Thursday, September 27, 2007

The Dream Police?

(What are YOUR wildest dreams? Post them here, or contact me privately. I'll be happy to interpret common symbols for you. )

While some late hours have cut into my own dream time, someone came to me recently with a dream that I found quite intriguing.

The dream began with the dreamer being asleep in his bed (in the dream, not just in real life), and sirens just outside waking him up. Still in the dream, he walked to the bedroom window and looked out to find police cars outside, and even more unsettling, an officer just outside his window. Bizarre, considering the dreamer lived on the second floor! In midair, the policeman turned, saw the dreamer, and crashed through the window, attacking and choking him. Several times the dreamer believed he "woke up" in real life, only to find the dream starting over again. When he really DID wake up later on, he wasn't sure whether it was real or still the dream!

There were a few key elements I wanted to explore, the first being a commonly experienced dream: dreaming that you're asleep. Ever have those? This can denote something you've unconsciously allowed in your life, or situations going on around you that you weren't fully aware of.

Police in dreams does not necessarily mean you've done something illegal, but they can indicate personal guilt over an issue. Also, they can represent social issues and your sense of right and wrong in social settings. If the police are hostile or abusive--as in this case--this can mean the power of social ties or society as a whole to abuse you.

Flying dreams are very common, but normally it is the dreamer flying. That the policeman flew can demonstrate that social issues are rising above the dreamer, gaining control over him. The attack itself shows the dreamer feels attacked emotionally in real life; that he was choked, specifically, represents an inability to accept something (can't "swallow" it).

In talking to the dreamer, the meaning was obvious. He'd recently had some problems within his social group over his own behavior, which he hadn't realized was an issue. He'd also been left out of some social activities and in general felt on the short end of his relationships. Feelings of being attacked and abused over an issue he was guilty of, but hadn't been aware of until after the fact, shows clearly in this dream.

Until next time...here's wishing that your best dreams come true...
--Lisa

Sunday, September 16, 2007

I Dream of FIRE

That's right, I'm back--after summer break I'm here to tell you about my--and YOUR--wildest dreams! And let me tell you, this summer offered me a doozy!

Last week's dream was an odd twist on an old standby. I have occasional, recurring dreams of fires--not simple house fires, but epic, sweeping monstrosities that threaten to take down entire towns. They always come up over a mountain-lined horizon, with me in a dramatic struggle to pack up and evacuate. In real life, I live near mountains that are plagued by fires, including one that made nationwide news the week my youngest was born. Yet, I'm too far "downstream" to be in true danger from mountain fires. Besides, these dreams started well before the vast fire mentioned.

Here's the weird twist: as the fire prepares to crest the mountain and come down my side, an assortment of people I know (cast as neighbors sitting on the border of the fire in this dream) are grabbing lawn chairs and blankets. Not to evacuate, mind you--they are happy, excited. They want to WATCH the spectacle. One friend, with whom I lost contact in real life this year when she moved away, is particularly jazzed. "It's coming!" she tells me. "Come on!" She plops down a pair of beach chairs... "here's a good spot to watch." What the...? Shouldn't she be packing her pets into the back of a car in terror, or at least hosing down the roof?

Fire in dreams can represent many things, depending on the context. As one might guess, fire CAN represent destruction or anger, a sense of being out of control. However, you might be surprised to know that it commonly symbolizes emotion, passion, urgency,and sexual or personal energy. Such things may be coming, transforming, or being damaged--depending on how and where the fire occurs.

Recently I was in a situation where my desirability was challenged (in short, the green-eyed monster came out to play, BIGTIME) and was so upset that I rallied to give myself a life and body makeover. Diet, exercise, new hair style and color, etc etc. Not surprising, then, to see fire in my dream. Here, fire simultaneously represented my anger in having my sense of physical appeal damaged AND the passion and urgency with which I "transformed" myself to regain it.

Where do the freaky spectators come in? People in dreams tend to represent social aspects of our dream issues, as well as qualities we wish to possess. My real life transformation was dramatic and sudden, and did NOT go unnoticed--people have been quite abuzz about it. They talk about it when I'm not around, I'm told; a few folks didn't even recognize me. Thus, their excitement about my "firestorm" turned up in the dream. The friend from my past is a vivacious, popular, and grounded woman who is very aware of her sensuality and not afraid to use it--and others are attracted to her dynamic qualities. These of course being aspects I was trying to gain for myself, she became center stage for my dream performance despite her distance in real life.

Do you ever dream of fires or other natural disasters? Do you have vivid dreams after your eyes have turned a deep, fiery shade of GREEN? Let me hear about it! Post your dreams here, or send me a private message. I'll interpret common symbols for you, free.

Until my next wildest dream...