Anyone good at interpreting dreams?

[keista]

I can usually do this faily well with the assistance of online dream dictionaries, but the one I had last night is so off the wall crazy, I don't know where to begin.

I am going to describe it using alternate phrases because of the subject matter, and my own paranoia. Not a true paranoia, but certainly a heightened state, in a society (especially our school district) where ALL threats, even those obviously made in jest, are taken over the top seriously.

The Dream:

I was dating the person who is considered the boss of the country. Not specifically the current one, but a generic one. I made it so the person would cease to be part of the living society. There was no known awareness for the reason for doing this in my dream. Being terrified of what I had done and getting caught, I did my best to cover up the situation, knowing that there really was no way for me to get away with it. I woke up processing all the emotions and trying to figure out why I did it in the first place as if it had all happened in real life.

I've had some really bizarre dreams, even scary WTH Freudian ones, but none ever upset me like this one. It woke me while it was still dark - something that very rarely happens to me - and made it difficult to get back to sleep because I was still processing the dream as if it had really happened - something that has NEVER happened to me before.

Insights, comments?

 

[DaisyFace]

Keista--

Dreams never exist in a vacuum - your brain draws on images and ideas from your everyday life.

So my first question would be: what kinds of books and movies have you been reading/watching lately? Even the news could be source material...!

 

[keista]

Well, I've been "addicted" to this site for the last two weeks. Yes, I'm certain that some f the things I read here contributed to the dream - doing things that seem out of character, taking responsibility for actions, etc

Last night I did watch a movie I DVRed a while ago. "The Lies He Told" Based on true story Lifetime movie (1997) I kept thinking how although it was based on a true story, the movie seemed VERY fictionalized since this guy started out as a seemingly normal upstanding military hero who faked his death to be with another woman, and became a compulsive liar and bank robber to stay with her, but ultimately (when she figured it out) became the "good guy" again and willingly was accountable for his wrongdoing. Again, there's an accountability theme going on - I just don't see how it wuld fit into MY life at this moment.

Other than that, nothing out of the ordinary - no news this past week either. I watch reruns of Friends and cooking shows to decompress. And really, nothing I've done/doing where I would hide anything, and be afraid of being accountable. The only thing I can even loosely associate with such actions is that I'm not moving forward on my divorce as I should be - I've been busy and consumed with DD1 and end of school issues for son. However, I'm committed to getting the next round of paper work in next week.

 

[Steely]

Well, I would guess that in your subconscious the "new boss of the nation" is your difficult child and you want her to cease having power over you. Therefore in your dream you put her "out of your society" as self protection.

I think there is a lot to this dream. How much power do you feel like difficult child is actually having in your life? How much power are you giving her - and how much power is she taking from you?

 

[klmno]

You felt the need to hold someone you perceived as powerfull accountable, Maybe?? Then you felt guilty because you didn't really feel you had the right to? It's pretty vague so I don't know- I don't put too much stake in my dreams unless they keep me dwelling on them by being repetitive or something in them really strikes a chord. I tend to think some are not full of deep meaning.

 

[HaoZi]

I'm with Steely, that's how I caught it, too. You're looking for an escape from the one you feel is controlling your life.

 

[keista]

Good job Steely, the second I read your post I said WOW - she's right!

However it's not just my difficult child it's all 3 kids (school here ended last Monday) The answer to all 3 of your questions is: A LOT. In addition to the usual stuff going on, there were "fires" to put out that are still smoldering. I'm doing the best I can to take care of my needs while tending to everyone and everything else, but not succeeding very well. Think I'll have to "try harder" to find more meaningful ways of recharging myself and find that elusive balance.

klmno a very valid continuation of Steely's thoughts since I always do "feel guilty" for doing stuff just for me. Shoot, I sometimes feel guilty just thinking abut it.

