Posts Tagged ‘dreams’
My Journey through Dreams
A personal account by a woman who wishes to be anonymous
I began taking an active interest in dreams when I was between six and seven years old. I had a horrible dream about a spider on my bicycle, and I was always wondering what it meant. That dream stuck with me for years (in fact, I still remember it quite clearly), and it was the beginning of my fascination with the subconscious mind.
Over the course of my childhood and adolescence, I had a series of dreams that were very closely related. It was like dreaming in chapters– I’d start from the beginning, go through the whole dream, and then dream the next “chapter”… and the next time I dreamt, the same thing would happen, again moving forward one chapter. The familiarity and the haunting nature of the details in the dream always gave me the feeling that there was something important in them that I should be taking notice of.
I never really found the means to begin interpreting those dreams until several years later; I never really looked for those means, either! But during this interim I began to be fascinated with the study of handwriting analysis– another means the subconscious has of bringing itself into our conscious, day-to-day mind. This sudden interest in something that could seem a vague and obscure science (but when accurately viewed, became a very logical and helpful thing to learn) revived my taste for the study of dreams, as well. I started by glancing through random websites (God bless Google, eh?) just for the heck of it, but most of them were fluffy, entertainment-type sites that were just far too pretentiously mystic to be of any real use to me. I decided then that it would be far more prudent to simply invest in a dream dictionary and look up the symbols myself. Dream Dictionary
A dubious search of the shelves in Barnes and Noble revealed your book. I’m terribly cheap– and compared to the other glorified volumes on the rack, yours was very well-priced indeed. It also appeared to have a great selection of words in it, not to mention a very easy-to-understand format. I opted for that one (I’ll admit, one of the better choices regarding reading material that I have made!), and began idly picking through it for things of interest.
The sequential dreams I’d begun having as a child were the first serious thing that I looked up.
In the first dream, I was climbing a long flight of horribly rickety stairs in my father’s mother’s house (that started as a church). I was terrified, and when I got to the top, I knew there was something horrible behind the door that scared me more than I could even say.
In the next one, I opened the door and all sorts of bats, ghosts, debris and STUFF flew at me from above.
A year or so later, I had another dream in the sequence, and in this one my brother and I were cleaning out a large room after I climbed the stairs (again, it started out as the church and then turned into the house, just like the first one). In the room was a lot of trash, dust and so on– very cluttered, with lots of dead things on the floor. I was worried during this dream that my brother would get hurt or attacked by something in the room we were cleaning.
Nearly a year after that, I dreamt the next chapter. This time I was alone, rearranging the furniture in the house, exploring it and throwing things away that I didn’t like.
And in the last one, which I had several years after that, I was running blithely down the stairs I’d once climbed so fearfully. I knew they were the same steps, even though these wound in circles down instead of shooting straight up/down. In front of me, another person was running– I could catch glimpses of her now and then, and I could hear her laughing. I knew her, but I didn’t know who she was (makes perfect sense, eh.) At every landing, she and I would stop and drink a shot of vodka mixed with orange juice. I was running lightly, almost skimming down the steps and wearing a white gown that floated as I ran.
It turned out that these dreams all related to the way my mind was handling the situation with my father. When I was very young, he had abused me severely in manners that are rather unspeakable. I ended up with Multiple Personality Disorder, and other complications. When I was ten years old, I finally began telling people what was going on, and very shortly thereafter I saw him for the last time. During all this, the dreams started.
They show my gradual coming-to-terms with the situation, in my own mind. The initial terror, loss, and horror at what was going on– and the approach to the “door”, place of no return, when I would reveal what was happening… The continuing thoughts and fears and haunting ache that remained after I opened it… My fears for my sibling, and how he would handle the loss and desertion, not to mention the baggage… My final dealing with the problem, cleaning out and reorganizing the parts of my life that he had screwed up so badly… and lastly, the freedom that caused, and the relief at being able to leave the issue behind me. I haven’t had a dream in that sequence since.
Being able to finally understand and put a label to these dreams gave me a lot of relief– and further whetted my appetite for such things! I began to think about all the dreams I had had as a child, and the ones I had in the present as well. The patterns I noticed sometimes scared me a bit, but always fascinated me.
For instance, I’ve had my MPD under strict control since the last time I saw my father. My “alter” has become essentially nonexistent, and she never takes control of my body any more. I have had to develop very firm mental control over my thoughts– although I did it mostly by necessity, and it wasn’t until I was older that I realized most people didn’t have to constantly screen their own mind to make sure they weren’t thinking someone else’s thoughts! Because of this tight hold I have, the fact that I even had MPD at all faded into the back of my mind, and I don’t think about it much. It does, however, come out very clearly in ALL of my dreams. In each one, I’m always watched by a girl, between the ages of 8 and 12. She rarely talks to me, usually never interacts with me in the dream, but she’s always there, watching. In the dream where I ran down the stairs, she was the girl in front of me, laughing– that was one of the ones that triggered my question as to whether she appeared in the other ones I’ve had.
Oh goodness! I think I’ve blathered on like an idiot for quite long enough! I’m so sorry… I hope this isn’t as boring as I’m nearly sure it will be, but since you asked I thought I should at least try to respond. I do apologize if it’s just a bunch of mindless drivel!
