Terms for letter: T
The letter "T" can be associated with crossroads or impending changes. It can symbolize difficult communication or the idea of speaking the truth. The crossing of the letter "T" is often used in handwriting analysis, and can have a message about what makes you unique or exploring talents and gifts. You may be facing a situation in which you must choose between the idea of going right (associated with conforming) or going left (taking the road less traveled.)
Since we use expressions about putting something 'out on the table' as a way of being out in the open - the table can represent being forthright in communication. It can also show the part of you that you are displaying to others, where items on a table can represent aspects you consider important. See Furniture.
The seamstress and tailor mend clothing and work to make your outer covering more specific to your unique body or shape. Since clothing represents your Persona or costume you wear in public, dreaming of the seamstress or tailor can show how you are working to bring forward a more authentic way of interacting with others. These characters show the activation of new potentials as you change your career or become less concerned with conformity and more concerned with getting a 'good fit' in life.
The issues surrounding these characters will portray where you stand in relation to donning a new persona, which is more reflective of the person you really are. Sewing and mending specific pieces of clothing is a way of exploring making changes to the area of life associated with the garment. Shoes and socks represent self-direction and the path; the shirt can represent responsibility, while pants are a symbol of how you provide for yourself. If a coat or jacket is being mended, you are exploring the 'protective covering' that may be keeping you from full participation with life. When the seamstress and tailor appear in your dream, you have activated some type of change that will allow for easier expression of your full capabilities. See also Clothing.
When a dream focuses on taking or holding something, the message is to explore how you are going about getting what you need in life. Something stolen can signify one area of your life that is diminishing another, by focusing too heavily on one aspect of life. The symbol that is taken either by you or others should be explored to understand what it represents that is not being fulfilled or finding expression. See Grasp and Burglar.
Information is conveyed through dreams in many ways. Just as you are moved by the words of others, in dreams the person sharing information with you can be viewed as another aspect of yourself bringing light to something you may not recognize. When specific words are mentioned in a dream, it is important to write them down. Often there are profound clues about something you are grappling with and the way 'through' the difficulty is often shared in this way. If the dream concentrates on not talking or silence, it can be a message about increasing your ability to listen, or exploring a situation objectively without classifying it in terms of the past. See also Answer.
This fixture allows you to turn the flow of water - which relates to emotion - on and off. To dream of a faucet suggests that you are exploring how to turn emotions either on or off. In a new relationship, you may be trying to overcome feelings of jealousy and possessiveness, or are being forced to subdue your real feelings. A situation may be forcing you to control your emotions and the issues surrounding the faucet will describe whether this is healthy. Chances are, if you are dreaming of a faucet. a new situation is breaking down your defenses so your real feelings can flow.
Observing the intricacy of a woven fabric can portray your sense of exploring how things are connected. This type of dream can be a message about slowing down to observe the little things that can give you a greater sense of value in life. See also Seamstress and Tailor.
Taste can symbolize your values and also, the desire to deepen your sensory relationship to life. You can have a ‘nasty taste in your mouth’ over a difficult encounter or you can long to ‘taste’ something fulfilling. This can also be a way of exploring your ‘tastes’ or values. Since taste is a sensory experience, dreaming of it can represent your need for greater fulfillment in what you are doing. Tasting is not eating and therefore you may be just sampling various ways of having your needs met. See Food.
Like the label, having a tattoo is clear way of advertising your character. Even if you would not have a tattoo in real life, dreaming of having a tattoo shows how you are ‘wearing something on your shirtsleeve.’ The symbol or design and the part of the body that is tattooed can portray information about the side of you that requires expression and acknowledgement.
Taking a taxi is a less intimate way of ‘hitching a ride’ forward, when autonomy is being explored. This is not the case of being ‘driven’ by a spouse, family member or acquaintance (suggesting their influences on your direction,) but a stranger or unknown aspect of you. The cab driver as a character might be given consideration as an unknown part of your nature that is driving you forward. Taking a taxi that is yellow can signify a pause or taking time out as you look for new direction or assistance from others.