HaoZi thanks for seconding. Dare I say it? Yes I want to escape. We're planning a family vacation to visit friends and family, but the reality is that Moms NEVER get vacations. I'm on call 24/7 I'm actually jealous of moms that "lose" their kids for summer visitation. I would miss them for sure, but would welcome the break. Unfortunately it's not an option for me or the kids.

Thanks for the insights. It can stop bugging me now.

 

[Marguerite]

There is also the aspect of this dream that death means change, rather than finality. The combination of change plus a need to work hard (and really have to concentrate, in a dream - not restful!) seems to me to be a spillover from your currently working hard to get all your ducks in a row with school districts etc, plus planning for the holiday (a getaway) and making sure you cover all possible eventualities there, too.

The relationship (in the dream) with the powerful person - what did you feel in the dream about this person? Ambivalence? Love? Hatred? Was the death accidental, or the result of a rage? Or was it premeditated? It all has an importance and will drastically change the meaning of the dream.

At this stage, I would think that the dream is partly prompted by mental exhaustion and stress, mostly from your efforts to negotiate with various authorities etc re your child. I'm suspecting in the dream you killed the powerful person out of frustration, and this could be a reflection of how you feel sometimes about a very frustrating system. But mixed in there are your holiday plans, well disguised.

One more question - how did you feel after you sorted out your thoughts on waking? Did you go to bed with some problems with your negotiations that seemed closer to an answer next day? If not, prepare for more dreams like this!

Marg

 

[TerryJ2]

Great takes on this. I'm with-Steely and Klmno, and then Marg's addition that change in and of itself is upsetting.

Also, dreams can yank our emotions out of whack way more than "real" life events because we typically shut off our logical thought process during a dream, and "allow" emotions to take over. So they are more powerful.

Having said that, I would say go for a walk, a swim in an ice cold pool, and just let it go. Don't let the dream have a tight hold on you. Give it its due and let it go.

 

[TerryJ2]

One more thing--I never rely on dream books. Typically, they focus on the what of a dream, the object of a dream, rather than the why. Which is all wrong, because not all of us have been raised with-the same mythologies and social constructs. Freud, Jung, et al tried that yrs ago and got stuck in their own "stuff" because of it.

 

[Star*]

I was dating the person who is considered the boss of the country. Not specifically the current one, but a generic one. I made it so the person would cease to be part of the living society. There was no known awareness for the reason for doing this in my dream. Being terrified of what I had done and getting caught, I did my best to cover up the situation, knowing that there really was no way for me to get away with it. I woke up processing all the emotions and trying to figure out why I did it in the first place as if it had all happened in real life.

You're having a pseudo-homo-erotic dream wherein you are John Wilkes Booth in love with President Lincoln, and you shoot him in Fords theater, then you are caught.


Good grief girl - Get go on line and find a Sioux medicine woman and buy yourself a really good double dream catcher, and have it Overnighted.

Our brains are like little computer towers and our eyes are like little cameras constantly clicking, snapping pictures at a rate we can't even fathom. Everything we hear, see, taste, smell, touch, feel, is stored chemically and digitally in our minds - in however we have our brains filing system. some people are highly organized and their minds are like great storage warehouses - Ever see that commercial where the guy comes on and says the word chicken and everyone goes crazy off on a tangent and people have the "information overload" input scenario and go off into 10 different directions? To prove a point if I say a word, even an obscure word? Your brain will at lightnig speeds search your mind for the best possible scenario to bring to the front a visual image, and sometimes even a sound and a smell to go with that word. This is why people who lack one sense or another develop their other senses even more. Okay ready.........................................chicken soup. Nice hot bowl of steaming, golden broth chicken soup, with orange carrots, green crunchy celery, broad tasty noodles. See? Your brain went all over the place to gather visual, colors, and scents - and maybe even memories of the last time or the best time or even the worst time you had chicken soup - but it went and fetched memories about chicken, soup, carrots, steamy, hot, orange, green celery, crunchy. Werid huh? So this is all stored..........and as we go to sleep. Dreams? Only last about 10 seconds at best. Seem like hours, but most are 10 seconds. So while you're in REM mode? You're thinking this is the best or worst day ever - and zap - 10 seconds. It is all the junk in the back of your head - floating around NOT filed looking to find places that NEEDS to go filing - and it mixes with stuf that IS filed, and sometimes it just gets crossed up or you fall asleep thinking about a book, or a person, or a place - or you hear a program on the TV - or you smell something and all of these things - trigger dreams.

