Dreams of Being Lost – What Do These Dreams Mean?
A Recently Submitted Dream for Analysis:
I always dream about not being able to find my way somewhere, or not being able to find something that I knew was there before. I either can’t find my way home, or can’t find my way out of a house, or can’t find the proper road, etc. Last night’s dream – I put my bag in a post office box (that was on the outside of the post office for some reason), and then when I went to find it, I couldn’t. I went up and down streets looking for the box I put my bag in, but couldn’t find it. One other time, I was trying to find my way home and kept walking on different roads that kind of looked familiar, but were not the roads I needed to get home. One other was I was in a house with many rooms, and could not find my way out of it. All my dreams are like this, and I wake up before I find my way. What does this type of dream mean?
Fascinatingly enough, your dreams are actually covering several areas. They’re taking you by the hand and pulling you in several directions. It’s a wonder you aren’t completely frazzled!
Dreams of Being Lost
The key symbolism for dreams in which we lose our way (or can’t find it in the first place) is frustration. It’s a pretty common dream theme, simply because all of us are familiar with being frustrated. Whether it’s in school, at home, at work, or in a relationship – we all know the feeling of wanting something to go THIS way as we sit and watch it defiantly go THAT way instead!
Many Christians will experience dreams such as this when they feel that they’re “losing their way,” or that they aren’t reading their Bible often enough, praying enough, etc. I interpreted a dream for a lady,once, who had gone to her Catholic church for over 20 years. An injury at work left her unable to leave her house for a couple of months. She had dreams just about every night of losing either her teeth, her hair, her clothes, etc. Her church was such a huge part of her life that she felt like she was actually “losing herself.” I suggested that she call up members of her church and invite them over for coffee. When they found out how much she missed them, a few ladies began automatically coming by after each service – bringing her cookies, drinking coffee with her, and telling her what had gone on at the service. Is that sweet or what?! The dreams ended because she didn’t feel the loss so much any longer.
Dreams of Losing Objects
When we dream of losing something, it’s an indication that we feel we have, indeed, lost something. Parents who have young children suddenly enrolled in school (whether it’s first grade or college) will have frequent dreams like this because they subconsciously feel that they’ve lost something. Soon, however, they realize they haven’t lost the child at all and the dreams fade away.
On an even deeper level, many people who have made compromises in relationships (personal or professional) will have these dreams because they feel that they’ve lost a piece of themself.
I’d say that your dreams are definitely trying to tell you something. Any time dreams recur like this, there’s an underlying issue or emotion. I like to think of these hidden emotions as unopened e-mail. You know when you log in to your e-mail, it’ll tell you when you have unopened mail? Recurring dreams serve the same basic function – alerting us that we have undealt with emotions.
When we click on the unopened mail, the message goes away. We’ve dealt with it and there’s no need for it to bring anything to our attention any longer.
Think of your dreams along these lines. Spend a little time with yourself (no distractions) and ask yourself what losses you feel – whether they are literal, physical losses or emotional. More likely than not, you’ll get in touch with feelings you didn’t even fully realize you were having.
Good luck and sweet dreams!
Dreams About Snakes in the Grass
I had a dream three nights ago that I can’t shake. I was in the yard, at a picnic or something like that. I looked down and saw a snake coming toward me in the grass. No matter where I tried to run, there he was following me. I felt so scared and helpless because no matter where I went, he came.
I ran into a circus type tent and thought I was safe. But then the ring leader, who looked more like a talk show host, held the snake up in the air and started walking toward me with it. The snake still had grass on it and was, at first, playing dead. Then he reared up and looked really angry. I knew he was mad that I had tried to get away from him. Thankfully I woke up before the ringleader and the snake got to me.
I can’t get this dream out of my head and keep expecting a snake to be everywhere. I hate snakes anyway, so this is a really horrible deal for me. Any help would be greatly appreciated. It may sound silly, but I don’t even want to go outside.
I can totally relate to you – snakes are one of my own biggest fears, so I don’t think it sounds silly. You will get over this feeling in a few days, though, so don’t worry about it too much.
A few things strike me about your dream.
- The fact that you said you couldn’t “shake” the dream and that it is affecting you so strongly that you expect a snake to be “everywhere” mean a great deal. It takes a particularly powerful and vivid dream to stay with a dreamer like this. This is almost always an indication that there are extremely strong emotions tied to the interpretation of this dream.
- Most dreams involving snakes stay in our minds because of a snake’s symbolism. We associate snakes with satan to a great extent, thanks to the Garden of Eden. It’s hard to get any scarier than that, right?! Even thought any animal could have been used to speak to Eve, the fact that satan chose a snake stays with us.
- Your snake was so persistent! This is another indication of the importance of this dream’s interpretation.
- The fact that you said you were scared and felt helpless are huge.
This dream seems to indicate that you are feeling more helpless lately than you have ever felt before. Because of the impact this dream is having on you, I’d say that feeling helpless is a feeling you aren’t at all familiar with. The fact that your subconscious mind chose something you hate so passionately (snakes) is a clear indication of the inner turmoil you’re feeling. You probably aren’t even fully aware of just how much stress you’ve been under or how helpless you’ve been made to feel.
