Dreams use symbols in their wider senses. Think of phrases like "he has stolen my childhood".

STEALING IN DREAMS:Understanding dreams is not so difficult. In practice dream symbols translate into certain words within the English language. For instance a "stealing" dream may simply capture an everyday thought such as "My sister just lent my computer and broke it. She doesn't intend to pay for it!". In that way your dream picks out one features of stealing - a criminal does not respect other peoples property. Breaking a computer you have lent is nearly just as bad as stealing a computer. Either way the person who lent the computer out is left with nothing.

FULL LIST OF KEYWORDS
In practice stealing has several symbolic meanings. Here is the full list.
- "wild behaviour" (if someone behaves wildly and recklessly then they are not too far away from braking the law. Has someone accused you of being out of control?)
- "wanting something for nothing" (Wanting something for nothing is the attitude that the criminal has. Has someone become your friend just because they wanted something off you? Who wanted something for nothing yesterday?)
- "completely distrusted" (No one trusts a thief -so a thief could be your minds way of saying you do not trust someone? You would not want them in your house! Have you come into contact with someone who you do not like or trust? Did you think - "I cannot trust anything they say" yesterday?)
- "selfish" (Stealing is the act of the selfish and so it may just be your minds way of saying "he is selfish")
- "get into trouble" (Stealing in a dream could be just your minds way of saying "you are in the wrong". Have you just broken some rule at work? Do you feel someone is to blame for something? Who is in the wrong right now?)
- "wanting something that you could never have" (Did you want something that you could never have yesterday? Think of this in the wider sense - did you really want a younger girlfriend? A better car?)
- "treating unfairly" (Stealing links into all kinds of negative behaviours. A stealing dream could simply be your way of saying "he treated he unfairly". We often think people have robbed us of all kinds of things in a wider sense. We say "he robbed her of her self respect")
Look through the list of words and phrases listed here. Research has shown that these all link symbolically to stealing dreams. Now try to see how you might use these words and phrases to express key feelings. For instance if had been thinking last night how your son needs to "work hard to get his qualifications but does seem bothered" then clearly the phrase "need to work hard" could be linked to the symbolic meaning of your stealing dream. Stealing in the dream may represent your sons wish to get something for nothing - which is basically what stealing is. So we know that the symbolic meaning of stealing could be linked to that exact emotion and we can hint that the actual meaning of the dream is related to this key thought process.

- "robbed of opportunities" (Do you feel bitter and angry that you have been robbed of some opportunity)
- "need to work hard" (Do you feel someone wants to achieve something without putting in the proper effort? Criminals just take what they want. Stealing could link into issues where you feel people need to work harder to achieve the things they want. One stealing dream linked into the dreamer thinking her husband should work harder with their marriage counselling. He was wanting quick gains without really putting in the effort)
- "resentful" (If we are resentful then its sometimes feel we should have something that is not ours - an act of stealing. Did you feel resentful yesterday that people have not given you the respect you deserve?)
- "not respecting someones property" (If you lend something and break it then its very similar to stealing it. Has someone just lent something and just broken it? Do you feel guilty because you have just broken something which you lent from someone?)
- "blatantly take advantage" (Who has really taken advantage? Do you worry that others think you have taken advantage of someone vulnerable?)
- "being used" (People who steal are also capable of using others for their own advantage. They are selfish and inconsiderate. Think of someone who has just shown those qualities)
- "a chaotic mess" (Thieves have the ability to send our lives into chaos. Is your life a chaotic mess now? Is something in danger of descending into anarchy?)

Its a fallacy that dreams capture unconscious thoughts - dreams represent thoughts that we are all too aware of. A typical dream would translate into the types of thoughts that we might write down in a diary or tell a best friend. Dreams represent your key thoughts which pinpoint the problems right now. Try to write down some quotes which capture your feelings right now and try to include the words and phrases above. For instance if you have been thinking a lot about how someone has taken advantage of you and used you then it maybe related to that. Stealing could be just your minds way of saying "he robbed me of all the opportunities in my life!"

Dreams can represent very sophisticated thoughts. For instance one dream in our database featured someone stealing photographs. The day before the dreamer had taken some photographs and someone asked him if they could have copies. The dreamer felt he was being used and that the person was just being friendly because he wanted to photos and did not want to pay. Underlying this dream was the feelings that this person had taken advantage of him and wanted something for nothing. Wanting something without paying for it is the actions of a criminal.