Thank you again, so very much, for replying to my email– and for your excellent book! It made my day to hear back from you, and to hear of your continued interest in the dreams of other people! And the flower– simply lovely, I’ve got it set as my background now.
Hope all is well, and thank you very much!
Anon
Dreaming of Myself
Here is a dream I experienced some 15 years ago, and it is followed by my exploration of it. It was spoken as I tried to identify with each part of the dream and the people in it. It was not a thought up explanation but words poured out of me.
The Dream
The dream took place in a large very old house or building. Jessica was with me, about her present age, or a bit older, ten or twelve perhaps. We were in a very big room that was dark and full of ancient things, objects, and maybe furniture. I think it was night time too, as I was holding a very large candlestick with about six or seven candles in it. The ‘forces of evil’ were assaulting us. These had no particular form, but seemed very real and capable of physical damage, and overall had the stereotyped imagery of gremlins and soul sucking creatures.
I was trying to hold back the attack; Jessica was slightly behind me to my left. I was using the candlestick a bit like a sword, and their light was important in my defense. At one point I was lighting the candles from another candlestick. But the main defense was my voice. I was singing a powerful rousing song expressing positive life and being. But my voice was difficult to express and faltering. So I started to push the sound out forcefully, shouting out the song. I woke myself – or my wife woke me – because I was shouting loudly the words ‘Higher. Higher’, meaning I must make my voice higher and louder to push back the assault.
I got out of bed at this point to go to the toilet. Back in bed I let myself sink back into the mood of the dream to recapture it. At first I was still lost in the overwhelming feeling of being submerged by the creatures and the ‘evil’. I couldn’t find any sense of strength in myself to ward them off. In the past I have often had a sense of something in myself that can never be harmed by such creatures, but not this time. Then suddenly, as I was wondering where the power of transformation lay, Jessica was older, with sexual characteristics. Through this she related to me differently, causing a wonderful flow of positive feeling energy to move right through me from feet to head. This completely and effortlessly dissolved all the evil. I then was led to understand that the evil was the forces of life in myself, such a s the clear flow of sexual response I was feeling in connection with Jessica, which had become dammed, and had stopped flowing. This caused them to turn back upon themselves, upon me, creating the feeling of evil. The attempt to stop myself ageing is one of the causes of such evil.
Spontaneous response in entering the dream
I am entering this amazing room, so big and full of dusty things.
I feel I haven’t been lived in for a very long time. I have been empty for centuries. I am almost like the story of the Sleeping Beauty. I did exist. I went to sleep. I have been in a sort of a stasis for a long, long time. Also I have lots of things in me – who knows what they are – what is to be found in me?
The reason people have kept away from me is because I am haunted. Like the story of the Sleeping Beauty, unless you can find your way past the many briars that killed many princes, you can’t get to what’s there. Also this room is a younger part of me. There are much older parts underneath – deeper.
I have always been here. I have existed for a long long time. There is a way people have reached me in the past. They have used magic or ritual to get to me to find what treasures I might have. Many were unsuccessful. They were lost. They wandered. I am surrounded by a dark land. I am in a land of darkness. Many have wandered and been lost in the land of darkness. Nevertheless some found their way to me and even then they may not have succeeded in carrying away anything of value. Even if they did nothing is lost, because I am a magic place. I am an ancient and dangerous place. Tony does well to be afraid.
If I explain, if I tell you what I am – I am a palace. I was a wondrous palace. I am only a ruin of what I was. This building. This part of the building wasn’t a ballroom. It wasn’t an eating place. It was a place where certain things happened. It was a place where many people left things. They came here and they gathered and they left. It was a place of exchange. If you could bring something here, then you could take something away. Or you could take something away if you gave something.
There is an old story that has to do with how humans sold their souls. That is a degradation of what I am, what took place here. I am a place of exchange, not a place of selling. You would give something of yourself and gain something.
Strength makes some men weak. Some weakness makes some men strong. If I am to be entered, I can destroy strong men.
This is the story of the sleeping beauty. Jessica represents the sleeping womanhood in young females, that when it awakens is still innocent. It is still pure, and that is so rare in today’s world. Children are made old men and women so quickly with films and trying to live up to their peers. So the image of Jessica as a young girl shows her as still innocent. She becomes a woman. But she maintains her full flow of feelings, but it is not being put into images of particular sexuality. It still has its ideals and dreams.
The Seven Centres of Light
I relate to this with pleasure, with wonder, it is awake, but it is not doing anything. It is simply existing, and that is wonderful enough. And that calls up my flow of life – see old dream about calling up the sea creature with the jewel at its forehead.
I have got to light all the candles and keep them alight. They are the different centres in my body – the seven churches in the New Testament, the seven candles on the Jewish candlestick, the seven chakras in yoga. I must keep them alight and not let the influences of the world diminish them.
I am feeling that I do not need to do battle with those ‘evil’ forces. They are like dreams. They seem to have substance and so one reacts them, but they aren’t substance at all.
