The Language of Dreams

And why I'm choosing to speak it.

Before I dive into talking about dreams, I am compelled to explain why I am qualified to do so. You see, there’s a cacophony of voices in the digital world, and so, it’s imperative to establish ‘expertise’ to garner an audience.

You’ll commonly hear claims like, "I have helped more than 15,000 individuals lose weight," or "I have 20 years of experience in designing consumer products," or even encounter a series of complex academic titles that imply expertise in a field you know little about. Instinctively and earnestly, we trust the expert. I have more to say on the subject of expertise, but I'll reserve that for my other publication. 

While I don’t claim expertise on the subject of dreams, I have lived with the idea of working with dreams long enough to shed some light on it.

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The history of my work with dreams

I was first introduced to the discipline of psychology in the year 2004, and through that, to the fascinating world of Mr. Freud. I remember reading that “dreams are wish-fulfilling devices”, wondering how an unbroken succession of horrifying visuals is what I desired. But, of course, I was yet to know better.

Two years later, when I signed up to study literature in college, Freud’s theories were presented as a fascinating inversion of Victorian values. Steeped in the world of literary criticism, I gradually lost touch with that which visited me every night: my dreams.

I revisited psychodynamic theory in graduate school, where the intricacies of post-Freudian discourse had all my attention. It was here that I began to take the idea of dreams very seriously, even as I rarely recorded my own.

My relationship with my own dreams came alive in the year 2018, after a serendipitous meeting with Madhu (Tandan), who soon became one of my closest friends. Madhu has worked with dreams for more than forty-two years and has written prolifically on the subject. I highly recommend The Logic of Dreams to anyone seeking a comprehensive understanding of how to make sense of dreams. My discussions with Madhu have introduced me to the many ways in which one can begin to understand dreams. While post-Freudians and Jungians are the gold standard for exploring the psychological landscape of dreams, there are also various scientific, cultural, religious, paranormal, and pre-cognitive perspectives on dreams. Madhu has significantly broadened my view on dreams and inspired much of the work I plan to undertake here.

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Dreams speak in metaphors

One of the simplest yet most profound insights that Madhu offers about dreams is that they communicate through metaphors. To make sense of a dream, you have to work with its metaphors. Madhu’s work also emphasises the importance of identifying the bizarre elements of the dream—the aspects of the dream that are in stark contrast to waking reality. It is these bizarre elements that often hold the key to the meaning of the dream.

For instance, if you dream that you’re driving a car without a steering wheel, then the absence of the steering wheel is the bizarre element of the dream. In the waking world, a car without a steering wheel is unimaginable, but in the context of the dream, it will feel strangely normal, typically symbolising a lack of direction and control.

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A dream from last week

Before concluding this issue of the newsletter, I will share a dream I had a few days ago. The following is only an excerpt of the dream that I will use for an illustrative purpose.

I’m at the airport, manoeuvring my trolley with three pieces of luggage on it. I am standing at a spot that’s some distance from the check-in counters, and I need to ‘cross’ a wide path to get to the area with the counters. Before doing so, I make sure the ‘signal’ isn’t red (I don’t see any ‘green signal’, but it suffices that there is no red signal). I begin to cross the path, which takes me a few seconds. As soon as I get to the other side, I am stopped by a reasonably tall, middle-aged policeman. I defend myself by saying that there was no red signal when I crossed. He says that that isn’t the issue. It is that my luggage items are suspiciously draped in a cloth, which is not permissible. The luggage is required to be clearly identifiable. It is then that I notice that there is indeed a ragged khaki cloth loosely draped around my bags. I wonder if I had placed the cloth there to distract from the ‘real’ issue, which is that my bags are overweight. 

Here are some details about the dream that are significant:

• This is the second time in the last few weeks I’ve had a dream where I’m at an airport and I run into trouble with the authorities over the weight of my bags. Recurrent dreams are always interesting, repeatedly drawing our attention toward an underlying issue.

• The airport likely represents a space of transition, and the three pieces of luggage perhaps indicate three instances of emotional or experiential ‘baggage’ in my present situation. Airports and instances of transition have been significant in my life lately, and I’ve touched upon that in my piece on home.

• I don’t see a green signal, but I am sure that I have also not seen a red signal. This is a ‘bizarre’ detail in itself, because the inside of the airport terminal has no such signals. Needing to rely on a signal to cross a path means that I am looking for permission or some kind of validation to make a transition in my life. I am not particularly confident about getting across (because, no green signal), but I am proceeding cautiously, making sure there are at least no explicit obstructions (which would be represented by the red signal).

• The policeman in the dream is representative of authority, rules, or even societal judgement. Being stopped by one indicates an encounter with authority or a challenge to the legitimacy of my actions or intentions. This possibly suggests that there are aspects of my life where I feel judged or scrutinised.

• The luggage draped in cloth is another unusual or bizarre detail. Perhaps it symbolises hidden aspects of myself or situations that I’m trying to conceal or protect. It may also represent a way to distract or divert attention from something that I perceive as a problem, such as the ‘real issue’ of the luggage being overweight in the dream.

• Another important detail is the defence I offer to the policeman. When I tell him that there was no red signal, he tells me that that’s not the real issue anyway. This could mean that the dream is trying to tell me that perhaps I am focused on something that isn’t even the ‘real issue’. 

• By working with the various symbols or metaphors in the dream, I can infer that it points to a possible denial or unawareness of the real problems at hand. It might reflect a situation in waking life where I feel I am adhering to the rules or doing what's expected, only to find that there are other, unseen expectations or issues being brought to light.

Can you think of anything else that this dream might be trying to say?

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Recording your dream as soon as you awaken is particularly useful. It is in this brief period that the dream is most vivid and poignant. Try to capture as much detail as possible—sights, sounds, locations, people, events, numbers, feelings, colours, sensations, and more. This practice helps you identify the bizarre elements, the lead metaphor, the overarching theme, and any recurring patterns. For example, I now find that I often dream about getting into trouble with the airport authority over my luggage, and I can begin to engage with what this tells me about my waking life.

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Next up: The best way to recall and record your dreams.