Writing this blog has vastly increased my interest in the meaning of dreams. In one of my earlier posts I mentioned that at some point I would share my theory on dreams, and I think now is a good time to do that; I've begun reading Carl Jung's Dreams, so I will share my simple, unprofessional thoughts on the subject now before I learn how complex it really is.
While many dreams seem chaotic and random, I absolutely think they are significant. I can see in some, though not all of my own dreams the underlying threads of truth... the deeper thoughts and fears that are represented. I think the "players"-- the people and objects that are present in the dream-- are often things we have seen, heard, or thought of during the preceding day or two, even if only momentarily. The players then act out a scene (the dream) that bears a much deeper theme.
For example...
Last night I dreamed that I was sitting in my mom's room with Kelsey and Hannah, two of the 9th grade girls from church. They told me that one of their friends had kissed a boy on a mission trip. Scandalous. In the dream I reacted with great shock... then asked them if I could write about it in my blog (this blog.) They hesitated, then I said, "Oh... I guess I shouldn't. She is probably going to be in a lot of trouble anyway."
This is the analysis, based on Catherine Tudor's dream theory:
The players... Yesterday I ate dinner at my mom's house, which gave me the setting of the dream. On Sunday I saw Hannah and Kelsey at church and thought about how much I love talking with them, so they became the characters. Also on Sunday, someone brought up in conversation a girl who was in the youth group when I was in high school who did get in trouble on a mission trip... not for kissing a boy, but for falling asleep on his shoulder in the hallway.
The themes... Yesterday morning I could not remember a single dream, and I actually began to worry. What if I never dream again? What if I can never write in my blog again? I have no material... That worry manifested itself in my request to write about a non-dream item in my dream. Another, more profound underlying fear represented is the anxiety that comes with the responsibility of leading a mission trip. There has been a lot of discussion lately about the trips for next summer, and while I have not consciously thought about the stress of it all, I know there is a strong association in my mind between mission trips and: Are all the youth here? Did I forget the permission slips? What if there is a crazy driver on the road? What if a youth gets hurt on the work site? What if a youth sneaks out at night and kisses a boy? You get the idea.
The first 16 pages of Jung's book have taught me two things: 1. No dream is insignificant, and thus 2. I am out of my mind to be writing this blog!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Analyze Away
It's 6:45 a.m., and I am blogging. Why? (Or, to quote my sweet niece, "Becausewhy?") Because for the last four-ish hours I have been waking up and falling back asleep into a continuation of the same nightmare, and I'd rather be awake and tired than asleep and afraid. I wake up, sit up to completely shake off the sleep state, and tell myself it's just a dream, but each time I put my head on the pillow and close my eyes, the nightmare continues. And no, it's not about waffles... although you might laugh when you read what it IS about, but I challenge you to enter the dream world... imagine that this were real, and consider how you would feel...
A tyrannosaurus rex terrorized the city. I do not know how it existed, but it was destroying buildings and eating people at a rapid pace, and no one knew how to kill it. For one segment of the dream I was at my mom's house, alone. I could hear the T rex rampaging through the neighborhood, and I was all but paralyzed with fear. I didn't know where to hide. A cat appeared at the back door, begging to enter the house. With a look of panic in its eyes, the cat puffed itself up so that it seemed to stand four feet tall. I opened the door, but it ran away to the edge of the woods. As it climbed a tree I thought, "There's no way it can climb high enough to avoid being eaten..." I couldn't risk drawing attention to myself by calling for the cat, so I sadly (and quietly) closed the door and looked for a hiding place. I knew the downstairs hall closet was my best bet, but I ended up upstairs in the small room connected to my mom's room. The T rex approached the house, and looked at me through the window. Nothing but glass separated me from its face, which was as large as my entire body. I think this is one of the times I woke up shaking.
When I fell back asleep, the predator continued its reign of terror. This time I was in an apartment in the city. Again, I could hear the T rex walking, people screaming, and buildings crashing. I paced the apartment (blinds closed, clearly), and discussed strategy with a few others who had taken refuge there. I cried and pleaded, "Can't I just shut myself in a closet and hide until it goes away??" A couple in their late 30s said, "No, we won't let you hide. We have to get away from here." Four of us (the couple, me, and Allison) walked outside, then made a run for the car. We could see the beast a few blocks away, and as soon as we began running, it saw us too and let out a... growl? Whatever terrifying noise a T rex makes...think Jurassic Park. It ran towards us as we drove away. At this point I remembered that this particular dinosaur relies heavily on motion for its sight, so we pulled the car next to a brick building and held as still as possible. The T rex stood directly beside our car and sniffed us, but we did not move, and he left us alone.
