CALLING ALL DREAMERS
I have recorded my dreams for the last 61 days in a row. It is January 30, 2015.
I have recalled every day in December 2014, plus the first month of 2015. I originally wanted to get just the first month to see how many I could catch. I got more than I asked for. So now I’m looking to get 110 days straight just to see what happens, what kind of patterns open up, what I can uncover. I will use as much discretion as necessary to guard my family and friends in the interpretations, scenes, situations and privacy; yet I will lay it out for this audience as clearly as possible. But I need your help.
In evaluating these dreams I will be putting my personal life situation on display. I know what dreams can reveal and what is going on in my life from an objective point of view, but to subjectively look at the symbolic aspects of these will open new doors that I need to open but until now have kept closed. So I want you, YOU, Your Own Universe to ask questions, give insights, ideas, feedback on what you see in what I’m reflecting through these evaluations.
I started this process a few years ago and titled it “1100 Dreams in 110 Days.” I never got them all down and aborted it too soon to even get 100 dreams. I feel that was reaching too high, but what I’m seeing is the same cycle reappearing in my ability to recall, remember and record them. My clarity is better, details fuller, numbers greater, insights clearer.
In doing this, I’ll be able to help others, YOU, to work through your dreams. I’ll give you tips on methods for recording, books for evaluations, references from Jung’s The Red Book, as well as the things I’m finding in working on my own life. I will often use mandalas as Jung did, to add initial symbolism. But I will not be drawing them myself, as he did.
EVERYTHING IN BLACK AND WHITE
The first dream is December 1, 2014 The green is the interpretation, the white, the dream. The green highlighted words are my symbols. The italicized text, the insights from “I HAD THE STRANGEST DREAM…The Dreamer’s Dictionary for the 21st Century.” by Kelly Sullivan Walden; and the personal interpretation, my own evaluations. I am posting in segments, so if you come back you will see additional information that may have not been there previously.
SWIM LOCKER
I am with K. in the hallway of a swimming pool area. There are other people in the hallway but we’re getting our clothes and other things together. I am ready to leave but K. makes me realize I have nothing out of my inside locker.
hallway: Dreams of a hallway signify that you are on the verge of stepping into a whole new space, because the hallway is the transition place between where you’ve been and where you are going. You are preparing for change, gearing up for a life-altering occurrence.
I have recently been working on publishing my works, that I’ve kept for years, unpublished. In December I published my third book in 3 months time. This is definitely a turning point, away from fear and keeping things hidden.
swimming: Dreams of swimming symbolize an ability to meet your emotional needs and your unconscious desires. You are navigating through your feelings, exploring your soulful depths, reveling in your sexuality, and /or daring to understand the mysteries of your feminine side.
If feminine side has to do with emotions, then yes, I am getting more in touch with them. Obviously, it’s been a great desire to do the work I was meant to do as a writer, and at 58, it’s time I began.
pool: Dreams of a pool represent your depth; your inner pool of wisdom. If you are taking a swim in a pool, then you are allowing yourself to be immersed in your fantasy world, intuition, and spiritual and sensual essences.
I feel I have a great depth of wisdom from my many, many experiences and life situations. I feel by writing I am diving into those depths; but from the hallway, just preparing for the jump. I have to get my things in order first, my manuscripts, my vehicles for distribution. I’ve lived in this fantasy, I know its power, but have been reluctant to share with an audience. Perhaps this dream journal will be my baptism.
clothes: The clothes you wear in your dream are always a statement about your feelings, attitudes, and position in life.
I did not see my clothes, only that I had to gather them up; which says I have many personas as a writer and what I’ll be wearing will be determined by who and what I desire to project that day.
locker: Dreams of a lock, a locked box, a locker, a locked door, or a locked treasure chest symbolize both virginity and a real or imagined need for secrecy and privacy.
