Dream Interpretation 6

DREAM 6

Main environment

A little wooden-walled room in a house, unknown to me in real life. There was a large wooden counter against one wall of the room. Next there was a transition and I was in my home in London. Then, a town which I cannot recall having visited in my waking life although it feels distinctly familiar. It may be that I have dreamed of this place before and a subconscious memory remains or that I have actually visited or seen the place in real life and suppressed the actual memory. The dream was almost like a ‘montage effect’ and I became aware that I was asleep and in a dream, although I was not entirely 'lucid' - it was more like I realised that if I tried to wake up, I would, but I was fighting to stay in the dream state so I could 'see more'. I found myself looking at a street and the sun was shining - it felt as if I was either in a car or looking down from a position above the dream action. I was then in a small supermarket on a side road, still in the ‘dream town’ buying food and I was aware that I had a residence in this town which I would be returning to after leaving the shop. I 'tried' to remain asleep to progress further into lucidity and see if I could exercise some degree of control over my actions, but I woke whilst still in the shop, which incidentally was decorated with lush plants. 

Timing

I'm not sure at the start. I then recall it was daytime for the remainder of the dream.

Characters

Myself (as I appear in real-life); a brown-haired young male (who is unknown to me in real-life, but in the dream I was aware that he was the boyfriend of unnamed female who I apparently knew in dream (not in real-life). I am not aware of any other characters although I think this is due to a memory lapse.

Narrative

The male showed me some trousers which he then folded up and placed on the counter. I was suddenly suspicious of his intentions (although he did nothing untoward, I had a 'feeling' that he wasn't a 'good' person) and I told him I had to leave. Then I awoke, but fell back asleep after a short period, and in the dream I had cooked spaghetti Bolognese and left it simmering gently in a big iron pan in the kitchen of my home (this is typical of my real-life method of cooking this dish). I then returned to the kitchen sometime later and found that someone had placed the Bolognese in many terracotta bowls and adorned them with green plants. They were placed in straight rows on top of the stove and I felt angry that someone had meddled with my cooking. I then found myself in the strange, yet familiar town, which although 'urban' had a lush, garden feel with lots of trees and flower arrangements. I felt very content and wished to explore, but found myself in a supermarket. It was at this point I became aware that I was asleep and dreaming.

I cannot quite describe in words how it is so, but without anyone in the dream informing me or me actually 'experiencing' such, I knew that I had finished a class/lecture at a learning establishment (it wasn’t my real-life university and it wasn’t a law course – I recall that it was something completely different from my real-life education, although I can’t remember the exact details, it’s just in the dream I knew I was doing something new and unexpected of me) and was returning back to my residence (in the dream, there was no recognition that I had previously been at home in London and now was ‘at home’ elsewhere – I didn’t question the sudden change of address). However, I have changed address and studied at many institutions around the country and therefore it may be that the dream evoked a memory of those experiences? I awoke whilst looking at the food in the supermarket and feeling aware that I wished to continue with the dream. 

Potential triggers

I am currently in the process of trying to return to university following a break, which may explain the vague sensation of having been to a lesson or being enrolled on a course in a different city to that I am currently resident in. I am not aware of where the wooden room or the 'boyfriend' character came from, but I am a person who often has reservations about people who are not at ease when around me - if someone seems cagey or shy, I tend to feel insecure about my own extrovert nature and wonder why they are unable to relax in my presence – I like people to be similarly loud and confident, so I know what they are thinking. I am very receptive to other peoples' anxieties and as I have recently (in my waking life) discussed this very issue - the picking up of clues about a person’s motifs through studying their body language, especially men. It may be that my experience of feeling uncertain about a particular man's motivations transferred to the anonymous male character in the dream - his role in my life loosely defined by a relationship to another rather than myself directly. 

* As I write up this undated dream record (on today’s date), I’m a little confused by what I have written in the above section – as you can see, the information provided about the contemporaneous real-life discussion about body language clues/the male in real-life whom I had uncertainties about, is particularly vague. I really cannot remember what this could refer to, but nevertheless, what little details I did record provide some form of contextualisation to assist in analysis. It should be noted that I do not keep a personal diary (or any written record of my day-to-day life, other than via social networking), only a work-related one, separate from my dream records and at the time of compiling the earlier accounts, which I’m in the process of posting now, I did not intend for others to read them, so was perhaps not quite as articulate as could have been. 

I had recently been going on long scenic drives through parts of Norfolk and London and therefore these may have triggered my dreaming of a new, yet seemingly familiar and picturesque urban environment with strong elements of nature and plant life (it is also Spring in real-life, at the time of this dream). I am fairly neurotic about people intervening when I am cooking and I think this quite aptly explains the section of my dream concerned with the 'Bolognese' and my frustration that someone had tampered with my food preparation.

