THIS WEBSITE HAS MOVED TO A NEW ADDRESS - CLICK HERE

ON-LINE BOOK : Hundreds of real dreams
A BASIC INTRO to what dreams are about

BASIC TECHNIQUES to interpret dreams
DREAM DICTIONARY A to Z of symbols complete with essays on symbols in everyday real uses
BASIC SYMBOLISM
- DREAM SYMBOLS : Basements - Your boss - Best friend - Babies/pregnant - Brothers - Cafes - Cars - Castles - Children - Creative dreams - Clothes - Churches and cathedrals - Deaths - Demons,witches and goblins - Dogs - Drink and drugs - Farms, gardens and plants - Factories - Fathers - Faucets/taps/pipes - Food - Earthquakes and volcanos - Foreign Countries - Grandparents - Guards - Guns and knives - Horses and animals - Hauntings - Hospitals - Hotels + huge buildings - Houses - Locks - Men(unknown) - Military - Money - Mothers - Monster - Mountains - Movies - Music - People - Police - Phone - Politics - Planes and flying - Prison - Rivers - Rapists and intruders - Railways - Roads - Schools - Sea - Sex - Shops - Sisters - Skies in dreams - Skyscrapers and tall buildings - Snakes and spiders - Space - Sports - Street - Teeth - Tidal waves - Time - Toilets in dreams - Towns and streets - Trees - Water - Weddings and engagements - Windows - Work
OTHER SUBJECTS: external causes of dreams : Music in dreams : Premonitions : Telepathy : Specific dreams : Synonyms in dreams : Children's dreams and dreams about your child : Recurring dreams CASE STUDIES : 1 2 3 4 5
------------------------------------
CASE STUDY 1

Our dreams symbolise our real emotions and often reflect the changes within our life circumstances. Dreams really do reveal our real life thoughts and sometimes its a little easier to see how dreams relate to reality by looking at them as a series.

This page features a series of dreams from a lady who was facing family difficulties. Her mother, her husband and her father had all had various ailments. Her mother was facing surgery, her Husband was in the early stages of Parkinson's disease and her father had just recovered from leukemia.

These dreams feature various points during recent times. They each symbolise a particular emotional reaction to the situations as they unfold. One dream captures her mothers changing situation. One dream captures the frustrations of the dreamer as she just wants to hide from the world and all the pressing demands. One dream captures her realization that she is facing a heavy burden. The last dream links to her wish to delegate some responsibilities to other family members but also her realization that this is a waste of time and she has simply to get on with the tasks.

Dreams capture new thoughts emerging in our minds. Indeed in an extreme form its possible to say that dreams really reveal your thought processes from the day before the dream. They can link to your reactions to events from that day but also to your thoughts swimming around your subconscious. They can link to feelings of anticipation about the day ahead. They can also simply reflect your own fantasies and paranoia's.

In this ladies case the dreams capture her feelings about having to care for several family members without little help from any source. They may also capture individual moments of frustration. The licorice and lollipop dream may indeed capture a particular moment in real life. It may capture an incident in which she simply withdrew into her shell. If you study your own dreams then you can start to pick up on the kinds of issues that will generate dreams.

--------------------
THE DREAM I am in a hotel restaurant, the place keeps getting busier, I am the only one there to act as waitress, bartender, hostess, manager etc. I take a couple of orders, then I can't find the keys to open the bar or the stock rooms, people are getting upset, I find a bunch of keys, 1 opens the bar area but not the wine fridge, I go back to the restaurant area and it is packed with people waiting, everyone is looking at me to do something, I keep telling them I am the only one here but that doesn't help, finally some staff arrive and take some orders, a little boy is feeling ill and I tell him that I will take a look at him in a minute (now I'm a doctor too), he has a stomach ache, nothing serious. I go back to the front of the restaurant and a guest hands me a stack of bills to be paid, I look down at the first one and realize that I can't read the handwriting, and I don't know this new waiter to decipher it, I look around and see a waitress that I know and hand her the bills and ask her to finish them for me. The guest walks away in disgust saying is there anything she can do.

THE REALITY The dreamers mother had many responsibilities at that time. Her mother had just undergone lung surgery for cancer, her father has was just told he is in complete remission from chronic lymphocitic leukemia, and her husband has just been diagnosed with early onset Parkinson's . She had been researching all of those illnesses and helps people to ask the doctors exactly the right question. She has earned the nickname "DR Annie". At the same time the dreamer is aware that she can little practically.

THE DREAMS MEANING The dream captured the following feelings within the dreamer "I seem to have a lot of responsibilities regarding the heath of my family. I am helping with my husbands illness and my mothers. They also come to ask me about the medical conditions. I search things out on the Internet. But I really am not sure its with me looking such things up. Does it really help as I am not really qualified"

THE INTERPRETATION The dreamer had many responsibilities helping relatives at that time. There was nothing she could do about this as the family members needed help. The dream depicts her as someone who virtually does not have time to think. That is how she felt in reality.

