h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

The subject of dreams came up in another venue, which reminded me that I wanted to start a conversation about dreams and dream interpretation.

I've always been interested in dreams although I have never actually studied them. Probably because I have such weird ones. I know that they are supposed to hold hidden meaning, but have always wondered about the standard interpretations. I mean, why would a symbol in my dreams mean the same thing as it would in someone else's dreams? If dreams are our subconscious trying to tell us things, then wouldn't the symbolism change from one person to the next?

The subject in the other thread was about places that are unfamiliar in RL but recur in dreams. I suppose those who believe in reincarnation would say we are remembering past lives. Or I guess the locations could be from a movie that we don't consciously remember.

What do you think? And have you experienced a recurring dream with a landscpe familiar in the dream but not in RL?

I usually manage to remember most of my dreams (I think, but who could tell)

There are times though that I feel my brains are emptying old drawers trying to get rid of old things - that's when I have really odd and illogical and just dreams that make no sense what-so-ever

Then there are times where my dreams get a lot more complicated, complicated enough to make me believe in dream interpretation...

But - in general - I'd say that dreams is the means your subconsiousness (sp?) has to express itself - whether it's logical or not - well, who can tell?

One other thing. Have you noticed that when you figure out what a dream means, you never have it again?

H

I rarely remember dreams but I do recall a dream I had from last night. I dreamt that I met with and had dinner with my Ex for some reason. I think that might be my inner self trying to reconcile the issues I have with her because my outer self is doing nothing about those issues.

I have thought about having coffee with her a few times of late, but I am still unsure as if it is wise to allow her access into my life at all anymore.

Figure out? Figure OUT?

Sorry, but mostly I haven't got a clue what it's all about...

Marv, I know so little about the subject that this is probably going to be wrong. But I think that your dreaming about her could be because you're still troubled about the breakup - the way it happened. It was awfully traumatic for you. And you're still torn about your feelings for her or you wouldn't be thinking about inviting her out for coffee. So until the issue of the breakup is resolved and put behind you, she is going to crop up.


I used to have these awful dreams where nothing worked right. I'd go into a dark room and the light bulbs would all be burned out. Or I'd pick up the telephone and there wouldn't be a dial tone. Or I'd know who I wanted to call, but someone would be on the line - like an old time party line - and I couldn't make the call. Or I couldn't find the number in the phone book. Another recurring theme is that I'm driving the car in reverse and then the brakes wont work so I have to keep going.

Anyway, I figured out that what I was trying to tell myself was that I wasn't meeting my goals and was going backwards spiritually. The lights not working were symbolic of a state of spiritual darkness. And nothing working right meant just that....the way I was doing things just wasn't working. As soon as I recognized this and began to make an effort to change my priorities and attitudes, the dreams stopped.

So, even if I didn't interpret the dreams correctly,(an expert might have told me they meant something completely different), coming up with an interpretation of some kind seemed to have worked.

I've already posted this at the Atelier, but here goes:

I had the oddest dream last night - it has to be among the top 3 at least... (top 3 on the oddest list)

RL background that I recognized: my mother is moving back to my hometown (her boyfriend died last summer), and Friday I visited one of your hotels so yes, I did see hotel uniforms and also got the feeling that I miss life 'out there' a bit after I started w*rking at the head office

Dream: My brother and I were helping our mother to move, but she wasn't there. There were stables inside the flat, along but not next to the walls. There was some space left between the back wall of each stable and the outer wall of the flat.

My brother, who was at the other end of the flat, shouted 'she (our mother) seems to have a cheese-making thing going on - can you see where she gets the milk from?'
I looked behind a stable and yelled back 'Cows?' after seeing black-and-white cows comfortably squeezed into the space between the stable and the wall.

*pause while I assume my brother sampled the cheese* 'No, that's not it!'
So I looked behind another stable, and shouted back 'Sheep? Goats?'
Looking behind yet another stable I yelled 'No, I've got it now - camels!' because there were several camels, each with a - uh - calf? foal?

And then the door bell rang - it was a man we had been expecting, he was to put up new wall paper (it was a familiar face - a man my parents had hired while I was still living at home). He seemed to be *very* amused when he saw all the animals and made some comments.

The door bell rang again - when I opened it, another handiman slipped in, but there were also two other men waiting. The one closest to me looked like a parody of a daft farmer's hand, and the other looked like the farmer.

The first man said something about not having received the rent and for some reason I took it as if I hadn't paid it, rather than my mother. I mumbled something about having paid, check your account on Monday, and closed the door, feeling a bit uncomfortable about the 'farmer' who stayed quiet but seemed to be the one in charge.

I was then informed by my brother that I had to put the animals 'to bed'. I started with the cows, but was told that I'd have to brush their backs first. While I was brushing off the first cow, it turned into a semi-human/semi-cow, dressed in a navy blue hotel uniform. I felt a bit embarrassed when I noticed I had picked the wrong kind of brush. I tried to do my best, but the cow/human gave me a look as if saying 'I guess that will have to do, but I'm not satisfied' before vanishing into the stable (and yes, it looked like a stable rather than a barn).

I was beginning to feel quite frustrated by the time I had brushed off all the cows and discovered that neither the sheep nor the goats would move. I was just looking for one with a bell around its neck when I was woken up by my crazy upstairs neighbour who thinks it's perfectly alright to make noices while getting up at 6 pm on a Sunday morning.

