Dream interpretation - Neglected house – neglected health

 Often we will have someone in our dreams whom we don’t recognize – a person in the shadows – someone we can’t quite see.  Most likely, that person represents our “shadow self,” a part of ourselves that we don’t see or don’t recognize – a blind spot in our self-assessment.  Our dreams point out that that part of ourselves needs attention.  Today’s dreamer has turned her focus to the part of herself she neglected for many years.

Dear Carolyn,

I will be 80 years old soon.  Being this old can be a shock!  There are some good things about it, but health can be a problem, especially since I smoked cigarettes for almost 50 years!  Stupid, I know.  I quit more than 10 years ago, but I’m still paying for that horrible addiction.  I am doing what I can to live a more healthy life now even though it is late in the game! 

I dreamed that I was in the home of a dark-skinned woman.  She was always off to the side in the shadows, just out of my sight.  Anyway, her house was a mess and I couldn’t believe how difficult her life is.  Everything she tried to do was a difficult chore.  If she wanted to get ready to go out, it was hard.  If she wanted to have a meal, it was hard.  Her house was dark and the floor was sticky.  I looked up and saw that the tar from her roof had seeped into the house and gummed up everything.

I decided to take her over to my house to spend the weekend so she could have a nicer life, even if it was only for a little while.  Then I woke up.

Signed,

Good Samaritan

Dear Samaritan,

Houses in our dreams may be representative or our bodies.  And the person in the shadows may be that part of you that you have not paid attention to until recently.  She now lives in the house that 50 years of smoking built.  Because of her advanced age and the tar that has dripped onto everything, her life is dark and difficult. 

You mention that in your waking life you are making changes to improve your lifestyle.  Your dream reflects this as you invite your shadow self to move to a place where life is not so difficult.  The fact that she’ll visit only for the weekend may reflect your current timeline. 

You spent half a century smoking, damaging your body, the house you live in.  Now many things are even more difficult that you might expect at your current age.  As you say, Dear Dreamer, even though it’s late in the game, you may be able to enjoy your remaining time by inviting your struggling self to live in a healthier environment.

Sweet Dreams to You!

Dream Interpretation - Dream offers progress report

At pivotal moments in our waking lives, our dreams will present us with a review of where we’ve been and where we are now.  Such dreams highlight what might have been along with newly formed strengths and go on to point out where we can go next.  This is the case with today’s dreamer.

Dear Carolyn,

Recently I decided to coordinate a group effort with my dysfunctional siblings.  At my urging we got together for the purpose of helping our father financially.  That may have triggered old feelings.  Also – FYI - The silent distant daughter is part of my waking life – there is a long-term painful rift between my daughter and me.  And, the idea of being the victim of theft and the missing baby are familiar recurrent themes in my dreams.  

In my waking life I would never be violent!  I hardly ever confront people verbally.  This time, however, I took things into my own hands more than ever before in the dream world.

So, last night I had a nightmare in which I walked with my silent adult daughter but she would not say why she shunned me.  In the dream there was a missing baby and my car, money, and my clothing had been stolen.  Oh, and the clothes were stolen in the dream just as I was waiting to try them on--another woman got them away somehow.  Inside a house a loud laughing family --mostly men --gathered around a dining table.  I lunged, tore, and scratched one of the men until he agreed to tell me what was going on.  Later I peered over the dressing room door for a glimpse of where the woman had hidden other things and who was she?

Signed,

Victim No More

Dear Victim No More,

You offer a complex set of long-standing circumstances, mindsets, and emotional turmoil as a backdrop for your dream. 

Several elements of your dream are important in seeing it as a ‘progress report.’  It begins with a recap of several important themes in your life – most notably the missing child that hampered your means and ability (the car and money) to navigate through your days.

It seems in organizing a family meeting, and perhaps in other ways, you have begun to take on a new, more assertive persona – represented by the clothes you were just about to try on.  And, your demands to understand the inappropriate laughter may have seemed violent as compared to your prior passive way of acting on or accepting your life’s circumstance.  The burst of anger and frustration reflects your pent up emotions exploding to the surface. 

Even though the vestiges of your new self are purloined, Dear Dreamer, you pursue them with vigor.  You peek over the dressing room wall to see who that new woman – the new you – might be.  Your dream suggests you’ve left the victim mentality behind and are on the path of a new, stronger you.  

Sweet Dreams to You!