Dream Interpretation 11

DREAM 11

17 December 2011

Main environment

This dream was in first person perspective, and started with me looking into nothingness at a single image. Then, I was transitioning between my old high school in Sheringham (which looked quite similar to as it did in real-life during my attendance) and PC’s (grandmother) home in Sheringham. The final location I recall was a city high street, most likely Norwich, as I think that was referred to in the dream (also the closest city to Sheringham in real-life).

Timing

For the majority of the dream, it appeared to be daytime.

Characters

Myself (as I appear in real-life, although I’m not sure if I was an adult attending my old high school, or simply re-visiting); NH, my female school friend (as she appears in real-life); PC (in background); random males (known to me in the dream as fellow pupils at the school, but not recognised as real-life persons); a male named Pace/Page (in the dream I knew him to be a boy in my school year who I vaguely knew and recall his real-life name to be FD. I cannot recall ever speaking to this person in my real-life, despite the fact we both attended a small school with a year group of less than 200 pupils. I do not even recall what he looked like and have no idea what he looks like now – in the dream he was a white male of average build with light brown hair, very nondescript. I think NH may have known him in real-life. Since I had this dream, a few memories of the real-life FD have come back to me – little snippits of irrelevant information which I am not sure why I remember. When thinking of FD, I have associated memories of a road adjacent to a council estate, leading up to the primary/high school, in particular a memory of myself and others standing outside the houses on the left hand-side of the road. I would have walked up and down that road many times in the past, but this particular memory focuses on one unrecalled occasion. I cannot recall this particular area of Sheringham appearing in my dream. I think I have thought about it (although unconnected to thoughts of previously forgotten FD) before I had this dream. I also have a random memory of standing at the top of a short flight of stairs in the entrance of my old school. In front of me are double doors leading to the main corridor, to my right, my old maths classroom and to my left, an alcove in the wall with a snack machine. I really cannot remember if there really is a drink/snack machine located there in real-life (now or when I attended the school). It may be a figment of my imagination; an inaccurate memory or a product of the dream itself. The rest of the layout seemed pretty real.).

Narrative

I was staring at a single object with no comprehension of the space around it – it seemed like empty space. The object was a bird-type creature, although it did not look alive. It may have been a model; photograph or drawing – I have no recollection of it’s actual form. It appeared to me to be very large however. That was the impression I got looking at it, as I felt wonderment and repulsion. It was very ugly with a long, low body and short stumpy legs. I didn’t see wings and I am not sure how I knew it was a bird as it didn’t seem to have a beak either. It’s body was covered with black fluffy feathers and it had a long, bald, snake-like white neck and a tubular snout from which a long pink tongue kept flicking out. The closest real-life bird breeds I am able to draw slight comparison with are the turkey and the ostrich, but this creature was neither. In the dream I was confused about what I was looking at – I knew it was not a normal species of animal.

* I woke from the dream for a few minutes at this stage. I think it is because I have started training myself to wake at intervals during the night to assist with my dream recall.  As I felt myself falling back asleep, I focused my mind on returning to the dream, meditating on the image of the bird-creature.

Next, I was at PC’s house with NH (who did used to spend a lot of time with me at PC’s house during childhood/early teenage years). We were talking and quarrelling about something. PC was in the house too, but I do not recall what she was doing. I told NH that FD (whom we knew as Pace/Page) was taking me to a book shop in the city. NH seemed annoyed by this plan. She told me that she wanted to go to the book shop with Pac/gePac/ge was in this room – we were aware he had been involved in the fighting, but I’m not sure if we actually saw it in the dream. There was then some conversation which I cannot remember. The next scene was the city centre street. Pac/ge and I were standing outside the book shop looking in through the window. He pointed out a book on display, suggesting that was the one I wanted. It was a yellow text-book about the bird-creature I had dreamed of earlier.

Potential triggers

I have been in touch with people I have not seen since my school days (Facebook; messages via my mum) although I have not seen or heard of FD once nor had reason to think of him. I had been typing up notes from a previous dream which referred to my school/college and had read textbook interpretations of ‘school’ symbolism in dreams the day before this dream. Education and textbooks are part of my everyday life as I am a student and academic writer. It is nearly Christmas, so I have seen images of turkeys on television recently.

Interpretation

In dreams, the symbol of a bird generally refers to goals and aspirations. To specifically see deformed or odd birds in your dreams relates to the dreamer’s unique and subversive outlook/perspective on love and romance. It may also represent the dreamer’s lack of understanding in this area. A dead or dying bird relates to disappointment and the continual presence of troublesome thoughts in the mind. If the bird is an ostrich, this is symbolic that you are in denial and not facing reality – i.e. living in a world of you own. There may be a situation you are unwilling to accept. Other negative connotations include ‘degrading’ sexual intrigue. Alternatively, ostriches may refer to steady amassing of wealth; groundedness; justice or truth. The symbol of a turkey represents the dreamer’s foolishness and lack of foresight, or alternatively, celebrations and festivity. A sick/dead turkey is symbolic of an attack on the dreamer’s pride. Black feathers are representative of disappointment in love and unhappiness.

