It All Starts with the Mission, Itself…..
What Does My Dream Mean?
I had a dream last night about a crazy squirrel. It was running around me in my dream, gathering up cobs of corn and peanuts that were stashed everywhere in my home. It even went upstairs – with me chasing him. Then he went into a store that was suddenly in my house and started eating everything he could find. I was laughing in my dream but also felt frustrated because I wanted to help him. Somehow I knew that him getting as much food as possible meant whether he would live or not and I felt helpless. He started eating cereal out of boxes, jumped on a salad bar and ate everything there and just kept running from one thing to the next. Since I woke up, I have wondered what this dream means.
Why don’t I ever have dreams like that?? I LOVE squirrels! This is one of those dreams where you have to look a little deeper than the surface to find the true meaning. The meaning of the dream, in this case, isn’t as much about the squirrel (though I’m sure he was a hoot) as it is about what the dream symbol was doing – he was frantically grabbing food as fast and hard as he could.
He, himself, didn’t convey to you (through words) that this food mission was life or death – but you KNEW that it was. Since you are, in fact, the author of the dream, you certainly know how important his mission was!
The fact that you mention the words “whether he would live or not,” we know that the dream has a deeper meaning than just an entertaining squirrel. If you had said you laughed at the squirrel and hadn’t mentioned feeling helpless or frustrated, I’d have thought it was just one of those crazy dreams that really don’t have as much MEANING as they have ENTERTAINMENT VALUE. However, your emotions and his eagerness let us know that there is a meaning within the dream.
Many times in dreams, another person (or, yes, a squirrel!) will “act out” our hidden emotions, fears, anxieties, and agendas. If WE, ourselves, did the “acting out,” we wouldn’t be able to be a spectator to the action.
In this case, the squirrel was on a definite mission – it was essential that he complete his mission or he’d suffer consequences. I think this dream means that there is something in your life you feel pretty anxious about. Furthermore, I think it’s something you are trying to “round up, collect, or get enough of.” More likely than not, this would be either money or possibly even groceries – how perfect would the dream symbolism be for that?
In fact, if you’re in an area that has been hit by snow or an ice storm, maybe you’ve been worried about storing enough food in the house.
Thanks for sharing your dream – it’s a perfect example of how fascinating and symbolic dreams can be… even if they’re a little nutty. Sorry.
I WILL get caught up, however.. and it starts today!
Have you ever had a dream about a church? Whether it’s your own church, a church you attended as a child, or simply a church you’ve seen – church dreams have a specific interpretation all of their own.
It’s first important to think about things we associate with churches:
- God
- holiness
- peace
- sanctity
- comfort
- safety
A church is a symbol of God and is, therefore, one of the most holy and sacred symbols we have. Other religious symbols include…
- the Cross
- the Holy Bible
- John 3:16
- Heaven
- Preachers, Priests, Nuns…
While each of these religious symbols (in life and in dreams) can point to God, Jesus, our faith, hope, beliefs, eternity, Spirituality, and Christianity – a church takes it one step further.
Dreaming of a church has more to do with how we FEEL than anything else. Churches conjure up feelings of comfort, peace, contentment, and most of all SAFETY.
To dream of a church indicates either a feeling of safety and peace or a longing for safety and peace. To differentiate between the two in your own personal dream interpretation, you have to look at the rest of the dream
Was the dream peaceful and, upon wakening, did you feel peaceful, safe, and content? Most of the time, this indicates that you feel safe in your day to day life.
If the dream was chaotic, troublesome, and confrontational, and you awoke with negative feelings – it indicates that you are searching for peace and safety.
As with all dreams, nothing is set in stone and other dream symbols could affect your own personal interpretation. This is just a general interpretation for church dreams and the symbolism for churches in dreams.
As always, sweet dreams!
Also See: In the dream dictionary, read more about Abbey Dreams and Church Dreams.
It All Depends on How You Feel About Saying Goodbye
I hear from a lot of dreamers who are haunted by dreams during breakups – whether they’re broken engagements, divorces, or broken relationships in general.
Some dreamers have nightmares during this period. They’ll dream their “ex” is trying to harm them or that they are in a situation and the “ex” refuses to help them.
