I recently had a very disturbing dream and I thought that it might be interesting for us to share our dreams and perhaps assist each other in interpreting them. This is mine:
I dreamt I was in London with Bruv and we were going to the theatre. We got separated from each other but I wasnt concerned, as I knew where I was going. A young teenage lad appeared in front of me and started to show interest. I laughed and told him to go away. Then I realised I was surrounded by a gang of boys. The first one started to cut my arms with a knife, stubbed cigarettes on my legs and ended up raping me. While this was all happening, passers by in the street just ignored my cries for help as though no-one could hear me. Finally an older man rescued me and took me to his house, ignoring my requests to be taken to hospital. When I finally began to feel safe again, the door opened and to my horror the young tormenter walked in. The older man said to him, "I see you've been up to your old tricks again." Then I woke up and felt very disturbed for the rest of the day.
I would be interested to know what you make of this.
Love and peace
Namaste
13 comments:
Phew Nammy, this is a horrible dream.
I don't really know what it means overall but there are some things that I can pull out.
You feel very secure in your relationship with Phil even when you are apart from each other.
Perhaps you have a longing for the old days when you and Bruv used to go out in the evening? I don't know.
The younger men I feel are your ex-husband and his gang of friends and family who abused you in some ways by always being around, abusing your hospitality, always in the middle of you and he, and also by the way your ex treated you perhaps not physically by the dream - but the scars are perhaps still there just the same. (I am sorry Namaste I cannot remember his name - it escapes me.)
Perhaps the bruises from this period of your life are still there with you in the background.
The older man I cannot explain - you felt more secure with him, but he didn't want to help you physically or mentally and then turned out to be in with the crew - do you know who this could be? How old was he?
Difficult one - I would imagine that you are very perceptible to analysing your dreams - what did you come up with?
Swanxx
I have a recurring dream which , although the details are different each time, has the same fundamental theme.
Each time I am living in a fairly modest house. At some point during everyday life, I notice a door in the wall that I never knew was there. I go through the door and find that it leads into huge rooms often very opulent; ballrooms, libraries and drawing rooms. I suddenly realise that all these rooms are mine and always have been.
The latest one was dreamt on last weekend. I lived in a nice but ordinary house. I walked into a back room and found it jam-packed with a full orchestra rehearsing. "What are you all doing here. Please leave now." I cried. "But we've come up from the chapel." The leader replied. "What chapel?" I exclaimed. He pointed to a door in the wall. I went through it and down a flight of stone steps and found myself in a huge cathedral full of thousands of people with a high priest celebrating Mass. I walked through the throng into further chapels full of people led by incense swinging priests and I realised I owned all of this. eventually after passing through may such chambers I found myself in a stone courtyard. I was accosted by a madman wearing a huge studded iron suit and chains as a penance. He made a grab for me but I evaded him. I then woke up.
To me, this recurrent dream is about me neglecting richer parts of my life and forgetting that there is a world of interesting things out there beyond the walls of my cottage. I think it stems from being cooped up indoors for many months following my foot operation. But perhaps you have a different interpretation. Do let me know.
Hello Bruv
This is a really interesting dream.
There are many facets to it.
Firstly, you live in a plain, ordinary house - I think you are right this is how you are probably viewing your life right now, and the more time you spend in that house, the duller it will get.
Secondly, you have doors which you know are there which lead to two different kinds of places, but both are full of colour, texture, opulence and grandiose.
For me, there are 2 ways of looking at this:
1. When you work from home and don't have time to get out of the house, you get 'cabin fever', the longing to get out of the four walls that surround you - if you remember I used to get like this at Mildmay Grove when I worked in my hallway - I thought I was going to go nuts - Anna and Paul both get it - they work from home too! As you have been incredibly busy recently and have not perhaps been out so much - I feel that perhaps you may have this - a longing to go through that door and experience the world outside. So perhaps if you are going to be working intensely at home you should make the effort to get out for at least a couple of hours during the day to get a rest from those 4 walls.
Also you are right- that because you are spending so much time there - it is reminding you of those depressing times when you could not get out.
2. My other feeling is that your religious path perhaps restricts you or makes you feel guilty for having or wanting too much, or doing too much. In your dream this weekend - there were other religions behind that door - you have also been experiencing a little soul-searching in that area recently so perhaps sub-consciously this is how you might be feeling about Buddhism. Perhaps you are questioning if it is enabling you to do the things that you would like to do, or is it restricting you, by you not wanting to open these doors. The key phrase in this dream - was for me 'and I realised I owned all this' i.e. I had brought it, I could experience it, it was there, but I had kept it hidden behind closed doors - not wanting to experience it all.
I think the madman is an extension of how you are feeling at the moment - like you are going mad, and with chains around you - i.e. constantly in the cottage - the fact that you evaded him - is a good sign, you are not as mad as him! But perhaps this dream is a warning of what could happen if you don't change your lifestyle - i.e. go through those doors and live a little - rather than working everyday, all day at home.
