are left with after a dream give the greatest indication of what your dream meaning might be.

As this book is a “Dictionary” it has loads of content. As I said, things to which I wish I had access when I was learning how to interpret a dream. It helps you compile a list of things in your dream that combined give you an understanding of your dream.

For example - I dream of a large, vicious dog, chasing me, through my old childhood home then down the road. I see a car which I try to wave down, I am running at great speed to catch up to the car in the hope they will rescue me but the people in the car just wave to me without slowing enough for me to get into the car, which I see as “safety". The huge dog continues to pursue me but never quite catches me. I finally manage to climb into the car and breathe a sigh of relief but then as I look at the people in the car I realise they are all different versions of me. When I awake I am confused, shaken and still feeling frightened of the dog.

By using “The Dictionary of Dreams” I can pull out the key words.

• Large Vicious Dog - Fear of Inconvenience when trying to rise above mediocrity

• Old home in a Dilapidated state - Warns if the sickness or death of a relative

• Running from danger - Threats of losses and an inability to adjust things for the best outcome.

• Car - To miss a car you want to catch To be foiled in attempt to forward your prospects

• Car - To get into a car shows that travel you have contemplated will happen but not as planned

• Self - in different forms - Whilst not detailed in this book I am sure we can all understand that this is about which aspect of ourselves we need to rely on to get through the issues in the dream.

It is important to remember that our dreams are rarely portentous but rather a representation of either our fears or hopes. 

This dream does not tell me that I am going to fail or that people will die but rather that I am holding on to deep seated fears in relation to the things my dream represents. At the time of this dream one of my sisters was indeed seriously ill, business was incredibly busy and I was not surprised at this dream. However I also know, this dream gives me the power to review where I am at and take steps to relieve some of these worries. It is empowering to become aware of these things that we are unable to see in our waking hours.

I hope this gives you some understanding about how unravelling your dreams can be helpful for your own mental health and well being.

Whilst the book does not have all the answers I would say it has a great variety of symbols to help you along the path to understanding. The language can seem quite old fashioned and a little lengthy at times, in general, I have found this book to be helpful.

I would give this book a rating of 7 out of 10.

- Julie