IV In this chapter I will focus on the meaning of colors, how the dream reveals one’s belief system, and how to make “corrections” in the dream if change is necessary. Akin to images, numbers and quantities, colors are an innate language of all human beings. Colors appearing in dreams may be reflective of one’s physical and emotional functioning. When there is “too much” of one particular color, it might b an indication of an imbalance in a particular physiological system. For example, a person dreaming of a bright red sky may be receiving a message that there is a problem with his/her cardiovascular system. And yet, it may also be a sign of him/her being very angry. Only the dreamer can intuit which interpretation is right. It depends upon the context of the dreamer’s life. Here are the colors associated with bodily functions and emotions: red- cardiovascular system, sexual energy, fury; yellow- urinary system, energy, fear; blue- thyroid, spiritual energy, detachment; orange- liver, female strength; green- gallbladder, growth, envy; gray- brain, guilt; violet- emotional life; white- lymphatic system, purity; dark black - death; shiny black- rebirth, life; A patient, A., dreamt of visiting his mother’s grave. Everything in the dream was just like in his waking life except that he was dressed in all gray, a color that he never wore. His work on this dream helped him to identify and address tremendous guilt about his relationship with his mother, which he had carried for years. Dreams often reveals unconscious beliefs that govern one’s life. A patient, D. who was a chronic procrastinator, described a dream in which he found his friend, a talented inventor, crying out: “It just doesn’t work, I am a looser, I tried it eight times.” (Remember the meaning of 8—an unresolved issue ). D. recognized that the friend in the dream represented his unconscious belief: “No matter how hard I work, I will fail.” D. finally understood that his procrastination was only a symptom of his fear of failure. L., a 28-year old woman who sabotaged any relationship with potential for marriage and/or children, reported a dream in which she was a young musketeer walking proudly on the streets of Paris. On one of the corners she encountered a prostitute who was pleading for money in order to feed her children.. The young musketeer dropped a few coins in the woman’s hand and walked away in disgust. L. recognized the young musketeer as the independent, proud, adventurous, and generous quality of herself. She identified the poor prostitute as being a reflection of her belief: “Once you are a mother, you are no longer free. You do anything for your children at any costs to yourself.” This realization helped L. to understand the reasons for her behavior in relationships. So far I have discussed understanding the dream as it relates to your waking life. But understanding the dream is only the first step. The next step is making change. If the dream clearly indicates that there is a physical problem, the best is to have a physical check up. If the dream shows emotional conflict, the conflict needs to be addressed. Our night dreams are reflective of waking life. As waking life changes so do the dreams. By “correcting” a problem in the dream we can stimulate the change in our waking life. To make a correction in the dream you do not need to go back to sleep. The “correction” can be successfully made as an imagery exercise. To make a correction, sit quietly in an upright position, close your eyes, and manually state your intention for the exercise. For example, if in the dream you were captured by enemies, you state: “I am doing this exercise with the intention to find freedom.” Then, go back into the dream to the moment of greatest distress and use your will to make a resolution to your liking. In the example above you can kill your captors, you can bring police and put them in jail, or you can make piece with them. Never preplan how you will act before the beginning of the exercise. Do what feels right in the moment. Remember, in the world of imagination everything is possible.