Dream analysis is important to anyone who wants to learn from their own subconscious mind, the deep and often inaccessible part of yourself that surfaces when you sleep.
Understanding our dreams is the first step towards unlocking your hidden potential and creating the change you desire, so a good dream analysis dictionary is a good place to start.
It's important to remember however that dreams analysis dictionaries are guides.
There is no 'Google Translate' plug-in for your mind, that will instantly provide a literal and exact meaning, from all the whirl of images and ideas your subconscious is capable of when you sleep! Instead you should think in terms of interpretation, rather than translation - it's about context and extrapolation, and relating the themes of your dream to issues in your own life.
And dreams deal in symbols and archetypes, not literal representations - the meanings of which in any good dream analysis reference material will be indicated as multiple and complex, and definitely related to your conscious thoughts and preoccupations, as well as your unique set of ideas, values, experiences and associations.
Don't let this lack of direct translation put you off the fascinating project of attempting to analyse your dreams, however! On the upside, the unique context in which it must be done means that you are the ideal person to undertake this journey.
There are some fantastic tools available to guide you, as you venture into the wilderness of your subconscious, but no-one truly knows the territory like you do.
There is little point in paying an analyst or therapists to interpret things purely in their own terms, or in terms of statistical likelihood - a dream dictionary can present a range of potential meanings for a given symbol, and you will know when you read them which applies, because one above all others will resonate with what is going on for you right now.
It might relate to a problem you are trying to solve, or a decision you must make - if you know deep down that the answer is probably somewhere deep within your heart and mind, understanding the meaning of dreams can help to unlock it.
Learning to remember and journal your dreams is the first stage, and this is a learnable skill that can be practiced and developed.
It's important to use the time of first waking wisely, to record the triggers and main ideas of your dream, whether you do so on paper, or via a voice recording.
You need to try and remain as close as possible to the dream-like state just before you awoke, so forget all thoughts of analysis and interpretation of dreams at this point, just record as much detail as possible, particularly anything that stands out as odd or incongruous.
Later in the day you can revisit your awakening notes in your dream journal, with your dream analysis dictionary on hand, and investigate typical and archetypal meanings of the symbols and themes that seem most significant.
These are the ones most likely to be meaningful, and if you get into a habit of doing this review just before you go to sleep again, you will often find that as a result your dreams are richer and more vivid explorations of the same themes, or similar material but approached from a different angle (your subconscious is surprisingly good at reattempting delivery of an important message, using different approaches!) As you develop your dream analysis skills your conscious and waking life will become richer in so many ways, allowing greater alignment between dreams and reality, and peace of mind that your best mind and self are working consistently to achieve contentment.