A tyrannosaurus rex terrorized the city. I do not know how it existed, but it was destroying buildings and eating people at a rapid pace, and no one knew how to kill it. For one segment of the dream I was at my mom's house, alone. I could hear the T rex rampaging through the neighborhood, and I was all but paralyzed with fear. I didn't know where to hide. A cat appeared at the back door, begging to enter the house. With a look of panic in its eyes, the cat puffed itself up so that it seemed to stand four feet tall. I opened the door, but it ran away to the edge of the woods. As it climbed a tree I thought, "There's no way it can climb high enough to avoid being eaten..." I couldn't risk drawing attention to myself by calling for the cat, so I sadly (and quietly) closed the door and looked for a hiding place. I knew the downstairs hall closet was my best bet, but I ended up upstairs in the small room connected to my mom's room. The T rex approached the house, and looked at me through the window. Nothing but glass separated me from its face, which was as large as my entire body. I think this is one of the times I woke up shaking.
When I fell back asleep, the predator continued its reign of terror. This time I was in an apartment in the city. Again, I could hear the T rex walking, people screaming, and buildings crashing. I paced the apartment (blinds closed, clearly), and discussed strategy with a few others who had taken refuge there. I cried and pleaded, "Can't I just shut myself in a closet and hide until it goes away??" A couple in their late 30s said, "No, we won't let you hide. We have to get away from here." Four of us (the couple, me, and Allison) walked outside, then made a run for the car. We could see the beast a few blocks away, and as soon as we began running, it saw us too and let out a... growl? Whatever terrifying noise a T rex makes...think Jurassic Park. It ran towards us as we drove away. At this point I remembered that this particular dinosaur relies heavily on motion for its sight, so we pulled the car next to a brick building and held as still as possible. The T rex stood directly beside our car and sniffed us, but we did not move, and he left us alone.
The order of the next few events is kind of blurry in my mind. I saw Gabe in the same part of the city and ran to help her hide. We crawled underneath a tennis court net that was lying on the sidewalk. Again, we could see the monster just across the street. I told Gabe to hold as still as possible, but she kept wiggling and readjusting. The T rex noticed. He ran towards us as I said through clenched teeth, "Gabe. Hold. Still." Our lives were spared. Back in the car we drove underground into a subway station where many were gathered. Someone received word that the T rex had been lured into the water and was in the process of drowning. The crowd began cheering, but I feared we were celebrating too soon, considering the animal was still alive. I urged everyone to wait it out until we knew for sure, but everyone else had hope that this was the end of our living nightmare.
I was in London (apparently I'd been there along,) and the tyrannosaurus rex was alive but had moved on to Sweden. The survivors--and there were not many in comparison to the starting population-- in London received a letter from Kenya begging them to find a way to stop the beast before it made its way around the world. I remember thinking, "No one knows how to stop it; it's impossible." In this segment of the dream, everyone in London was trying to piece their lives back together post- T rex, although everyone knew it would return. Inside my apartment I received a phone call from the dad of a friend of a friend, who told me not to be afraid (I think the T rex ate his daughter (wow... I never imagined typing that sentence...)) One of the boys who lives next door to my mom entered my apartment; he is in high school now, but in the dream he was four, which is pretty much how I think of him. I asked where his brother and parents were, and he told me the T rex ate them, so I said he could stay with me.
I walked outside my apartment, and saw a plot of farm land with goats and baby pigs alternating in a perfect grid. Those tending the animals seemed naively calm. Did they not know that the T rex was coming back? It could be any minute...
