Closed Signs: Are These “Signs” More Than They Seem?
When Your Dream is Trying to Tell You Something Important
I recently had a dream submitted that involved a very interesting dream symbol: Closed Signs. The dreamer pointed out that they are a recent college graduate who (like a LOT of young people) is struggling a little in their career.
Below is an excerpt from the dream:
2 nights ago i had a dream, i was with my friend in a condo and we were about to leave and i said to the other person in the same room that i will just bring my friend home and we walked towards to the elevator and we found out that the elevator is not working on that floor so we decided that to maybe go down to another floor to ride the elevator.so we did, we used the stairs and when we
reached another floor down there’s a sign on the door and it says “CLOSED” then, we went down again until we can enter a opened door. But as we go down again, We saw the “CLOSED” sign again and another floor down “CLOSED” sign was there again and then on the 4th floor down there i saw no more “CLOSED” sign and we entered then i woke up after that.
What a frustrating dream! This is one of those instances where the description of the dream (frustrating) sums up feelings the dreamer has recently experienced. It’s as though the subconscious mind uses the emotions of the conscious mind to “set the theme” for dreams. It picks up on the frustration and more or less runs with it – up elevators, down halls, up stairs, down stairs..
However, I think there might be a little more to it. While it’s clear why your mind created such a frustrating scenario in your dream, I believe it was – in the process – providing you with a little advice.
Before I get to what I personally think this advice was, I just want to reiterate something I frequently say on Dream Prophesy: Our subconscious mind is one of our greatest allies in life. It has access to all of our struggles, our strengths, our weaknesses, our problems – everything that is US and everything that is OUR WORLD. The subconscious mind knows everything our conscious mind does – but it has a “superpower,” if you will.
It doesn’t get in its own way!
That’s why it is so vital to interpret our dreams (or to have someone do it for you, of course). Our dreams are basically our subconscious mind painting a picture for us and, many times (if not most of the time), we can find valuable clues and priceless advice within the picture it paints.
In this particular dream, I believe the dreamer’s subconscious mind is saying, “Keep looking for the answer…” Furthermore, because of the nature of the dream, I believe the subconscious mind is also saying, “Look places you haven’t yet looked.”
We can EVEN go a little deeper. Because there were “levels” in the dream – clearly indicated by stairs and elevators – I believe the subconscious mind is encouraging the dreamer to “look up” and possibly even to “aim higher.” Why? Because all of the “downs” were closed!
When a dream presents us with clear options (up… down or hot… cold, etc), many times the clue to the dream’s interpretation is in the choice that was successful in the dream OR, by process of elimination, the choice that was unsuccessful in the dream.
Obviously, when you have a dream like this, it doesn’t mean to march into work on Monday morning and demand a raise. I’m pretty sure telling your boss, “But my dream said aim higher!” won’t win you the title employee of the month! However, a dream like this can serve as motivation and inspiration to aim higher, look up, and keep on keeping on.
The key dream analysis here is to look UP, aim HIGHER, and… whatever you do… don’t “lower” your expectations or get DOWN… because there isn’t anything for you there… it’s all CLOSED!
Thanks so much for submitting your dream – when dreamers do so, inevitably other dreamers are helped by their interpretation.
When Dreams Seem to Come True
“Each Time I Dream About Someone, I See Them Soon Thereafter…”
Recently a Dreamer Wrote:
I’m a rational adult and I know – without a shadow of doubt – that dreams don’t tell the future. I’ve read on this website about how that some people are more intuitive than others and how this makes them have dreams that often seem to tell the future. It makes complete sense to me and I totally agree with it. I just wanted to run something by you because it is so uncanny. Each time I dream about someone, I see them soon thereafter. I’ve noticed it for about 3 years now. When I dream about a person or several people, I always end up seeing them either the next day or one of the following 3 days. Always! I was just wondering what your thoughts were about this. Thanks a lot! – CB
CB, Ironically my oldest daughter and I have noticed something kind of similar. It seems that whenever we think about someone we hadn’t seen (or even thought of in a while), we end up seeing them – either that day or the next. In a lot of ways, dreams are our subconscious mind’s thoughts, so I think the situations kind of go hand in hand.
Personally I think a lot of it has to do with a good old fashioned “sense of timing” that we’re all born with.
For example, have you often felt like “it’s time for a storm” – even without seeing the weather? Or maybe you’ve kind of gotten a sense that “it’s time for something bad to happen.” Life is a series of cycles, strewn together and sometimes I believe we simply “sense” when it’s time for something – yes, even time that a certain familiar face show up!
