Interpret a Dream Involving Water

Water is one of the most common recurring images in dreams. If you're wondering what a water dream means, there are many ways to interpret your dream. Keep a detailed record of all dreams you have, do some self reflection regarding your personal life, and then consider what the dream might mean to you. Remember that dreams are highly personal. There are not universal interpretations for dreams.

Steps

Recording Your Dreams

  1. Keep a dream diary. If you want to interpret a dream, you need to keep a dream diary. Dreams fade from memory fast. Recording your dreams each morning can help you remember important details.
    • Keep a notebook and pen by your bedside table so you have quick access to your dream diary first thing in the morning. People tend to forget details of their dreams quickly after waking up.[1]
    • Record as many details as possible. Do not just focus on the water but other aspects of the dream surrounding it. What happened in the dream? Who were you with? What the location like? How long did the dream go on for?[1]
  2. Pay attention to your day-to-day concerns. Oftentimes, dreams provide valuable insights into feelings you are consciously or unconsciously repressing. What recurring thoughts have you been having in day-to-day life? What matters take up the most of your attention? If you're thinking a lot about your job and career, the dream might be about that. If you're preoccupied with a romantic relationship, your dream may be telling you something about your relationship.[1]
  3. Write down your feelings during dreams. The feelings you have during your dreams are just as important as the details you remember. How were you feeling during the dream? Were you happy, sad, excited, stressed? Did your feelings remain the same throughout the dream or did they change as the dream progressed?[1]
  4. Dissect all elements of your dream. As you consider your dream, go through and dissect all the images involved. Consider what feeling these images provoked and any personal meaning they hold for you.
    • Say you had a dream you were floating in the middle of a clear lake on a sofa. Did you recognize the lake in your dream? Was it any particular lake or just a random body of water? What was the color of the sofa? Did it have any personal meaning to you? Was it a sofa you recognized from somewhere or just a standard bit of furniture?[1]

Interpreting Your Dream

  1. Learn theories about water in dreams. Water is one of the more common images found in dreams. When considering the meaning of your water dream, learn a bit about the various theories about the meaning of water in dreams.
    • Culturally, water is often associated with purification and transformation. From baths to baptism, water is seen as a cleansing substance. Oftentimes, people dream of water when experiencing great changes in life.[2]
    • Different types of water may signify different things. Floods, for example, have associations with disaster and loss. People sometime dream of floods when they feel overwhelmed. Unclean, murky water may indicate fear or confusion as there's a sense of foreboding and unknown in unclean water.[3]
  2. Consider your personal feelings about water. Despite the fact water has a variety of wide-reaching associations, most psychiatrist and psychologists agree your personal connection with a symbol is more important than its universal value. What does water mean to you personally?
    • How do you feel about water? Are you a swimmer or a beach lover? Or do you fear water? Do you not know how to swim? Have you had bad experiences with water before?[1]
    • Did you recognize the body of water? Was it a particular lake or ocean? Do you have any personal connection to this body of water? Are they positive or negative?[1]
  3. Be the expert. Do not lean too heavily on outside opinion when it comes to dream interpretation. You are the best judge of your personal feelings as your own connections matter most when it comes to interpreting your dream. While you can talk to friends and family members if you're confused, remember that it's ultimately your opinion that matters.[1]
  4. Put it all together. Once you've considered the various factors of your dreams, put it all together. Based on your personal thoughts and feelings as well as the nature of the dream, what do you think it means?[1]
    • Let's return to the example about the sofa floating in a body of water. In this example, imagine you are a married woman in her early 30's trying to get pregnant. You have some concerns about raising a child as you currently live across the country from your parents and wish they could have a bigger role in your child's life. The body of water in your dream is Lake Superior. You grew up in rural Michigan and have many fond memories of playing in Lake Superior as a child. You are often accompanied by your younger brother and mother in the dream. The sofa in question is similar to a floral pattern sofa your parents had when you were young. During the dream, you feel happy for the most part but have some anxiety about when you'll find shore.[1]
    • As is often the case of water dreams, the above dream could be seen as your response to going through a stressful transition. While you are excited about the prospect of motherhood, you have some reservations as well. The uncertainty in the dream, marked by the absence of a clear shore, reflects some of your stress about starting a family. You may be somewhat homesick as the dream brings in images of your own childhood. Your dream may be a sign that you need to work through your fears about motherhood and find a way to get closer to your family.[1]

Acknowledging Limitations

  1. Understand scientists have limited knowledge of dreams. While dream interpretation is popular, scientists have very limited knowledge of dreams and the biological purposes they serve. Most of Freud's theories have been discredited and a lot of research on dream interpretation is unverified. Keep in mind that while interpreting recurring dreams can be entertaining, take interpretations with a grain of salt.[4]
  2. Stay away from dream dictionaries. Dream dictionaries are not the best investment when it comes to interpreting dreams. While some symbols have shared cultural meaning, much of what appears in your dreams is deeply personal. You're better off interrogating your own thoughts and desires when considering a dream than consulting a dream dictionary.[1]
  3. Talk to a therapist about disturbing recurrent dreams. If you have frequent, disturbing dreams, this may be an indication of an underlying psychological condition. You should talk to a psychiatrist or therapist if a particular dream is disrupting your ability to function in day-to-day life.[1]

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Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 http://psychcentral.com/lib/how-to-analyze-your-dreams-and-why-its-important//
  2. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/13/dreams-about-water_n_891682.html
  3. ↑ http://psychiclibrary.com/beyondBooks/water-dreams/
  4. ↑ https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dream-catcher/201307/the-folly-dream-interpretation
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