The teacher delivers educational information in an effort to enlighten you. Dreaming of being in a learning setting shows how you are currently learning something new or approaching a new level of awareness. Oftentimes the Teacher represents the activation of the intuitive self or Guide. Sometimes the teacher may represent a side of you that ‘thinks you have all the answers’ and continues to operate on ‘rote’ or routine. If the teacher offers you words of wisdom, then some aspect is coming forward as a guide. Even if you are not open to the teaching, you will see how this Archetype operates patiently. See also School.
Since dreams usually reveal the exact opposite of what you believe to be true about yourself, dreams of crying or seeing someone crying is showing the emotion of sadness in its unexpressed form within you. The dream symbolism may be such that it would not normally bring you to tears, and yet, you awaken somewhat sad or perplexed. This is the psyche’s way of exploring unrecognized feelings or pain. Explore whether sadness is an issue unaddressed.
Another character crying portrays unacknowledged suffering in terms of the characteristics that you might associate with them. What adjective would you use to describe them? How do they symbolize an aspect of you? Why would this aspect be suffering? Consider whether there is in fact something that you are not expressing because you are keeping a “stiff upper lip.”
Losing Teeth is a common dream that occurs at monumental points in life. Just as you lose your baby teeth as a child, wisdom teeth as an adolescent and perhaps all of your teeth when you are old, teeth are associated with letting go of old ways of ‘chewing on things.’ The way that you approached situations in the past will no longer do. Teeth can also represent credibility. As you smile, you may suddenly look stupid because your teeth are missing. This demonstrates how losing teeth can be an aspect of the Trickster, or transformative power, humorously tricking you toward authentic behavior. About to say ‘the same old thing,’ you can only mumble because your mouth is suddenly full of your own teeth. Whatever you were about to say would not be considered the truth. Teeth can also be associated with Animals, and can portray natural feelings of sex and passion that need to be brought to the surface. See also Trickster.
The telephone is a more focused representation of the sharing of words and ideas. Like Talking, having this information conveyed over a telephone can portray either the need to recognize the importance of what is being said or your ‘distance’ from acknowledging the information as being relevant to you. A landline especially, allows you to trace how 'wires can get crossed' or how assumptions require clear communication.
All phones are a symbol of how various aspects of the psyche seek to communicate with you. The person who calls you should be considered in terms of the adjective you would use to describe them - they can be representing a side of you seeking expression. The message that they share with you should also be considered as a message that may be coming from the Higher Self.
To see something happening on television or in a movie shows how you have not yet integrated or accepted it. What is it that is playing on tv, and how is it portraying an aspect of you? Whatever is playing on the t.v might be new information that you are exploring objectively. The television acts as an 'alternate reality' where the idea is making its way into consciousness. Many people who lose a loved one will dream of seeing them on t.v. as the first steps in dealing with and accepting the loss. See Advertisement.
When the temperature becomes a subject of a dream, it can portray ‘cooling off’ in an emotional situation, or ‘heating up’ as your passions are ignited. Sometimes as the ‘atmosphere’ changes you may dream of changing body temperature. In either case, the message is the same. If the environment seems cold and wintery, the message can be about being aloof or detached, non committal and avoiding intimacy. If the atmosphere is hot, the message can be about getting in over your head or not acknowledging your passions. A fiery setting in a dream shows a type of passion, anger or feeling that is not being expressed by day. See also Landscape and Scenery.
Ten has associations with arrival and satisfaction in life. It can represent self fulfillment, combining the idea of one (self-sufficiency) and zero (infinity and wholeness.) Ten symbolizes our greatest goals and desire to achieve social acclaim. Ten can be a threshold or plateau before we embark in a new direction. See Numbers.
Dreaming of taking a test or exam can have several messages. On one hand, you may dream of returning to school if your current situation poses a challenge that needs to be solved. The message would be to remember that life is a learning experience and that you are still growing. You may have shut down the idea of growth and learning in some way - holding to rigid thinking. Taking a test can symbolize a sense of feeling tested currently.