As far as what they mean? Well - I have yet to figure out a difinitive meaning for them - but if you don't like MY interpretation - we can certainly do another. Like - areal one.


Maybe boss is euphamism for In charge of my life , but not the current one -------meaning - you don't feel you are in charge of your life now. I made it up so the person would cease - I feel my life is made up so I'm going to put myself in charge of my life now, and I'm not really sure why ----but I'm scared to do it - so I'm doing it in a dream where I feel safe and can work out the details wihotut consequences because the people that this is going to upset will be angry. (husband, parents, ex husband) ........Huh - that's it I guess----You're workign out in your own head how to take charge of your life....and it may make others angry - but you're going to press forward and do it anywhow. GOOD FOR YOU. Problem solved. Get busy!

Hugs and love -
The Dream Weaver -
(I believe we can make it through the nighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhtttttttttt)

 

[keista]

You're having a pseudo-homo-erotic dream wherein you are John Wilkes Booth in love with President Lincoln, and you shoot him in Fords theater, then you are caught.

Thanks for the belly laugh, but now I have to clean coffee off my monitor. :}

10Q all for the additional insights.

Marguerite, I was only able to work through it after getting insights here and from a friend and my sister. It's why I posted. It was one of the oddedst dreams I've ever had, and not just the material, but the timing, the waking up and feeling as if it were real, and not being able to find insights on my own.

The relationship (in the dream) with the powerful person - what did you feel in the dream about this person? Ambivalence? Love? Hatred? Was the death accidental, or the result of a rage? Or was it premeditated? It all has an importance and will drastically change the meaning of the dream.

As for these questions, it was exactly as I posted. We were dating, I made it so he would cease to live. (non violent, although I think it was poisoning "typical" female MO) no awareness of the emotions or dynamic of the relationship, no awareness of motive for the incident. I usually get much more than that from my dreams.

Needless to say, I have gained much strength from all the insights, and am working to regain my power over the situations that I can control.

10Q, 10Q, and 10Q again.

 

[TerryJ2]

Oh, Starrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

 

[Marguerite]

Emotions in the dream are important evidence. How did you feel at each stage of the dream? The lack of strong emotion is itself significant. If you can't identify any strong emotions, then it comes down to what you DO identify as important - he was someone at a high level of control, and you tried to make something stop. Then you had to get away, even knowing it was futile. So it comes down to power, and who has it in your life and why. It also includes escape, a sense of futility and frustration. And I think the reason it was so vivid, is because your mind was thinking too hard in the dream, and you were working and not recovering, as you should when you sleep.

When I am over-tired I get really vivid, often disturbing dreams. The reason they are disturbing is because I'm often too tired to sleep efficiently, and the usual sleeptime sorting through the day's data and re-filing it gets interrupted and a nightmare is often the result. Interestingly, the stress of being on holiday can often bring on increasingly vivid dreams for me, especially as we stay away from home longer. Towards the end of the holiday I am really looking forward to getting back home to my own bed and my own space. I love holidays, I love going to new places, but it is in its own way stressful, even when I'm enjoying myself.

Before we went to New Zealand a few years ago, I had some very vivid dreams in which we were already there and travelling. I remember waking unrefreshed because in my dream I was trying to read our itinerary and the words wouldn't stay still on the page. I had to read it to find out where we had to go next for our accommodation that night.

I hope you can enjoy your upcoming holiday!

Marg