Dreamwork

As noted in my sidebar, I am an incredibly fruitful dreamer. I rarely have recurring dreams, so when certain things start to show up repeatedly, I take notice. Within the last month, I have had two dreams that featured similar symbols. Although the dreams had completely different content, they were permeated with a similar mood.

The repetitive elements of the dreams:

Outdoors

A green field

A tree with a wide canopy in the midst of the field

A male companion

The repetitive mood of the dreams:

In both dreams, there was a great level of intimacy between me and the leading man; despite not knowing either of them well, it felt as if we had known each other forever. There was a level of trust without suspicion or artifice. In both dreams, we spoke honestly, directly and matter-of-factly. I felt safe, comfortable, at peace.

The Mystical, Magical, Marvelous World of Dreams by Wilda B. Tanner is my go-to book for reflecting on my dreams. It is a great book because it is not only a compendium of dream symbols and meanings, but it also touches on how dreams can be used, how to practice recalling one’s dreams, and how to interpret them on an individual level. Tanner is very careful to stress that various symbols can mean different things for different people; that is, a dog in my dream is influenced by my feelings toward and history with dogs and it may mean something drastically different than what your dream dog would represent.

Let’s look at these dreams through the Wilda Tanner lens.

1)      “…recurring dreams and repeating symbols are an attempt to emphasize a problem we have not solved, a pattern we have not overcome, a situation we have been avoiding, or something we have not yet learned.” (p. 69)

2)      “Wherever we find ourselves, the background is an important ingredient in understanding the purpose of the dream and the specific area of life the dream emphasizes.” (p. 107) My dream took place outdoors, which is generally representative of the spiritual side. And note the openness I felt with both leading men.

3)      Field – I grew up on a farm and I have especially fond memories of the fields. To me, fields are places that I romanticize. They are rustic, slower paced places to relax. But because we did hay the fields, maybe they are also places for growth.

4)      Tree - According to Tanner, “a tree often represents the ‘Tree of Knowledge,’ the fruits of your labors, or… your spiritual life and its state…” (p. 211). Note that the canopies of my trees were quite large. Tanner says that things that are enlarged are there to make a point.

(However, I did consider that the tree in the field imagery may be part of our collective unconscious because this image appears pretty regularly in popular culture. For instance, you can see it in the Six Feet Under opening credits, What Dreams May Come, The Ring, Knowing, The Lovely Bones, and on The Tree of Life movie poster.)

5)      Leaves on the tree – I noticed that the trees were very green. Green leaves can denote “new starts or potential” or a “new chance at life” (p. 212)

6)      The men in the dream – Sadly to say, neither of them are likely representative of a real man. When you dream about other people, you are, in fact, dreaming about aspects of yourself. So, in this case, I was dreaming about my masculine traits, and because I felt a strong kinship to both men, it could further be said that I was dreaming about aspects of myself that I was familiar with.

To put it together, I am talking candidly to the masculine side of myself in an area that is primed for growth and eventual sowing. The tree is showing me that I have the opportunity for a new beginning, and because the canopy is so large, I must assume that I am on the right track. I am dreaming this again because I haven’t yet learned to love and trust in myself enough to get over the hurdle of actually making that new start. Remember when I posted last week about not wanting to move backward? I suspect this is all interconnected, and that makes me feel hopeful.