When the dream revolves around an ex not coming to the dreamer’s rescue – it speaks of a feeling that the ex was “never there for them… never around when they were needed most.”
Dreams of an ex trying to harm the dreamer in any way doesn’t have to indicate that there was EVER any physical or even emotional abuse. In fact, it’s much more a sign of pain from the separation. Our dreaming mind puts physical pain and emotional pain AND physical fear and emotional fear on the same level – it really isn’t able to distinguish between physical and emotional.
All it knows is that there is pain, fear, and great emotions going on at this time. It responds to this with disturbing dreams that are apt to continue for up to a couple of weeks. The sooner the dreamer is able to move on with their life… finding other interests to engage their mind and attention… the sooner the subconscious mind will say, “Oh, okay, we’re good.” and move on to happier, more upbeat dreams.
I recently read about a dream from someone who left a comment on Dream Prophesy. He and a girl he very much liked had recently broken up and his dreams involved a “backyard” and a “flood.” As someone who LOVES dreams and LOVES the way the subconscious mind works.. I loved reading this. While my heart breaks for two people who may not be able to be together (more about that in a minute!), I think it’s fascinating that the subconscious mind expressed itself in this manner.
- The backyard is symbolic of “looking back” or even “going back.” This could be the dreamer wanting to “go back” and give it another chance or it could be the dreamer not wanting to “go back and make, or repeat, a mistake.”
- The flood is beautifully symbolic of a flood or rush of emotions. Flood and/or rain dreams are common whenever a loss is involved – loss of a loved one through death or through a broken relationship. The flood (or rain) represents emotions and, sometimes, even tears. The amazing thing is these emotions can range from love to hate and from fear to relief. Someone who had been in a terribly stressful and unhappy relationship may have as many “floods of emotions” as someone who’d been in a relatively peaceful and happy relationship. However, these emotions may be those of great relief and even freedom as opposed to sadness and regret.
One Last Word
Because I do hear from so many people who are dealing with breakups – and who are so haunted by these breakups that their dreams are even affected – I want to say one last thing. When I hear from someone who has gone through a divorce or a breakup that was a lousy relationship, I can’t help thinking, “Good – now go and find someone you can be happy with. Relationships aren’t supposed to be filled with so much unhappiness, distrust, and control issues. They should be fun and happy MOST of the time, not just every now and then!”
The breakups and divorces that stick with me are the ones where…
- … the couple was happy and got along beautifully.
- …. the two individuals actually loved one another.
- …. there was respect involved – a two way street.
- …. but, for whatever reasons, one or both of them feel “it won’t work” or that there’ll be trouble down the road – so they end it.
What the what?!?! If it’s working NOW, what leads you to think it won’t work THEN? If you have differences of opinion on a lot of issues NOW, don’t base that on what may or may not happen THEN. People change and, over the course of a few years, sometimes they change so much in their outlook on life they can’t even believe it!
These days it is extremely, extremely hard to find someone. That’s why there are SO many online dating sites, match up programs, etc. Problem is, some of these have the potential to be unreliable at best and dangerous at worst. It’s just incredibly difficult to find someone. Period.
If you have been blessed enough to find someone you love and who loves you, letting them go may be one of the worst mistakes you ever make. One of my favorite sayings is this, “Never give up on something you can’t go a day without thinking about.”
If love and respect are there, then you need to make a couple motto that goes something like this, “We will make this work.” Keep lines of communication open, respect one another’s opinions and even encourage freedom of thought.
Relationships are, basically, family we choose for ourselves. We’re born to parents who aren’t our choosing. Some of us have siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandparents who aren’t our choosing.
Think about it: We never throw a brother or sister aside simply because we don’t see eye to eye on everything. As parents, we don’t put one of our children up for adoption because they have different political thoughts than we do.
In my own family, I’m not sure any two of us agree 100% on every single political or current news topic. We may see a lot of the major issues similarly, but everything… not a chance. We’re all individuals and individuals were built to think for themselves.
However, we love one another with all our heart and we respect one another and applaud freedom of thought. That’s what families do. They may disagree, they may even argue, heck… sometimes they may even stomp around and yell!