Taking a quiz or exam in a dream can be a type of initiation to examine whether your beliefs are serving you in a productive way. If you are late for the test and therefore fail, your own insecurities are undermining your ability for success. A person doesn't succeed in life if they believe they will fail. Failure is a prerequisite for success. All accomplishments are achieved after a series of trials that include missing the mark. If you have suddenly forgotten what the material is about, you are being given the opportunity to let your old way of thinking go.
Being quizzed by an unusual character can also be the activation of the Trickster archetype. You are tripped up in your inconsistencies of thought, so that you can start with a fresh perspective. The quiz measures what you know - and sometimes it is better not to know so that you can discover.
Dreams of tests and exams often remind you that life cannot be learned through answers but through experience. Your thought patterns may have become a card catalogue file over time - these types of anxiety dreams are helping you to loosen rigid thinking so that you can grow and continue to be fulfilled. If you are supposed to be in a class and cannot find it, or are late, you may feel insecure about where you are in terms of life stages. The idea that you should be in class underscores learning - perhaps you are dismissing a situation that is meant to teach you something.
Messages that come over the phone are a symbol of how various aspects of the psyche seek to communicate with you. The person who is texting you should be considered in terms of the adjective you would use to describe them - they can be representing a side of you seeking expression. The message that they share with you should also be considered as a message that may be coming from the Higher Self. If you are reading the text of a book, you may be going through a type of change that is allowing you to explore the past objectively. See also Abbreviations.
To dream of something ‘Frozen’ shows an area of the psyche that is inanimate or 'kept on ice' from a sense of coldness. When you dream of something thawing you are examine old (perhaps painful) feelings and allowing new life to flourish where coldness and distance used to exist.
Being at the theater in a dream allows you to examine your behavior objectively. Whatever is transpiring on the stage or in the movie is allowing you to examine how you are currently 'acting.' Exploring thoughts and behavior in this manner can be the psyche's way of communicating to you beyond your usual defenses. See also Audience.
If you are dreaming of another character stealing something, you might explore how some aspect of you is forced to operate 'in the dark' to get its needs met. Rather than take what you deserve from life, you may be forced to sneak around to get your needs met. Explore the character that is stealing and the symbol stolen for more information about what you are denying to yourself in terms of greater fulfillment. See Shadow and Intruder under Archetypes and Universal Characters.
Unlike Food, which symbolizes how you find nourishment in what you do, liquid refreshments generally portray emotional needs. Being thirsty can portray how you are recognizing the need to allow your emotions to fulfill you.
The idea of seeing numerous quantities of anything shows not only the power it holds over you, but its intricacies that feel beyond your control to deal with. Dreaming of large quantities can be a way of recognizing your place within the larger scheme of things.
A dream that focuses on the number three is exploring integration or a triangle situation where one aspect needs to be let go of to achieve balance. See Numbers.
A dream that focuses on the throat can be exploring difficult communication. Something may be 'hard to swallow' or words can be 'caught in your throat.' The throat is a part of the body that makes you vulnerable - so dreaming of a throat can represent 'sticking your neck out' in a way that puts your credibility on the line. To dream of a cut on the throat can symbolize tendencies that might be called 'cut throat' or underhanded. Finally, seeing the throat cut in a way that a head topples, shows the release of outworn ideas associated with the person who's head comes off. Losing one's head is also another way of exploring fanatical behavior. See Swallowing and Anatomy and Body Parts.
Hearing thunder in a dream can portray how you are recognizing an ‘imbalance in the atmosphere.’ The threat of rain can suggest how you are holding back emotions that need to be released. Since it is associated with sound, thunder can be offering a message about listening or paying closer attention to your feelings.
A tiger is a symbol of non-conformity and the free expression of passion. It can symbolize unrestrained anger or an outburst that occurs during the day and then appears to 'come out the woods' to bite you when you dream. The message teaches you to process anger and not hold it in. See Teeth and Animals.
