Responses to the Dreams of the World

Response to Michael Sze's dream:

You need to look at your dream symbolically to figure out what it means.

The key figure in your dream is this "girlfriend." A female figure in a man's dream represents some part of his feminine side. You might be interested in our videotape, WOMEN IN MEN'S DREAMS. These feminine figures in your dream help you to know this part of yourself.

The first step in understanding this inner woman is to do associations. What qualities does the "real" girl have? What kind of woman is she? What does she remind you of?

In the dream you "kiss" her (you make an overture to get close to her, you express affection, etc.) but she betrays you. Many times in adream, when a dream figure "betrays" you, you need to look at how you might be betraying this part of yourself in real life. Is it easy for you to express the qualities you have listed? Can you accept this as a part of yourself?

It sounds to me as though you need to integrate this feminine part of yourself so that your relationships with women in real life can be more satisfying.

You really need to think about this issue. Watch the videotape!

Response to Tym's dream:

To understand the message of this dream for your waking life, you need to do associations with the key elements: Sun or light, tree, shadows. Then substitute these associations back into the dreamstory.

Your personal associations control the meaning of the dream for you.

This dream has such a mythic, archetypal feeling about it that I am comfortable making some comments about it...but you should be sure to let your own associations override my comments where it is appropriate. There seems to be a classic conflict between "good" (the light) and "evil" (the shadows) going on. The tree is an archetypal image of the Mother and of Life.

In your current life context are you feeling drawn toward light and good while experiencing a force that seems to be preventing you from reaching it? Dreams have no real sense of time...so it could be something that is going on or something that will go on.

It will be helpful to you in your real life, when you experience this struggle, to hold this dream image. This will comfort you to recognize the wisdom of your own psyche and the power it has to show you life struggles in terms that reflect the age-old struggles of the human race.

Response to M. Visbeck's dream:

Nobody can really answer the question of why we dream what we dream...but we can look at our dreams for messages that have to do with our life.

This dream is about your boyfriend. The figures in his dream represent parts of himself. It is very unusual for a dream to be talking about "real" people. The "real" people in our dreams represent parts of ourselves. These parts are merely representd by people we know. To figure out what parts of ourselves they represent, we do associations with the real people (their qualities, what we think about when we think of them, etc.). These personal representations control the meaning of each dream.

There are two feminine parts of himself that are in danger: the old black woman (an older unconscious feminine part) and you (what qualities does he associate with you?). The older one gets to safety easily (maybe its easier for him to acknowledge and accept that part of himself) but "you" barely make it (maybe its harder for him to recognize and express this part of himself). Rain usually means the onset of deep, intense emotional feelings. These feelings cause the danger.

The implicit warning or advice from the dream is that he needs to integrate, get to know or learn how to express, this feminine part of himself.

It would be really helpful for both of you to look at our videotapes, UNDERSTANDING THE LANGUAGE OF DREAMS:THE METHOD and WOMEN IN MEN'S DREAMS.

Response to Dan Alderman 's dream:

You are returning from the wars. This feels like a comment on your real life.

As you return (from whatever the struggles you have been engaged in), you encounter two dead parts of yourself: a man and a girl. Do associations with these figures to see what part of yourself they represent. When I think of this man with the dark hair and beard, I think of________________________ Some masculine qualities he would have are____________________________. A young girl like this "who deserved more" would be (give qualities she would have)_______________.

These associations you have made will help you identify the parts of yourself you need to focus on and to develop. The dream is poignant. It clearly tells you that these aspects of yourself need to be brought back to life.

Response to Emily's dream:

Dear Emily,

Do associations with spiders and with crunched up paper. Then substitute these associations in the dream action. In your real life, in what way are the associations you made "attacking" you? This dream reflects a situation that is frightening you. If you focus on what this is in your real life, it will "come out" of your unconscious and cease to have such a frightening feeling for you.

Response to Wendy Burke's dream:

Dear Wendy:

Dreams speak symbolically. What does "Siam" mean to you? Boats float on water. Many times they represent the ego part of ourself that is "floating" on the unconscious. This little craft in which you are alone crosses the unconscious to "Siam." I suspect that if you do associations with Siam you will see a direction that you need to go to find another aspect that will enrich your consious ego.

Response to Tim's dream:

Dear Tim:

If the dream is interpreted on an objective level, maybe it means your wife loves you! Sometimes dreams mean just what they say.

Usually, however, they speak symbolically.

What qualities of the feminine does your wife represent? List five or so.

I would suspect that the dream means that this part of your "inner woman" is cooperative and helpful to you.