Our subconscious mind is aware of A LOT more than we ever give it credit for. Fact is, if we could somehow sit down and have a conversation with our subconscious mind, we’d be blown away by its insights. We’d also come away with a lot of answers and solutions to problems that have been hounding us.
Which is the main reason behind delving into dreams for dream analyses and interpretations!
Sometimes our subconscious mind simply knows when it’s “about time” to see someone. In turn, it’ll present the person in a dream or thought during the day.
Other times? Chalk it up to good old coincidence!
What Do Collision Dreams Mean?
Plus: Why Recurring Dreams Deserve Extra Attention
What does it mean to dream about colliding with people or things? I had my first dream like this about 3 weeks ago. I was driving a car on a street and suddenly a train (on the road for some reason) came right at me. I woke up right before it hit me. The next collision dream was about being in a grocery store when a store worker collided her huge cart with my grocery cart. The most recent one got my attention the most though. I was walking in a field when I suddenly realized that I was walking on an old railroad track. Just as my mind registered what it was, I heard a loud train whistle and looked up to see one coming right at me. My feet couldn’t run sideways – they had to stay on the old train track. I couldn’t even turn around to go the other direction. I had to run backwards trying to get away from this big train that was speeding at me. I woke up and sat straight up, breathing deep like I’d been running. It has left me shaken for days.
First of all, let’s look at what collision dreams mean. Ancient dream guides say that dreams like the ones named here are omens to slow down. The thought is that if your mind is “set” to this type of panic mode, it’s because it is over-stimulated and in need of a rest.
Generally speaking, I read old dream guides with a measure of skepticism – after all, most of them talk about “foretelling” and “omens,” as though dreams are psychic and we don’t have a lot of say in the matter. I’m certainly not on board with that line of thinking, so I never put FULL trust in ancient dream guides. However, when it comes to dreams such as this – I think they’re right on the money.
A stressed brain will “conjure” up far more stressful dreams than a well-rested, peaceful brain. The same can be said for a dreamer’s brain when the dreamer is sick, injured, or under any sort of grief or prolonged sadness.
Dreams of colliding with other people or objects generally mean the dreamer is “on guard” about something in his/her life. There is something in particular that they’re “watching out for.”
I’ve heard of people who have been very unlucky in love having these types of dreams when starting a new relationship. Bad things have happened in the past and, in an effort to protect themselves, they now “watch” for warning signs.
It doesn’t just have to romantic relationships, of course – it can be jobs, friendships, finances, health, etc.
Only the dreamer can say for certain, but more times than not, a collision dream indicates that the dreamer is anticipating something coming at them that they want to “brace” against.
The fact that this is a recurring dream, in my opinion, makes it even more important. When a dream’s “prophecy” is something the dreamer’s brain deems extremely important, it will put the message in reruns in an effort to get its point across. Very often, simply consciously confronting the dream’s meaning will be all it takes to end the recurring dreams.
It’s as though the brain realizes that it got its message across, so it relaxes. I certainly hope that’s the case because a relaxed brain’s dreams are FAR less disturbing!
My Ex is Dreaming About Me: What Do His Dreams Mean?!
The Dream Prophecy for Ex Dreams Usually Isn’t What You Think…
Someone recently left a comment on Dream Prophesy about dreams their ex was having. Apparently, even though the ex now as a family of their own, they still often have dreams about this person.
First of all, everyone involved in the scenario can relax – because, ironically, dreams bout exes isn’t always as much about the EX as it is the PAST. Sure, there are instances when the dream COULD be about the person – but when that’s the case, the dreamer pretty much knows this right off the bat. The dreams will make them genuinely miss the person and long for what they had.
More times than not, however, the WHO in the dream isn’t even the most important part of the dream. Most of the time, the most significant part of the dream is the WHERE and WHEN – the fact that the individual is present in the dream is simple – they were there in the dreamer’s REAL LIFE timeline.
Here’s an example. A man was married for 7 years to a woman. Most of his 20’s were spent with this individual. After they’ve divorced (and even after he has happily moved on) she may show up in his dreams. It doesn’t mean he still has feelings for her and it certainly doesn’t mean he misses her.
He’s simply dreaming about a period of his life where she happened to be present.
Our dreams are like little movies that play out in our minds while we’re sleeping. Our memories build the build of the content in our dreams. If – while awake – we could actually SEE our dreams play out, we’d realize that there are TONS of people in our dreams from our past – teachers, cashiers, acquaintances… even old friends. In an unconscious state, we don’t often “register” these faces. However, we do recall the more familiar ones, such as loved ones, family members, close friends, and… yes… exes.
