Until recently, my husband believed dreams were non-sensical, interesting-only-to-the-dreamer BS. But then he had a dream about me. Well, kind of about me.
He is waiting for a ride from someone. When she shows up, he hops in the front seat.
She said, “no, you have to sit in the backseat, behind me.”
He listens to her and gets in the backseat. She says, “do you know why you are here?”
He says, “Uh, no.”
She says, “Well your wife set this up.”
He says, “Then this can’t be a date.”
She says, “No, it isn’t a date. It’s to let you know that your wife’s hair is going gray.”
He wakes up laughing and tells me what transpired. My hair isn’t technically going gray, it is gray and I am really sick of dyeing it. So without asking for “permission” from anyone, I’ve decided to stop dyeing it. Our girls were super supportive, “Mama, you will totally rock it.” When our oldest son saw me recently, he said, “You are letting your hair go gray. You look nice”. But my two roommates, my husband and youngest son, aren’t as excited about laying witness to this slow painful metamorphosis. I say to my husband, “Well, this dream is to let you know, you have no control over my hair going gray. Sitting in the backseat? Not driving. Being told what IS going to happen. This dream was about control.” Easy enough for most people to interpret. He has no control. In fact, none of us do, but that is a bigger discussion for another time.
Dreams are for the dreamer and should be interpreted by the dreamer. When you awaken from your slumber, grab a recorder or a notebook and write down your dreams. Listen for the way you describe the situation. Look for the hidden symbolism in your dreams. Your dream doesn’t mean the same thing to you as it would to a friend. You won’t describe it the way someone else might. You must look for the hidden language, the language that means something specifically to you. Certainly, you can consult a dream book. You might find value in it. But truly the images in your dreams symbolize something in your life, the way you perceive it.
I have a recurring dream. It is my stress dream. I’m driving alone (again with the control!) and I have a destination, but every time I get there, I seem to be lost and not truly at my destination. I ask for directions, revisit my GPS or maps sometimes, but still, I am lost. When I describe this dream aloud, I hear the words, “I am lost. I can’t seem to get there. I can’t find the directions. The map isn’t clear.” I can hear what I’m really feeling in my awake life. I have been having this dream often because I am stressed. I am self-publishing my first book and I have no play-by-play marketing plan. When I say the words, “I am lost. I can’t seem to get there. The map isn’t clear.” these are things I say to myself when I begin to contemplate marketing this said self-published book. I know I can figure it out, I just don’t have clear directions. Without directions, I would be lost. Shouldn’t be shocking this plays out in my dreams.
With the launch of my book, we have had to have some deep conversations with our family (more to come on this topic). One of these conversations recently took place and my husband took the lead, beautifully. That night, my stress dream appeared, but this time, he was in the passenger seat. We were driving up a very snowy mountain and I was struggling to get us up it. I kept trying but with no luck. He turns to me and says, “I’ve got this babe.” We switch seats and he drove us carefully up the mountain. When we got to the top, the view was stunning and we looked at it, together, in awe. While I would like to think this may be predicting the success of my book, it more importantly confirmed, he’s got my back. He always has my back, and whatever mountain we climb together, he always will, whether it is a tough conversation or a book launch.
The mountain in my dream may not mean the same thing to you. Maybe you only go on vacation to the mountains or enjoy camping or hiking and mountains mean peace, relaxation or fun. If you commute up a mountain and love your job, it could mean “climbing the corporate ladder” or it is the means to feeling fulfilled. You see how different the symbolism of a mountain can be interpreted?
Maybe now your approach to dream interpretation has gone from “that was crazy” to “what does it really mean?,” a metamorphosis if you will, like my stress dream…. and my hair!