Psychological Articles on Dream Archetypes: Black Cat

By Boomeryearbook.com

Even though there are no exact formulas for interpreting a dream, many psychological articles affirm common “universal or archetypal” dream symbolism. However, as we’ve stated before,
http://boomeryearbook.com/blog/2009/01/13/how-unique-dreams-and-their-symbolism-can-be/
general guidelines about dream symbolism can never adequately reflect any one person’s individualistic significance represented by a dream figure. For instance, while psychological articles may give a generic interpretation to seeing a black cat in a dream as a symbolic omen of bad luck, it would be absolutely incorrect to make that a universal archetype for “all” dreams. Additionally, while it would be incorrect to collectively interpret that anyone who dreams about a black cat has had some type of bad luck in their past or will have in their future, if the black cat in the particular dream was in some way foreboding or scary, what you can interpret, but with caution and not certainty, is that it is possible the person dreaming about a black cat may be experiencing anxiety or worrying that a particular situation may be doomed for a bad outcome. This would be an even more reasonable interpretation if the dreamer proclaimed to “being superstitious” and fearing black cats, as in this individual’s case, the archetype might indeed “fit” and be meaningful symbolism for the dreamer.

Psychological articles, such as the ones cited in previous Boomer Yearbook dream articles, suggest a few methods to aid in interpreting your own dreams, and report a higher incidence of psychological self awareness in persons who are able to unravel their dream imagery and its significance. For instance, in one psychological article on dream interpretation, Jane Teresa Anderson suggests that you can start by summarizing your dream in just one sentence, or as the famous dream researcher, Galye Delaney suggests, give your dream a one line title. Both authors recommend this one line dream summary as an excellent step in understanding your own dreams; explaining that even if your dream was long and complicated, try summarizing the part that you remember the most, or the most vivid visceral “feeling” you were experiencing in your dream as an aid in finding meaning and interpreting your dream.

After summarizing your dream in a one line sentence or title, psychological articles suggest the next step is to ask yourself how that sentence applies to your waking life. You may find that your dream title, “I had an extreme fear of a black cat crossing my path and bringing bad luck” is representative of your fear of something bad interfering with your relationship and causing a break-up. You may then realize that a relationship rupture or break up has been on your mind and your dream is painting you a vivid picture, in the form of the black cat, as a way for your subconscious to communicate with your conscious mind to alert you to your anxiety. Once you interpret your mind’s “alert signal” as presented in your dream, you are in a much better position to understand how you truly feel about the waking life situation and how you want to deal with it.

The more you practice this technique, the better you will become at utilizing it. Remember it is just one possible technique, but it may be the one that works for you!

At Boomer Yearbook we recommend you keep a dream journal, and record your dreams, or whatever fragments of your dreams that you remember, as soon as you awaken. You will find that with just a little practice, usually a few nights or one week’s time, that you will have better dream recall and greatly improved subjective psychological understanding of your dreams and their significance to your waking life.

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Dreams of Flying

By Boomeryearbook.com

Some psychological articles say that dreams are the brain’s way of getting rid of useless information that we’ve collected throughout the day; while other psychological articles propound alternate theories. Either way, while, we may not remember our nightly dreams, we do indeed dream. And one very common dream in childhood, and typically less common but nonetheless apparent in adult dreams, is dreams of flying. But while some flying dreams can be intensely pleasurable, other flying dreams can be terrifying.

If you remember any of your dreams of flying, you will also remember that you knew in the dream that you were dreaming. How cool is that? As we’ve discussed in other psychological articles in Boomer Yearbook, (check out our forums on Courtz Dream Web: The Place to Untangle the Meaning of Your Dreams) this kind of dreaming, when you are aware that you’re dreaming, is called lucid dreaming.

Ok, so there are good dreams and bad dreams where flying is concerned. Many psychological articles report that the majority of flying dreams are of the scary, bad kind. One common reason put forward in psychological articles is that the dreamer can’t seem to get a good start, and “loses height” and hits the ground. The psychological articles and research propound that having difficulties staying in flight might be reflective of ones inability to control their circumstances in waking life. Other dreamers may manage to stay in flight but encounter hindrances like trees or mountains. In such cases it might be very beneficial to examine the “blocks” or hindrances in your waking life that are preventing you from moving forward. In other troubling flying dreams, the dreamer realizes that he/she has no control over the flight pattern; which can be really terrifying. When these dreams occur, it will serve the dreamer well to record the dream and try to pinpoint and evaluate what waking life circumstances make you feel like you are “spinning out of control”. Unsuccessful flying can range from being mildly frustrating to full out terrifying. What psychological articles advise is that you keep a “daily residue” (in your dream diary, record a few paragraphs of the day’s events before you go to sleep) and in re-evaluating your dreams, concentrate on how you are responding and dealing with the waking problems you have recorded in the day residue part of your dream diary. Then, do some honest soul searching and revisit how you are (or aren’t) managing problems in your everyday life, paying special attention to block and hindrances that are keeping your from your goals.

Easy and comfortable dream flying can be exhilarating. You’ll feel uplifted and thrilled. You might be on top of your game and that’s what is being mirrored in your dreams. Funnily, the time of day or night in your dream can determine the mood of the dream. Dreams where there are sunny skies and you can see the landscape might bode that you have good perspective on some issues. And then there are dreams of flying wherein you are escaping a situation by elevating yourself above and looking down on the turmoil below; a common escape fantasy type of dream often reported by younger children. And then there are flying dreams that are connected with sex… Ah but that’s for another article.

Sometimes you might not remember the dream itself, but you remember the joy you felt while flying. Sometimes, in truly lucid dreams, you can control the flying and change course because you know you’re dreaming. Interpreting flying dreams isn’t hard, but like all dreams, the meaning is subjective to the individual dreamer; and the dreamer needs to consider whether the dream left them in an emotional state wherein they felt happy or scared, or frustrated. And then there are hundreds of psychological articles that give “universal” ways to interpret some dream phenomena. For example, flying with wings relates you to birds and you probably have clear vision. Flying freely with total control indicates your free spirit. Flying low to the ground, or by peddling or flapping your arms (yes, people sometimes fly like that in their dreams!) may be indicative of your strong resolve and hard working nature. Dreams, while many may not give much weight to them, if remembered and analyzed, can have profound effects on mood and behavior.

At Boomer Yearbook we think dreams can be incredibly useful for self discovery. What do you think?

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