Monday 21 November 2016

Dream 727

'Why Did You Bring a Lion?'
Date: 20 November 2016
Time: 08:00 - 15:00 (I woke up from this dream due to a phone call)
Type of dream: Vivid dream
Dream recall: Strong recall

This dream is part of my Dream Incubation Experiment - where I ask my subconscious mind: WHAT DOES MY HEART DESIRE? You can read the introductory post (and watch the accompanying Youtube video by clicking HERE - opens in new window)

Scene 1: An Open Structure - Day
I was standing in an open structure - it was like a building, but without proper walls and no ceiling - as if it was half-built. There were many dream characters in this area and I was with a male dream character who was my friend in the dream. 

Another male dream character was present - he was an older, white man and my friend and I did not like or trust him. He was supposed to bring a cat to the area, but instead, he had brought a lion, which he was unable to control. It was roaming loose around the area, and this made me panic. I shouted at the man: 'Why did you bring a lion?' I feared the lion would attack me, and it did try to scratch me, but the harm was minor and I was surprised. The lion mauled the dream character male who had brought it. We saw him lying on what looked like a hospital bed, with a white sheet over his body, still in the same location. At this point, I could not see the lion, or the specific injuries the male had suffered. My friend and I were still questioning why he had brought the lion instead of a domestic cat. 

Scene 2: A Domestic Interior - Time Unknown
I was then sitting on a sofa in a domestic interior, which looked like a house I used to live in, by the seafront, in my home town (when I was very young). There was an adult male dream character laying on the sofa beside me, covered by a blanket, so I could not see his face. He extended his bare foot  - which was huge - out from under the blanket. His legs were very hairy. He started to try and touch me with his foot, which disgusted me, so I told him to stop. Someone else entered the room - I think it was a family member. They also told him to stop. 

Scene 3: Sheringham - Day
I was trying to decide what I wanted to do with my life once I finish the current stage of education I am undertaking. My Mum said she would pay £1000 tuition fees for me to study a course at a new local university which had opened in Sheringham. It was very small and I was worried that it was not a good one. The enrolment meant that I would have to begin my new course while still finishing the one I was on (which was the one I am doing in real life). I went to look around the school - it looked like a primary school rather than a university, and was located at the end of the town near the sea, in a little space between 2 of the pubs which I believe is an art gallery (located on Lifeboat Plain - see Google Maps image).

It was an open day when I arrived, and the sun was shining outside. I knew the location in the dream, because I could see the view which would be visible from the window of the building shown on the Google Maps image. There were a number of new students present - AP and LB were 2 of the people I recognised, but I was aware that most of the new students were people I had attended high school with (AP was in my year at school and LB was 2 years below me). I was getting bad feelings about the university. I felt that the quality of education would not be good enough and I would be taking a step backwards. I told my Mum that she should try to get a refund for the £1000 fees she had paid, and she said that she would.

I was then walking down a corridor with my Mum's friend, CC, who was telling me that there was another university, which would be better for my needs. She was telling me of all the advantages of it and how it was high in the league tables for results. I thought this sounded good, so I decided that I would go there instead. Once my mind was made up, it felt like this was a fixed decision.

CC then showed me a photograph of the new university. It was made of wicker and wood and was suspended high in the treetops - with only a rope bridge as a means of accessing it. I am scared of heights and it looked very dangerous. I instantly knew that I could not study there, and I believed that CC had tricked me by convincing me that it was a good idea before showing me the photograph. I was annoyed at her and wondered if I was able to change my mind and attend the new Sheringham University instead. I was either intending to - or actually did - contact my Mum to tell her not to get a refund of the fees, because I did want to go there after all.

Scene 4: PF's House (in the dream) - Night
I was then with a male dream character - I am not sure who it was, but he was known to me in the dream and was more of an acquaintance than a friend. I did not see him - he was standing next to me in this scene. We were watching a scene take place in front of us - I am not sure if we were watching it in person, or on a screen. The male dream character was responsible for us being able to spy on the scene and I knew that what we were watching was private and we were not authorised to watch. The scene involved the life of PF - a girl I lived with at university. We watched (in fast forward, although it did not seem sped up) her get married; have sex with her husband (while wearing a pink cropped top and miniskirt - the sex took place in the open front doorway of their house); be pregnant and have her first child and celebrate Christmas with her husband and baby son. I told the male dream character who I was with that we should not be watching these private events, but he said that he was obsessed with her and had to constantly watch her life. 

I was then either talking to PF - or witnessing her talk to someone else from a close distance. She was saying that 'Jack' (the name of the male dream character who had made me spy on her with him?) was obsessed with her because of her 'exotic name' (it is true, PF does have an exotic name, and one I have never heard of before or since meeting her). She was looking at a printed piece of paper which was the results of genetic genealogy (where DNA is tested to see genetic/ethnic ancestry). Next to each 'ethnicity' listed was a percentage. On PF's results, the highest percentage was for 'Jewish' which I found surprising, because ethnically, she is of Iranian heritage, like myself. I wondered why her results showed her to be Jewish. There was also a mix of other ethnicities found in her DNA, such as Caucasian (i.e. European); African etc. 

I cannot recall what else happened in this dream. 

Extra Information: 
None of note

Recurrent Dream Themes: 

  • My Mum as a dream character
  • A classroom; school; learning institution as a dream scene location or theme

Dreamsigns: 
  • The dream character and his lion
  • A university opening in Sheringham
  • Spying on PF and seeing her life in fast-forward

Day Residue: 
  • A couple of days before this dream I had been wondering if I could apply for a second PhD and in my recent Youtube video (posted below) I mentioned that I wanted to continue in education/academia, but was unsure where I might continue with this career path, considering I love my current institution, which is local to my family, but I do have the option of applying elsewhere
  • I had been chatting casually with LB a few weeks before this dream - I had not had any contact with him before that, even though he is on my Facebook friends list
  • In my recent Youtube video I mentioned that I am not a risk-taker and I avoid unnecessary danger

Waking Reactions: 
This was a really interesting dream, as like the one from yesterday, it was very vivid and complex. This is encouraging as it demonstrates the possibility that my new Dream Incubation Experiment may be having a positive effect on my dreaming. There does seem to be some material which is capable of being interpreted as relevant to my question of what does my heart desire? Is it that I want to continue with my education? This seems likely, as on a conscious level, this is something I think I want from life - or at least it is the preferred option at present. However, this theme appearing in my dream may be down to the operation of Day Residue as much as my dream incubation question, as I had been discussing these options the day of this dream. I wonder if Scene 4 is an indication that I am subconsciously envious of PF's life?Although she is not on my Facebook friends list, and actually, until today (after starting to write up this dream report) I had not seen her profile for over a year, I was aware that she was happily married and had a child. Even at university, she seemed to have a perfect life. I am not sure why my subconscious picked her, given I know many women (and men) who have equally 'perfect' family lives from the 'outside looking in' - however, it may be due to our shared ethnicity that my subconscious chose her, as although I do know other women of Iranian heritage, she is the only one I know who was an undergraduate at the same university as me; lived with me; and has got a glamorous life and young family. Therefore, perhaps she was an 'easy' comparison for my subconscious to make with my life?

I would also note that I woke from this dream and a short while after waking felt - for the first time in ages - a darkening sense of depression fall over me. I felt quite in despair, and could not point to what was troubling me. I felt alone and tearful, although being the tough, unemotional person I can be, I held back the crying and decided to distract myself, which I was ultimately successful at. I wonder if my depressed mood was related to this dream (some form of Dream Residue?)



Here is my Youtube video where I describe my current Dream Incubation Experiment:

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