Admiration

As a child we need our parents admiration and praise in order to unfold our potential. Also, admiring qualities in others is one of the ways we shape our own direction and choices. So it is useful to take note of what is being admired in yourself or another person, and how that is reflected in your life.

Admiring someone else:

This may be a straight forward awareness of your feelings about that person or a recognition of those qualities in yourself. It might be a sign of personal success and confidence; probably indicating qualities in the person you either have yourself but may not be recognising, or else qualities you would like or need to have.

Being admired:

Feeling good about yourself; recognising things about yourself you may have overlooked; positive self-image; confidence. On the other hand it might be a compensatory dream expressing the need to be admired due to your low self esteem. If the dream stresses the situation making you a figure of great admiration, it may suggest an inflated opinion of yourself or a strong need for approval and acclaim from others. See: emotions and mood.

Idioms: Lost in admiration.

In some dreams, and in some fantasy work, a sense of enormous appreciation or admiration often arises. June Dunlap, in her book Exploring Inner Space, describes such a feeling of admiration – experienced while feeling herself to be a fly – in the following way – ‘At frequent intervals I would swoop down, alight, rub my graceful back legs together, and admire the opalescence of my delicate sunlit wings. Totally without egotism but with deep satisfaction, I stated repeatedly, ‘I’m beautiful. No one else thinks so, but I really am.’’ Such feelings of admiration and awareness of beauty about oneself are often more direct, and arise as a sense of enormous appreciation of what has been achieved or met in your life. The admiration often results in feelings of love for yourself, which is very healing.

Useful questions:

What is it that is being admired, and am I aware of those qualities in myself?

Can I allow the good feelings about myself or another person?

Am I feeling low at this time and needing appreciation?

Is this a recognition of an emerging quality, or am I compensating for not receiving enough attention?