Dream symbols and dream interpretation - Rivers, streams and canals in dreams analysis

THIS WEBSITE HAS MOVED TO A NEW ADDRESS - CLICK HERE

ON-LINE BOOK : Hundreds of real dreams
A BASIC INTRO to what dreams are about
BASIC TECHNIQUES to interpret dreams
DREAM DICTIONARY A to Z of symbols complete with essays on symbols in everyday real uses
BASIC SYMBOLISM - DREAM SYMBOLS : Basements - Your boss - Best friend - Babies/pregnant - Brothers - Cafes - Cars - Castles - Children - Creative dreams - Clothes - Churches and cathedrals - Deaths - Demons,witches and goblins - Dogs - Drink and drugs - Farms, gardens and plants - Factories - Fathers - Faucets/taps/pipes - Food - Earthquakes and volcanos - Foreign Countries - Grandparents - Guards - Guns and knives - Horses and animals - Hauntings - Hospitals - Hotels + huge buildings - Houses - Locks - Men(unknown) - Military - Money - Mothers - Monster - Mountains - Movies - Music - People - Police - Phone - Politics - Planes and flying - Prison - Rivers - Rapists and intruders - Railways - Roads - Schools - Sea - Sex - Shops - Sisters - Skies in dreams - Skyscrapers and tall buildings - Snakes and spiders - Space - Sports - Street - Teeth - Tidal waves - Time - Toilets in dreams - Towns and streets - Trees - Water - Weddings and engagements - Windows - Work
OTHER SUBJECTS: external causes of dreams : Music in dreams : Premonitions : Telepathy : Specific dreams : Synonyms in dreams : Children's dreams and dreams about your child : Recurring dreams CASE STUDIES : 1 2 3 4 5
------------------------------------
RIVERS : Rivers tend to link to the streams of energy and motivation that we devote to particular issues and relationships in our lives. They may refer to the efforts put into a project or the efforts put into our jobs. They may also symbolise our energies devoted towards a difficult or consuming relationship. So look at these issues and problems and thoughts associated with these issues.

KEY WORDS(Pick a quote which captures your feelings right now. Think especially of the day before the dream) :
- "channeling my energies"
- "focusing my energies into"
- "turning my attention to"
- "diverting energies into..."
- "I enjoyed doing that!"
- "I really got into that yesterday"
- "this relationship is just full of bad feelings and emotions"

HOW TO USE THESE SYMBOLS : CLICK HERE
FULL DREAM DICTIONARY : CLICK HERE

CROSSING RIVERS : Rivers in dreams tend to link to the energy that we devote to some relationship or to some task or job. So crossing a river can often mean that we have not got enough energy to devote to something else and that all the time and emotion we spend on that can be getting in the way. Also rivers can often symbolise our general mood and so crossing a river can suggest that we need to get out of the mood that we are in.

KEY WORDS(Pick a quote which captures your feelings right now. Think especially of the day before the dream) :
- "break out of this mood"
- "when we get over these difficult times"
- "overcoming a busy schedule to find time for something"
- "unable to devote time to something"

ESSAYS
RIVERS in dreams : A detailed essay on the symbolism of rivers in dreams.
RIVER CROSSINGS in dreams : What is the symbolic meaning of river crossings in real dreams
SWIMMING in dreams : The symbolism of swimming
LAKES in dreams : If a lake appears in a dream what does it mean
PONDS in dreams : What is the symbolism of ponds in dreams
Dream Dictionary : An A to Z of symbolic meanings with every meaning for each symbol
---------------------------
DREAM STUDIES : Real dreams with rivers in them
---------------------------
THE DREAM - I am up by the castle and start running downwards. I see wayne who I know a bit. I was examining some walls of this building. There were smears coming down.

Later I run away with some nut. I am heading towards the river. I can jump across - I step over the river then the makeshift bridge breaks apart.

THE REALITY The dreamer was making some major changes to her life. She wanted to end her involvement with a group of people who she felt she no longer were in her best interests. She wanted to spend time on other things. This was a decisive moment and once this choice was made then it would be difficult to reverse.

THE INTERPRETATION This dream is a river dream. Rivers are good points to start off at. They represent flows of energy and effort - a motivation towards some task or project. So this represented the time she wanted to spend on various activities. The crossing of the river is the vital moment - this symbolises a change (literally a crossover point) to a new set of motivations. However, the bridge breaks apart. There is an old saying which says that you should not burn your bridges - indicating that the dreamer must move to a new situation without upsetting her old friends.

The earlier part of the dream was picking up on the advantages of her large group of friends who offered strength and support - symbolised by the castle. The smears represent the dreamers current thinking about this group of friends - which tended to be largely negative.

The dreamer was then running away from some NUT - this probably represented her understanding that she was mad to want to ditch a perfectly good group of friends for a not very good reason.
------------------------------
DREAM TIP : Try to think of dream symbols as words. Rivers then could easily link to words such as "energies" or 'efforts'. Then write down several quotes which capture your emotions from yesterday and which express your opinion on how you relate to life in general at the moment. Then look to see where those words 'energies' and 'efforts' appear.
-----------------------------
THE DREAM - I was in this kayak on a very rough river. I am fighting desperately to keep it afloat.