The setting and hour of a dream provides details about how you are currently feeling and interacting in life. Something occurring in daytime suggests ideas already in consciousness. A dream occurring in the night is exploring ideas not yet in consciousness. You may require a light to bring what is in the dark (hidden/unrecognized) into the ‘light’ of consciousness.. Morning can suggest a rebirth or embarking in a new direction. Noon has associations with midlife and turning points. Evening can show the end of difficulty or the sense that a chapter is ending. You can understand the hours as a snapshot of life stages. Being late can represent feeling that you are ‘running behind’ in what you thought you might achieve at this point in your life.
To dream of something described as tipping shows an imbalance that is not natural. For example a house that is tipping can show how you are giving too much consideration to only one aspect of life, as in caring too much what others think of you. A building would have a similar meaning that is tied more to work. Anything that is tipping will eventually succumb to the force of gravity that reveals shoddy construction. You may have built the 'foundation of your beliefs' in a way that cannot support your success. See also Abnormal.
Like the Shoe that brings a high level of focus to how you find your way forward, the tire can represent how your motivation and life experiences are leading you forward. Inspecting tires on a car can symbolize making changes in a career, while a flat tire can suggest insecurities about your ability to succeed. You may not feel the inspiration or competence necessary to make the transition. The roundness of this symbol has associations with harmony and balance. Used as a symbol of motivation, it can also tie in the idea of being tired or unfulfilled. Tires separate us from feeling the effects of the road we travel, and can personify feeling disconnected from what you are doing or where you are going. If the tires are unusual in some way, explore whether there may be a message or clue about how you can feel successful and fulfilled by doing something different. See Vehicles and Places of Transportation.
The bathroom is a room where you ‘come clean’ when you feel dirty, and is often the setting of a dream when you need to 'release' something you are holding, reflecting your inability to make a necessary change. When you reveal your intimate side in a situation, you may find your dreams taking place in the bathroom. Of all the rooms you dream about, the bathroom shows your desire to see yourself honestly, without the need to cover up your feelings. During difficult transitions, the bathroom often becomes a symbol of the need to 'get naked' or face the truth. Sometimes urinating when the walls are missing, coincides with entering social situations where you felt forced to reveal yourself to others. The toilet is often a symbol of the release of emotions. Searching for somewhere 'to relieve yourself' can show holding onto feelings or the desire to be more free in your expression. See rooms under Houses and also, the Trickster.
Weapons and tools represent what you hold in your hand to express, feed, defend or build something. Cutting tools symbolize cutting through restraints or to shape something new from the old. Scissors combine the motion of grasping and letting go with the idea of cutting to symbolize ‘cutting away’ what binds you. The hammer allows you to ‘nail something’ of get it right, while you may also be pounding out your frustration. A sword can be sexual, although a sword or knife can suggest defensive tendencies or cutting through illusion to see the truth. A fork can represent the ability to gain fulfillment, but can also suggest a ‘fork in the road’ or choice. Artistic tools are associated with creativity and any item that is held in the hand will have an association with self-creation. A pen and pencil carry the idea of communication, while the pen can signify words that are not easily ‘erased.’ The pencil may be portraying words that have no commitment behind them. See also Weapons and Utensils.
When you are moving through difficulty, there are many ways that you are carried forward, or in some cases, forced to let go. The tornado represents how events feel beyond your control and in a sense, you are being ‘swept up’ by the winds of change to be placed in a ‘different perspective.’ The tornado can portray the intensity of your emotions and how they are constrained in a way that ‘will break free.’ See Natural Disasters under Landscape and Scenery.
Unlike warm blooded and emotionally reactive mammals, reptiles are associated with being cold blooded and seeking protection. Dreaming of reptiles can show autonomous activity or instinctive reactions. The turtle can portray covering your feelings or insecurities when you are hurt or feeling shy. The turtle is also a common symbol of the collective unconscious and can represent merging with deeper aspects and potentials of the group. Because of their longevity, they can represent what is unchanging about you. See also Reptiles.
