Too often I have seen, heared of, read about people doing a random interpretation of their dream, which of course was not "objective", but made them believe it were, and so they ran into the trap of self-fulfilling prophecies.
And the "boah, I dreamed about this last week", or deja vu experince, it has been shown that it is possible - and that it actually happens - that it is a time-discrepancy in the synchronisation between both brain halves. This can be the case both towards simple visual stimuli, and longer, more complex cognitive representations on your mind. Both eyes'S retina for examplehave different optical nerve channels to the two sides of the brain, the part of the retina that is located towards the skull'S outside is linked to the bain-half on that side, while the inner helf of the retina is linked to the brain half on the other side of the skull. If visual stimuli is presented to the eye in a way that both eyes transfer the optical data to just one side of the brain, and only with a delay to the oder side as well, it can happen that you have a situation where the onje side of the brain for a moment does not know what the other side is doing and processing. WShen you relaise that you see something and attrubute your meaning and labels to what yoiu have seen, actually parts of the brain already have had that inpout s short while before - and you end up in a situation where your brain fools itself by letting you think: what I have seen now, I have dreamed of short time before.
Deja vu experience can be explained in other ways, too, but this is one of the most simple-structured explanations.
I do not say that people cannot have a sixth sense, prophetic visions, etc, actually I am convinced, for certain reasons, that these things exist. I just think that it is much, much rarer than it is often said. I think these things are more prominent amongst children, and the skill, gift, habit or whatever you think it is then gets lost or covered by adult's cognitive patterns. It is nothing superstious or supernatural, becasue if it exciosts, it is part of reality, and thus it cannot be supoernatural, but only can be linked to a part of reality that so far we have not understood or recognised correctly.
If you want to interpret symbols and examine how they fit into your life and have a meaning for you, do it in a more standardised way than just random dream symbols: use a system like Tarot cards, for example. Actually, in a context of councelling in life and spiritual questions, it is a method that I even would recommend. But possible that I use Tarot cards differently and less mechnaically/schematically than it is being described in most Tarot books. I used to combine again Gestalt work, and the way Rachel Pollack approached Tarot in her superb books. If you want to read and learn about Tarot cards, Rachel Pollack is the name to watch out for.
On a curious side note, years after I stumbled over these books by Pollack, I personally met and held a seminary with the translator of her first two books into German, at university. He was assistant to the prof who supervised my diploma work and one of my practice terms.