Interpretation

An object made of wood may represent:

1. the cycle of nature
2. something false;
3. masculinity;
4. fuel or input into a process;
5. something dead and lifeless.

I am not aware of which of these applies to my dream. To see a male in a dream represents your own feelings of assertiveness or competitiveness or a need to incorporate these characteristics into your life. An unknown male in a dream can represent someone with similar qualities or roles in your waking life (or can reflect aspects of the self, projected onto another) or can relate to a fear/threat concerning that 'character'. The general 'feeling' I experienced in the dream whilst being alone with the male was that of unspoken threat. This convinces me that although the male was an archetype of a man (supposedly known vaguely to my dream self, but still seemingly 'unknown' and alien) who had no distinguishable features of qualities, he likely represents a particular male who I have misgivings about. The fact I felt the need to escape as opposed to interacting with the male also displays my desire to avoid confronting a person I know is too reserved to 'bite back' or open up. Typically, if I feel someone is going to retaliate and speak up for themselves, I’d rather confront them and speak my mind than walk away/admit defeat.

To see trousers in a dream suggests that you are questioning your role in a given situation or it may hint at a sexual matter - trousers signify temptation and sexual allure. It may also be symbolic of achievement and go-getting attitudes or of the workplace.

Food represents nourishment in a holistic sense - mind, body and soul. In general dream interpretation suggests that you look at the particular type of food to determine its exact meaning within the context of the dream. Spaghetti represents longevity and abundance. Tomatoes represent domestic happiness and harmony. 

To dream of food cooking in a pot signifies creativity and process - putting things into motion. To see clay/terracotta pots can represent angers or frustrations in your waking life (the emotion that I experienced looking at the pot was that of anger - but strangely to see tomatoes and spaghetti - the food in the pots is supposed to be representative of the exact opposite!) The symbol of a pot may also refer to marijuana. To see a pot used as a contained can also be symbolic of: 

1. control or restraint;  
2. need to categorise aspects of ones life - feelings; ideas; opinions; activities etc; keeping certain things together in your mind;  
3. feeling contained and denied freedom.

To see a busy town in your dream symbolises warmth, compassion and unity amongst a group of common-minded persons or, more literally, an event or memory associated with that place. To see indoor plants (as with those in the kitchen, atop the food in containers) or in the supermarket represents a feeling that your growth and potential are being hindered and lack of independence. To see them growing outside (as I also did) represents fertility, development, evolution and a desire to be closer to nature. To dream that you are shopping represents needs and desires, opportunities and options.

Dreams of food/grocery shopping refers to hidden notions that you can buy other peoples' affections/attention.

Analysis 
This was a pretty interesting interpretation of a strange mish-mash of dream scenes - the accuracy is quite apparent and sometimes I wish I was a little more candid/brazen/cruel so that I'd feel comfortable disclosing more intimate details surrounding my personal life and the persons who inhabit it so you could truly see just how apt some of the interpretations really are, but out of general fear of defamation actions, I’ll opt for a more discreet approach! Mostly in terms of my covert/unconfronted (sometimes expressed to others - i.e. not the person concerned, but shared with third parties) suspicions regarding other people's behaviours, attitudes and motivations towards myself - I hate unspoken grievances which prevent persons from interacting and I'm all for confrontation; if someone is angry with me, I like them to tell me to my face and get it out in the open, even if it means they have to argue their point and I am forced to defend myself. I sometimes wish people would tell me when they think I'm wrong and try and voice their own opinions and stand up for themselves. I, like many people I imagine, respect an individual who openly objects to my behaviour and provides me a right of reply, rather than simply acquiesce to my will/actions and suffers in silence. I experience these frustrations all the more if the individual in question is male - I want them to assert their masculinity rather than succumb to my wishes because I'm female and they don't wish to upset me. I think these self-observations were expressed in the dream in many guises - perhaps the trousers represent a feeling of sexual threat concerning the anonymous male 'boyfriend' character - or a sense that I feel threatened by the male's lack of masculinity? Again, I don’t think I am in a position to state any of these points with any concrete certainty.

Indeed, there are various elements which point towards feelings of restraint and lack of freedom which appear fairly accurate - I sometimes feel trapped by my current life in London and the current state of my career, which is wholly uncertain at this stage (as with any student/recent graduate). I also rarely leave my home due to my writing which keeps me occupied for most of the day when not job seeking. This may also account for the appearance of symbols of opportunity/options for transition and change, demonstrating a need to seek greater independence and look beyond the four walls of home life.