I consider dreams to be a fundamental source of
wisdom which if tapped into on a regular basis can provide answers
to issues that may be troubling us.
I was taught from a young age to keep a dream diary and research
the symbols seen in my dreams at night. My mother taught me as a
little girl to draw the spiders from my nightmares with moustaches
and top hats to take away their power and banish the fear I had
of them.
I was told that we all have the ability to awaken in the dream to
experience lucid dreaming and I managed to do so for the first time
when I was eleven years old. As my interest in dream interpretation
blossomed so did the quality of my dreams to the point that going
to sleep at night became a routine adventure into the dream world.
I do experience a great deal of what some may consider 'nightmares'
but I find them fascinating too. From lucid dreaming to sleep-paralysis-induced
hallucinations and the ability to share dreams with close friends,
I am never really guaranteed a good night's sleep but can always
expect a wealth of inspiration for my art and poetry!
This dream is very interesting
as it takes place in a house. Now in dreams a house is very often
ourselves. The basement (if it has one) is our hidden desires
and the attic is our mind and higher centres.
A burning house is also a strong symbol. What could be more terrible
than to see your house, your home in flames?
A burning house is security taken away…sense of self being
destroyed?? Many different permutations.
The baby is another potent dream symbol. Ask yourself what babies
mean to you? Some dream therapists go by the philosophy that every
aspect of a dream is actually a part of them selves. I am very
open to that also although it is not how I work.
The baby is an Archetypal figure…in other words it is a
symbol that inhabits the collective unconscious of mankind which
we all tap into in dreams, visions, art and creative pursuits.
It usually stands for helplessness but also potential as a baby
will grow to be an adult so the baby is a kernel of budding potential.
The dreamer is holding the baby protecting it but she knows to
access the higher floors is dangerous to it so she gave it to
somebody else.
Why might you give away your potential?
The dreamer is determined to keep climbing refusing to be held
back by those trying to save her grasping at her ankles.
In dream interpretation the therapist breaks these things down
as I am doing and constantly questions the dreamer as to how it
felt? What were her emotions as this was happening? All these
things are important parts of the whole jigsaw and relevant only
to the dreamer herself.
You see although one can read and “feel” the interpretation,
it was given to the dreamer only and so the proper interpretation
has to take into account what is happening in her life at this
moment or be aware of her secrets and unexpressed wishes.
I have seen many people quite happily tell a very innocent sounding
dream to the class only to find as the dream is unwrapped, that
it is exposing really personal aspects that the dreamer would
never have wanted to expose.
This is the wonderful thing about dreams….they tell it
“like it is” not like we want it to appear to others.
And I wriggled free from them by grasping onto the next level
of the house and shaking them off. I said 'Push my legs up to
help me up, don't pull me back, I need my stuff!'
In this we see the dreamer asking for support in her endeavours,
not hindrances by those who either feel she is in danger or have
a hidden agenda to prevent her from “scaling the heights”
So the next question would be to ask the dreamer what is going
on in her life at this moment in time. Does she feel that she
is not getting the support she needs from others? In fact does
she feel others do not understand her desire to “rescue
her stuff?”
What is her stuff? What in life does she want to keep safe that
she feels may be taken from her?
I then saw a guy my age who said, 'Please don't go up there,
even on this level my feet are warm below me indicating there
is even fire below this level now!' But I still went higher
Now she comes across a guy her own age…
I feel that this is someone who she knows is “on her level”
metaphorically in the dream he is ..Being on the same level of
the building…and dreams very often use metaphors and puns.
His warning has more credence to it being without guile but still
she goes on.
She is aware that the fire has descended below her so there is
no point in abandoning her climb………….This
person comes over to me as a caring person maybe a love interest
in waking life. Someone who has her best interests at heart.
. I got to the attic and there was fire everywhere. I saw
that none of the belongings were mine apart from two canaries
in a cage. I opened the window to free them as I reasoned they
would prefer to salvage an existence outside in the cold than
let the fire consume them
Having reached the attic which is consumed by fire ….
What does fire mean to you? It can be terrifying or comforting
on a cold winter’s night. It is an element that serves us
well if under control but is devastation to all if not.
It is also cleansing and purifying in its holy sense. All these
things need to be considered.
The attic could be the mind of the dreamer. It could stand for
her higher aspirations and dreams. If it is burning ferociously?
What does that tell her?
Then she realises that after all this none of the belongings
were hers…apart from the two canaries. Now, knowing the
dreamer as I actually do…I realise the significance of the
two canaries that I would not have normally.
They were her pets as a child. In this setting they seem to stand
for the precious things of childhood she wants to protect…keep
safe….and so she opens the window and lets them fly free.
I know she holds the things of childhood scared in this world
so that makes perfect sense.
. I tried to save the rest of the belongings even though they
weren't mine and were turning into rubbish in my hands.
This is sad. Having taken all that effort and risk to climb against
all that was standing in her way she feels she should rescue the
things even although they do not belong to her. They turn to rubbish
in her hands. This reminds me of what happened with some of the
finer articles of treasure when they opened King Tutankhamen’s
tomb in Egypt. The things disintegrated in the wind. Too long
in the dark and airless confines of the tomb had rendered then
unable to stand the sudden exposure to the harsher light of day.
What could not stand exposure in the dreamer’s world? How
did she feel when this happened? How did she feel on waking from
this dream?
All these things need to be taken into consideration along with
what is going on in the life of the dreamer when the dream was
given
It is for this reason we should keep dream journals. I t will
be a source of amazement and wonder as you can see the relevance
and guidance that is given to you from that strange and fascinating
realm of existence.
I am not going to give the interpretation here as the dreamer
has to look at all the evidence and see what it is saying to her.
However, it is a dream of striving against almost insurmountable
problems to salvage something very important to her. I feel this
dream is very much about the mind of the dreamer rather than the
external circumstances, The canaries were the pivotal symbol for
me. An innocence lost amid a burning house. I feel a lot of loss
in this dream and the awareness of that. In fact to her horror
she finds little worth salvaging apart from happy memories of
childhood. It speaks of determination of spirit and driving ambition,
headstrong nerve but gentle sensitivity too.
A poignant dream encapsulating a story of triumph over hurdles
coupled with deep feelings of loss.
Interpretation coming soon....
Interpretation coming soon....