THE REALITY The dreamer was constantly troubled by arguments with her father.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I have to devote so much time and energy to my father. It seems liek a constant stream of arguments"

THE INTERPRETATION Rivers in dreams are flows of energy devoted to some task - they represent the journey through our daily emotions. In this case there was a constant battle with the dreamers father. The kayak represents strength and real ability. It represents fortitude and the independence that the daughter was seeking. The battle with the waves represents the tough situation she was in.

Symbolic Meanings
DESPERATE : "a desperate struggle in the dreamers own life"
FIGHT : "resisting pressure coming from the dreamers father"
KAYAK : "keeping afloat "
RIVER : "the energies that we devote to some relationship - in this case the dreamers relationship with her father"
------------------------------
DREAM TIP : The link between dreams and the day before is really very strong. This is no coincidence and its largely caused by the way the brain is designed. During the day we store up all thoughts in short term memory banks. Then at night we sort through these and transfer them to long term memory banks. These are intergrated into long term emotions. So naturally dreams will tend to link to events from the previous day and ways in which your emotions have shifted.
------------------------------
THE DREAM I was near a river. Someone was taking pictures of the opposite river bank. I saw one and it was a very good photo. Later on I was at the bottom of a castle. There were guards on the fortress walls. I started to throw rocks very skillfully at them. We(though I do not remember anyone else being there) were invading the castle. A lot of the rocks were well aimed and were good shots.

THE REALITY The very day of the dream the dreamer went out taking photos. He had been feeling undervalued and was in need of a little boost. Later on in the day he felt a lot better.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I been feeling under valued. I think I need to get out and take some photos today. The fresh air will do me good"

THE INTERPRETATION Its usually best to try to take a look at the dreamers mindset at the time of the dream and look at the facts. On this day the dreamer felt a little defensive towards the world and in need of cheering up. So he did what he often did and went out for the day taking photos of the local coast. There are several clues which seem to indicate this dream fits in with that.

Crossing rivers often symbolises moments when you want to overcome some recent mood. Rivers symbolise a flow of energy and effort towards something and can often symbolise your current mood. Looking across the river may suggest that you wish to escape that mood.

The dream also made a connection between the well aimed rocks and the way you take photos. A well aimed rock could represent a well taken and framed photo. On this connection alone its best to assume that this is what the dream is about.

Perhaps the castle represented the dreamers own recognition of his defensive mood and the need to escape this.

Symbolic Meanings
ACROSS THE RIVER : "a need to overcome some emotional mood "
CASTLE : "wanting to fortify yourself and feel better
CASTLE : "the dreamer is feeling defensive and insular as if the world is against him"
FORTRESS : "strong internal barriers"
RIVER : "the energies and motivation that we can devote to some issue - perhaps a need to take some photos"
ROCK : "something you can depend on"
-----------------------------------
DREAM TIP : Think of river in a dream as a word such as 'energies'. Then think of the rich and varied ways in which that word can be used in the English language such as "I have been wondering what to do with my energies", "work seems to be draining all my energies away" and "My mother seems to devote too many of her energies too looking after my father". Dream symbols are used in equally rich and varied ways by dreams. Do not make the simple mistake of saying that dreams about rivers mean that you are thinking about how to use your energies in your life. Rather you need to think how that dream symbol could apply in your current life. Think especially of the day before and how a dream symbol could apply to thoughts you felt then. A dream symbol does not need to refer to your emotions it could link to someone who is close to you. The symbol may link to thoughts about the past or thoughts about the future.
----------------------------------
THE DREAM I am anxiously following my husband down to a ferry. We are each riding a green bike with a broken chain. I am definitely in a "I cannot go back" frame of mind.

THE REALITY The previous day it was the dreamers 40th birthday. She was looking forward to some time alone with her husband. However, this did not prove possible during that day. It was a very busy day. The dreamer was accepted as a member of her church. Her children were also anxious for some attention that day. All three kids even piled into bed with them as they went to bed.

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "It was my fortieth birthday yesterday. I wanted to create some time for my husband. But lots happened yesterday. It was my one regret"

THE INTERPRETATION Bikes are often symbols of a very personal course. It shows that you want to follow a somewhat independent line. The dream involves both the dreamer and her husband. Many dreams link to feelings from the previous day. On that day the dreamer did have a wish to forge her own somewhat independent line. Since this was her birthday she wanted some time alone with her husband. This was really quite difficult all throughout the day and even at nighttime this independent mood and wish for some time alone with her husband was never really realised. The fact that the bikes were broken suggests that this independent mood within the dreamer was not realised which was the truth.

Ships are often symbols of emotional connection. They link to having a good time with friends or family. So docks will tend to link to a wish to have a good time with family or friends. In this case the dream means that the dreamer was preparing and planning for some time together with her husband. So the boat/ferry would link to the reaffirming of the close bond between them.

Symbolic Meanings
BIKE : "wanting to be by yourself - wanting to forge your own course"
HUSBAND : "unconscious thoughts about your husband"
RIVER(CROSS) : "wanting to overcome some tasks and responsibilities that you devote time to"
RIVER : "the energies you devote to something - in this case the dreamers general life"
--------------------------------------
DREAM TIP : Dreams do not have to be about events. Dreams are about the things within your mind. A dream can be linked to fantasies within your life. If you suddenly become upset with a crush then thats enough to generate a dream. Dreams are about the stuff that is in your mind and it really does not matter if that is real or simply paranoia or fantasy.
----------------------------------------
CONTACT : E-mail me at hairybobby2000@yahoo.co.uk - If you went to sleep thinking of something that had dominated your entire day then I would be highly interested in any dreams you had that night.