You're on the Way to Exam But Can't Remember Room Number ...

 "I'm in my 70s and am still having those nightmares about school stuff. Being late. Not studying for the exam. Can't find the room where the LSAT is being given."

I hear that often during tarot readings. Not only are those dreams vivid but there tends to be an emotional hangover the next day. Clients want to know how to stop them.

The good news is that they can be halted or at least reduced in intensity, reports Rahul Jandial, MD, PhD in his breakthrough book "This Is Why You Dream." Simply repeat positive affirmations before hopping into bed. 

They, for instance, could take the form of "I will not be held hostage to my student days." After doing that for a few weeks I haven't had a dream associated with school since. Interestingly that seemed to have freed up my brain to focus on other dream tasks such as healing the relationship with my mother who passed over way back in the 1980s.

However, the bad news for all of us in developed economies in which higher education is a rite of passage, documents Jandial, is that such dreams are imprinted in our DNA. Research studies around the world in affluent cultures found that school nightmares were and continue to be universal. 

More generally, other universals in dreaming range from falling to fear of losing something to being attacked. That goes back to ancient times and it seems to back up the theory of a collective unconscious. Mystic psychologist Carl Jung put that idea forward. It is also labeled an "archetype."

If you accept that explanation of the content of your dreams that lets you off the hook from blaming yourself for having that experience. One client lamented, "If only I could handle stress better I wouldn't go through hell at night." Actually, nightmares have a positive function. They, for example, can help you prepare for some negative what-ifs. The late-for-school terror could trigger more attention to maintaining your calendar on a smartphone. 

There's a whole different set of problems for those cursed with the genetics of insomnia, which could even be fatal for some families. There is no or not enough dream time. 

As for interpretations of dreams, forget all the books on those. Each is unique, with its own connections to a life and its own takeaways. You waste the dream if you assume there is a standard decoding. Upon waking jot down the specifics. Then focus on connecting the dots.

Jane Genova * Tarot Card Reader * Intuitive Coach * Medium.

Opening Yourself to Inner Peace, Self-Love and New Success

Deep Listening and Compassion.

For an appointment, please contact janegenova374@gmail.com or text/phone 203-468-8579.