It feels as if something is happening in my forehead, as if my eyes are being transferred up onto my forehead. Or the ability to see is being transferred to my forehead. As if I need to learn to see again.
There followed a period in which I spontaneously talked in the ‘tongues’ as in SR or latihan. After each period of ‘tongues’ there followed a ‘translation’ of what I had said or what I was intending to say.
I am laughter. I am life. I love life.
I am waiting.
Finding my Kingdom
It feels as if the fantasy of the dream is continuing. It is as if a part of me is saying – wasn’t it myself I came to look for to face these feelings? In other words didn’t you face these feelings of evil and fear to find ME – or myself?
Didn’t you face death and madness for me? Isn’t it I that you love? Am I not yourself – who has been asleep these long years, these many centuries?
This is another story. This is the story of Kimberly I was trying to write awhile back. This is what I was trying to write.
I was the prince of this whole kingdom that is now in ruins.
In my pride – in my pride – I was ignorant. In my pride I was grasping for myself only. With all the power I had I wasn’t satisfied. In my pride I lost what was a jewel. A jewel that held the power to my kingdom. Without it I became powerless, blind, crippled.
This is all of the fairy stories. It is the story of Beauty and the Beast. You need to find innocent love, not grasping or jealous, possessive, and bending love. That is the jewel I lost. Without that you are locked in the dungeon of your body. Barred from that kingdom that you knew. Shut away in the senses only, the door closed and bolted.
I am asking forgiveness. To have lost something so precious. To not have valued it, but to have sought something other of no value, in order to control, to be in charge.
I am led by an inner voice to understand that there is nothing to forgive. One is ones own torment. One is punished by ones own acts. One locks oneself in a dungeon. And love comes searching for us. “Why have you left me?” it calls. “Why do you do this?”
All the dark things in the dream are the way one has tried to control life in oneself and the world. The ways one has bent and twisted things and made them ugly. The way one has tried to live ones life outside of everything. There is then a strange torment that one plays with oneself. It is the sense of inadequacy. So one will not allow oneself to have what is ones own. As if somehow you must earn it when it is already owned. It is as if one must atone. You don’t need to. You just need to say ‘I was wrong. I am sorry.’
This is my palace, such as it is, for I have neglected it. It is a dark place. But it can become light. It can become a place of wonder, a delight, a jewel, a place of light. The marvel of human creativity. The splendour of love and divinity married in human life.
Humility is the cornerstone of leading other people. I have spent a long time learning it. It took me many life-times to learn how to be happy. To recognise a truth. No matter how great we may become we are completely powerless and lost our life – if we become dead inside.
How Old am I
I am old. I am old – older than the pyramids.
In the past I was worshiped. I was a god. I was human but I was a god. I lived – I am not going to tell that story. It doesn’t need to be told. But in fact it is everyone’s story for we were all gods.
I am living a story at the moment that I need to live. It is the story of a blind man, of the memory of living in darkness.
My dream is a statement of events that are taking place inside of me. I discovered in my life a love that could take care of a child. I have learned to be a parent. I have learned to be a woman. I have learned to allow the child to emerge. I have learned not to grasp and crush. I have learned to recognise – in blindness I have learned these things. I already knew before I was blind. I had to stumble and fall and know what it was to be blind, and pay for the mistakes. I begged to have my sight given me. I begged. I grovelled. I pleaded. But there is nothing to plead with. There is only ones self. Who was I trying to convince?
I have found my way back to my kingdom. Its hugeness, its age, its history, its accomplishment. The kingdom is, this building is, or was, the palace of the kingdom. It was the palace of the kingdom. It still is but it is in darkness. It is haunted by all the memories that have gathered over the many years from the mistakes one has made, and pains one has injected into other lives. They are difficult to face. Difficult to acknowledge as ones own. It is easier to think of them as evil spirits. Things sent to kill and devour.
I have things I have set myself to do in this lifetime. I thought I would never manage it. I fell so many times. I have come to tell people some wisdom, some truths, I have found over many lives. I wish to share. I do not wish to confront. I am simply another pilgrim. There are countless of us – we are like the stars in the sky – countless. We are the seeds of something that lived and died. In dying it dropped its seeds. I understand this much. I am the seed of something I as yet cannot conceive of. I may not manage my growth. I may try and fail. But there are many seeds, and this story has already been told. Some fall along the wayside. They perish, because there are no certainties. There is nothing to assure us of discovering our potential. We have forever. There is no time except in our life.
My Siblings
There are giants amongst us who have grown to become unrecognisable to us. If I look up. If I dare look up, I can see those I am kin to. They are of another order of things. There are points of transition along the way. What we call Christ is only a fellow traveller, who has already been this way, who has already made this journey. If you could see this being, you would know this is your – sibling.
I have found my way to my kingdom. The kingdom is what we have created of ourselves over many life-times. It is a palace, or hovel, whatever we have made of ourselves. It is our kingdom, our history, our place of birth and light. I am facing those demons, and I have to claim, to claim what is mine.
Whatever I am, I am NOW. Whatever I can be I can move towards it now. Whatever I wish my life to become I can begin to create it now. I wish not to wait, not to look for that wonder, but to constantly draw on the wonder that I am – now. I am that wonder. I am that possibility. I am the Messiah. I am what has been waited for. I am the sparkling human being that can realise itself and say I AM.