You might enjoy our videotapes WOMEN IN MEN'S DREAMS and THE INNER OTHER.

A nice dream!

Response to Mara O'Brien's dream:

Dolphins are such a lovely image of the Self, of your potential for Wholeness. To see them in a dream in such a magical place is a gift from the unconscious. It affirms your ability to achieve this Wholeness and Completeness. It should be a comfort to you when you experience the ordinary difficulties of life.

It would help you to hold this image to draw it or paint it or get a little dolphin...and each time you look at your "real" image re-capture the wonder!

Response to Joan Kehoe's dream:

Dear Joan,

To understand your dreams, you need to identify the key elements and make associations with each of the elements. Then, you rewrite the story weaving in your associations to substitute for those elements.

The setting of this dream is interesting. Is it an idealized academic place in the beginning? Or do you associate this kind of building interior with something else? This will help you focus on the area of your life the dream is "talking about."

There is a woman who meets you. What kind of woman is this? Can you do associations: this woman in the suit reminds me of _1.___________ 2._________ 3.___________ etc. This feminine asect of yourself leads you to a "grubbier" place where two masculine parts of yourself are involved in something "illegal"...at least it is rejected by the "guarding " part of establishment values represented by the police. What do you associate with this boyfriend? These associations help you identify the masculine part of yourself that is perhaps rebelling against establishment values. As soon as there is a clear rejection by the establishment, you find yourself on a wobbly bicycle that crashes. A bicycle is a vehicle that we use to move around on...our "motivation." But it is very personal, very much individual. Your energy, motivation crashes when this establishment "guard" comes down hard on your masculine. Your own life context and personal associations with these dream figures can give you some good guidance here.

This is a really helpful dream in helping you figure out what is going on or about to go on in a deep unconscious part of yourself.

Response to Jill's dream:

Dear Jill,

Try to take the dream apart into its essential elements: there is so much entanglement and intrigue. Underline the essential elements and then write down your associations to each of these elements. Wwhat does Michael Jackson mean to you? What "baby"( new, undeveloped, just started) part of you might your husband have rescued? or be flying off with? Is there something of music or performing that either you or your husband have abandoned and not "given a ride"? Watch our tape on Men In Women's Dreams.

Response to 's dream:

Dear Nicole, Your dream is too complicated for me to try to interpret without all your personal associations to the key elements. There are so many that are clearly personal to you. Let me guide you so that you can do the analysis. First, underline the key element or elements in each sentence. Then, make a list of them. Beside each word, list five associations you have with the person, thing, or word. Think about your present life context. What problems or situations are you thinking about or trying to deal with? With that in mind, rewrite the dream story substituting the association that feels right for each element. You should now have a message from the unconscious that addresses your life. It may reflect it or warn you or give you some wisdom. Since you clearly undestand the significance of dreams, you should do some work on learning to analyze them. Our video series gives you some real tools for this work.

Response to Jennifer Yao's dream:

Dear Jennifer,

Your dream is too long and complicated for me to do more than point the way for you to interpret it.

Start by going through the dream and underlining each of the key elements. This means each person or thing that is significant in each of the segments. For example, in the first paragraph, you would underline each of the people, bed, disown.

Then, beside each, list five associations with the person, thing, or word. A good guide to this is to fill in the following: When I think of ____________, I think of 1)________ 2)________ 3)________ 4)________ 5)________. Do this process paragraph by paragraph. Then, substitute the associations in the dreamstory to find the meaning.

Two tapes in our video series that would be helpful to you are UNDERSTANDING YOUR DREAMS: THE METHOD and WOMEN IN WOMEN'S DREAMS.

Because you dream vividly, it would be really helpful to you to gain some expertise in dream analysis. The unconscious has an inteeligence that can really help us live a balanced and adaptive life.

Response to Christine's dream:

Dear Cristine,

The first step in understanding your dream is to do associations with the key elements: the machine you stole, car, fire, gasoline, sister. Don't think about the dream as you answer the questions that help you with the "associations": When I think about the machine, it reminds me of _________________ or Qualities my sister has are _____________________ Things I associate with fire are ______________________. Try to list five associations for each key element. Then go back to the dream story and substitute these associations for the key elements. What does the story tell you then. Think about the message in terms of your present life context.

Your personal associations control the meaning of the dream. I will give you some of my thoughts, but you must look to your own associations as controlling.

The sister in the dream can be your real life sister or she can represent a part of yourself that is like some quality your sister has. In what way are you and your sister or the sister part of yourself "stealing" something from the collective institution represented by KMart in your dream? This is following by the "fire." In other words, the "theft" or taking results in your being burned.