But, in the end, when all’s said and done – they’re family and quitting is NOT an option.
If the love is there, everything else will follow.
Can You “Program” Your Own Dreams?
A couple of frequently asked questions about dreams actually have a lot in common:
- Is there any way to re-enter a dream after waking from one?
- Can you “Invite” a dream back into your dream world. For example, once you have dreamed about a particular thing, can you make yourself dream about it again?
Whenever I’m asked this one, my response is never one the dreamer wants to hear. It’s been my experience that you cannot (once awake) quickly return to the dream you have just left. If this has happened with anyone, I’d have to say that the dreamer never fully awoke.
The second frequently asked question also receives the same negative-type answer (sorry about that!): While it’s not “impossible” (since few things are ever 100% impossible), it’s highly unlikely that you can “make” your brain repeat a dream or even return to the scene of the dream, so to speak.
There are, in all fairness, some dreamologists who believe that a dreamer can “program” their mind to dream about a certain subject. They say that frequently thinking about this subject – especially as you are falling asleep – can cause the brain to enter into this type of dream. However, even if the general subject of the dream is created, there are no sure bets that things will play out as you thought they would.
While it isn’t a sure thing, all I can say is this: What would it hurt to try?! I’m not convinced that you can direct your dreams from “this” side, but I’d have to agree that focusing on the desired outcome is the way to go about it.
However, I think the better question would be, “Why are you wanting to return to this dream in the first place?” If the dream scenario is revisiting loved ones who have passed (a frequent dream people don’t want to leave), realize that you obviously miss them even more than you realized. Get out old photographs and think and talk about these loved ones. Mention them more throughout the day, keeping their memory alive.
Our dreams about loved ones are extra sweet because we feel as though we have “visited” with them. Simply “visit” with them throughout the day with treasured memories.
If you feel your dream is helping you “work something out” in your mind, you can get to the answer through another door – daydreams. Daydreaming (at appropriate times, of course) can help your mind sort through things that your conscious mind often gets in the way of.
Daydreams are also a great way to deal with a dream we wake from “sooner” than we’d like. Simply close your eyes and “daydream” the rest of the story. You’re able to call the shots more with this approach anyway!
How Anger Dreams Help Us Release Tension and Hostility
Have you ever had a dream that just left you feeling angry when you woke up?! Maybe you felt angry in the dream – or maybe something happened in the dream that left you feeling mad when you stepped out of the dream.
Maybe both!
Anger dreams are actually pretty therapeutic. They allow the dreamer to…
- Release hostility they fell unable to express in their waking world.
- Release tension and even anxiety.
- Cope!
As I often point out in Dream Interpretations, one of the most beautiful things about dreams is the fact that they allow our brains to “wrap” themselves around ideas that may elude them when we’re completely conscious.
When we’re awake, a lot of things are going on – not just around us, but in our minds as well. There are situations (and often individuals) that we have trouble coping with when we’re in the middle of so much commotion.
However, when our subconscious mind takes over when we’re sleeping, it can try to sort out and process information.
The same holds true for EMOTIONS. When we’re fully awake, we may feel a great number of emotions – and often all at once. It’s hard, sometimes, to figure out which emotions are the “truest.” When we enter our dream world, our subconscious minds gets to work.
Our emotions (as well as “information”) play out in our dreams as mini movies as our brain sorts through everything.
Have you ever stopped to think about just how fascinating this all is?!!?
If there are people, events, or situations that leave us frustrated – and yet we feel completely helpless about the feeling – we’ll often have “anger dreams.” In our daily life, lashing out at a co-worker or confronting someone in our family might not be the wisest or coolest thing to do. Telling them that the way they chew with their mouth open could hurt their feelings after all!
But, seriously, how uncouth is that?
If we’re unable to react in our waking world, it’s as though at night the brain says… “Okay, NOW I’ll blow off some steam!”
Ironically, more times than not – after the initial anger – we wake up and realize that what we thought was a huge deal… one worthy of so much hostility!… isn’t really that big of a deal. We’re able to put things into perspective and even feel thankful that we didn’t lash out or overreact in the “real world.”
That drama is better off in dreams.
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