Nothing but a dreamer…

Dreams. Do they mean anything? Joseph, with his coat of many colors, was said to interpret dreams, his own as well as those of others. Daniel had an entire book of the Bible written about him, and dreams were a big part of that. What are dreams? Why do they occur, and why do we only seem to have them occasionally? Lucid dreaming is another dimension of dreaming where you know you are dreaming and take control.

Sleep is necessary for health and yet is a very vulnerable time. During sleep your brain actively rebuilds and repairs. Dendrites are trimmed off the connections between brain/nerve cells. These connections are where short term memories are stored during the day. The memories are moved into a different part of the brain. Moving from RAM to ROM?

The earliest dream I remember occurred when I was living in Toledo, which means I was 5 or 6 years old. The dream is memorable enough to still come to mind. In this dream, somebody was playing with my dad’s Police revolver. I was on the small, upstairs deck. The gun went off and the bullet grazed my belly. At first the wound appeared like a knife cut, but the different layers of flesh peeled away as the wound opened and my guts began to push out. I grabbed a washcloth and closed the wound with it by pulling the flesh out and tying it like the open end of bag. Then I woke.

I have no idea what that dream means. It is difficult to figure that out now because I am not sure what the idioms meant to me at the time. Having over 50 more years of experience since then, my mind is completely different. I am sure my dad had recently told me never to touch the gun, a gun safety talk because he was a policeman and had guns in the house. The visual of how the wound opened intrigues me. It was slow and deliberate. Bloody, but not gushing. The washcloth was damp, which makes sense because that’s what my mother used to clean scrapes and cuts.

These magical days of the Inter-Web, I can do a little research online to discover what dreams mean. http://dreammoods.com/ is a good place to start. This website allows you to search for different idioms which appear in dreams. Keep in mind that it is what the idioms mean to YOU that matters. I will search the different idioms from my dream. Then as I read the common interpretation, I highlight the aspects which resonate from me. Here is an example from the dream described above:

Revolver
To see a revolver in your dream symbolizes lingering danger. It also represents fear, anger, aggression, and your quick temper. You are using your power to protect yourself against the fear and anger.

Wound
To dream that you are wounded signifies grief, anger, or distress. You need to slow down and take time to heal. Consider the location, size and type of wound. Alternatively, the dream may be metaphor that you are all “wound up” or tense about some situation.

Shot
To dream that you are shot or being shot at represents a form of self-punishment that you may be subconsciously imposing on yourself. You may have done something that you are ashamed of or are not proud of. If you are shot and come back as a different person, then it indicates that you need to start fresh. You want to wipe the past away and literally become a new person.

Abdomen
To see your abdomen in a dream refers to your natural instincts and repressed emotions. There is something in your real life that you “cannot stomach” or have difficulties accepting. You need to get it out of your system. Alternatively, the dream symbol may be strictly physiological and you may just be experiencing constipation or indigestion.

To dream that your abdomen is exposed represents issues you have with trust and feelings of vulnerability. You are expressing your primal emotions and instincts.

To dream that your abdomen is swollen indicates that some new project is in the works.

Belly
To see your belly in your dream indicates that your are processing and integrating your ideas and feelings from the subconscious to the conscious level. Your dream may also be telling you to trust your gut feeling and intuition.

To dream that you or someone has a belly piercing denotes your deep connection with your mother. Perhaps the dream is telling you to reconnect with your mother or that you need to be in touch with your maternal instincts.

Tie
To see or wear a tie in your dream represents your obligations and relational bonds. The dream may also be a pun on feeling tied down to a situation or relationship. If the tie is loose fitting around your neck, then it suggests that you have some unfinished business to tend to. If the tie is too tight-fitting, then it denotes that you feel trapped or suffocated in a situation or condition. To dream that you are tying something represents your network and connection to others. Alternatively, the dream may be a metaphor of your family ties.

Upstairs
To dream that you are upstairs of a building refers to your higher level of understanding. It symbolizes your rational thinking and objectivity. Alternatively, being upstairs means that you hold yourself in high regard.

Deck
To dream that you are out on the deck represents your connection with your Self and with nature. You need to be more aware of your surroundings and appreciate the environment. Alternatively, the dream may be a metaphor that you are all “decked out” for some special occasion. You are showing off.

Guts
To see guts in your dream represent fortitude, strength, and stamina. Consider the common phrase “you have a lot of guts”

Perhaps from reading the list I will be able to determine what the dream meant to me. Concentrating on the highlighted parts I may be able to glean meaning. I know that the highlights represent my mindset now so the meaning of the dream when it originally happened may be lost forever. Or perhaps the meaning of the dream IS for me today, and that is why I have remembered it.

Curiouser and curiouser.