It’s funny, but when I looked for an image for this post, I was looking at “boxes of treasures”; only to end up with the mandala, which is an opening rather than a closed secret. I chose this one specifically for it being black and white. It’s up to me to add the color. My locker happens to be my years of notebooks, journals, stories, poems, fantasies, erotica, screenplays, all the things I’ve written but have not put out to the universe. The fact that I’m getting things from my locker, rather than putting them away, means that I’m ready to open those treasures, to get them out of hiding. Like clothes, the stories are the things I’ve worn as a cover-up, all my life.
I go in to get my stuff. I thought we were the last session for the evening but then I see a new group come in for another swim session.
evening/night: If you dream of nighttime, then your unconscious desires and the shadow aspects of your life are expressing and revealing themselves.
This is when I, and I presume most writers, get their best work done, when it is quiet and dark. It is also my last chance, my last career, the evening of my life; though I didn’t respect myself enough, or have enough confidence in myself to pursue when I started out, I can still swim in the pool of life. I ain’t dead yet!
group: Dreams of a group denote a power and energy that is much stronger than that of an individual. If you are part of a group, you will feel strengthened, empowered, and supported.
That’s why I’m calling on you, dear readers; you are my group, the incoming new session, to witness, support, celebrate, embrace and enjoy the ride with me. My audience, my peers, my colleagues, my fellow authors, dreamers, believers – the strength of my pursuits rely on the strength of my tribe. YOU. Your Own Universe. Welcome to my world of dreams.
A young mother helps her crippled son get dressed. She is pulling on the counter for leverage. She is blonde and thin. I walk right past her to my locker.
mother: In general, dreams of a mother, or of your mother, are about unconditional love, spirit, life, protection, nurturing or the lack thereof. Consider if you feel that your most tender feelings are being taken care of and nurtured adequately.
My mother was probably the number one influence in my love of writing, reading, books, stories, movies, and dressing correctly. She made me feel special about all these things. She made a big thing of my appearance and when I looked my best, made me feel even better by proclaiming loudly how handsome I was. Her handwriting was beautiful, artistic, treasured. That she was blond and thin, portrays me as a young boy, blond and thin. I feel she is with me in knowing that I should have been writing all along. My wife is my present, greatest supporter.
crippled: Dreams of being crippled or seeing someone who is crippled signify injured emotions, and that you are relating to yourself as your wounds, as opposed relating to yourself as a whole and complete being. Perhaps you are suppressing your self-expression and feeling a sense of diminished self-worth. Consider the area of the body that you dreamed was crippled. …If you dream that you don’t have legs, then the dream reflects that you don’t have a leg to stand on, that you are releasing your feeling of powerlessness and insecurity.
Wow, this is big. I’ve always seen my legs as my weakness. As a bodybuilder, my knock-knees are ugly, atrocious, the reason I will not, to this day, wear shorts. I was teased endlessly about them as a boy, despite being strong and fast and an agile athlete of every sport. I was, “grasshopper knees… Knute-Knock-Knee…cow’s knees, …4 knees …” My legs were legs only a mother could love. She feared I would have polio, as my cousin did, born in the same year; and I was always reminded of that, “you could have had polio! You’re lucky!” Maybe it’s time to just get over it. It’s symbolic of my “legs”, my ability to move through life, and I’m crippled by not honoring my vocation, my calling, and still trying to change heredity by working out as hard as I did as a teen to try to change them. So I feel it’s right on with not feeling whole.
son: A dream of a son might also represent the “young boy/man” archetype within you, vulnerability, bravado, and an “I don’t care” attitude that masks insecurity.
This whole mother/crippled son scenario may be the Peter Pan syndrome, of not wanting to grow up, be an author, writer, publisher, learning what it takes to be all these things so I can be in charge of my life, as I’m supposed to be. To stand on my own. I’ve always felt taken care of, like every job, every employer was crucial to my welfare; rather than being able to provide for myself and my family without an outside dependence, therefore always feeling insecure. I tiptoed around everyone, not stating my mind, afraid to be reprimanded or outcast for an opinion that wasn’t patronizing to my superiors, and even my wife; of being the good boy, the obedient, listening child, safe in the comfort of someone else’s care. Always editing my thoughts, my writing, my ideas so as to not rock the boat. But as a result, sacrificing authenticity.
dressed/dressing: Dreams of dressing signify that you are suiting up and showing up in life, preparing to present yourself in a way that represents the image you show to the world. You are covering up your nakedness and authentivcitywith a socially acceptable exterior. If you dream of getting “dressed up,” then you are preparing yourself energetically to make an impression.