Some elements I recognize, some I don't - and all those animals! The funny thing is that I didn't get an allergic reaction ...

Dreams are so interesting. And unusual ones like that seem to defy all logic. But to me the odd ones make it unlikely that a cow in a dream, for example, would mean the same thing to Ti as it does to me. So I wonder if the books on dreams that have these lists of what things symbolize are just a bunch of hooie.

I really think we have to look inside and interpret them ourselves if we are going to get a valid meaning out of them.

Another thing....how do we know if a dream actually means something or not? And why can we smell and taste in some dreams and not in others?

Hypatia, my dear R.L. friend, I was thinking on our dream chat at the Med. Garden and remembered something I concocted to ease the pain of a lost pet.>>

"Sleeping or waking, all is a dream
Woven around the primal scream."
And the pendulum swings as if to make time
Where no time exists and therefore no rhyme!

By the interconnections of warp and of weft
Time weaves its corrections til no time is left,
Where that which I seek I already am,
So now I am caught in the paradox, damn!

Sleeping or waking the cat is a part of my dream
And the dying she gave is a part of the scheme,
Dying to live, reverse it's the same,
It's just standing still at a point whence it came.

Am I the cat dying or is the cat me?
What of the mourning after the dream?
Is that an awakening, a starting to see
How one fails or one fits in the scheme?

I think there might be a cryptic clue in there somewhere.

As ever, ed.
p.s. Did you hear a rabbit in our garden?

I like the poem, ed. Thank you for sharing it.

I understand how difficult it is to lose a beloved pet. My cats and dogs are almost as dear to me as children. I've always thought that if humans have souls, then surely animals do as well. Although there is much disagreement with that view from established circles.

As to the rabbit in the garden, not all conversations turn out the way we would wish. Much like life in that respect. My life is incredibly stressful right now and I don't have the energy for sparring and one upmanship. I need a support group - not a debating society. So I have left it to those of you who enjoy that sort of thing.

H

You have my support, Hypatia. That's exactly the point you were making. We all need support, even rabbits though they may deny it.
The point of my poem was that it is all a dream, so we should be looking for its source which I contend is pure love. So, I feel neither sleeping nor waking should have superior attention. The purpose of the dream is to provide the balance as we step out on the tightrope to pure love. I am convinced that is where we belong. We all live on the dark side ,each to our own degree. We all need each other's succour.
I leave youy with peace in the love we all share, ed.

"Love in action is a harsh and dreadful thing compared to love in dreams." Father Zossima

Eddispond, there are those who come to the dance with new shoes and leave with blisters on their feet. I have reached the stage in life where I prefer not only old, comfortable shoes but a seasoned dance partner rather than one who steps on my toes.

Thank you for your support. I have put away my cookbook and am no longer looking for a recipe for rabbit stew.

H

God bless you, you made me chuckle.
I am not sure whether this ranks as synchronicity, but after hearing that your library was being rebuilt,I hear my hometown is doing likewise.
I think sleep deserves a whole lot more attention. That we sleep, to me means there is a whole lot more we need to wake up to. The dream gives us the cryptic clue to that.
I've had one or two sleepless nights of late. Have I run out of dreams in that I no longer need them . I'm having, what seem to me some very inspirational moments during my working day. Maybe as we open to love the dream becomes redundant.
I leave you with peace, love , ed.

http://www.dreamdissection.com

wel worth a look, especially the 'Half Arsed History' section

What a fun website. Thanks Creachy.

My husband claims that he seldom dreams. And my dad used to deny dreaming at all. I, on the other hand, dream up a storm. I've often wondered if it has anything to do with imagination and creativity.

Some dreams I forget immediately, but I remember a lot of them. I've heard that it helps to keep a dream diary. But who wants to put on thelight in tghe middle of the night and write something down? I'd never get back to sleep if I did.

H

A pen and a note pad and a small lamp aimed away from you might work...

Some years ago, I used to lie awake worrying about this and that, afraid I'd forget things I had to do and so on...

...and then I read an article, and started keeping pen and paper close to my bed.

Whenever something was worrying me, I'd write it down, promising myself I'd deal with it next day.

Whenever I was afraid to forget something, I wrote it down.

I then made sure I read what I had written once I got up in the mornign - and it helped!

Did you sleep better after you started doing this? I have such a hard time going back to sleep if I have to get up in the night, that it might not work for me. But I should probably give it a try.

Some of my dreams are just funny! I wake myself up laughing. Is that a common thing? I don't remember my husband ever laughing in his sleep.

H

I did sleep better yes, because I managed to convince my mind that a) I would *not* forget to do whatever it was, because I had written it down and b) because I *did* try to do something about the things that worried me - so, even if it took some time, my mind learnt to trust myself to deal with things, so to speak

It certainly put an end to thoughts just swirling around in my mind stopping me from going to sleep

For some reason I keep thinking about a silly play I saw when I was a child. The main character was trying to learn his spelling words and put them under his pillow thinking that he would memorize them in his sleep.

I used to use soft music to relax me into sleep. But try finding any soft music these days.

Writing things down really is a good idea. I hate it when I have this inspired thought and then it is gone in the morning. Ti, you have inspired me. I shall put a pad and pen near my bed.

H

Just make sure you read what you've written on the pad next morning - otherwise your mind won't trust - eh - yourself?