Deciphering a Dream
Dreams are such weird things. You can't take them literally--thank god--nor should you live your life by them, but I do think they can have meaning. You just need to be able to decipher them. Merz over at Mars Needs Guitars did a post about this subject a couple of weeks ago and it got me to thinking about a vivid dream I had recently.
I dreamed the father of one of my daughter's friends (who in real life I don't know in the least) was holding me hostage for some reason. I tried and tried but I couldn't get away from him. At some point, someone in the dream informed me that he was actually dead and suddenly I realized he had no real power over me anymore. I felt much less afraid because I knew I could get away.
I told my daughter about this dream, thinking it was weird that I'd have such a disturbing dream about someone I don't even know, and she said it sounded like he was a ghost.
Aha! That made all the sense in the world to me. See, I have this theory (don't tell anyone, but I think I first heard it on Oprah) that the people and things that appear in your dreams aren't who or what they appear to be but that they represent something about yourself. For instance, the man who turned out to be dead is really the ghost of something that I'd let have power over me for a long time but have finally come to realize no longer does.
Another example might be that you dreamed you left your baby on the bus and were frantically trying to find her again. The baby is not really a baby but represents a part of yourself that you feel you're abandoning or losing or forgetting about. Make sense? I find that thinking about dreams this way can be very helpful when it comes to trying to glean meaning from them. I think it applies best to dreams that stick with you or disturb you in some way, but I suppose it could work in any circumstance. Try it and see what you come up with.
Reality Serum--"This Is a Dream" mp3 off This Is a Dream Single (buy)
TV on the Radio--"Dreams" mp3 off Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (buy)
Southerly--"How to Be a Dreamer" mp3 off Storyteller & the Gossip Columnist (buy)
That part about people and things that appear in your dreams aren't who or
what they appear to be really applies to my dreams, because often I am not
even MYSELF in my dreams. I am frequently observing from inside someone
who is entirely different from me--older, younger, or of the opposite sex.
I'll be somewhere that is supposed to be my house, but I've never seen it
before. A lot of my dreams are like a movie with a long, rambling plot
that doesn't finish because I wake up before it's over. I remember a few
months ago being very satisfied (and still asleep) that my movie/dream
actually finished. I can't recall ever doing it before.
My dreams are very similar to yours, Linda! But I'm going to try to think
about my dreams like you suggest, Marcy. Maybe they'll make a little more
sense
Ok, so this is weird that I'm reading this now because I had the most vivid
of vivid dreams last night. I was traveling with someone, a young woman or
child or someone and we stopped at a bowling alley while driving across the
country. I wanted to get her a bowling ball of her own and I talked to the
lady at the pro shop about it and she showed me what she said was this new
type of bowling ball. ... it was flat like a big round piece of stuffed
pizza... hahaha! and it had holes already drilled into it but she swore
that she could give me this special film that I could put over the holes to
seal them up and have it re-drilled AND that flat balls were the way to go,
the wave of the future!
linda--that is very interesting that you are often not yourself in your
dreams. i guess the other people you are probably represent some aspect of
yourself. i've not read carlos castenada (shame on me, i know) but i'm
familiar with the idea of active dreaming, or lucid dreaming as i've heard
it called. it sounds like it would be very enriching but hard to achieve.
You're a star! Yep... reinventing myself, ... I forgot to mention that the
flat bowling ball had this creepy, haloweeny face on it, hahah!
sometimes all it takes is a fresh pair of eyes, so to speak, to see
something you can't see for yourself. :) creepy halloweeny face or not!
i dont know if i'm lucky or unlucky, but I can never ever remember any of
my dreams the moment I wake up.....
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