Quantum Physics
I have collected several cuttings from various parts of my writings about quantum physics. They are a bit jumbled, and when I get time I will put them in order. But meanwhile I hope they give some idea of the enormity of the change that is suggested
To some, science is treated as a religion. But if treated in that way the specialist preaches a vein of beliefs without understanding the other branches of science. However, science and religions do not look at the big picture of the Universe or Nature, owing to the impact of poor education.
Quantum theory has put forward theorems that show how this might be feasible. Irish physicist John Stewart Bell put forward a quantum theorem that has revolutionised the way reality is considered. In brief, the theorem states that when two sub-microscopic particles are split and moved to a distance from each other, the action on, or of, particle ‘A’, is instantaneously reproduced with particle ‘B’. This interaction does not rely on any known link or communication and is considered to stand above normal physical laws of nature, as it is faster than light. Prior to such findings it was thought nothing could transcend the speed of light. This suggests that the fundamental particles of our body exist beyond time and space, and if a dream touches this level then it expresses a very different experience of time. Yet we still hear scientists talking about the boundary of the speed of light.
This difficulty in crossing the boundary of knowing into the unknown is a sort of general blindness most of us suffer. Considering that dreams portray a very different view of life in which this boundary often does not exist, we can say that dreams are a leap beyond our blindness into full supersensual life. In our dreams we can often see the meaning of life experiences we are failing to understand in waking; we can look ahead into what our attitudes and temperament are creating in our life; we can look deep into the workings of our body, and in general extend our senses and awareness beyond any known limits. See: Cayce, Edgar.
Many modern physicists, working with the information arising in experiments with quantum theory, tell us that our view of the world is based upon our blindness, and is very limited, and through its limitation, unreal. Yet this view we take to be the REAL universe. For instance we are only able to see a tiny fraction of the visible spectrum of light and as small amount of audible sound, so we are almost blind and deaf to the world around us. See The Real World
The physicist Bohm defines this problem by saying that there are two orders in our experience of the world around us. There is the “explicate” order and the “implicate” order of the physical universe. He defines the explicate order as the impressions of the world gained via our senses and the interpretations the brain places on these impressions. These impressions and the brain’s interpretations – based on millions of years of evolutionary experience and input – lead to a view that we each have separate minds in isolated bodies. The implicate order is the universe as it is when we move beyond the limitations of the senses and the brain’s evolutionary programs. Then we begin to see the universe as a single indivisible whole and ourselves as intricately part of that whole.
Bohm says that “if we don’t see this it’s because we are blinding ourselves to it.” He goes on to say that “If we don’t establish these absolute boundaries between minds, then it’s possible they could unite as one mind.”
Stanislav Grof, looking at this from another angle through witnessing thousands of LSD psychotherapy session in which he says: My 17 years of research into the non-ordinary states of consciousness induced by LSD and other psychedelics led to a revolutionary understanding of the human psyche. His research was the impetus behind a vastly expanded cartography of the unconscious, including two new realms still unacknowledged by official academic circles .
The theories underlying quantum mechanics are very similar. Some of the latest thinking in connection with physics states that a careful examination of the phenomena underlying the physical world suggests that we can never finally know what reality is. All we do is give a name or definition to an observable aspect of the phenomena, and in observing and naming it, in some way we create what we call reality. So the argument which surrounds dreams – do they have an innate meaning – may be relevant to every aspect of our daily life.
To quote Gary Zukav, ‘Quantum mechanics is the theory. It has explained everything from subatomic particles to transistors to stellar energy. It has never failed. It has no competition.’ The implications of the theorem are enormous. Something can be in two places at once. Apparently distant objects, or people, are intricately linked in an immediate way. There is no separate existence as we previously thought. Our view of the world is not one supported by the facts of physics. Time and space are transcended. David Bohm, an eminent physicist, goes as far as to say that all things in our observable universe are inextricable linked. Nothing has separate existence.
The fact that light is both a wave and a particle is astonishing enough. More astonishing is the fact that its nature changes according to the way we observe it. Regarding this Mansfield describes an experiment where one particle/wave is made to pass through a series of mirrors along different arms. A single particle/wave is called a photon. As the single photon is passing through the series of mirrors, the method of observing it and measuring it is altered. This means that on its entry into the system the photon is a wave, but when the method of observing is changed, the photon becomes a particle. The astounding thing is that not only does it become a particle from that point on, but its nature is also changed in the past.
This demonstrable fact faces our rational mind with a conundrum or paradox. To quote Mansfield, ‘Now here is a real conceptual knot. It seems that our choice at the last possible moment determines what light did in the past.’ Mansfield goes on to say that if we made the experiment more dramatic it illustrates the enormity of the findings. To do this he suggests that instead of thinking of light passing through mirrors directing the light in different directions (arms), we think of the light reaching us from the stars. He says ‘Let the arms be billions of light years in length. Then we have a billion or so years between the interaction with the half-silvered mirror and the full-silvered mirror (used in the experiment). This means that my decision today effects what light did a billion years ago! This is too weird even for physicists, noted for their playful imagination, to contemplate. How could my decision today influence the universe billions of years ago?’