You touch things to make contact with something to allow for your ‘deeper interaction’ with it. Explore the symbol that you are touching to understand how you are exploring and integrating what the symbol represents.
The tower is a structure that offers a point of view combined with the idea of protection. You may be dreaming of a tower as a way of exploring how your ‘current viewpoint’ is limiting your freedom. See Houses and Buildings.
The city or town is the center of social exchange and suggests a similar hub within you. What goes on in this city will provide clues to your aspirations and need for public recognition. Going to a foreign town means that you are exploring social needs that are new or unfamiliar. Life is a constant learning process, and as you make changes, all aspects of who you are changing too. Reflect on the nature of a particular town for clues to your current direction.
The toy can represent how you are re-visiting aspects and character traits adopted in childhood. The condition and type of toy can shed further light on what this is. For example, a train is representing how you move forward on a proven track. The doll can symbolize your need to be nurtured and protected. Being a toy, it can suggest a childish approach that might require more maturity.
Dreaming of a track can portray competitiveness or ideas that were adopted from your parents about how you should pursue success. If it is a train track, the expectations of others may feel overwhelming and you may feel that making any type of changes is not easily accomplished. The track is showing where you are going and why. Since it is not a road or path – the dream can suggest how you may need to set a course for yourself that feels more like your own needs and desires. See also Vehicles and Places of Transportation.
The train, as a transportation symbol, personifies motivation and direction. Because it is following a track, you may have the feeling that your path has been laid out before you and is not within your control to change. Missing a train can symbolize fear of failure in light of expectations that have been imposed upon you, perhaps by your employer or parents. Jumping in and out of trains can symbolize how you are trying to find your own way. The train station is a place of transition and has a specific schedule, portraying your feelings about your ability to meet your own expectations. Dreaming of trying to catch a train can personify how you are caught up by the current demands of your schedule.
Boats, buses and trains, in which you are a ‘passenger,’ suggest how you are following a course that is not self-directed and not easily changed. See Vehicles and Places of Transportation.
Being trapped in a dream suggests how you feel trapped in daily life. The other symbols in the dream can shed light on why this is happening. See Quicksand and Mud under Landscape and Scenery.
Dreaming of trash is a way of exploring what may have been ‘discarded,’ but still has value. Looking through the trash can be a message about finding the inherent value of a difficult situation. If you are throwing something valuable in the trash, it can be a message about either dismissing the value of what the symbol represents or the need to let go of it. For example, throwing away clothes can represent releasing a past identity. Throwing away toys can be a message about letting go of childhood issues. Explore the symbol associated with being garbage for further insight.
A dream about travelling is a message about expanding your horizons. Pay close attention to whether what you are doing while travelling is going 'right' or going 'left.' Often going right suggests habit - while going left can suggest a new way - or that you might explore the 'road less traveled.' You are exploring potential and opportunity by visiting places that might be classified as 'foreign.' If you are traveling by boat, you are taking stock of your feelings. If by train, you have a sense that a course can be set that is leading you forward. By plane can symbolize exploring or changing your ambitions in some way. By car - you are getting at the root of your motivation. See Vehicles and Places of Transportation and also going Abroad.
Dreaming of treasure can be a message that you are not seeing your inherent value. There may be special qualities about you that are unrecognized, and symbolized by finding or searching for a treasure. See also Purses, Wallets, Luggage, Jewels and Keys, and Prize.
The tree is a classic symbol of your heritage and roots. Dreaming of trees can symbolize how you are exploring your legacy or the ‘stem’ of everything you are and aspects adopted from the family. The tree portrays the core of who you are and the part of you that is unchanging. See Forest and Garden under Houses and Buildings.
Whether you or someone else are entering ‘forbidden territory’ the dream suggests those places within that are guarded and therefore, out of reach of consciousness. This is actually an empowering dream about breaking through defenses or self defeating barriers. Sneaking into places where you do not feel welcome shows your movement toward assertiveness.