Then word came: the sharp-toothed tyrant had returned. People began running from the field into the woods as the sense of panic settled back in. Then I was back in my mom's neighborhood; I ran into the Common Area--a large field hidden behind many of the houses that's used for neighborhood picnics, frisbee games, etc. A few people had driven onto the field to hide. I sat between a car and a truck, alone. I overheard a father saying to his young son, "In about an hour you will reach the point when you begin reflecting on your life..." In other words, the sense of impending doom was so great and so real that this man had to prepare his son. Before he could finish, a school bus stopped on the street in front of one of the houses; it had come to drive people to safety. I recognized the situation from a movie, or perhaps another dream, and I knew that no one should get on the bus; the T rex could easily catch it, knock it over, and eat everyone inside. No one listened. Men, women, and children flocked to the bus. Then the door to the truck beside me opened. I looked up and saw a kind man, smiling, with his hand outstretched towards me. He didn't have to say a word for me to know that he knew the way to safety.
I woke up again as I climbed into the truck. As I was waking up, part of me felt as though I should fall back asleep to completely resolve the dream. But a bigger part of me was tired (pun intended) of feeling afraid and wanted to wake up and just get on with my day. Thus I blogged at 6:45 a.m. Needless to say, I do not feel well-rested today.
I walked outside my apartment, and saw a plot of farm land with goats and baby pigs alternating in a perfect grid. Those tending the animals seemed naively calm. Did they not know that the T rex was coming back? It could be any minute...
Then word came: the sharp-toothed tyrant had returned. People began running from the field into the woods as the sense of panic settled back in. Then I was back in my mom's neighborhood; I ran into the Common Area--a large field hidden behind many of the houses that's used for neighborhood picnics, frisbee games, etc. A few people had driven onto the field to hide. I sat between a car and a truck, alone. I overheard a father saying to his young son, "In about an hour you will reach the point when you begin reflecting on your life..." In other words, the sense of impending doom was so great and so real that this man had to prepare his son. Before he could finish, a school bus stopped on the street in front of one of the houses; it had come to drive people to safety. I recognized the situation from a movie, or perhaps another dream, and I knew that no one should get on the bus; the T rex could easily catch it, knock it over, and eat everyone inside. No one listened. Men, women, and children flocked to the bus. Then the door to the truck beside me opened. I looked up and saw a kind man, smiling, with his hand outstretched towards me. He didn't have to say a word for me to know that he knew the way to safety.
I woke up again as I climbed into the truck. As I was waking up, part of me felt as though I should fall back asleep to completely resolve the dream. But a bigger part of me was tired (pun intended) of feeling afraid and wanted to wake up and just get on with my day. Thus I blogged at 6:45 a.m. Needless to say, I do not feel well-rested today.
Friday, November 20, 2009
True Story.
The nightmare I experienced in Kroger today:
"Inconvenience" is clearly an understatement...
"Inconvenience" is clearly an understatement...
Thursday, November 19, 2009
...Or because it takes a "latte" time to make...
I chuckled a little this morning as I recalled last night's dreams. Because they are all a little stranger than normal, I considered not blogging today, but then I figured, what the heck?
The first is, in my opinion, the funniest of the bunch. I was back in my 12th grade physics class (this came from seeing Miss McGlinchey, who is married and has a new last name now, at the Y last night!! It was very exciting.) Class had not started yet, so people were talking and wandering around the room. Okay, I am legitimately a little embarrassed to write this: apparently there was a tampon dispenser in the projector which was located in the front of the classroom. I approached with my 50 cents, and as I put the money in the slot, the projector turned on, and everyone in the class stopped talking and looked at me. I thought, "This is kind of an awkward place for a tampon dispenser..." (I am laughing out loud right now; I hope you are too.)
In the second dream I was sitting in my nutrionist (Trish)'s office, and she was making lattes on a fancy espresso machine. (Talking about healthy eating while drinking lattes sounds like a dream to me!) It was a recent addition to her practice :) Then the dream shifted; I entered a room and saw lots of lattes sitting on the floor under a coffee table. I knelt down and began inspecting the drinks to determine which was mine. The peppermint white mocha with blue whipped cream tempted me, but then I saw a cup with my name written in black Sharpie: a tall, 4 pump hazelnut, nonfat, no foam latte. I wanted it, but I was a little miffed that it had 4 pumps of hazelnut syrup rather than 2. What was she trying to do to me?? Written on the cup was also a note that said, "I want to discuss this more with you on Friday. -Trish." Again... laughing.
I planned to write about a third dream, but as I think about it now, it doesn't seem blog-appropriate. Sorry.