Hotels in dreams are often symbols of the outside world. They show that other people and their views are having an impact on you(or that you are trying to influence them). For the dreamer its easy to spot the real life situations which the hotel is depicting. It links to her many family responsibilities. In this case the hotel may even be symbolic of a more conventional meaning. Here she is simply kept busy making life a little easier for the guests. In reality she is making life more comfortable for her relatives whom she is helping. Its never easy to spot what the exact symbolic meaning is in a dream.

The doctor in the dream is a symbol of her newly found medical skills. She was in reality researching many of the illnesses affecting her family. She had got the nickname DR Annie. So that was a literal symbol. In the dream she tries to get a new waitress to help her yet this fails. This probably parallel's her real life situation in which she attempts to get the assistance of family members yet this seems to fall on deaf ears.

If we help someone in life there is often a price to be paid. Nothing is for free. If we help someone then we divert resources from elsewhere. In the dreamers case she was having to put a lot of effort into helping various family members. Perhaps the dream is pointing to the hidden costs of all the effort she is putting in. That maybe this is stressing her out.

Symbolic Meanings
DOCTOR : "understanding her families real medical problems"
HOTEL : "looking after everyone's needs"
KEY : "solution to her problems"
WAITRESS : "doing to much for others"
----------------------
THE DREAM I walked my husband down this hall, he was waving for work and ex friend of his was there and asked if I wanted a peanut, a piece of licorice and a lollipops. I went back to a house my husband reappeared, I asked what he was doing home he smiled and I noticed a small animal on the floor. When I bent down to see it, it ran right into my hands (hedgehog) I though it was going to bite but it didn't. Someone said he likes you, it was the breeder. Then a chocolate Labrador puppy bounced in, I was disappointed I like black Labradors. Next thing I know I am back at work in a Hotel I am being asked to update and down load client files from an Insurance firm. I tell the lady they are in the filing cabinet, she shows me that they are all messed up. The puppy and the hedgehog run in. The door to the outside is broken I try to fix it.

THE REALITY The dreamer is the person in her family they call for help on any subject or problem. Right now she was dealing with more than was comfortable. She feels that her siblings are relying on her far too much. Her mother just had half her lung removed from cancer, she was still in hospital, and her father is in remission from leukemia. Now my husband has been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.

THE DREAMS MEANING The dream captured the following feelings within the dreamer "Looking after a sick relative can be really testing. Sometimes they can be very strained. I have to guard against losing my own temper as it can make things worse. Its difficult for my husband who is becoming defendant on me."

THE INTERPRETATION The dreamer had more responsibilities than was comfortable for her. That is the backdrop to the dream and must at least be considered as important in the dream. In the dream the dreamer appears very busy at times and this may easily reflect to her real life situation where she was kept busy looking after relatives.

One thing to note is the licorice, and lollipops. These are little treats. Yet maybe at times the dreamer gets a little stressed and these little treats are rejected. Perhaps when she is a little exhausted having helped various relatives with problems she wants to just crawl into a little ball and hide from the world(just like a hedgehog).

Its difficult to know exactly what this dream was referring to. Many dreams refer to specific moments. Thats actual real life moments and they maybe involve little treats. Yet for the dreamer things are just not exactly as she likes them. It maybe shows that someone made an effort for her yet it was not exactly what she wanted.

So perhaps this dream captured an exact moment with an all too real moment of real prickliness in which the dreamer retreated into her shell and wanted to hide from the world. Many dreams like this will refer to very specific events and emotions captured from the previous day. The previous day is crucial in many dreams as we review the events and emotions that we have just faced.

Often animals symbolise our emotions. A puppy is a symbol of devotion - its difficult to say exactly whose in this case - it maybe hers towards her family. The hedgehog may symbolise her other equally strong feelings. In practice in life we often feel a combination of feelings and have to mask some. Animals can often symbolise emotions that we show openly. Humans tend to hide emotions but animals will tend to symbolise emotions that spill out (extreme feelings such as when we snap or become irritable).

Symbolic Meanings
ANIMAL : "moodiness and animalistic emotions - getting agitated and moody"
CHOCOLATE : "comforting thoughts - saying nice things and making people feel good "
HEDGEHOG : "defensive and touchy - retreating inside your shell"
LABRADOR : "well disciplined loyal and faithful companion"
PUPPY : "total faithfulness - a relationship with someone who is devoted and loyal"
----------------------
THE DREAM I am leaving on a cruise something happens not sure what but we have to change cars, we get the docks and I can't leave all my stuff is in the other car. My Mom is staying with the people that own the second car, a lot of us end up in a large hotel,( This hotel has been in my dreams numerous times) we are on the 16th floor this time. There is furniture and bags everywhere, I am trying to cook some food but I have no potatoes I leave on a bike to get some and decide I saw a place that makes French fries so I head in that direction. I don't think I ever got the fries but then I'm back in the hotel and having trouble getting on the elevator. I finally get up stairs and realize that the baby has not been changed, people are everywhere, the fridge door has been left open, I am very frustrated that no one seems to be trying to help. The phone rings I have to find it to answer it, it is my sister she says mom is moving, I look at the phone it has the same name on it that owned the second car we were driving earlier.

