Hippos in the Produce Aisle

Our Dreamer Writes:

Dear SMYD,

In my dream I got in a golf cart and drove to the grocery store, but the store was practically in my front yard!  I went into the store on a sort of conveyor belt, and it even carried me through the store!  But sometimes I got the feeling it was trying to bump me off.

I was looking for russet potatoes.  Then I saw an enormous display sitting directly ahead of me.  The potatoes were huge, and I wanted big ones, as always.  But when I got closer, I saw that they were not potatoes, but baby hippos!  They were stacked up perfectly, but they just looked awful!  All muddy and fat!  I loaded up my cart anyway, but the conveyor belt (or was it a treadmill?) bogged down.  I couldn’t move!  Suddenly I knew I didn’t want to buy baby hippos!

Bet you’ve never heard a dream about baby hippos at the grocery store!

Signed,

Potato Shopper

Dear Potato Shopper,

You’re right ~ these baby hippos in the produce department are a first!  Our dreams rely on curious and quizzical images to get our attention and relay crucial information!

There are several notable elements to your dream. 

First of all, you don’t seem to move at all in your dream using your own power.  You travel a short distance from your front door to the grocery store in a golf cart!  Why?  You even seem to marvel at this fact in your dream.  Have you asked yourself whether you ride when you could walk?  Your dream seems to suggest that riding or driving in some situations is ludicrous for you.

Next, in the store, you again are conveyed throughout without exerting any effort.  Your Dreaming Self may be pointing out your lack of physical effort.  And after all, you only go from home to the grocery store.  Since the conveyor tries to throw you off, it’s worth considering throwing yourself off an unhealthy habit by engaging in more exercise instead of taking the easy way every time.

Finally, it seems that your Dreaming Self is sending a strong message by using the image of baby hippos for potatoes ~ the potatoes have become baby hippos!  Those hippos are stacked up neatly, but you find them unattractive, even calling them “fat.” 

Think of the possibilities for word play here:  are the potatoes (carbs) stacking up on you?  Do you think of yourself as well proportioned (“stacked”), only to be faced with an unpleasant possibility --- that stack is now baby hippos!

When you load up on the carbs anyway, your conveyor almost breaks down.  This could be critical in your dream which seems so clearly health related.  Dear Dreamer, you do not want to bog down and become immobile!

Your dream reflects your habits and state of mind.  It suggests that you review your exercise and eating habits, Dear Dreamer.  It predicts that if you keep buying the hippos anyway, you could be in for a real problem in your physical abilities.  Better to be proactive than reactive!

Sweet Dreams to You, Dear Dreamer!

SMYD

sendmeyourdreams@mail.com           

Drat! Passed Over Again!

Our Dreamer Writes:

Dear SMYD,

I am a very good employee, always on time, and my work is accurate and reliable.  I never cause problems for my boss.  I just follow directions without making a big deal of it.

I’ve been upset and disappointed several times because when it’s time for raises and promotions at my work, I am passed over.  It just happened again.

I went to sleep in this upset state of mind, and dreamed that I was standing in the middle of my office just looking around at all the workstations.  Each of them was very colorful, with flowers, photos, and nice new flat screen TV’s playing with lots of action on the screens. 

When I looked at my workstation, it was small and actually in black and white!  It looked like something out of the past!  Even the volume on the tiny black and white TV was turned down so low you could hardly hear it.  People were hustling around me like I wasn’t even there!  My boss walked right past me without even saying, “Hello.”  It’s so unfair!

What do you make of this dream?

Signed,

Deserves a Raise

Dear Deserves,

You are probably right --- you may deserve a raise.  You’re the perfect employee who does what he’s told without question.  And, you do it reliably, accurately, and right on schedule.  You seem to be exactly what every boss professes to want.

Why then are you in this predicament of working hard with no reward or recognition?

The way you describe what happened before this dream is an almost perfect implementation of incubating a dream:  You reviewed all the things that are bothering you in some detail.  You thought about your feelings at the injustice you perceive at work.  In essence, you even posed an incubation question:  Why was I passed over again?

Your Dreaming Self offered up a fine descriptor of what is happening at your workplace:  Everyone is bustling about, also doing their work, but in contrast to you, with color and flair.  Every workstation displayed a new TV sporting new technology and vivid color.  The action was audible and visible. 

In comparison, your workstation is stuck in the past.  The technology isn’t “classic,” but old and out-of-date.  Who would choose to look at it with all the other colorful and modern equipment so effective and easily accessible?  Even your boss barely notices you!

Perhaps it is unfair, but your Dreaming Self paints this graphic picture of a drab you in a vibrant workplace.  Maybe it’s time for you to consider up dating your appearance and your approach to work.  You don’t say so, but you could be clinging to the way you’ve always done things, when newer, more modern methods are now considered better.

Your volume is too low in the dream, indicating that your soft-spoken “do what’s expected” approach may be a part of the disservice you feel.  Speak up for yourself, Dear Dreamer!  Be sure you truly are competitive with the fast-paced workplace around you.  Your rewards will come soon enough.