Once you realize that the snake in the grass was merely symbolic for this emotion, you’ll realize that you don’t have anything to fear around the next corner – not even outside! This snake in your dream only symbolizes whatever it is in your day to day life that you feel helpless against.
When you find a way to deal with this particular problem, you will have won the battle!
Until then, here’s something to keep in mind about snakes – so many of us are afraid of them, but we can’t name one single person we know who has ever been bit by one. Yet, most of us can name several people who’ve been bit by dogs or cats – yet we aren’t afraid of them in the least! Or cars – most of us know of people who’ve been badly hurt in car wrecks, but we get into them every day without fear. I, myself, have been in 3 car wrecks and have never been approached by a snake EVER, yet I’m terrified of one and can’t imagine life without the other.
Try to focus on solving whatever it is in your life that has made you feel helpless and overcome it. Try not to dwell too much on snake dreams. When you do think about it – be thankful! He may have helped draw attention to something in your world that you need to address before it gets the better of you.
How Well Do You Remember Your Dreams?
If you’re serious about dream prophesy, dream analysis, dream interpretation, and really getting to the heart of what your dreams mean, you’ll need your dream recall to be on the absolute TOP of its game!
- How well do you remember your dreams?
- Do you remember your emotions and feelings during your dreams?
- Do you recognize most of the people in your dreams?
- In the morning, can you recall at least one of your dreams?
- Do you recall the various “symbols” in your dreams?
If you feel that your dream recall needs a little work, I have the perfect solution: A Dream Journal. While you don’t absolutely have to run out and buy a new notebook or journal to serve as your Dream Journal – it would be a cool idea. You could use any notebook you have around the house, of course, but the more “special” you make the entire experience, the better.
Even if you simply go to one of those amazing stores where everything is $1 and buy a notebook in your favorite color – you’re making a point of taking the entire enterprise seriously, and that’s what’s important. My first Dream Journal was actually a wire notebook with colorful Lisa Frank dolphins on the front. Seemed appropriate enough!
Here’s another idea that adds to the adventure. Find a pocket folder (for mere pennies) to keep with your dream journal. I’ll tell you what it’s for in just a minute!
Get Started With Your Dream Journal
Once you have your dream journal, go ahead and enter a recent dream. Include the people who were in the dream, what you were doing in the dream (what you hoped to accomplish or were trying to avoid), the symbols (knives, snakes, balloons, candles, fire, clouds – anything that stands out) in the dream, and most importantly – HOW YOU FELT DURING THE DREAM. Also, list any and all colors that you remember. List only the top 3 colors you remember – 4 at the most. Oddly enough, this is very important!
A typical journal entry might look something like this:
I was driving an old beaten up red pick up truck. My beloved basset hound, Honey, was in the passenger’s seat. We were in a huge hurry to get somewhere and Honey could talk. In fact, she talked practially the whole time. Her collar, instead of being her normal hot pink one was white. I couldn’t make sense of that in my dream – though her talking didn’t shock me. I was confused as to why the collar changed colors.
We were in a huge hurry and I was driving really fast. We were on dirt roads and passed by a lot of farm houses and brown horses. At some point, my cat Lanie joined us and could also talk. He wasn’t in a hurry and wanted us to slow down and get something to eat. Then I woke up. Hungry.
Main Colors: Red, white, brown
Emotions: Rushed, confused, anxious, hungry!
The above dream is actually one of the first ones I ever recorded in a dream journal. This is actually the VERY dream that began my study of and fascination with dreams. When I was thinking about this dream the next day at school (instead of listening to my Algebra teacher!), I realized that, underneath it all, I was feeling many of the same feelings in my real life as I did in my dream. By the time the class was over, a lifelong fascination with dreams and heartfelt belief in the importance of their interpretations had taken hold.
Be sure that you enter your “feelings” as accurately as possible. Here are a few suggestions: joyful, sad, anxious, worried, depressed, helpless, surprised, ashamed, agitated, frustrated, curious, confused, powerful, unloved, ignored, furious, hopeful, optimistic, sexy, ugly, brave, etc. Even if the emotions seem to have NOTHING to do with one another, write them down.
Remember the Folder?!
This exercise adds even more fun to your dream recall and analysis. Cut out or draw/color pictures that symbolize your dream. If you have room in your dream journal to tape (or draw) them onto the pages, do so. If not, clip the images together with a paper clip, then add a little piece of paper with the date of the dream.
Having visuals of the colors and symbols can really help put you in touch with your inner feelings and emotions.
I have many more articles and exercises planned to add to the site that deal with Dream Journals and Dream Recall – with plenty more about images and, even, collages. So, please grab an rss feed and/or sign up for e-mail updates, so you’ll know what’s been added as soon as it’s here for you. I just wish I could open up my notebooks (and brain!) and pour everything out at once. Kind of impossible, though, so I’ll just take it steady.
I’m actually working on a downloadable Dream Journal template for the site, color charts, and a visual guide to dream symbols. So much to do!
Have a glorious weekend – if you need me, I’ll be right here, typing, thinking, and tweaking away with coffee and chocolate fueling me along.
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