Therefore, when examining the model of our mind, we need to leave space on one of the walls for a door. It needs to be a door that opens onto a different sort of universe than the one we may previously have felt to be solid reality. It is a universe that alters its appearance – no, its very nature – according to the way we observe it. Each question we ask of the universe, each attitude with which we approach it, each viewpoint we take, reveals to us a different universe. The universe is therefore not separated from us. We are intrinsically a part of it, and are participating in it. In some way the universe is constantly being created by us as participants. It seems as likely too, that the ‘we’ the participants are constantly being created by the universe. And the past is not set in concrete. In some mysterious way it is linked with what we do in the present.
We cannot yet say these revelations of science explain coincidences. However, they do point out that the universe is stranger than we previously believed. Therefore the coincidences you experience or hear about may hopefully be an anomaly opening a new door for you. It is a door that can reveal more of yourself, and more about the world around you. Coincidences are like the cartoon cat that runs to the edge of a precipice and carries on running without falling. Suddenly the rules of the world we are so sure are fundamental truths, are thrown into question. Like the worm-holes or the time-warps now common in films and television, coincidences allow us entrance into other dimensions of experience. See The Holographic Universe
The New Dream Dictionary
The New Dream Dictionary
On the 11th of April 2013 I published a revised version of The New Dream Dictionary. It is a much fuller and comprehensive book and is wonderful and full of information. It is not the Dream Dictionary Ultimate that I am in the middle of working on, but was produced for the US cell phones. Please note: The New Dream Dictionary is currently unavailable, pending re-working (June 2017)
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RECURRING DREAMS and their significance NIGHTMARES – what they reveal and how to banish them OUT OF BODY EXPERIENCES – Giving real insight into the subject RELATIONSHIPS – what your dreams are telling you PSYCHIC AND PROPHETIC DREAMS – Tells you what they are WORK – are you following the right career path? Your dreams will tell. FAMILY – how to resolve old hurts and gain new perspectives PROBLEM SOLVING – in your dreams – how to carry the solutions into real life GAINING INSIGHT – into your own behaviour and that of others MAXIMIZING HEALTH – recognize healing foods, danger signs and more. See what is happening in your body, in your mind, and in your most guarded self and intuitions…. Discover what your style of dreaming (color, smell, setting, and other key elements) say about you. It’s all here, and more, in the ultimate guide to your world of dreams. |
“I’ve been using Mr Crisp’s book for years and find it invaluable in my quest to understand my dreams better. Unlike many other books which seek to tell you what your dreams mean, Crisp guides you through interpreting your dreams as individual and personal stories about your own psyche.”
Agony
What feeling or decision, what responsibility or concern is tormenting you? Or does the dream suggest this is a physical pain? If so See: Illness.
Agony in your dream may be a sign either of something radically wrong in your body or in your inner feelings. If it is the first you need to arrange a physical check. If it is the second you need to arrange a situation in which you can talk out, explore and express the inner agony.
Useful Questions and Hints:
Am I aware of actual pain in my body while awake, and am I doing anything about it?
Does this agony depict a misery I am carrying inside me, and if so how can I allow it to be expressed?
What clues do I get from the dream about the source of the misery?
You can make great changes and healing by using Acting on Your Dream.
Struggle
For some people just to exist is a struggle. But there are so many struggles the dream might be pointing to. Struggling to earn enough; struggling for recognition; struggling to find and earn love; struggling against depression and despair; struggling against illness; struggling to find your way through the maze of life events; struggling to contain your anger about what happens around you or in front of you; struggling against the madness of some human actions; struggling to continue after the loss of a child or loved one; struggling to breathe; struggling to learn something – struggling.
What is your struggle?
You can find your way through such struggles.
See Recovery from a Life of Pain
Positions
Your stance or position in life; the way you are relating to what is depicted in the rest of the dream – or the way you feel you are relating to it.
above What is superior or has a wider view or possibility than your present standpoint; sense of inferiority in relationship to what is above us; what we strive for.
If we are standing above or high up: Having a wider viewpoint; being intellectual; feeling superior or in a position of advantage.
Idioms: Above all; above and beyond; above asking; above oneself; above board; above ones station; risen above oneself. See: high; hill; mountain; flying.
Useful Questions and Hints:
What are the abilities or achievements I feel good about?
What am I looking up to or reaching for?
What or who do I feel is above me?
adjacent/adjoining Suggests a strong connection with the dreamer, or what is wanted or being worked toward. For instance in Japan, rocks or trees that are close together are sometimes seen as married or linked. Dreams use the same sort of symbology to suggest a more than surface connection with someone or some aspect of life. There could also be the suggestion of confrontation or discovery – being near something in this case meaning that we can no longer escape meeting it, or it is near at hand in the sense of being discovered or experienced. The example below shows adjacent as depicting difficult feelings near at hand that the dreamer meets.