Back to the man in our example – His dreams of the past could have to do with several different things:
- He may miss something about the past – maybe in the past he had more money, better health, a job he liked better, maybe family members who have died were alive THEN, etc. The ex could simply represent a period of time.
- He may have regrets or guilt about something he did during this period of time. Maybe even something he did to the ex that he carries guilt from
- He could also carry “scars” from the relationship, along with a deep-seeded fear that what happened THEN could happen again one day.
- Finally, it could simply be a case of the sleeping mind “casting” a movie – using the only “cast” that’s available to it: people from the dreamer’s life, past and present.
I hear so often from people who either have had dreams about exes or who currently love someone who’s dreaming about their ex. Sometimes I even hear from the ex who is showing up in someone else’s dream. The top 3 things I always stress to them are:
- The dreamer (9 times out of 10) is simply dreaming about a period of time that the ex happens to have been present.
- Every individual in our dreams is someone we have seen or met in our lives. The brain is incapable of “dreaming up” (pun unintended!) someone. The people the unconscious mind casts in its movies have to come from the dreamer’s past.
- If someone shows up in someone else’s dream in in NO WAY means they had been thinking about them. Think about your own dreams, how many times does someone randomly show up and – upon wakening – you’re like, “Why in the world would I dream of her/him?!?!“
- If the dreamer (or the ex or the individual currently “with” the dreamer) puts too much importance or emphasis on the dream, only bad things will happen. Absolutely no good comes from focusing undue attention or attaching uncalled for emotions around something like a dream. In fact, the more attention given to this kind of dream the worse it’ll be for everyone involved. Write it off as irrelevant and it’ll be just that.
- Finally, remember these words: THE PAST. The ex is symbolic of one thing – THE PAST.
Generally speaking, that’s exactly where the past should be left.
The People in Our Dreams
Why Does Our Mind Choose the People it Chooses?!
A question I’m asked a lot has to do with the people who show up in our dreams. Questions like Why Do We Sometimes Dream About People We Haven’t Thought of In Years? and Why did (a particular actor/actress) appear in my dream are a couple of examples.
While there are instances where the individual or individuals are a part of the dream interpretation or meaning, itself, most of the time, the individual is used simply because there was a role to be filled in the brain’s “movie” and it’s a one organ casting department. More times than not, the brain will “cast” someone who’s name it heard or who’s face it saw during the pat 48 hours.
A perfect example actually happened to me a few nights ago. While my husband and I were watching a great college basketball game on television, the announcers brought up a recent Luke Bryan concert. One announcer said that his favorite Country artist was Toby Keith. In a dream, that night, none other than Toby Keith was the barista in a coffee shop my husband and I went to. In all honesty, I’m not that familiar with Luke Bryan and I’m only about 45 % sure I could pick him out in a lineup.
On the other hand, Toby Keith is one of my favorite artists ever – Country or otherwise.
The funny thing is, I had not thought of Toby Keith for weeks when the announcer brought up his name. What’s more, I was so invested in the ballgame, I only barely “registered” what he’d said. In fact, I didn’t think about it the rest of the night. However, my brain had taken note of the name and had it on “standby” when it came time to cast the barista!
Because I had not given this particular singer any thought in weeks and because the mention of his name barely even registered on my radar, I know that he had nothing to do with the interpretation of the dream. He was simply a “handy” name (with a face my brain would recognize) when a barista was needed.
Sometimes your brain will “pull” someone from the “casting pool” that you saw (and possibly barely recognized) on a magazine cover, in a commercial, online, or in a movie. Other times, like Toby, it’ll simply be the mention of a name that’ll earn them a spot in your dream. Zero meaning, zero significance.
It may seem strange for someone who studies dreams to admit this, but sometimes even our dreams hold no real meaning. I refer to these as “throwaway” dreams. They’re the type of dreams that simply don’t hold any significant meaning, premonition, reflection, or depth whatsoever. Ironically, the dream I mentioned earlier was, itself, a “throwaway” dream. Coffee is a HUGE part of life in our household. We are serious, serious coffee drinkers. We talk about coffee, we brew coffee, we go out for coffee, we drink coffee, we think about coffee… and so on.
So the fact that we were in a coffeehouse in a dream is absolutely no surprise. The fact that the barista was someone who’s name I’d heard a few hours before – also no big surprise.
A throwaway dream… although it did make me wake up at 3:00 am craving coffee in the worst way!
RECENT COMMENTS AND SHARED DREAMS