The Slumber Chronicles | Interview with Yelena Andriyanova "Dream Interpretation"

A shallow dive into what it means when you dream. How dreams affect your life and why. What do your dreams mean?

Creators and Guests

Host

Jasper Steele

Jasper Steele is a voice actor whose performances are as dynamic and multifaceted as his life experiences. With a background that spans from confronting wild predators to mastering the art of meditation, Jasper brings a unique depth and authenticity to every role he undertakes. An adventurer at heart, Jasper has faced mountain lions, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, sharks, dolphins, and octopuses. His ventures have taken him from the depths of the sea to the skies above, diving into ocean abysses and leaping from planes, embodying the very essence of thrill-seeking. Beyond his daring exploits, Jasper is a dedicated fitness trainer and nutrition coach, guiding himself through grueling 24-hour endurance races that challenges him to surpass his limits. Yet, amidst the chaos, he finds serenity through meditation and yoga, grounding himself and those around him. In the evolving landscape of voice acting, where AI and technology are reshaping the industry, Jasper stands out by embracing these changes while preserving the irreplaceable human touch. He leverages AI-driven tools to streamline his workflow, allowing him to focus on delivering unique human performances.

Guest

Yelena Andriyanova

61 years old, with two university degrees. My main background is in history and archaeology. I taught in schools and colleges for many years. I’ve loved dreams since childhood — and still remember many of them. About five years ago, I began seriously exploring the world of dreams. Lucid dreaming led me to the course of Svetlana Zibnitskaya, where I finally overcame recurring nightmares. At first, I used her method for myself and friends, slowly gaining experience and confidence. This year, I created my own public page. What began without a clear goal has now grown into an educational mission — to help people understand the nature of dreams and unlock their inner potential through them.

What is The Slumber Chronicles ?

"The Slumber Chronicles" is a soothing podcast designed to guide you into a restful state of mind. Through immersive storytelling and calming soundscapes, each episode transports you to serene natural settings, cozy retreats, mystical adventures, and tranquil dreamlands—helping you drift into relaxation or deep sleep.

Yelena, welcome to the Slumber Chronicles. It's so good to have you here.

Yelena Andriyanova
Thank you very much for invitation. Okay, I will be glad to share my knowledge in dream interpretation.

Jasper
How did you first become interested in dreams and dream interpretation?

Yelena Andriyanova
It's actually, it's a long path, life path. It happened naturally. I was a spiritual speaker. I mean, I was a spiritual seeker person. I was interested in many energy technique, meditation and so on. and all the time I felt like um, there wasn't something enough. So I couldn't reach deeply inside of myself. Until I found Lucid dreaming technique. and I entered in society of Russian speaker Lucid Dreamers. and through communication with, uh, same minded people, I found, uh, um, the course of Svetlana Zibnitska. This is a psychologist, and she lives in Kazakhstan, and she's a Russian speaker, and she, she, it was in 2020, when the 1st time entering into the public, and demonstrated her system. and her system captivity me. I took a course, I learned, and then practiced, and through the practice, I found that this is really a working system. So, I became a dream interpreter.

Jasper
Well, that's,

Yelena Andriyanova
So I have

Jasper
that's

Yelena Andriyanova
5 years experience.

Jasper
really cool. Are there any ancient cultures or traditions that inspire your work with dreams?

Yelena Andriyanova
Uh, Me personally, I used to use a dream dictionary before as a normal, ordinary person. Okay, and I never get, I never got satisfied with that. So, as I know, as I know, Svetlana used a different tradition because she traveled through the south of America, sorry. She lived in Central Asia. So she visited many different places, and she collected those simple from many different society and places. and she tested, before she entered it, to the public, she tested her system, as she said, about 10 years. So, uh, and uh, I remember, she told us the story that she, um, she was, uh, obsessed with dreams. She liked it very much, and she was a child. She would like to bring something from the dream to reality. It was her childish dream, and actually she did it. She developed a system working system, which is very deep, or is very insightful and very helpful.

