Since the earliest times great importance has been attached to the interpretation of dreams as a guide to making important decisions. In Ancient Rome Generals would take a Dream Reader with them on military campaigns to consult before taking major strategic decisions and going into battle.

The Ancient Chinese used their dreams as a means of diagnosing illness and disease, and then for finding cures. Indeed the "Wise Men" in civilizations throughout the world have analysed their dreams in order to guide their people.

Sadly in modern society, where we are in such a hurry to get things done, little attention is paid to the true power of our dreams. Yet by following simple techniques we truly can make our dreams come true. The following then are the seven essential steps to using dreams to achieve your goals.

1. The environment in which you sleep can affect the significance of your dreams. To ensure that what you dream is truly meaningful ensure that your surroundings are just right. For example choose a colour scheme in your room that is relaxing. Remove clutter from your room. It is a good idea to remove distractions like televisions and computers from your bedroom. When you are in bed make sure you are comfortable and are neither too hot nor too cold.

2. You must also learn to prepare yourself for a productive night's sleep. Avoid things such as alcohol, drugs, and spicy or fatty foods before sleeping. Also avoid eating big meals too near to bedtime. If you read then carefully choose your reading material so that it relates to a specific goal you wish to achieve in life. You need to feed your mind with material relating to the objective you are seeking to accomplish. In your waking hours read, research, and watch films on the topic. Also try using visualization by seeing yourself having achieved your goal and before going off to sleep visualize yourself dreaming about it. That way you will influence what you actually dream about.

3. Learn to remember your dreams. Use the visualization process again to get your mind used to clearly recalling the details of your dreams. It is important to have a routine with regular bedtimes and times to get up. A good tip is to set your alarm to wake you during the night as you are then likely to wake during dreams and so more easily remember them. And make sure you have a pen and notebook at hand to record what you recall. As you wake do so slowly, keeping your eyes shut for a few moments and focus on what you were dreaming about. Also consider how you feel. Then open your eyes and start writing.

4. Record your dreams each night ensuring that you stick to a constant format. Highlight key symbols, people, and happenings. If you have difficulty describing something try using a simple drawing to show what it is you remember. Identify what type of dream it is and give it a title. Over time you will start to see regular themes develop, especially those related to the subject of your goals.

5. Start to examine more closely what you have been dreaming about. It is important before starting to analyse the symbols that you ask yourself what the dream could mean to you. Ask yourself what was the location of the dream, what key images or symbols did it contain, how did you feel during it, and what real life experience could it reflect?

6. Then look at the key symbols in your dreams. You can use a dream dictionary to find possible meanings, but the true picture of what they all mean will come by looking at your life, both now and in the past, to see what the images mean to you personally. The people in your dreams are there to tell you something, possibly about the qualities or skills they possessed. If they are from your past think about conversations you may have had with them or ideas or hopes you had at the time. You will soon get clues to the actions you need to take in your life.

7. Finally you must simply take action. If your dreams have prompted you to look at certain areas of your life then do so. Maybe there are health matters you need to address or possibly long-held fears or anxieties may need to be tackled. Examining your dream content will give you the clues about how to do so. If you have been using techniques of visualization or psychic suggestion to focus on specific topics or goals then use what you uncover to move forward.

You will not succeed immediately but by acting to influence your dream content, and then studying what is revealed you can take great strides towards achieving your life goals. Be consistent in your approach and don't worry if some days you just cannot remember your dreams or find it impossible to make sense of the symbols and images. It will happen and soon you can start to live your dreams.