Example: I had a dream in which my best friend, her 4-year-old daughter, and myself were staying in this huge old, Victorian style house. My friend put her daughter to bed in another room, and we went in the adjoining room to watch a movie. My friend fell asleep and then all of the sudden, her daughter came screaming into the room, covered in blood. I didn’t actually see what happened, but I knew instantly that a crocodile had attacked her and bitten her legs off. I tried waking up her mother and I was holding her (the child) in my arms and crying. Then I woke up. The dream was so realistic, and when I awoke I was covered in sweat and shaking really bad. The dream upset me so much that I didn’t tell anyone about it. A week later, I found out two other friends had dreams in which this little girl was also attacked by a crocodile. What could this possibly mean? A.R.E. dream.
The dream suggests a close and perhaps psychic connection with the girl and her mother. See Possession
Useful Questions and Hints:
What or who am I feeling connected to or near at this time?
What is the influence of this connection?
behind The past; what you have chosen to or want to forget – left behind; what one is unaware of – as talk behind ones back; what has been learned or dealt with.
People behind dreamer: taking the lead in relationships; being decisive.
Idioms: Behind the scenes; behind the time; fall behind; put something behind me.
below Something you feel is ‘beneath you’; what is ‘below’ in the body – so the non intellectual or sexual aspects of self; something one can now look back on from a detached viewpoint. If below something else – see above.
Idioms: Beneath my contempt; It’s below my standards.
beside See: adjacent/adjoining above.
close Intimacy; being made aware of or having a fuller awareness of something or someone; what one feels connected with or has ties with; near to, in the sense of making a decision – near to leaving home; close to, as ‘close to finding the solution’; a situation that is near at hand or being confronted or realised now.
Idioms: At close quarters; close fisted; close on; close to home; that was close.
distant Barely conscious of; a long time off; something one does not identify with strongly.
in-front The future; what is seen and understood; what is being confronted.
Lying down or prostrate If Injured shows a possible psychological situation that has ‘floored you’. If resting you have given up your persona efforts, making way for new ideas or impulses to arrive. If in prostration it shows that you have recognised something bigger, more advanced or powerful than your personality, so you are opening yourself for something better to enter you.
Example: It was the Swami, whose photo I had seen at Exeter. He was sitting on the floor, as was everyone else, but in semi darkness, and partly covered in a coat or blanket. He looked at me, but seemed to sink into himself or the gloomy light. When I saw him I saluted him in complete prostrating, lying face down on the floor.
The interpretation he arrived at was that, “My love prostrated itself before the love of something holy. The love of what lifts ones spirit remains partly hidden, but through your surrender, this love will come to you.
opposite Meeting or ‘facing’ a situation; opposition or resistance to decided direction.
side Supportive feelings as ‘by ones side’; as well as; indication of choice as ‘what side are you on’ or ‘who’s on my side?’
Idioms: From all sides; let the side down; on every side; on the wrong side of thirty; on the right/wrong side; on the side; pass by on the other side; pick sides; put to one side; side by side; side with somebody; take sides; take to one side; the other side – death; safe side; bit on the side; seamy side. See: adjacent/adjoining above.
Move Movements
In general the quality of your movements in dreams depicts your feeling or mental state, your confidence or lack of it, your ability to make changes – move easily – or difficulty in facing change – paralysed. The quality or lack of it that you express in your life; what you are creating or ‘giving off’ in everyday life. But movement is always an expression of who you are, of your potential to achieve, to make changes, to ‘get somewhere’. So look to your feelings in the dream to define what it is of yourself that is being expressed, what of your potential is flowing or being denied.
If it is an object moving, it suggests the thing has direction, life, or purpose of some kind. In this case you need to understand what your relationship with it is in the dream. It might also refer to it attracting your attention.
Agility: Coping well with your situation; adaptability; mental quickness.
Easy flowing movement: Self acceptance and thus easy expression of oneself; feeling in harmony with emotions and sexuality.
Getting stuck, unable to move: Often being held back by anxiety or fears, such as fear of failure. See Life’s Little Secrets
Moving house: See house moving
Useful Questions and Hints:
Do I have any sense what my movement or posture expresses?
Am I aware of my body much or what I am saying through it?
Do I love moving or is it a chore?
See Body Postures – Use Body – Postures Movement and Body Language – Mind and Movement
Active Passive
We are in a passive role when we are an inactive observer in our dream, we are all the time on the receiving end of dream action, or as in the example below, make no effort to move from discomfort. If this occurs frequently in our dreams, we are probably passive in our waking life also.
Example: ‘I was in a house that I lived in many years ago, how I got there I do not know, but I saw myself sitting in an ordinary chair just behind the closed front street door. It was very quiet, and I was afraid, but I did not make any effort to move.’ Ms J.
This habitual passivity can gradually be changed by such techniques as active imagination. It is our own emotions, fears and sexuality we are meeting in our dreams, so it is wise to take charge of ones inner feelings rather than be a victim. The following dream illustrates an active dreamer. See: Secrets of Power Dreaming – Active Imagination – processing dreams.
Example: ‘As I walked toward a house a number of demons or devils came at me menacingly, trying to stop me getting near the house. Although they made all the ghostly noises I wasn’t at all afraid of them. I felt they were a damned nuisance, and to show them I meant business I grabbed one and with my right hand I gripped its flesh and squeezed. It started to squeak in pain and I squeezed harder.’ Clive J.
