Dreams are subtle creatures of the night and are specific to the dreamer, making it difficult to speak about dream images in generalities. Dreams also should not to be taken too literally since they speak a symbolic, metaphorical language. As a rule of thumb, their 'meaning' is derived from the context of the dream, and the personal associations and the particular psychic situation of the dreamer.

At first encounter, dreams can seem utterly impenetrable. However, adopting an attitude of 'befriending' and listening to the dream, 'sticking' with its images and letting it speak for itself can, as in normal relationships, prove to be productive and beneficial. Because the dream emanates from the 'primitive' unconscious and expresses itself indirectly by means of metaphor, it is recommended to suspend disbelief, thus avoid taking its images too literally. This desire to take dreams literally reflects the dream ego's reluctance to relinquish control. The dream ego, that by which the dreamer experiences him/herself, most closely reflects his/her conscious biases and attitudes. This "I," like consciousness itself, tends to be one-sided and generally blind to deeper considerations, movements and values.

According to the analytical psychologist, C.G. Jung, dream behaviour is often at variance with, and oppositional to, our conscious intentions, the dream then serving as compensatory to the one-sidedness of conscious life. Employing the concept of compensation thus brings the unconscious into relation with consciousness, and provides what is needed to restore psychic balance.