Jasper
Through that system, are there any universal dream symbols or dream meanings? Are they kind of entirely personal to the individual?

Yelena Andriyanova
Uh, no, it's absolutely universal, and um, and this is now is, uh, uh, not the knowledge I got from Svetlana. It's my personal knowledge because I want deeply to study why they are universal. Um, because, uh, I don't know how she came up with that idea or how she tested exactly. I don't know how, uh, research process. But, um, when, uh, how to say, when I went deeply and I went through the studying of brain, physiology and brain working process, and I came up with idea that the dream is a cognitive, the primary cognitive, uh, process of any mammals, uh, it means, um, we have a specific visual object in our dream. and these visual objects. It's a cut as impression for us. and it, um, it is universal impression for many different, uh, people, despite of gender, despite of age, despite of nation, and so on, because it has its history. That's well, I call these symbols as archetypes. It's a primary impression of a brain impact. For example, if I would take the dog, Most of the dictionaries, game dictionaries used to view the dogs. So the dog is friend, is domesticated, it lives at home and friend with children, people, and so on. But in the, uh, my system, it is aggression or inner tension. Why? Because the dog was an animal, an animal, when the humans were too young. So they were competitors for the humans. and they were, yeah, enemies for the humans. and animals for the food, animals for the areas, territory, and so on. So the 1st impression, the dog is not a friend, but the dog is enemy.

Jasper
Hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
So it's absolutely opposite. Or we take the tooth or teeth, for example. Mostly in general dictionaries with tooth or teeth, they're just like symbol of the death. I remember the story when my dad was very sick, badly sick. and one of our relatives came and said, oh, I had a bad dream. My tooth just fall down, so your dad will die. and I was scared.

Jasper
Yeah.

Yelena Andriyanova
Fortunately, yeah, fortunately, my dad didn't die. and in our system, the tooth is not the symbol of death. It's a symbol of relieving some problems. So if you have a problem in your real life, and you see, uh, bad, uh, tooth, like with cavities, or just, um, uh, crushing or falling down. So your problem will be solved naturally.

Jasper
Oh.

Yelena Andriyanova
So it's absolutely. And why? You know, the ancient people, again, suffered all the toothache, and anthropologists, up to now, they found some skeletons with traces of jaw inflammations.

Jasper
Mm-hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
So it was very bad situation for them. And to lose the bad tooth for that time, it's just to relieve their

Jasper
Yeah,

Yelena Andriyanova
problems.

Jasper
it relieves the pain.

Yelena Andriyanova
So, release the pain. So, I mean, it's a different approach to understand the symbol. Okay, not associative or psychological approach is just a basic primary impression of over our brain. and it's fixed inside of our brain. So that's why those symbols which we use, they can be categorized into objects. actions, and into subjects as people, and they are universal. But they have some tunit. If you see some familiar people, for example, by people you know, they're not about the people. In this case, we may use as associative approach.

Jasper
Hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
Because the people are subjects, they just act as examples for the person, of a dreamer.

You
So is it true

Yelena Andriyanova
Mm-hmm.

Jasper
that if you dream about someone they might be thinking of you, or is it something that's kind of separate altogether?

Yelena Andriyanova
Oh no, no, absolutely not. All the people, all the people you see in the dream, uh, how to say it's a, it's a kind of you. It's a,

Jasper
Like

Yelena Andriyanova
um,

Jasper
a self-interpretation?

Yelena Andriyanova
it's, it's a, like a self-entrepretation. and uh, all, sometimes well, like examples of, um, life choice. Or, uh, example of the dreamer behavior, or its example of a future, something like that, but absolutely not about the people you dream about. But you can see the other people

Jasper
Mm-hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
in the dream. And it's interesting. Mostly you can see them as an object. Uh, for example, the woman used to see themselves like container with water, if it's young woman. for the man, he can see himself as a gun, or as a knife, as a military car, as military aircraft, something with armored. It also has a state history, why the man used to see himself

Jasper
Something

Yelena Andriyanova
brutally.

