Imagine that both Tom and Kim had the same dream. Each dreamed he was on his way to the airport to fly to another city for a work meeting when he realised he had left his ticket at home. He wondered whether he had time to go back home and get his ticket, or whether he would miss the plane. The dream ended there. What does it mean?
The in-depth interpretation depends on how Tom and Kim each felt in their dream, and this applies to most dream interpretations.
Tom felt panicked by the delay, and then excited by the challenge. The adrenalin rush of racing back home to get the ticket in time to catch the plane would put him on a high that would energise him right through the meeting, and impress his work colleagues with his ‘can do’, risk-taking, adventurous approach.
Kim felt immediately relieved. He was off the hook with a perfect excuse. Forgetting his ticket meant he didn’t have to face his colleagues. He fleetingly wondered whether he had forgotten his ticket accidentally-on-purpose, but dismissed the thought as soon as he realised he could now spend the afternoon relaxing and playing golf.
Tom and Kim’s dreams were about why they have been experiencing delays in achieving their goals. Both dreams reveal a saboteur element: both Tom and Kim are creating the very delays that daily despair them. “Why,” they each moan, “does life keep blocking me?”
As you can see by examining their dream feelings, Tom loves the thrill of an obstacle course and believes the challenge of the added difficulties gives him a performance edge and wins him praise.
He unconsciously creates delays to experience a high because he believes he needs the rush to perform, and craves praise for achieving against the odds.
Kim, on the other hand, fears achieving his goals or facing up to his abilities, whether or not he’s equal to the task.
He unconsciously creates delays to safeguard him from this pressure, though he won’t admit this to anyone – including himself – in daily life. Sometimes he catches a glimpse of his modus operandi, but then swings denial into place deftly with his golf clubs.
Here’s the tip. When you write out a dream, add your feelings. Make sure you don’t write about how you would feel if this happened to you in waking life. Write the feelings you felt while you were in the dream. Then highlight the feeling words, and link them together in the same order to form a flow.
For example, Tom’s would read: panicked -> excited -> high -> energised -> impressive -> risky -> adventurous.
Kim’s would read: relieved-> excused-> dismissive->relaxed.
Do this for your dreams, and ask where this pattern is playing out in your life. You will see your life in quite a different light. Once you are aware of this pattern, you have the power to change it.
[Extract from 101 Dream Interpretation Tips, Jane Teresa Anderson]
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