Dream Interpretation - Plays on words reveal much in dreams

One way to get a handle on the meaning of your dreams is to look for puns or plays on words.  What better way to generate a shift in a dreamer’s thinking than to make a verbal shift?  Our dreams employ plays on words to turn our thinking upside down, to shake us up and force us to see things in new ways.  This is called for often when the dreamer is stuck in a self-defeating pattern of behavior and doesn’t see it – like today’s dreamer.

Dear Carolyn,

I’m in my late 20’s and have a pretty good job making decent money.  I do still live with my parents even though I could probably move out and make it on my own.  Both my brothers are college graduates and are my parents’ favorites.  Most of my friends are married already!  I’m not ready for that!

Anyway, I like things the way they are – my parents and I get along really well.  They can travel and not worry about the house or the dog, so to me, it seems like a win-win.

Anyway, I keep having this dream every couple of months.  Let me know what you think it might mean:  Every time I have this dream, it’s different.  Maybe it’s in a different place or with different people, but it always ends the same way.  In last night’s version, I was hanging out with some of my friends from high school.  We decide to go to another place, a party or a bar or something.  Next thing I know, they are way out ahead of me on the road and I’m just sort of standing there.  Then, a police officer comes up and puts me under arrest!  Hands on the car, being frisked, the whole nine yards.  Every time, I try to tell the officer I’m innocent.  I didn’t do anything.  But I wind up in jail, arrested for something I didn’t do.

Signed,

Frustrated

Dear Frustrated,

Your dream most likely is pointing something out to you through its use of a play on words.  In it you are arrested for something you didn’t do.  In waking life, this might be a situation of mistaken identity or false accusation.  But your dreaming self is not mistaken.

In your dream, your friends have left you behind.  Just as in your waking life, they are further down the road, finding mates, progressing to the next stage of life and the next.  You on the other hand are ‘arrested,’ stopped in place, unable to move forward because of something you have not done.

Maybe a first step would make the difference for you Dear Dreamer:  Move to your own place – you can still house-sit when your parents need you.  Or perhaps you want to further your education and your prospects.  Have you thought of starting your own business?  Whatever it is, you must take one step and then the next, or you will continue to be arrested for something you do not do.

Sweet Dreams to You!

Dream Interpretation - Fairy tales can come true

Some of us cannot accept our own good fortune.  No matter the face value of those people and circumstances of our lives, we continue to question, unable to enjoy our own happy luck.  In cases like these, our dreams will sometimes help us pinch ourselves and realize that our waking life prosperity is real.  Today’s dreamer receives a beautiful wake up call. 

Dear Carolyn,

I am almost 40 years old and sometimes I feel as if I have spent my whole life looking for a perfection that does not exist.  In retrospect, I see that I may have passed up opportunities and relationships that might have been wonderful.  But based on my pride and high standards, I wouldn’t “settle.”  I guess I believed the fairy tales! 

I’m sure I offended people who cared for me and wasted more than one chance for happiness.  Even now, I find myself on the verge of pushing away a man who seems lovely, but I am distrustful.  It is hard for me to relax and accept him.  He seems to have a lot going for him and he is pursuing me.  But what if he is not what he seems to be?  The risk of pain scares me!  Then I had this dream:

The cottage is perfect!  It has everything I’ve been looking for -- late thirties storybook charm with built-in cabinets, inlaid wooden floor in the living room, a funky chandelier in the dining room, a kitchen window overlooking a heavenly garden, two bedrooms for me and the cat.  And -- it’s affordable!  The deal is sealed and the landlady departs.  I gingerly creep around, visualizing where I will put my furniture and artwork, scarcely believing my good fortune.  Surely she will come back and say it was all a mistake, but she doesn’t!  Then I notice another door.  I cautiously open it, expecting some Twilight Zone horror, but it’s a delightful third bedroom.  I’m overwhelmed with happiness.

Signed,

Always Skeptical

Dear Skeptical,

It is no coincidence that the beautiful new home you have found in your dream is a “late thirties” charmer.  That most likely is a reference to the new man you are considering, assuming that he, like you, is nearly 40 years old.  Like him, the cottage has everything you have been looking for “built in” and “inlaid.”  Maybe that funky chandelier in the dining room refers to a lovable quirk you have observed in him – perhaps his outlook on life – the way he sheds light on things. 

However, your old doubtful self just cannot believe that you could actually “settle” into such perfect surroundings.  You have to creep around gingerly, expecting to find a horror behind the next door. 

But guess what, Dear Dreamer?  It’s all good!  Your dream assures you that this time, there are no unpleasant surprises.  Do not spoil a good thing with your negative expectations.  This just might be your storybook relationship.  Try to relax and enjoy it!

Sweet Dreams to You!