Dreaming of a triangle can symbolize triangulation or the unknown potential that exists between two extremes. Just as progress springs from conflict, a triangle asks you to consider how a difficult choice is often the happy medium between opposing ideas. Two can represent choices and balance, although the idea of Three sides often signifies an imbalance that needs to be resolved. The triangle or the theme of three is also common in spiritual ideas as the direct awareness of the trinity, where body, mind and spirit thrive in harmony. See Three.
The Trickster is an Archetype that is the cosmic jester of the dreamscape, and portrays the unconscious active in consciousness. The psyche has an amazing and clever way of injecting humor into dream symbolism in an effort to jar the status quo. You will know the Trickster because this character is odd and pesters you in a way that demands your attention. Trickster is like a Freudian slip and traps us in our inconsistencies. The part the Trickster character plays in the psyche is to use humor to trick us into being honest with ourselves.
This humorous character straddles the same psychic trading post where inspiration is packaged and sold as spirituality. Manifesting in many forms, he stands at the psychic crossroad, pointing like the scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz. His antics reveal the ridiculous way that you believe you must make choices. There are many roads and the right road is sometimes just the pathway exposing the contradiction inherent in absolutes. In the middle road between good and evil is your willingness jump into the unknown.
The Trickster offers a puzzle and asks you to dance awhile with ambiguity, so life’s deeper mysteries can be revealed. Portrayed in a Freudian slip, it is Trickster who plants the whoopee cushion in the psyche, triggering laughter when you know that the time is not appropriate. Humor often arises when you perceive an incongruity. Cloaked as the Fool or Vagabond, he points to the middle way between absolutes and the conflicting ideas that have stunted your evolution.
The Raven, Crow or Coyote appear in myths/dreams asking the hero to sacrifice the body in return for metamorphosis. Often presenting you with a wild card of possibilities, the Trickster of the psyche is not afraid to send you out with mismatched shoes during an important presentation when you are in the ‘wrong place.’ Teaching a lesson of humility, you find this Jester of the inner landscape, making you laugh at yourself in all of your serious attempts to be certain.
Trickster represents the power of humor that allows you to see your inner contradictions. Instead of finding your ‘home in the absolute,’ you are forced out like a hobo in search of a train. Humiliated and riding in a boxcar, you encounter everything you believed you’d never see. You have no choice but to shake your head and laugh when the rug is pulled out from beneath your interior house of cards. “Oh my, is this what life feels like down here in the gutter? I can’t tell you why, but I suddenly feel alive again.”
Trickster inspires the late night comedian who says what nobody else would dare say. He makes you blurt out the comical truth when in all gravity, you have found yourself trapped in your illogical ideas. Trickster inspires dreams of going to school in your underwear, when what you most want is to abide by the golden rule. It is Trickster who removes the bathroom walls, in dreams where you have no choice but to ‘relieve yourself’ in public. “Let go…be intimate…find your human side and live.” He is the breath of fresh air found at the top of the mountain or sometimes, face down in a puddle, in your migratory journey across the psychic landscape.
In myths, what Trickster does is always the opposite of what is considered sacred. Like the process of dreaming, Trickster leads you through stages in mysterious steps to ‘trick’ you into growth. We see this in American Indian stories that are humorously interwoven with bits and pieces of truth and insight. In the same way, dreams offer a non-rational way of perceiving experience, beyond the defense mechanisms created by rote and reason. Trickster keeps you from taking yourself too seriously. As a powerful and transformative aspect of the psyche that uses humor to overthrow limitation, when a character appears that that makes you feel uncomfortable, you meet the great shape shifter Trickster.
The truck symbolizes motivation and your desire to move forward. Unlike a car however, driving or seeing a truck can be exploring what you are carrying with you that may need to be released. See Vehicles and Places of Transportation.