The first is, in my opinion, the funniest of the bunch. I was back in my 12th grade physics class (this came from seeing Miss McGlinchey, who is married and has a new last name now, at the Y last night!! It was very exciting.) Class had not started yet, so people were talking and wandering around the room. Okay, I am legitimately a little embarrassed to write this: apparently there was a tampon dispenser in the projector which was located in the front of the classroom. I approached with my 50 cents, and as I put the money in the slot, the projector turned on, and everyone in the class stopped talking and looked at me. I thought, "This is kind of an awkward place for a tampon dispenser..." (I am laughing out loud right now; I hope you are too.)
In the second dream I was sitting in my nutrionist (Trish)'s office, and she was making lattes on a fancy espresso machine. (Talking about healthy eating while drinking lattes sounds like a dream to me!) It was a recent addition to her practice :) Then the dream shifted; I entered a room and saw lots of lattes sitting on the floor under a coffee table. I knelt down and began inspecting the drinks to determine which was mine. The peppermint white mocha with blue whipped cream tempted me, but then I saw a cup with my name written in black Sharpie: a tall, 4 pump hazelnut, nonfat, no foam latte. I wanted it, but I was a little miffed that it had 4 pumps of hazelnut syrup rather than 2. What was she trying to do to me?? Written on the cup was also a note that said, "I want to discuss this more with you on Friday. -Trish." Again... laughing.
I planned to write about a third dream, but as I think about it now, it doesn't seem blog-appropriate. Sorry.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
You Are Cordially Invited
In typical style of my psyche, I still had at least one trippy dream last night. In the one I remember, some friends and I were cleaning floors as a fundraiser to supplement the money raised by the youth auction. We knocked on a door, and a cranky, 30-something man answered. When we offered to clean his floor, he responded in a vague, wishy-washy (pun intended :)) manor, and started to close the door. One of my friends called his bluff-- he secretly, desperately wanted us to wash his floor-- and we entered the house. Before we could begin mopping we had to sweep away inch-thick layers of dust, beginning on the second floor and moving down the stairs.
When I reached the bottom stair, I swept something roughly the size of a ping pong ball across the room. I moved towards it and upon inspection recognized it as a cherry cordial (Grandma Riddle's favorite thing to give, but not receive, at Christmas.) I then looked around the room and saw LOTS of cherry cordials! Some sat in plain view in the middle of the floor while others hid behind chair legs, small appliances, and shoes. I began sweeping as many as possible--not for the sake of cleaning, but more as a game. My friends joined me. In the dream I knew that I had left the cherry cordials around this house the last time I cleaned it. Sorry 'bout that, sir.
I'm not sure how cherry cordials entered the dream, but I can identify some of the other players. To do so I'll have to confess how dirty my apartment is, so don't judge me. Yesterday evening I swept the bathroom...I don't know if it's possible for any two girls to shed as much as Mallory and I do. We probably could have made a wig with the hair I swept off the floor (Gross, I know. Sorry.) This is most likely the source of the inches of dust in my dream. Also yesterday while sitting at the kitchen table, I noticed a lemon on the floor, far under the table, almost under the heater. I ducked my head under the table for a better look and saw a second (uh, older) lemon even deeper. LEMONS EVERYWHERE! Just kidding. It was only two. Or I guess I should say, it IS only two, since they are both still there :-D Not sure how they turned into cherry cordials, though. ("When life gives you lemons..." Maybe like that :))
When I reached the bottom stair, I swept something roughly the size of a ping pong ball across the room. I moved towards it and upon inspection recognized it as a cherry cordial (Grandma Riddle's favorite thing to give, but not receive, at Christmas.) I then looked around the room and saw LOTS of cherry cordials! Some sat in plain view in the middle of the floor while others hid behind chair legs, small appliances, and shoes. I began sweeping as many as possible--not for the sake of cleaning, but more as a game. My friends joined me. In the dream I knew that I had left the cherry cordials around this house the last time I cleaned it. Sorry 'bout that, sir.