Example: I am on holiday, standing outside the hotel, at which I am staying. The day is lovely, warm and sunny. Across the road and to the right there is an old white house with a low, stone bridge leading away from it into the country. I turn, enter the hotel, but when I get to my room find my luggage has been removed and the room occupied by strangers who seem completely unaware of the situation and of me. I then go to the dining room which is full of people eating, enjoying themselves – I know no one and am left standing in the doorway, watching.
In the last example the woman is extremely passive in her response to other people taking over her room. Because a dream offers so many possibilities the woman could easily throw the people out or acted in a more aggressive manner; for dreams are created by you emotions, fears and also your courage or lack of it, so fear creates fearful or passive dreams. So you Cannot be hurt or die in your dreams.
Remember that dreams are like a computer game in which you can kill or be killed – feel it all – and come out of it unhurt unless you are still frightened. Fear is a great creator of awful dreams and you need to fight back.
In the ancient view of dreams recorded in the Atharva Veda, being active, or even actively aggressive, was seen as a positive sign, even if one was injured or mutilated as a result of one’s active stance. Whereas if the dreamer passively accepted injury in a dream this was seen as a negative implication. This was because it was felt that the active or passive stance within the dreams indicated a similar disposition during waking life. As the active person is generally more successful, the dream sign of an active disposition was seen as fortunate.
We are psychically always on one side or the other—tiger or fawn, destroyer or destroyed, taker or giver, object or subject, active or passive, creator or created. Here is the dichotomy of our fall from the greater self of primitive psyche into the forms of reality, the division of self and other. All our lives we try to achieve a balance of these contradictory opposites, and whether in our egos we succeed or fail, every function claimed by the ego is balanced by its opposite in the subconscious. Only in the fusion of infancy, or of sexual orgasm, or in religious ecstasy do we escape the psychic wound of division. See Stuck in life – unable to move and Avoid Being Victims
There is another side to this disposition of action or passivity though, where passivity has a positive connotation. So this must not be forgotten in regard to dreams and dream work, or in fact in connection with everyday life. This aspect of passive/active is described well by P. W. Martin in his book Experiment In Depth (Routledge and Kegan Paul 1964). In talking about working with active imagination he says, ‘One must be actively passive – active in giving over the energy, passive in observing. The outstanding characteristic of the true vision is its complete autonomy.’ This is a very important issue, as without the ability to control one’s reaction to one’s inner life, much of it will remain unavailable. If one is stuck in being constantly controlling one’s thoughts and emotions, in being a sort of powerful ‘in charge’ sort of person, then ones spontaneous inner life may never be able to emerge. Thus an ability to become passive is essential. But Martin calls it passive-active because it is a consciously decided passivity rather than an unconscious habit.
This holds true even while one is asleep and dreaming. I learned this lesson while hunting as a young man. For hours I had walked through woodland looking for a quarry but without sign of a single creature. Tiring I stood against a tree eating a sandwich. Slowly and magically the forest came to life around me, creatures walking and flying nearby unafraid while I remained quiet.
This powerful control of ones own activity in an open and receptive state is the key to the doorway of the living ‘creatures’ and personalities of our dreams – to the unfolding of innate qualities that would not otherwise be able to break through the threshold of consciousness and become known. Without being able to become passive in the sense of not interfering, the spontaneous emergence of unconscious vision and content cannot occur. The examples given in active imagination and dreams shown how this is used in actually meeting unconscious content – alsp see Opening to Life.
Postures Movement and Body Language
Even in everyday life, the way we hold and position our body, the inclination of chest and head, the movement of hands, are a means of communication. The apparently intuitive information in some dreams, when investigated, can be traced to an unconscious insight into the language of the living body. We all have this ability to understand body language, but it seems to be something that is inherited from our ancient forebears, perhaps developed to an intense degree as a survival need prior to the growth of verbal language. It therefore remains a largely unconscious ability. In our dreams, however, it is a major factor in how the dream is structured.
If you cannot find a satisfying description below, imagine yourself making the movement or posture in the dream to see if you can define what the feeling quality is, or what you are expressing non verbally. It can often be of value to make the movement or take up the posture physically instead of in imagination. By comparing the movement/posture with another one, it can help to clarify its quality. See: body postures.
Example: ‘Marilyn was experiencing emotional pain connected with her impending divorce. She had dreamt of seeing a dinosaur standing in her path, devouring all who approached it. We explored it by having Marilyn find a body posture and movements that for her expressed the feeling of the dinosaur. In doing so Marilyn did not sense anger or aggression as she expected, but she did feel like a predator that always had to TAKE to gain her own needs. This feeling immediately reminded her of her family life as a child. She remembered when she was sent shopping as a very young child of three or four, as well as buying what she had been asked, she purchased some sweets for herself. When she arrived home she was treated as if she had done a terrible thing, and that was where she began to feel like a predator. It seemed to her as if her own needs were always gained at the expense of someone else.