As a piece of furniture that protects those things that you cherish, the chest or trunk can be a symbol of the things you ‘hold’ and how you sort through them to discard what is no longer necessary. The trunk of a tree can represent the foundation of your beliefs that were adopted from your familial upbringing. The chest or trunk of the body can signify emotions or the ability to stand up for your principles. See also Chest and Purses, Wallets, Luggage, Jewels and Keys.
When the Water, or your body of emotions encounter a deep shift below the surface, an ‘enormous wave’ can threaten to overwhelm you. At the same time, there can be an ‘enormous wave of relief’ as you allow these emotions to stir within so they can be released. See Natural Disasters under Landscape and Scenery.
The ground usually symbolizes your foundation of beliefs. When you are tunneling ‘below the surface’ there is the sense that you are finding ways of circumventing ‘daylight’ or ‘getting around’ something as the idea that you are not consciously facing difficult issues.
Unlike warm blooded and emotionally reactive mammals, reptiles are associated with autonomous reaction, being cold blooded and protection. Dreaming of reptiles can show instinctive reactions. The turtle can portray covering your feelings or insecurities when you are hurt or feeling shy. The turtle is also a common symbol of the collective unconscious and can represent merging with deeper aspects and potentials of the group. Because of their longevity, they can represent what is unchanging about you. See also Reptiles.
The number twelve can relate to changes or a turning point. It combines the idea of One which represents the Self with Two which can symbolize choices or the need for balance. It can also represent the idea that one thing can emerge from two – so a choice doesn’t have to be either or – but can combine both options. As the time of day, twelve is where morning becomes night or night becomes morning so a transition is suggested. See also Numbers.
Dreaming of two of anything often embodies choices. Associated with the astrological sign Gemini as an Archetype, dreaming of twins can show diverging sides of your nature that need to be synchronized. The Twins appear in many mythical stories around the world representing the childish inquisitiveness that is sometimes necessary for a more meaningful relationship with life. If the twins are a boy and girl, the dream can be exploring the merging of masculine and feminine traits so you may become more sensitive, yet empowered and assertive in achieving fulfillment. See also Child and Archetypes and Universal Characters.
Two often symbolizes making some type of choice or the idea of balancing extremes. If it is two people in a dream, consider the characters as how they might portray conflicting sides of you that need to be integrated. See Numbers.
You spend an average of 70-120 minutes a day, daydreaming or fantasizing from a perspective that transcends normal perception. Between consciousness and the sleep state is an area that allows the imagination to wander. As your level of awareness decreases, you lose your sense of self. You may revisit the past, or explore the future, and in doing so, approach the border of the dreamscape. All the while, consciousness keeps pulling you back into the present.
Lucid dreams occur when you ‘wake up’ while dreaming. Sometimes this sudden sense of knowing you are dreaming allows you to do fantastic things like fly over the houses you see. Many people actually wake themselves up within the dream to remain in this lucid state to explore how they can influence dreams. This ability to achieve the lucid dream state is an important initiation into mastering the power of thought and its ability to influence events.
The nightmare is actually a good dream that shows something powerful stirring within you. When we are faced with conflict and opposing the necessary change, our dreams can appear more conflicted as we work through it. The more we ignore the need for change, the more our dreams get louder in an effort to 'wake us up' to a necessary transformation. The nightmare often causes you to wake up in a state of panic with your heart racing. Not wanting to go back to sleep, the memory of the dream appears all too real. Sometimes a dream can reflect actual trauma or an unresolved crisis, although the nightmare is always a WAKE UP CALL to learn to let go. Whether you are attempting to overcome a real life crisis, or to transcend non-rational fear, dreaming is a ‘safe place’ that allows these difficult ideas to be explored. Perhaps you cannot recognize that ‘you are on the wrong path,’ and so, the nightmare may recur until the situation is resolved. The nightmare is actually a sign that something powerful has begun to stir within you. See the
A nightmare can be as simple as ‘leaving something behind’ while you hurry to your destination. It can be as frightening as actually experiencing death or dismemberment as you awaken to the idea of letting go. More than any other dream, the nightmare will disturb you so profoundly, that it cannot be forgotten. It is a natural mechanism, which forces you to confront the truth about how you are hiding from life. Once these fearful feelings are transformed into authentic power, the nightmare will not recur. See also Nightmare and Shadow.
