Dream's firey dragon could be dangerous

Our Dreamer Writes:

Dear SMYD,

I had a dream every day for about a month when I was about sixteen.  It starts out I am a little boy with these old fashioned tan shorts, suspenders, a paper boy’s hat, long sleeved white shirt, long knee high socks and old leather shoes.  (I have never dressed this way.  I am only forty-one years old; this was the kind of dress that would be in the twenties or thirties.) 

Anyway, I am rolling a whiskey barrel ring with a stick down a pebble-layered road.  The road seems to be in a foreign place like England or something like that.  I never played that kind of game before either.

Then I trip and fall at the edge of a well.  I seem to be all right, not hurt.  I land at the feet of a properly dressed man with a cane.  As I start to look up to see the man I can see up to his neck.  I seem to be a little scared of the man, but he had a hand stretched out to help me up.  That’s how I saw his ring.  He had a gold dragon ring with a ruby in the mouth of the dragon.  I’ve never seen a ring like it before.  I then wake up.

What does this dream mean?

Signed,

Never Forgot this Dream

 

Dear Never Forgot,

Your dream can be understood from a couple of different standpoints.  Consider both as they both offer benefits in your waking life:

First, your dream has the hallmarks of a past life experience:  In the dream, you are yourself, but much younger, a “little boy,” not the sixteen-year-old who dreamed the dream.  You’re not dressed as you dress in waking life; in fact, your clothes are indicative of another era.  You are in an area that’s unfamiliar to you, and engaged in unusual activities.  Even the road you’re on has the look and feel of another time and place.  Finally, the man who stands above you presents a formality that is uncommon today.  His dragon ring appears dramatic and frightening to a shocked and surprised little boy.

For those who subscribe to the possibility of past lives or a collective unconscious, such dreams can be considered a window into those other worlds.  Be sure though, that the value of such visits would be in the legacy they provide for your waking life today. 

This dream suggests that, at least when you dreamed it at 16, you might have been oblivious to dangers around you and fearful of a benefactor, perhaps appropriately. 

Could there be parallels in your waking life today, Dear Dreamer?  Since this dream continues to echo in your consciousness, it seems possible.  Don’t skip along naively unaware of your surroundings.  Survey your circumstances with a mature and experienced eye.  Accept the help offered to you, but cautiously.  Don’t be caught off guard when there are strings attached lest you  get burned by that fire-breathing dragon.

Sweet Dreams to You!

SMYD