Hope this helps.
Swanx
I haven't had any strange or memorable dreams for a while - but I think I may have told you about Manny's dream Bruv?
When he had just started working in Paris i.e; commuting home each weekend and finding it all very stressful at the start, he had a nightmare after about 4 weeks.
His dream was that he was a driving an old, beaten up 4x4 bone-shaker over large bumps on a lonely, desolate road, and in the back of this 4x4 was him, almost dead.
In the dream Manny was looking down at the situation knowing that he had to himself to drive the 4x4 faster as his body was slowly deteriorating and he would die very soon, but he had to juggle this with the large bumps in the road which would obviously take their toll on his body.
The journey continued like this, bumpy, desolate and obviously Manny was getting more and more anxious until he woke up in fear and sweating and had to tell me all about it.
We analysed it as being the journey he was physically making each week from London to Pris - which was very hard at the end of a gruelling week of working long hours each day, with the physical and mental pressures the stressful situation was putting on him.
You might have other things to add?
Swanx (What a good topic Nammy!) x
Just re-read my last comments and my English is terrible, sorry - I seem to be losing it a bit!!
Swanx
Dear Swan,
I very much liked your interpretation of my dream. It rang very true about the working from home aspect. It makes me think I should spend more time each week going into the Bristol office to work. The phrase 'cabin fever' really hit home.
As with all dreams, things we have experienced that day creep into the dream. My dream about the cathedral follows on from my avidly enjoying a TV series currently running called The Convent. This programme has a lot of resonances for me and the nuns are truly wonderful. I wish they'd let me stay in a convent but I suppose that would be against the rules!
Many thanks for your interpretation. I believe there is so much truth and benefit in dreams if only we know how to analyse them.
Love
Bruv
Dear Swan,
I think you have missed your vocation and should be a professional dream analyser!
Your interpretation of my dream I could identify with but I also cant identify the older man.
STOP PRESS: Bruv has just suggested he could be Dougie, who often looks the other way when my family are putting me down (although they dont do this so much now).
I think this topic of dreams is one where we on the Dao can put our collective heads together to provide some unique insights, so please everyone keep posting your dreams.
Love and peace
Nammy
Hi Bruv,
The christian teachings and some few other variations, all mention within their records something along the lines of "within the fathers house there are many mansions".
Within your 'house' there too you can find many other realities. Looking at your house from the outside the front door is clearly marked Buddhism.
From my (limited) understanding, Buddhism is more of a pathway than a religion. The beauty of a pathway is that you can branch off, take diversions, enjoy the travel and not the destination.
Why not open some of those side doors to new experiences -i'm not thinking of other religions specifically, I know from the blog that you've looked into some of those- but other aspects of your greater self.
Cheers
Jon
Hi Jon,
So good to see you back in print!
Yes you are correct in saying Buddhism is a path rather than a religion. Following my last retreat I came to the realisation that we must each make our own individual paths in life and I do not feel myself constrained to follow any one school of thought, only to seek for the truth beneath them.
I definitely feel that working from home, as I believe you do too, can be as Swan says conducive to 'cabin fever' and I have felt this lately. As the current saying goes 'I need to get out more'!
I need to open some of the side doors you mention. Thank you so much for your thoughts Jon.
By the way, what did you mean when you said my front door was clearly marked Buddhism? That comment has intrigued me.
Has anyone else been watching The Convent on BBC2? I have found it fascinating and containing many moments of spiritual truth. I particularly liked the dialogue between Angela and the spiritually beautiful nun Sister Gabriel. It went something like this:
Angela: "All my life I have been brought up to achieve. I have been in the convent for two weeks now and I still havent achieved anything."
Sister Gabriel: "In your life Angela, you have been used to having goals, working hard and getting some outcome as your reward at the end of it. But this is not something you can achieve, because it is a free gift."
A wonderful thought, that what we are seeking is actually a free gift and we only have to let ourselves receive it to experience it.
Love to all
Bruv
PS. Jon, I now believe I know what you meant about the front door. You were speaking metaphorically but I thought you meant my actual front door! Sorry, I am a bit slow this morning lol!
If you feel like getting together to chat sometime Jon do let me know. Or even bang on my front door! I would look forward to that.
Bruv
Hi Bruv,
I think babging on the door would be a great idea. ...just not sure which one is yours! I walk past it most evenings with the dogs, on my way down to west beach or the memorial ground and regualrly wonder which is yours.
let me know which one to thump and one of these days -work, wife, weather etc permitting, we can sit down and put thwe world back on its axis!
sorry, i meant to say banging, not babging!! -just got home from a night shift and my fingers are dyslexic.
Hi Jon,
My house is the only one with a black door and windows and the sign Driftwood Cottage hanging outside. If you knock, the first thing you will see is an excited black and white Springer hurling herself at the door eager to welcome in a new friend!
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