Jasper
that society

Yelena Andriyanova
So

Jasper
probably

Yelena Andriyanova
it's,

Jasper
puts on on the male and female figures also, right?

Yelena Andriyanova
Yes. and you can see other people like children, for example, it could be um potted plant. It could be egg. It could be any nuts. For example, if a woman had a dream about a jar full of nuts. She probably see herself

Jasper
Hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
as the mother of many children. So this is uh, uh, and I need to say interesting story, we discussed it recently with my colleagues. Okay, one woman was interested in the thought of her new partner.

Jasper
Mm-hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
and we have a specific technique, uh, pray a sleeping, uh, inquiry technique, which helps you to configure the dream, doing special, uh, to a special d- direction. and she was interested what the partner is thinking of her. and the dream showed her.

Jasper
Hmm. Hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
She saw one apartment room with exposure device in the middle. and some people, one of them was a Russian president Vlad Putin, they went to Balcony. and she was scared that his device could blow up and kill other people. So she went to Balcony. She took her. uh, she took uh, Putin in from Balcony and brought him to the room. So, and I forgot one small detail, uh, okay, on Balcony outside, but it was dark. So the dream was like the person really is interested in her and he is afraid to lose her.

Jasper
Hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
So I will not go to detail. If you're interested, I will explain the details of a dream.

Jasper
Yeah, so, Yeah, like, so, um, like, so, um, basically, so, it's, basically, like, it's, the dreams like, the can dreams kind can of reveal kind of things reveal about things ourselves about that ourselves maybe that we're maybe not consciously we're not aware consciously of aware or of that or we that are, we and are, we and kind we of kind just of need just more, need uh, more, insight uh, through insight our through dreams. our dreams. Is that? Is that?

Yelena Andriyanova
Absolutely. Dreamer will answer any question you would like to know for your life, for the other people, for your health, for your business, a business or whatever, or because whatever, what because the what dreams the are dreams in are nature, in the nature, dreams the are, dreams it's, are, um, it's it's um, continuous it's cognitive continuous process. cognitive

Jasper
Mm Mm-hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
I process. told I you told in the beginning, in the beginning, this is a primary a cognitive primary process. cognitive What process. does What that mean? does it So mean? when So we, when uh, in we, our in conscious our daytime, conscious we daytime, have we a have specific a part specific of part our of our brain, which, brain, uh, how which, to how to say, say, responsible for responsible controlling, for for controlling, the for space, the for logic, space, for logic, for for orientation. orientation. When we When sleep, we this sleep, part this part is just is non-active. just It's non-active. It's some people some will people will say it's actually it's don't actually don't work. work. It's switch It's switch off. off. I don't I know, don't know. I I think it's just non-active. just nonactive. But the, But the I con, I mean, the mean, the process of process thinking. of thinking It is still continues. continuous.

Jasper
Mm-hmm. Mmhmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
So, and the So, and dream the answers dream for answers the for questions the you questions discuss you before discuss you before fall you fall asleep. asleep. Something you discuss you something discuss, something for your last your thought, last thought, it answers. it That's answers. That's why any why dream any will dream will answer on any on creation any question you would you like would to like ask to yourself. ask yourself.

Jasper
Well, that's Wow, really that's really interesting. Can Can anyone learn anyone to learn interpret to dreams, interpret or dreams, is or it is kind it of kind a of skill a skill that you've that you've had had to develop to over develop time? over time?

Yelena Andriyanova
Uh, yes, Uh, of yes, course, of everyone course, can everyone learn, can it's learn, so, it's it's so, easy it's and easy not and easy. not Okay, easy. um, Okay? and um, as and I as remember, I uh, remember, Svetlana, uh, uh, used uh, to, used uh, to, name, uh, uh, name, instruction uh, book, instruction like book, it's like not it's the, not uh, the, dreamer, uh, uh, dreamer, dictionary, uh, because dictionary, to because know to the know symbols the is symbols not is enough. The problem not the in symbols. the symbols. And I'm And giving I'm my giving symbols. my symbols. I share I with share symbols on my on my Facebook page. It's okay. But difficulties the combination difficulties of combination symbols.

