Background

This is often a summary of the environment in which the main action of your life is happening at the moment. For instance parents provide a background of support for their children to go to school or to the movies. A different background would change the whole feeling of the foreground. So the background – the room you are in, the surroundings or secondary characters – represent the things we might take for granted, but which give enormous colour to our life and activities. If you dream of going for a walk in the country on a sunny day, that background of walking with an attractive partner gives a completely different ‘colour’ than walking between traffic in a busy town street.

If possible define the feeling and functional quality of the background in the dream you are considering. A city background might have the feeling of high activity and hurry, and the function of providing work opportunity. The country background might have the feeling of non-demanding quietness, and the function of relaxing you.

When you have defined a feeling and function, consider what part those things are playing in your life, and what the details of the dream suggest about them.

Research has show that the surroundings and atmosphere we live in during the day is often reflected in dreams occurring in the early part of the night. See Background and Foreground.

Useful Questions and Hints:

How am I relating to the background?

Is the background a changing one – if so what is the difference?

How does the background relate to my present life situation?

Explore the dream by using Processing Dreams.