THE DREAMS MEANING The dream captured the following feelings within the dreamer "I feel a little isolated. I keep having to cope with things on my own. I have maybe got to start making things easier. I have got to look for my own convenience."

THE REALITY The dream features a bike. Often bikes symbolise how you are battling on your own often in tough circumstances. So its often a good entry point into the dream. The dreamer simply has to ask themselves where in life they feel as if they have been battling hard often without much help(a bike is a one person vehicle). In the dreamers case she was having to cope with several family members suffering illnesses. Her mother in particular was undergoing surgery. At the time of the dream the dreamer had plenty of responsibilities.

The cruise is another symbol that maybe seen as quite reliable. Boats and ships tend to link to moments of real meaning. They can symbolise emotional pleasures experienced with others. In this case its a cruise ship which maybe means that she is wishing for some relaxation and enjoyment. Yet she cannot leave so maybe shows that the need for relaxation has been disturbed. In her case it probably is linked to her situation. She is rushed off feet caring for others in her family. So she cannot sit back and enjoy life.

So already we have a quite distinct message that the dreamers ability to relax has been affected by her mothers illness. Indeed other symbols also add to this belief that the dreamer is rushed off her feet. The baby is a symbol of caring for dependent relative. Its a responsibility for someone whom you care about.

Sisters symbolise openness to new feelings. In this case the dreamer is maybe having to come to terms with the fact that her views about her mother are going to have to change. She is in need of help and attention. She is moving in the dream because her life situation is moving. She is coming to a new phase of her life that maybe permanent.

In the dream she clearly feels frustration that no one is helping. That clearly translates into real life. French fries are a convenience food so maybe she is attempting to cut corners and make life easier for herself during this busy period. Instead of preparing the food herself she is getting a take away showing a wish to make life easier.

Symbolic Meanings
BABY : "having a responsibility to care for dependent family members"
BIKE : "feeling isolated - having to struggle without much help from others"
CAR : "the general direction of your day to day real world existence"
CRUISE : "relaxing emotional journey"
HOTEL : "hotel service - having to look after her mothers every wishes"
PHONE : "wanting to know how someone is feeling and thinking "
POTATOES : "basic things in life"
SISTER : "opening your mind to new feelings"
-------------------
THE DREAM I am busy with cleaning and moving at a house, I am also trying to feed and bathe the baby, My husband says the phone is for me, I answer it is President Bush,he says I don't know how you do it, I tell him it is what wives and mothers do, they just do it. I hang up and continue with my work. Again the phone rings, it is Pres. Bush again, he again says I don't know how you do it, this tome I tell him to ask his wife. I go back to getting my work done all the time wondering why he is calling me, for a third time the phone rings, it is him again, again he says I don't know how you do it, this time I realize there is a business 2 doors down from me, I ask him what exactly do you want me to do, he says something about the cash register at the business, I am shocked and say You mean you want me to reprogram the register back to before all that happened, he replies, that would be nice, I tell him I will have to think about it. This is where I wake up.

THE REALITY The dreamer had many pressing family commitments at this time due to various illnesses. These responsibilities were weighing her down. She had tried to make some attempts to delegate matters to other family members but these fell on deaf ears.

THE DREAMS MEANING The dream captured the following feelings within the dreamer "I have been questioning my current situation. But at the end of the day I know that certain things have to be done and if I do not do them its likely that no one else will. So really I have to just get on with the job."

THE INTERPRETATION Babies can mean lots of things in dreams but in this dream the baby is clearly associated with responsibilities and a need to care. In this case its easy to work out that the baby symbolises the dependent relatives whom the dreamer is having to care for.

Recently the dreamer had tried to delegate responsibilities yet this had failed miserably. She was left with the choice of helping her relatives or simply ignoring them. Yes! she had issues about needing help in fulfilling these roles. Yet if people were not willing to help she realised that she had to simply get on with the job.

So thats why the president seems to be interrupting her. There is a clear issue of her trying to assume control of the situation and say who should be responsible for doing which task(the power of the president). Yet this was really a senseless task. She needed to just get on with the job and forget wish to delegate.

Perhaps the reprogramming links to a feeling that if she is going to get help she is going to have to reprogram people around her to think more in line with the way she thinks. Just dropping hints will not do. Cash registers can link to effort and other issues involving us valuing things. Money symbolises effort because the more effort we put into something the more we value it. Maybe that links to the dreamer needing to show how important and essential it is help her and the other ill members of the family.

Symbolic Meanings
BABY : "protecting a vulnerable person - having to look after her sick relatives"
PHONE : "wishing to tell someone how you feel"
PRESIDENT : "questioning the rightness or wrongness of a situation"
----------------------------------------
CONTACT : E-mail me at hairybobby2000@yahoo.co.uk - If you went to sleep thinking of something that had dominated your entire day then I would be highly interested in any dreams you had that night.


Snake dreams Spiders and dreams symbolism Dream dictionary and dream symbolism Houses in dreams dreams Shark dreams symbolism Horse dreams Police in dreams Dream interpretation and discussion forum Water in dreams symbolism Chasing dreams Demons dreams Haunting and ghost dreams