| Water, Water Everywhere |
The Dream
I am at the beach, alone. I savor the peace and quiet as the warm surf
rolls under my feet tugging gently at my ankles. Suddenly, the water
is up to my knees and I find it difficult to walk. I head for shore and I
am scared. The shore gets further and further away and the water
gets higher and higher. I see a building in the distance and I know
that I must reach it or I will drown. My heart pounds in my chest as
the water continues to get higher and higher.
I find myself at the door of the building. I look behind me; the water is
about to overtake me. I open the door and make it inside. I know that
I am safe. I look around; the building is empty. I go to a small window
and see the water is above the window line. The building is
submerged in water, yet I feel safe.
The above was a recurring dream I had for about 20 years starting
when I was about 12 years old. It was always the same for many years.
At some point, I began to notice a few (one at first, then two or three)
other people in the building. When I was about thirty years old or so,
the windows seemed to get larger and larger until the walls were
literally made of glass. Fortunately, I have not had this dream for
about 8 years now.
I am at the beach, alone. I savor the peace and quiet as the warm surf
rolls under my feet tugging gently at my ankles. Suddenly, the water
is up to my knees and I find it difficult to walk. I head for shore and I
am scared. The shore gets further and further away and the water
gets higher and higher. I see a building in the distance and I know
that I must reach it or I will drown. My heart pounds in my chest as
the water continues to get higher and higher.
I find myself at the door of the building. I look behind me; the water is
about to overtake me. I open the door and make it inside. I know that
I am safe. I look around; the building is empty. I go to a small window
and see the water is above the window line. The building is
submerged in water, yet I feel safe.
The above was a recurring dream I had for about 20 years starting
when I was about 12 years old. It was always the same for many years.
At some point, I began to notice a few (one at first, then two or three)
other people in the building. When I was about thirty years old or so,
the windows seemed to get larger and larger until the walls were
literally made of glass. Fortunately, I have not had this dream for
about 8 years now.
The symbolism
Water is a common theme in dreams. A large body of water (an ocean)
is thought to symbolize the unconscious mind. Any body of water
usually symbolizes the state of the emotions. A calm body of water
means a peaceful state of mind and a turbulent or stormy body of
water symbolizes a worried or upset frame of mind. A building may (or
may not) represent the self or the dreamer's physical body. A window
represents one's outlook on life, or may signify a major insight into
the dreamer's life. People usually refer to different aspects of the
dreamer. (In most dreams, Mom is not your mother but you in the role
you play as a mother or nurturer in your daily life.)
Water is a common theme in dreams. A large body of water (an ocean)
is thought to symbolize the unconscious mind. Any body of water
usually symbolizes the state of the emotions. A calm body of water
means a peaceful state of mind and a turbulent or stormy body of
water symbolizes a worried or upset frame of mind. A building may (or
may not) represent the self or the dreamer's physical body. A window
represents one's outlook on life, or may signify a major insight into
the dreamer's life. People usually refer to different aspects of the
dreamer. (In most dreams, Mom is not your mother but you in the role
you play as a mother or nurturer in your daily life.)
The Interpretation
This is such a classic dream that one might think I "dreamed" it up just
for this article. The fact is that it really was a recurring dream of mine
for many years. To understand the interpretation you should probably
know, without going into details, that there were several incidents in
my adolescence that I repressed -- in other words I locked them away
deep in my subconscious.
The ocean signifies that the dream is referring to my subconscious. In
the dream, the water is overtaking me and I am afraid that I will drown
unless I go inside the building. If the water symbolizes my emotions
then the fact that I was afraid of drowning indicates that I was afraid
that my emotions would overwhelm me. I, therefore, needed to find
shelter from these emotions and went inside the building -- inside of
myself.
At first, I was alone in the building. At some point I became aware of
other people. These other "people" were actually me. As each
incident occurred in my life, another part of me went "inside" where it
was safe.
The windows were indeed, a major insight into my life, and allowed me
a glimpse of the emotions that I was in fear of. In the beginning they
were very small and seeing that the water was over the top of the
windows, allowed me to believe that I was right in going inside the
shelter -- it saved me. The windows got larger and larger as I matured
and learned how to deal with these emotions that I repressed for so
long. In the end the walls were completely transparent and then the
dreams stopped. I no longer needed to hide in the building, as I was
no longer afraid of drowning in my emotions. Therefore, the dreams
stopped.
This dream recurred on a regular basis for about 16 years. I continued
having this dream even after I interpreted it. Mainly because the
dream only made me realize that I had issues that I was hiding inside,
without any indication of what the issues were. There were other
recurring dreams that gave me this information. These I will share
with you elsewhere. I hope you will continue to join me.
My Action Plan
Since the purpose of remembering dreams is so that you can learn
from them and act upon them, I generally devise an action plan once I
interpret a dream. Once I interpreted this particular dream, I
intentionally left myself open for signs of the particular issues that I
was repressing. It took some time -- but it worked.
This is such a classic dream that one might think I "dreamed" it up just
for this article. The fact is that it really was a recurring dream of mine
for many years. To understand the interpretation you should probably
know, without going into details, that there were several incidents in
my adolescence that I repressed -- in other words I locked them away
deep in my subconscious.
The ocean signifies that the dream is referring to my subconscious. In
the dream, the water is overtaking me and I am afraid that I will drown
unless I go inside the building. If the water symbolizes my emotions
then the fact that I was afraid of drowning indicates that I was afraid
that my emotions would overwhelm me. I, therefore, needed to find
shelter from these emotions and went inside the building -- inside of
myself.
At first, I was alone in the building. At some point I became aware of
other people. These other "people" were actually me. As each
incident occurred in my life, another part of me went "inside" where it
was safe.
The windows were indeed, a major insight into my life, and allowed me
a glimpse of the emotions that I was in fear of. In the beginning they
were very small and seeing that the water was over the top of the
windows, allowed me to believe that I was right in going inside the
shelter -- it saved me. The windows got larger and larger as I matured
and learned how to deal with these emotions that I repressed for so
long. In the end the walls were completely transparent and then the
dreams stopped. I no longer needed to hide in the building, as I was
no longer afraid of drowning in my emotions. Therefore, the dreams
stopped.
This dream recurred on a regular basis for about 16 years. I continued
having this dream even after I interpreted it. Mainly because the
dream only made me realize that I had issues that I was hiding inside,
without any indication of what the issues were. There were other
recurring dreams that gave me this information. These I will share
with you elsewhere. I hope you will continue to join me.
My Action Plan
Since the purpose of remembering dreams is so that you can learn
from them and act upon them, I generally devise an action plan once I
interpret a dream. Once I interpreted this particular dream, I
intentionally left myself open for signs of the particular issues that I
was repressing. It took some time -- but it worked.
| Happy Dreaming! |
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| Notes From a Dreamer ... on Dreaming: A Personal Journey in Dream Interpretation |
| I share more of my dreams and interpretations, plus tips on remembering dreams and working with dream symbols in my book: |
| Now Available! |
| Now Available! |