To dream of a school/learning institution represents some form of social or cultural change – a desire to expand knowledge and awareness. To specifically dream about high school refers to the friendships and bonds you made there. The dream may be subconsciously reminding you that you need to start preparing for the real world and may have occurred as a result of reawakened anxieties or insecurities. To see a hallway in your dream, symbolises self exploration. It is the beginning of the path that you are taking in life. You are going through a transitional phase and journeying into the unknown. It also signals spiritual enlightenment; emotional growth and prowess; new opportunities and mental passages in your life. A classroom indicates that you are undergoing some form of personal development or in the process of learning important life lessons. To dream about mathematics indicate that you are evaluating a situation in your waking life where you need to be more rational in your thinking. Try not to act on your emotions.

To see an acquaintance in your dream reflects aspects of yourself that you are still trying to make sense of and get to know. To see friends in your dream reflects aspects of your personality which you have rejected, but are now ready to acknowledge and incorporate. To see a childhood friend relates to a regression to a past life where you had no responsibilities – this reflects a desire to escape to a less stressful and more carefree existence. Further, there is the implication that you may have been acting in a childish manner and need make changes. If dream of a quarrel, this represents some hidden negativity you may have towards that person in real-life, although you are likely to have some difficulty in expressing these issues, therefore the need for the subconscious mind to address them through dream form. The quarrelling between myself and NH in this dream was mild and of no greater significance than other minor arguments we would have had in real-life.

To see others fighting in your dream is symbolic of your failure or unwillingness to acknowledge your own problems and turmoil and may indicate that you are not taking responsibility or initiative in solving your real-life issues. To see someone smoking in your dream, depends on your on personal associations with smoking. However, it often indicates some sort of dissension, disagreement or rebellion; mental or emotional toxicity and nervous compulsive behaviours.

To see the floor (where the fighting males were lying) can be symbolic of a starting place; lower limits or standards or disrespectfulness/humiliation.  Seeing another person unconscious in your dream may have the following meanings:

1. The idea that the unconscious person is unaware that something is going on, or "sleepwalking" through life without living meaningfully;
2. The person is not participating or unavailable;
3. Helplessness;
4. The idea that the person is extraneous or doesn't count.

To dream of a shopping mall/centre represents your attempts to make a favourable impression on someone. You are trying to establish an identity or sense of self. The mall is symbolic of materialism and a desire to keep up to date with the latest trends and tastes. Shopping in a dream typically represents abundance. 

A textbook represents academic pursuits and a thirst for further learning – consider the subject of the textbook in the dream. To see a window in your dream is symbolic of bright hopes; vast possibilities and insight. If the dreamer is looking in the window (as opposed to out), this refers to soul-searching and introspection. If you are window shopping in the dream (as I was at the point I woke), this may mean that you are feeling deprived of life’s luxuries. You may have feelings of inadequacy of being under-qualified. Further interpretations suggest that you may feel unsatisfied or unfulfilled and are looking for something lacking in your life. The colour yellow has both positive and negative connotations. If the dream is a pleasant one, then yellow is symbolic of intellect, energy, agility, happiness, harmony, and wisdom. On the other hand, if the dream is an unpleasant one, then the colour represents deceit, disgrace, betrayal, cowardice and sickness. You have a fear or an inability to make a decision or to take action. Your desire to please others is at the risk of sacrificing your own needs and happiness. As a result, you are experiencing many setbacks.

Male in dream: assertive; rational; competitive or aggressive aspects of own character/characteristics which should be embraced more. If the male if known to you – reflection of subconscious thoughts about that person.

Female in dream: passivity; nurturing; caring or love; your own female characteristics of those of your mother. Alternatively, may symbolise temptation/guilt.

Grandparents relate to wisdom; love and protection and may be symbolic of a regression to childhood needs. Grandmothers represent nurturing, protection and unconditional love. To see a childhood or previous home signifies desire to build a family and family ideology. It may represent aspects of you which were dominant at the point that you lived in that home and unfinished feelings triggered by a waking situation - although it may also be reflective of out-dated thinking. To dream of one's old hometown means that there are unresolved feelings/loss of identity.

Analysis

This was an interesting interpretation. As I study past dreams/interpretations alongside these more recent ones, it is clear that a large amount of dream symbolism and meaning is recurrent. It is also worth noting that the final step in the MILD Technique (discussed in an earlier instructional post) - i.e. the method of 'dream visualisation' whereby, on the brink of sleep, or after waking from a dream you visualise a recalled dream scene and will yourself into the dream state, worked really well on this occasion, although there was no lucidity to report.