Recurring dreams are story lines or themes that repeat themselves over weeks, months and even years. Sometimes they leave you feeling puzzled because they seem irrational. Dreams ever seek to wake you to what you are not facing and the hero's journey of wellness through the dreamscape is explored in The Mythology of Sleep: The Waking Power of Dreams. Dreams have a way of forcing consciousness into perplexity, as an important aspect of transformation. At times, a recurring dream can be extremely frightening. Since dreams are suggesting what you fail to acknowledge in daily life, whatever you are avoiding or not facing will continue to be the subject matter of your dream, until it is resolved. Like nightmares, once the puzzle is solved and the aspect is integrated into consciousness, the dream will not recur. Even the most frightening dreams are meant to awaken you to your real nature.
Dreams About Healing
Many times vehicle doors, or lower and upper rooms of a house will depict aspects of the body, offering a message about your health and well-being. The front door can suggest arms, while the back doors can represent legs. Lighting or electrical circuitry can be neurological, while water problems can suggest psychological, vascular or ‘plumbing’ issues. The top floor of a building can represent the head, while the rooms below can suggest various parts of the lower body.
Protecting a ‘treasure’ can signify repression at the root of illness, while searching for a key is often the clue to wellness. If you are experiencing ‘dis-ease’, where it is taking place in the body is as important as why. If the left leg is suffering, look for its representation in dreams of ground floor doors, or lower left portion of a structure or vehicle. Sometimes before a physical manifestation will appear, you are warned in advance of over indulgence or things that can impact your wellness. Many therapists recognize repression at the root of illness. Since dreams portray what you are repressing, they are a profound tool in achieving wellness and balance.
The ‘dream cycle’ is a lot like ‘myth cycles.’ In our ancient stories, the hero is tested in exotic landscapes, finding clues in fantastic places. The adventure allows them to uncover the truth about both, their identity and destiny. Similarly, the changing landscape and clues within a dream cycle captures the essence of why we dream. When a dream is observed to ‘morph’ into different landscapes, the dream is described: ‘it seemed like the same dream, but then it changed…’
The dream cycle usually presents the idea of transformation in three stages:
a) The first shows you as ‘the hero’ facing a current life challenge.
b) The second shows the past and the part it played in creating this condition.
c) Finally, you are given a bizarre clue as to how you can transform to meet the future. This portion has unusual images that will allow you to discover your real identity and therefore, your destiny.
In the first portion, you explore the conflict at hand and are given the symbolism that can help you understand it objectively. The second landscape usually portrays family members and symbolism from the past, describing how the current crisis was created. The third portion of the dream is usually the most bizarre, as the transforming aspect of the psyche pushes you beyond your static sense of self. This portion can be prophetic or when compared against future events, will portray actual information that can be validated.
Dreams can be called The Mind’s Mirror because they have a special predisposition for reflecting aspects of you in a way that is puzzling or strange. The ‘newness’ or bizarre imagery of the dreamscape provides the innovative perspective that is necessary to achieve transformation. The third portion of the dream offers information about the ‘missing link’ in overcoming conflict or crisis.
Understanding your dreams will make more sense to you when once you recognize how dreams have an uncanny way of breaking through the walls of consciousness. The synchronistic aspect of the final setting may simply be the result of how your unconscious mind knows what is coming, before you consciously piece the information together.
Life Changing Dreams
During periods when you are actively undergoing transformation, you will experience Great Dreams or Cosmic Dreams, which are rich in mythological associations. They often portray a meeting with universal archetypes such as The Great Mother or Wise Man. These dreams affect you with such emotion and appear so vivid that you remember them for years. In many ways, you would call them life changing. Revisiting these dream themes to contrast the symbolism against ancient mythology can present you with a more profound understanding of its message.