Monday, November 28, 2011

strange dreams


So, I often have some pretty strange dreams.  I have a friend who always says “Please don’t tell me about your dreams… I don’t care.” Which I get, but still, I have some pretty interesting ones.

I dream about spiders a lot.  They apparently mean something.  Actually everything means something.  I like to look things up in dream journals when a particularly vivid dream hits me, but I truly have no confidence that anything they say is accurate.  I always wonder who decided what different elements in a dream mean?  How do we know that is true or accurate?  I think Freud had a lot to do with it and Jung; but don’t we kind of know now that Freud wasn’t the sanest person to begin with and that the pool of people he chose to study were not a standard by which the general public would choose as ‘normal’.  Anyway… that being said.  Here is my latest dream.

In the ocean just offshore and there is suddenly a cow in the water.  A group of people decided that we should get the cow out of the water and devised a raft type contraption pulled by a boat to do just this.  However, we were concerned about sharks because the cow raft contraption wouldn’t go very fast without tipping over.  (Yes, my dreams are this detailed.  It’s no wonder I often wake up tired.  I’ve “done” so much while sleeping.)

To keep the sharks away we decided I would follow (fuzzy detail… in a boat? Just swimming? Who knows.) with a big stick that would put out sound waves and hopefully distract the shark.  However, having not thought this through properly, the distraction became ME and now the shark was following.  I made it to shore, on a very short beach with the tide coming in and was quite fearful the shark would follow into the shallow water and bite me.  So I climbed up the rock cliff in front of me a bit to get out of the way of the shark.  I made it just high enough that the shark couldn’t get me.  It’s head was touching the bottom of my foot, but I couldn’t get any higher without risking falling and giving the shark his opportunity to eat me.  So I stayed that way until the tide went out.  It seemed like a really long time.

I must have eventually managed to extricate myself from my friend the shark, because then I was staying with a friend in a beautiful ocean front home and we were going to sleep.  I couldn’t sleep because we were so close to the water and I couldn’t relax after my near fatal shark encounter.  So I went for a walk and quickly found myself on a path in a semi wilderness where I happened upon a…. smoothie machine.  It was oddly stationed about 20 yards from the concession stand where one would pay (and get other food).  I grabbed my smoothie and went to pay.  At the window, imagine my glee to see that Johnny Depp was working there; though I wondered why on earth he was there even in my dream.  I told him it was wonderful that he was so “nice” and “down to earth” (one can only assume because he chose to work in this little out of the way smoothie spot in the middle of nowhere.  I may have tried to tell him about the shark encounter, but alas; it was time to wake up.  Or so said my husband walking from room to room to wake the house up for Monday after a nice long weekend.
If one were to look up the main elements of my dream in a dream dictionary; you might find…

Shark:  To see a shark in your dream indicates feelings of anger, hostility, and fierceness. You are undergoing a long and difficult emotional period and may be an emotional threat to yourself or to others.  Perhaps, you are struggling with your individuality and independence, especially in some aspect of your relationship. Alternatively, a shark represents a person in your life who is greedy and unscrupulous. This person goes after what he or she wants with no regards to the well-being and sensitivity of others. The shark may also be an aspect of your own personality with these qualities.
Alternate Possibility:  Who knows why a shark is there; but the shark pressing on my foot all night could have been my daughter doing her best at extreme cuddling where she entwines herself in my limbs to the best of her ability (all while asleep, it’s really pretty incredible).  My guess is her foot was under my foot and pressing into the bottom of it.
Now I’m wondering if this isn’t also from the nature show I caught with my daughter.  Although it was about lions and cheetah’s and such; although one was in a tree to get away from hyenas.

Cow:  To see a cow in your dream symbolizes your passive and docile nature. (excuse me while I laugh.  However, there is one person in my life I do fall into this behavior with and I was not happy Sunday.  Could be.) You obey others without question. (more laughter) Alternatively, a cow represents maternal instincts or the desire to be cared for. For some cultures, the cow represents divine qualities of fertility, nourishment and motherhood. (Alternate explanation:  probably because I watched the last few minutes of a movie with cows in it, but still, why in distress and why in the OCEAN?).

Rescue: To dream that you are being rescued or rescue others represents an aspect of yourself that has been neglected or ignored. You are trying to find a way to express this neglected part of yourself. Alternatively, it symbolizes an unconscious cry for help. Perhaps you are too proud in your waking life to ask for assistance.  (Not too proud to ask for help, but there is an issue or two in my life that this could describe.)

Ocean:  To see an ocean in your dream represents the state of your emotions and feelings. It is indicative of spiritual refreshment, tranquility and renewal. Alternatively, the dream means that you are feeling empowered and unhindered. You have a positive outlook in life and are not limited by anything. If you are sailing across the ocean, then it signifies new found freedom and independence. You are showing great courage. If the ocean is rough, then the dream represents some emotional turmoil. You are doing your best to handle life's ups and downs. 
So, whatever that means…  Goodnight.  Don't let the bedbugs (or sharks) bite.




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