Jasper
Hmm

Yelena Andriyanova
and here and you here you need to be very precise and sometimes you’re really puzzled how to answer right for the specific combination these of symbols.

Jasper
Mm-hmm. I'm go sorry, ahead.

Yelena Andriyanova
And, uh, I mean I'm only one now just who share such, unusual, symbolic system in English.

Jasper
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
Okay, because Svetlana works only with Russian speaker people speaker,

Jasper
Wow, that's, cool. So

Yelena Andriyanova
Up until now.

Jasper
So you’re the, the gate keeper for the, the, for for the English speaking community now, huh?

Yelena Andriyanova
Yeah.

Jasper
cool. That's

Yelena Andriyanova
Yeah.

Jasper
cool.

Yelena Andriyanova
Okay, I just said a goal for myself, I would like to help many people as I can to understand what they watch during the nighttime because it's a resource, which is unused up to now. is a very valuable resource.

Jasper
So, where can listeners learn more about your, uh, dream interpretation or connect with your work?

Yelena Andriyanova
Up to now, I have only a Facebook page.

Jasper
Okay. Okay.

Yelena Andriyanova
and where I describe other symbols, i give interpretation, and I help people who really in need.

Jasper
Um, Um,

Yelena Andriyanova
Because, you know, their dreams in general were just random thoughts.

Jasper
Right.

Yelena Andriyanova
That's why the dreams are random. So you, um, shouldn't expect something very specific information to be getting from the dream because you actually think of simple thoughts.

Jasper
Mm-hmm. Mhm.

Yelena Andriyanova
Nothing special. That's why your dream gives you a good information, right information. but not a great information.

Jasper
Right. They're

Yelena Andriyanova
Mm-hmm.

Jasper
of kind of just just sporadic, and they don’t really mean anything when you say them out loud, but the symbols inside of them are what is important.

Yelena Andriyanova
And the same time, I would like to say you need to be careful to disclose with your dream. and I can give you some example, for example, okay, I had a, and I still have one lady. uh, she was obsessed with the idea that her husband cheated her. uh, and she for period of time, uh, wanted to find the fact in the dream that her husband cheated her. and I was shocked. We work on many dreams. Okay, and I was shocked when I saw her dream was she wanted to cheat her husband. and it was the shocked content. Of course, I told her, she denied, and after a while, she confessed, Yes, she had. I mean, such thought crossed her mind.

Jasper
Oh. Oh.

Yelena Andriyanova
So that's why you need to be very careful, uh, disclosing the dream.

Jasper
Right.

Yelena Andriyanova
In some cases, In some cases, it's a helpful tool. and in some cases, it can give you something which you would like to hide.

Jasper
Mm hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
and it could be in your dream.

Jasper
Right. It’s almost like there are skeletons in your closet that you may want to keep there and be careful how to disclose them.

Yelena Andriyanova
Yeah, it's absolutely. And me, and... Even sometimes I I feel a puzzled dream for myself. I try not to share it.

Jasper
Yeah.

Yelena Andriyanova
Okay, because I know a consequence.

Jasper
Well, that’s cool. If there’s someone who wants help a interpreting dream, what should they have ready to share than if, they should be cautious?

Yelena Andriyanova
Uh,

Jasper
Or is Or it is

Yelena Andriyanova
I

Jasper
it more,

Yelena Andriyanova
guess.

Jasper
is it more it like, they should be ready for what comes to the surface mentally

Yelena Andriyanova
Please one more time,

You
Oh. Oh.

Yelena Andriyanova
I want

You
So, like, So,

Yelena Andriyanova
to clear this question.

Jasper
like, if someone wants help interpreting a dream should they have anything specific ready or should they be mentally ready that if they do share they may not like what they

Yelena Andriyanova
No, they have to be, they have to be mentally ready for some information, which is probably not suitable or not well acceptable, or for the person.

Jasper
Okay. Okay.