Though it’s not me getting dressed, the boy is being prepared to go outside. What a woman is doing in the men’s locker room, never occurred to me, but I feel it’s definitely my feminine side saying it’s time to suit up, drop the facade, deal with your emotions, hurts, limitations, and get going. The counter for leverage is all the things I’ve shelved all these years. My content is my treasure. I’ve got something to lean on, to support me, despite feeling crippled. And I have love.
blond/Blond Hair: Dreams of blond or fair-colored hair symbolize naïveté, innocence, youth, being an “air head” or angelic. They may be suggesting that it is time for a change. Don’t take things so seriously and have some fun.
Yes, time for a change. I am in the youth of a new career, and I can relax and not worry about its outcome by not attaching so much weight to it. I knew as a child, that little, thin blond kid, that I wanted to be a writer, a poet, someone who entertains with my wit, wisdom and ability to tell a story. I loved to make people laugh, to entertain with song and dance; and yet I’ve lived my whole life to this point, hiding my light under a basket.
I put my stuff on the counter and see someone has left me a large Hershey chocolate bar, but it’s broken in half with the paper gone. I feel Dr. has left it for me. There is also an electronics article by it, a radio perhaps.
chocolate: Dreams of chocolate symbolize a reward for good work and possibly a substitute or metaphor for love. Something sweet is coming your way.
This doctor was a former client of mine and just recently said she missed our training sessions, that she was with another trainer and missed me; out of the blue. I don’t know if it was before or after this dream. Chocolate is also one of my favorite vices, dark, daily. The fact that it’s good for me and coming from a Dr. means what I’m doing is right, beneficial, for the good of the people. I also get and give a certain love to my clients, because I’m genuinely concerned with their welfare. The fact that it’s uncovered tells me it’s time to uncover my own goodness, to bare my sweetness.
broken: Dreams of something being broken signify that you are feeling fragile and vulnerable, and that you are at the end of a cycle. Keep in mind that the places within you that have been broken, when repaired, become the places of your greatest strength and wisdom.
Yes, I am fragile, vulnerable, open, like all writers who expose themselves by baring their souls. But it’s about time. By finding this, admitting it, and moving beyond it will make me stronger. My heart has been brutally hurt, many times over. My pride, my esteem, my beliefs, my dignity, have all been broken more than once; and this is the material in which I can build my career as a writer, upon these broken experiences and their lessons.
doctor: Dreams of a doctor represent your intuition, wisdom, and the aspect of yourself that diagnoses your ailments, makes you better, puts on an emotional band-aid, and gives you the medicine you need.
It’s as simple as a chocolate kiss, everything will be better. “Just a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down…” Thanks Doc.
radio: Dreams of a radio symbolize your mind’ s ability to transmit thoughts, ideas, and information beyond your five senses. They could be giving you a sense of the wavelength, thought, feeling and vibration on which you’ve been resonating.
As I began this post, I had not looked at any of the meanings, nor examined the dreams at any length other than to record them. I am amazed at what this initial dream has wrought. I am blown away actually. I know I am on the right path, I felt my intuition knew this project would be huge, but fun, entertaining to others, insightful, helpful and most of all, beneficial to me on a level I’d never expected. This radio confirms that I have a message/messages, that must go out, be heard, seen, read, shared. The time is prime for me to make this change in my life. I have this invisible support network and now I’m sending out this signal to everyone that I want to be heard, to help, to share and assist to the best of my ability, with the tools and talents I’ve been given.
I am not soliciting any services. It costs nothing to join in these discussions, to ask questions, to compare notes, to ask for support, insights and directions. I am looking for DREAMERS, people who look to their nightly interludes for the answers to who, what and how they should be.
DreamTom 