With this awareness, she could now see that the dinosaur standing in her path clearly related to her present situation. Bargaining to gain a realistic share of the house and property jointly owned by her husband and herself, felt to her as if she were gaining her needs at his expense, like a predator. That made her feel so awful, she was almost ready to allow her husband to take all, leaving her without house or money to start again. Her awareness of where the feelings arose from, and the unrealistic part they played in her life, allowed her to relate to the situation with less pain and more wisdom.’ From Mind and Movement, Tony Crisp, Daniel.
crawl If you are an adult, crawling can suggest feelings of caution, feeling your way, or regression to a more childlike state. It might also be because you feel there is no room to “stand up” – or that you feel vulnerable.
carrying See: carry.
jump Jumping to: Daring; taking a risk; sometimes connected with flying. It can also connect with a change.
Jumping to avoid: Feeling of threat; anxiety; evasion tactics.
Jumping off: Getting out of a situation, or changing your situation. Children do this as a form or daring to see if they can face their fear.
Jumping down: This depends on the feelings attached to the action. If you are jumping down to something slightly lower, this may relate to something that needs a small effort to reach or get to, something that you want to do or achieve, but causes a slight hesitation and a change or slight risk, such as when you approach someone and feel anxious, or are starting a new job. If you jump from a high place and there is anxiety attached, then it suggests you are taking a risk, or are uncertain of an outcome in regard to something you are doing or facing. It is therefore helpful to ask yourself what you are doing that leads to feelings of anxiety, or what changes you are making that you are uncertain about.
Jumping over: There is a suggestion here of making an effort to avoid something or to overcome an obstacle. Or is there a feeling in the dream of wanting to reach someone or something?
Jumping at dreamer: Unexpected; irritations.
Idioms: One jump ahead; the high jump; jump at; running jump at yourself; jumping down ones throat; jumping off place; jump out of ones skin; jump the gun; jump the queue; jump to it; jump on the bandwagon; jump to conclusion.
kneel Humility; acknowledgement of dependence or co-operation; sense of awe; defeat.
prone Relaxation; letting go of activity; introversion; sex. Or: Retreat from the world; feeling injured; afraid to stand up for oneself; non involvement; negative introversion; weakness; death.
Idioms: Lie low; lie at ones door; lie in wait; take it lying down. See: squatting down and standing below.
rising Usually suggests an improvement of some sort – a change from inactivity to activity or engagement.
run/running Exuberance; flowing life energy; strong and easy motivation. One can run to or run away, so it is important in some dreams to define which one it is. Also it is important to define if you are running to get somewhere, to reach a goal, or simply running as an expression of exuberance, or to get fit.
Running away: Avoiding something; trying to get away from something, ones own emotions or sexuality for instance; not meeting problems in a way that will resolve them; anxiety about what you are running from; feelings of guilt.
Running to: Trying to reach a goal; energetic attempt to reach a goal; anxiety; responsibility and self-giving; sometimes running toward danger.
Running with great pleasure: The unhindered flow of your innate self; an expression of the person you can be if the blockages and hesitations are dropped away.
Running without knowing why: Uncertainty; lack of clarity about what you are feeling or expressing – where you are going to or from.
As if made of lead: Held back by ones own hesitations. See: paralysis under body.
Example: ‘There followed a nightmare of running along streets, round corners, knowing I was being followed and trying to get away. Then I met a friend who was also running away. She took me down a narrow street full of down and outs and prostitutes.’ Pauline B.
Idioms: Run for ones money; run of the house; out of the running; on the run; run along; run down; run for it; run out of steam; run out on someone; run up against; run wild. See: chased; second example in emotion and mood; nightmares; processing dreams question 7. See also: lucidity.
sit Ones situation at time of dream; status, depending where one is sitting; being relaxed; inactive waiting.
Sitting up: Becoming more involved.
Idioms: Sit back; sit for; sit in on something; sit on; sit out; sit something out; sit tight; sit at someone’s feet; sit in judgement; sitting target; sit on the fence.
squatting down and standing The down expresses: Sleep; rest; withdrawal; non involvement. Idioms: Feel down; down and out; do someone down; down at heel; down hearted; down with. See: prone above.
The standing position: Your involvement in the exterior world of change, opposites, and needs that require expenditure of effort; being involved or active in the world or with others; your ‘standing’ in society; what one ‘stands’ for; being active; confrontation; co-operation with others.
If you are standing on something like a ledge or a plank, this represents the things that give you support. For instance you might the confident about dealing with individuals, but anxious when dealing with a group. The feelings or attitudes underlying the confidence or insecurity are represented by what you are standing on in your dream.
Idioms: Know where one stands; left standing; make a stand against; stand alone; stand aside; stand by; stand corrected; stand down; stand firm; stand in someone’s way; stand up for; stand up to; stand ones ground; stand on ceremony or dignity.
turn A change; making a new decision.
walk Motivation and confidence. Where you are walking is what you are meeting in life, or where you are going or exploring. It also involves personal effort in trying to get somewhere. It can be about changing your relationship with things, or a period of experience you are passing through.
Walking up a lane: As above, but may be memory lane.
Idioms: Walk over somebody; walk away with; walk off with; walk on air; walk tall; walk the streets; walk out on; walk out with.