Sweet Dreams to You, Dear Dreamer!

SMYD

sendmeyourdreams@mail.com       

War Zone in Mom's Back Yard

Our Dreamer Writes:

Dear SMYD,  

Having my mother and a war in the same dream doesn't surprise me.  My mom can be difficult!  But I am peace-loving woman who does not watch violent television or films.  I even turn away from commercials with violence.   

I dreamed about going to visit my mother's home.  My mother did not tell me that some important people would be visiting.  Guests showed up without notice. 

In the dream I took the dog for a walk in the backyard.  The entire yard had become a violent battlefield.  One man's head had been cut off.  Someone I know stood up to her ankles in earth-orange mud and was beating up another man.  

Why would I have such a violent dream as this one? 

Signed,

Startled by the War Zone 

Dear Startled,

Sometimes our Dreaming Selves choose bizarre or violent images to shake us up and get our attention, especially if there’s an issue we’re avoiding.  Since your dream has these characteristics, I suspect you avoid confronting the key issues with your mother.

In your dream, you go to visit your mother whom you say can be difficult.  In spite of this, you don’t expect the “important people” who show up.  These people could represent the important issues that have been unaddressed in your relationship.  You didn’t expect to have to deal with the important issues between your mom and yourself.  So you avoid them by taking the dog for a walk outside instead of staying in the house with them and your mom. 

Perhaps you’re accustomed to faking it in the living room, avoiding the unpleasantness in public.  But the back yard tells the real story:  Behind the scenes, it’s a war zone!  Because it’s your mom’s back yard, the implication is that these people represent issues in her/your history (behind her house) that are out of sight, but still influential.

It is important to think more about the man whose head was cut off.  Who is he?  Who does he remind you of?  As soon as you figure out who he is, you’ll be able to identify the issue he stands for.  Without his head, he has no direction, no ability to think or speak.  What he would say may be so painful that your mom (and maybe you, too) chose to cut him off before he speaks.

Who is that woman wading in the blood, er mud?  You say it’s someone you know.  Explain her to me ~ what is she like?  Does she listen to others and argue with reason and logic?  Or does she fight dirty?  How about you and your mom…do you fight fair? 

The man this woman is beating ~ does he deserve to be beaten?  Does he fight back?  Why is he losing the battle?

These are tough questions, Dear Dreamer.  The key to understanding this dream, your mom, and your difficult relationship with her lies in teasing out the metaphors in that back yard battle.

Sweeter Dreams to You, Dear Dreamer!

SMYD

sendmeyourdreams@mail.com       

Crocodile Wrestling

Our Dreamer Writes:

Dear SMYD,

I haven’t had a dream in many, many years, so it was a surprise to me when I woke up with such a vivid dream after such a long time!

Here it is:  I dreamed there were two horses in a pen with a tiny pond containing an old crocodile.  The horses were reddish with black tails.  They stood a “safe distance” from the crocodile.  The croc was old and supposedly not any danger to the horses.  But he began inching on his belly toward the horses and I jumped in to stop the crocodile.  I grabbed him and held his mouth shut just like those guys on TV.  He started rolling over and over and fighting me.  Then I woke up feeling scared and anxious.  What does this mean to you?

Signed,

Crocodile Wrestler!

Dear Wrestler,

First let me tell you that research indicates that we all dream every night!  Most likely you’ve been dreaming, but haven’t remembered your dreams.  Too bad!  Looks like you have some good ones!

Consider keeping a notepad and pencil next to your bed.  First thing when you wake up, jot down even the smallest fragment or tiniest detail from a fleeting dream.  Your Dreaming Self will take note of your interest and offer you more and more tantalizing morsels of dreams to enrich your waking life.

Your dream could be offering plays on words as a method of delivering insights.  For example:  The horses (perhaps representing a relationship of some sort ~ they seem to be a matched pair) are in a pen, penned in.  Maybe a couple you know is penned in with “an old croc.”  This is a family newspaper, so I’ll just refer to an expression you may know:  a crock of “stuff,” suggesting something worthless, or lacking credibility. 

To carry out the metaphor, something worthless or lacking credibility threatens a healthy relationship.  The pair is penned in by this; it seems they’re unable to move away from it or leave their containment.  Though they think they’re unaffected by him, keeping a safe distance, you know the situation is dangerous.  The croc looks to injure or sabotage their healthy relationship.

You jump in to stop the croc.  He’s a “big croc (fish) in a tiny pond,” and perhaps because of this, his power is great.  They have no escape from him or the pen. 

You are the protector, trying to stem the influence of the croc, and wind up in danger yourself.  You try to shut him up, keeping his mouth closed, but your dream suggests he is a formidable foe.  He thrashes and fights you.  He may be stronger than you are.

Examine your own relationships, Dear Dreamer.  Do you find yourself hemmed in by a tenacious, negative force?  Does this force have more influence that it deserves?  It may be time to find a gate in that fence and escape to greener pastures.

Sweet Dreams to You, Dear Dreamer!

SMYD

sendmeyourdreams@mail.com