Passenger

If in a car, it suggests you are following someone else’s lead or direction.. Dependence on other people’s decisions, energy or drive. Or a mutual or cooperative direction being taken, as in a business venture or relationship. See: Car.

Being a passenger: Feeling that circumstances are carrying you along, either because you are passively allowing them to, or because you feel powerless to change; sense of being carried along by the process of life such as ageing; a joint direction you are taking, as in a business venture or relationship. Passengers are usually those who are important in your life. Even if they are not people you know. What they represent in age, sex or temperament is usually indicating something you need to take notice of. Being a passenger can be a symbol of passivity, if you feel you are allowing someone else or some other force to determine the journey.

The interaction with the passenger often shows how you relate to others that are ‘travelling with you’ in life. They are also people who influence your direction and the choices you make.

Example: I was inside a large boat, probably a tanker. There were a lot of passengers, but it appeared as if we were imprisoned in a huge room. It was very dingy and dismal. I am not sure though whether people realised they were prisoners. Maybe one only realised one was imprisoned if one tried to escape. Bob.

This boat obviously represents a situation Bob finds it difficult to get out of, and is only just realising he is trapped in. It also shows him involved with other people. Does he feel trapped in his body?

Example: Dreamt about being in a large removal van with a woman sat on my lap. I held her breasts with pleasure. Don.

In exploring his dream Don found that holding the woman’s breasts showed how he was holding onto and held by sexual pleasure. Holding the woman made him a passenger, and not directing his life. But when he let go he could be the driver. This led him to realise that he was tied to his sexual need like a dependency – a dependency that directed his life.

Example: ‘I was a passenger in a very large eight wheeled lorry, my husband being the driver. We stopped at a pedestrian crossing in our town and my husband got out of the driving seat and went into the local town hall near a crossing. I waited in the lorry for what in my dream seemed hours. The next thing I remember is that I was then riding a bicycle on the other side of the crossing and cycled away up the road.’ Diann R.

Her husband’s involvement with social and work activities – the lorry and hall – make Diann decide to become more independent rather than wait for her husband to be ‘with her’.

Passenger in car: Being motivated or moved by someone else’s viewpoints, opinions or enthusiasm; being dependent, perhaps on who is driving the car; allowing a secondary part of self, such as indecision, pride, or stubbornness, to direct decisions. The passenger door in particular refers to the people you let near you or push away if you do not let them in your car.
Being a passenger in a bus: Suggest you are okay about making a life journey in company with others, or if there is any anxiety it could expresses a worry that someone else is controlling your life.
Carrying passengers: Feeling you are taking the responsibility in work or family. See: car.

Useful Questions and Hints:
Am I a passenger – and in what way am I alone or going along with somebody in life?
What am I feeling about being the passenger?
Who is the passenger and how do I relate to them?
What is happening between the passenger(s) and me?
Is anyone sharing a difficulty with me as a passenger?
See Fantasy and Dreaming – Meeting yourself – Techniques for Exploring your Dreams