Yelena Andriyanova
Okay, it's, it could be done. But in a case, for example, if you have a health problem and you need a surgery, Okay, you shouldn't hide your dreams. You may ask. Because all the dreams, if especially if you think about this, um, uh, coming process, uh, process. So the dream should show you how the surgery is going to be. So what is the consequence of the surgery and so on? So it's normal. It depends. it depends on the questions which you said before you sleep.

Jasper
Mm-hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
Some questions should be um, I mean, some dreams should be discussed as a necessary part.

Jasper
Right.

Yelena Andriyanova
For example, I was supposed to have a surgery, and that surgery, I could postpone for the letter time, and I had a doubt to do it now or do it later. And for one week, I asked the same questions and still did not get the answer until I decided, that's all, I take a conscious decision. I will do the surgery. Oh, I will not do the surgery. and when I decided this way, Um, I had a dream that told me so, don't be so stupid. Go and do the surgery now

Jasper
Yeah.

Yelena Andriyanova
surgery now. So it depends. It depends on the questions you discuss. If you, for example, is between 2 women which you want to choose, it's also necessary, question, because you, I mean, your dream can help you, to advise which relationship will be long term, which one is a short term,

Jasper
Oh,

Yelena Andriyanova
and

Jasper
I see.

Yelena Andriyanova
so

Jasper
Wow.

Yelena Andriyanova
on.

Jasper
Um, can you offer the audience a calming affirmation or thought to take with them to sleep tonight as they sleep.

Yelena Andriyanova
Um, it's a hard questions for me, because, you know, there are 3 category of uh, 3 groups of people, the people who don't see dreams, and that's okay. the people who has, who have dreams, but they don't remember them, and people whom, uh, have dreams and they remember them. Uh, if you, uh, would like to remember something from your dream, 1st one, you have to accept the situation you are. If you don't remember, this is normal.

Jasper
Hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
Okay, and you shouldn't blame yourself. Then you have to start training because to remember the dream is like a skills.

Jasper
Mm-hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
So you need to have a journal, and you need to make a note, and you make, you need to program yourself. 1st one. You, before you go to sleep, you say, this time I will remember something. and what you remember, it could be very short episode. It could be just one object, probably.

Jasper
Mm-hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
You have to write down. and slowly you just need to focus to your brain your goal and your intention. And slowly, the brain will help you to memorize the dreams. It takes time. It's not easy, but you shouldn't be disappointed if it takes probably more than one week. and sometimes you forgot again. This is normal process. We are humans, and there is a technical side of that. Why? Because the dreams are kind of a chemical

Jasper
Mm-hmm.

Yelena Andriyanova
process. It depends on a specific amino acid that body produces. and probably sometimes the people are lack of that, I mean, a chemical substance. That's why we don't remember.

Jasper
I I probably fall probably

Yelena Andriyanova
and

Jasper
Fall into that category, I don’t remember my dreams very often.

Yelena Andriyanova
I, I, I probably fell in the last 2 categories, because sometimes I have a long cycle, a, a cycle, I don't remember my dreams, and sometimes I remember, but, uh, usually, I ha, I, from the, I mean, from my young time, I had, um, a good ability to see and remember dreams. In general, I mean, you have to train. You have just notes in front of you. and after you wake up, just shortly, buy keywords to make that note. For me as a interpreter and as a hobby, I keep a journal of my dreams. and some time to time I just revise them to see what a process cognitive process I had inside of me and what the life advices I got from these dreams. So it's, it's, it's just a skill, we should be trained, and it's, the training process should start from the notes. There is no any other ways. Oh, there is a medical ways, but I will not advise it.

Jasper
Yeah. Well Yelena thank you so much for sharing your deep wisdom and helping us explore the language of our dreams this conversation was truly eye opening or perhaps eye closing in the best way.

Yelena Andriyanova
Thank you very much. Thank you very much for invitation. Okay, I wish you luck in your work, and in your days, and I wish you luck in your skilling, I mean, skilling process to memorize your dreams, and for many other people also.