I’m not an avid dreamer. I mean I DAY DREAM a lot! All kinds of crazy stuff. If people knew half the stuff that goes on in my head in an average day they would be surprised and perhaps scared. But I’m talking about the dreams you have when you lay your head down and go sound to sleep. Where you body is completely shut down and your mind runs free. That sort of dreaming I really don’t do a lot of. At least not that I can normally recall.
But I do dream. Sometimes I can tell why I dream something. Perhaps it is a result of what I was watching on television or maybe the subject matter of a conversation from the day before. I don’t pay too much attention to those types of dreams. But at different times in my life there have been dreams that stayed with me upon waking and some I have had repeatedly.
The first dream that I had over and over, occurred when I was very young. I don’t recall exactly how old I was, but I know it was before I started school. I had allergies and would sometimes wake up with my eyes glued shut and that would scare me. My mother would come to me with a warm wash cloth and wipes my eyes. I think that is some how connected to the dream, but I couldn’t tell you how. In the dream I was alone in the house and there was a puppy dog chasing me and nipping at my heels. I would run from room to room, just barely keeping ahead of him. I had this dream enough and it bothered me enough that at the age of 51, I can still recall it vividly.
There were also the usual dreams that everyone seems to have. The falling and falling until you wake yourself up. The old showing up somewhere and suddenly realizing that you are nude!! At intervals in the past several years I have had a very weird dream over and over about my teeth. In my dream my mouth was full of soft yellow wax (almost like ear wax) all around my gums. I would dig out the wax with my fingers. As I dug the wax out, my teeth would begin to come out with the wax. Horrid, I know. Disgusting. I haven’t had that one in awhile. So whatever was going on in my innermost self has apparently resolved itself.
A few years ago there was another dream I had over and over again. I approached a house. It was in dire need of paint and in disrepair. I realized that the house belonged to me. As if it was left to me in some way. When I entered the house it was filled with boxes and boxes of stuff. Boxes and boxes piled to the ceiling. There were cobwebs, dust, and it was dreary. I wandered from room to room and they were all the same. There was a door that I couldn’t open because it was locked. As I went from room to room I found a key. When I used that key to open the door it was like walking into a different world. Think of Dorothy waking up in the land of Oz. The rooms were beautiful and filled with wonderful ornate furniture. It was furbished like an old world estate. I climbed a grand staircase to the upper level. When I entered a wonderful sitting room on that level and walked out onto a balcony, there was a beautiful view of grounds that were filled with flowers, shrubbery, trees, and fountains. In the dream I was so elated because I realized this house belonged to me. I had this dream many many times. Whenever I awoke from that dream I felt as if I was missing something.
Last week I had a dream that stayed with me vividly upon waking. In the dream I was walking through a very large parking lot with my sister and my mother. I don’t know where we were walking too, but the parking lot was huge. As we walked we passed a very large elephant. I said to my sister and my mother, “Did you see that elephant?” They said that they didn’t and we continued to walk. It didn’t seem to bother me that they didn’t see the elephant. As we started up another aisle we came upon two more elephants. One with his front leg raised and his trunk in the air. I said, “Do you see these elephants?” They did see them and they were very very happy and laughing.
The first thing I thought of was the old saying “the elephant in the room.” Meaning: An important and obvious topic, which everyone present is aware of, but which isn’t discussed, as such discussion is considered to be uncomfortable.
Upon waking and thinking back on this dream, I think I have a pretty good idea what this dream means or what I’m trying to tell myself. It was pretty much confirmed by a couple of other people. I was asked “What is it that you know or maybe are aware of that you feel is obvious? Something that you might want your sister and mother to also know. Something that if they knew it, it would make them happy and content.”
I don’t think anyone else can interpret you dreams. I think your mind does use traditional ideas or generally accepted analogies to help you work through different things while you sleep. Does the expression “Let me sleep on it.” sound familiar.
So, for this particular occasion my mind drew upon the old “elephant in the room” metaphor. I believe that I have a very clear understanding and interpretation of this dream. It is a confirmation, I believe, of something that I have come to the realization of about a year ago. It’s not something that I honestly feel I need to share with a family member or anyone else, for that matter. When I feel the compulsion to share it with someone, I will.
But I do think it points to the fact that I am on the right path.
You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you’ll discover will be wonderful. What you’ll discover is yourself. ~Alan Alda