I'm not sure how cherry cordials entered the dream, but I can identify some of the other players. To do so I'll have to confess how dirty my apartment is, so don't judge me. Yesterday evening I swept the bathroom...I don't know if it's possible for any two girls to shed as much as Mallory and I do. We probably could have made a wig with the hair I swept off the floor (Gross, I know. Sorry.) This is most likely the source of the inches of dust in my dream. Also yesterday while sitting at the kitchen table, I noticed a lemon on the floor, far under the table, almost under the heater. I ducked my head under the table for a better look and saw a second (uh, older) lemon even deeper. LEMONS EVERYWHERE! Just kidding. It was only two. Or I guess I should say, it IS only two, since they are both still there :-D Not sure how they turned into cherry cordials, though. ("When life gives you lemons..." Maybe like that :))
Giant Leaf Piles and Hot Apple Cider
For most of my life I have been a summer girl, but in the last few years I have switched my allegiance to autumn. I can't get enough of the season. The smell of leaves and cool air, the sight of red, orange, and yellow foliage, the sound of dry leaves crunching underfoot as I walk down the sidewalk...even the lighting is a little more beautiful. The five senses aren't enough to take it all in; I want it to be a part of me.
I am not, therefore, the least bit surprised that I dreamed about fall last night. I drove west on Patterson, as I do many days to go to work, with Jonathan Dreiling. The trees towered into a canopy over us, and as the wind blew we drove through a shower of leaves. And we smiled. Then we discovered that we both love the season, and began saying things ecstatically like, "I LOVE... Richmond! I love God! I love fall!" Over and over and over... We couldn't adequately express our joy.
I am not, therefore, the least bit surprised that I dreamed about fall last night. I drove west on Patterson, as I do many days to go to work, with Jonathan Dreiling. The trees towered into a canopy over us, and as the wind blew we drove through a shower of leaves. And we smiled. Then we discovered that we both love the season, and began saying things ecstatically like, "I LOVE... Richmond! I love God! I love fall!" Over and over and over... We couldn't adequately express our joy.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Milk Drunk
I was recently responsible for an entire-passenger-side-of-the-car-scratcher-denter. It's like a fender-bender except... well, you can probably figure it out. When I picked my car up from the body shop it looked like new, which would have been far more exciting if it wasn't actually new. Yes, I did $1800 worth of body damage to my 2010 Corolla that I've had for three months. Ouch. In another dream last night, my car was still at the body shop; it had been ready for weeks, but I neglected to pick it up. Forrest urged me to go that day to get it... and then he unlocked a closet at church and wheeled out two mopeds. He was insistent that I needed to ride one of the mopeds to the body shop to get my car. A few nights ago in waking life I had a conversation with some friends about scooters. This conversation carried into my dream, and I thought, "Mopeds are cool until you pull up beside someone you went to high school with..." so I told Forrest I would just ask someone for a ride. Then I remembered that I'd had my car back for weeks, but I had no memory of going to get it, and I was very bothered by that. Weird.
On a completely different brain-wave, many of you know that I have a *slight* fear of elevators. There was an elevator in one of my dreams last night, and it was the third time that I can recall dreaming about this particular elevator. I don't know what type of building it was in last night, but in the other dreams it was in a hospital and a sky-scraper hotel (beach front.) In the dream last night the doors to the elevator opened, and as I stepped in I saw Erica, a 4-year-old from church, laying on the floor, surrounded by cookie crumbs. At first glance I thought she was just sleeping, but when I noticed the cookie crumbs I did the math and realized that she was in fact "cookie drunk." She'd consumed so many cookies that she'd fallen asleep right there on the elevator floor. My niece Lauren, who I saw this weekend, is 3 months old, and my sister describes the baby's state immediately post-nursing as "milk drunk. " Erica was cookie drunk :)
More to come... Africa, cell phone, bike carousel (a late arrival to my memory.)
On a completely different brain-wave, many of you know that I have a *slight* fear of elevators. There was an elevator in one of my dreams last night, and it was the third time that I can recall dreaming about this particular elevator. I don't know what type of building it was in last night, but in the other dreams it was in a hospital and a sky-scraper hotel (beach front.) In the dream last night the doors to the elevator opened, and as I stepped in I saw Erica, a 4-year-old from church, laying on the floor, surrounded by cookie crumbs. At first glance I thought she was just sleeping, but when I noticed the cookie crumbs I did the math and realized that she was in fact "cookie drunk." She'd consumed so many cookies that she'd fallen asleep right there on the elevator floor. My niece Lauren, who I saw this weekend, is 3 months old, and my sister describes the baby's state immediately post-nursing as "milk drunk. " Erica was cookie drunk :)
More to come... Africa, cell phone, bike carousel (a late arrival to my memory.)
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