GHOSTS IN DREAMS: Understanding dreams is not so difficult. In practice dream symbols translate into certain words within the English language. For instance a ghost dream may simply translate into the word "eerie" and the dream captures the feeling that "yesterday I saw this man put in an ambulance who looked just like my friend at work. It was an eerie feeling to think I may have randomly seen my friend taken in an ambulance".

KEYWORDS LINKED TO GHOST DREAMS In practice ghosts could translate into many words - here is the full list
- "very eerie feeling" (Ghosts can be scary so they can symbolise anything that really freaked you out yesterday)
- "cannot stop thinking about something" (If you cannot stop thinking about something then it looms in your mind. Its always there but at the same time not there - a bit like a ghost )
- "ineffectiveness" (If you are ineffective then you may as well not be there. You are kind of there but not there - a bit like a ghost)
- "something missing" (If something is not quite right in your life then this may result in a ghost dream. The feeling that something is lacking is similar to the ghost that is something that is not quite there and lacks a physical body)
- "feeling someone's presence" (If you feel someone's presence then its a very similar feeling to that of a ghost. That person is there in your heart! Or you are aware of what they would be thinking! Or you might be aware of how they would react if they knew what you were doing.)
- "always aware of some authority figure" (if you are always thinking of someone - an authority figure then they loom in your mind - they hang about your thoughts like a ghost)
- "sense someone's affection/hate" (Sometimes we feel a connection with someone. Do you feel that someone is in love with you and you feel you can sense it? Alternatively do you feel someone's anger or bitterness towards you?)
- "crush" (a ghosts is someone who is not really there. A crush is someone who you do not really have a relationship with - they are not really there)
- "a shadow of its former self" (a ghost may depict someone who is a shadow of their former self - the ghost suggests this new phase lacking life and energy)
- "a worry" (a ghost lurks in the background just like worries that lie at the back of our minds)
- "things not being the same as they used to be" (The ghost may represent something in your life that has ended. For instance, a relationship which is over or job you used to do. If something has ended its kind of died. Ghosts are people who have died. Ghosts in dreams represent relationships ended)
- "leaving" (if someone is leaving then you are thinking of them in this half life way - they are still there but will soon be no more)
- "plans not working" (If your plans are not working out then there is something missing which is a bit like a ghost which is not quite there.)
- "relationship as good as over" (Are you carrying on as if a relationship is still happening when in truth it has long since been over. The ghost maybe symbolic of the relationship dying yet lingering in some strange afterlife)
- "completely ignored" (Did you feel completely ignored yesterday by someone? If someone ignores you its almost as if you were not there - which is a similar situation to a ghost which is there but not there)

Now try to see how words in this list feature in your thoughts. Think of the things that you write down in a diary or tell a friend. Its likely that dreams translate into conscious thoughts that you are all too aware of - nowadays not many people believe in the unconscious mind. If any of the thoughts that you have seem to feature words on the list then its likely that the dream could link to that thought - it may even portray that exact thought process.

Take the following situation where in real life the dreamer had broken off her friendship with a friend. They still frequented the same places but just never spoke to each other. The dreamer felt as if her presence was like a ghost - they moved around each other as if they had not seen each other. They stuck around the same places as if haunting each other. So when the dreamer had a ghost dream this summed up their eerie presence around each other.

Dreams can portray very sophisticated feelings. Take this dream of Carl Jung (the psychoanalyst) - "I was at a border post. There was some customs official at the check point. He was actually a ghost and I was the only person who could see him. Later there is a knight in shining armour on a huge horse. The knight is a glorious and powerful sight. Jung related this dream to Freud, his great rival. The customs official was symbolic of Freud because Freud felt he had the right to check over Jung's work. Jung also felt the need seek Freud's approval. The customs official was a ghost because the presence of Freud was unseen. The knight was symbolic of how Jung was becoming - all powerful and someone who did not need to gain Freud's approval. So together the symbols capture this feeling -