This sounds like a warning...but a warning with a solution. It is the "gasoline" that causes the fire. In other words, eliminate the fuel and you don't get burned. The fuel inthe dream appears to be the KMART incident.

Can you make any sense out of this in the context of your life?

Response to Mandy's dream:

Dear Mandy,

Usually dreams of flying are informing us that in some aspect of our life we do not have our feet on the ground. Look at your real waking life: is there some area in which you are not being realistic? Are you "higher" than you should be in doing or thinking about something? These are the areas that need to be explored when we dream of flying.

Response to Ari Hoffman's dream:

Dear Ari,

To understand your dreams, you need to do associations (in real life) with the key elements. What does it mean to you to take two movies home?

What do each of these movies remind you of. When I think of 12 Monkeys, I think of................., etc. Then do the same with LLV.

Whatever it is that you associate with these movies is what you want to take home. Your mother lets you. What does this mean in your life? Is your mother the kind of mother who does or does not let you "bring things home"? Perhaps your dream is giving you some instruction about what is O.K. with your mom? But...I am reaching because I don't have your personal associations with these elements.

Dreams can be very helpful!

Response to Paul McManigal's dream:

Dear Paul,

You need to do some personal associations in order to understand this dream.

Look back at yourself at the age when you were having this dream. Do the best you can to reconstruct your associations with "cool white smooth sheet." Forget about your dream when you do associations. In real life, i think of _______________ when I think about a cool white sheet. It reminds me of _______________________. Wrinkles in this would mean_______________________________

The message that the unconscious was giving you was that you could not keep the sheet smooth. The harder you tried, the more wrinkles there were. This is "evil" or diabolical for a little kid. "The harder I try the worse it gets." What was going on in the fabric of your life during those years? What were you trying so hard to make right that just kept getting worse?

If you could have identified that, you would not have kept having the dream.

Response to amy's dream:

Dear Amy,

Remember to think symbolically when you think about a dream.

In your real life, what wants to wake you up? What do you need "to wake up to'? Is there something going on that you are not looking at? Is there something you are asleep to?

In the dream you are crying out to your mother to wake you. In your real life, is there something she can help you see or understand?

Deal with this in your waking life, and this dream will not reoccur.

Response to Susan's dream:

Susan,

In a dream, death means a dramatic change. It is usually a forecast of change to come. Do some associations with this "idol." When I think of her, I think of .......Some qualities she has are ........... She is ................

What she represents in your psyche is going to change. Perhaps, you are at a stage where you are about to change some of the basic "ideals" you have had to this point. Remember, that your dream is not talking about HER, it is talking about what she represents. It is the dream's way of saying that this part of yourself is about to change.

Your psyche is helping to prepare you.

Response to An Le's dream:

Dear An Le,

A marriage usually represents some kind of self integration that is going on. You have five to perform, and you have completed one. Is there something that has just come together nicely for you, either in something you are doing or in your psychological life?

This is a nice dream. It affirms the direction you are going. You have more to do...but the four incomplete tasks will further your integration.

Response to Crystal's dream:

Dear Crystal:
When you dream about yourself or someone else having sex in a dream, you need to do associations with the people involved. When I think of my friend, I think of.......Some Qualities of my friend are...... etc. Do the same with her boyfriend. Now, the qualities represent parts of yourself. "Having sex" means they are identifying with each other...becoming one...becoming the same. What qualities in yourself is that happening to? You need to differnciate the qualities and express them separately.

The dream warns you that your ego AND the establishment represented by your teacher does not approve of this identification. Can you figure out what that is in your life? A male and female part of yourself that is combining?

Response to Jessica's dream:

Dear Jessica:
Look at your dream symbolically. What do you associate with water? List five things. This is the personal level.

On an archetypal level, water refers to the unconscious...to life in its broadest, basic sense, and sometimes to intense emotion or feeling.

Here, when you are filled with "water" (you have to choose which of the symbolic meanings is most relevant for you), you don't go to "heaven" or "hell." You start to dream again.

This is a comforting image. Whether you are filling yourself with unconscious work or with life or intense emotion you are not going to "die" or have either an ecstatic or a depressing experience. It will lead to "more dreams." Nice!

Response to Marla's dream:

Dear Marla:
A journey is usually an image of our life quest.

The woman in front of you is dark and is wearing dark clothing. This type of figure usually embodies a more unconscious, earth-connected part of us. You should do some personal associations with this woman (She reminds me of....Some of her qualities are...when I look at her, I think of....) to hone in on exactly what part of your deep female self she represents. In the dream you want to go with her. In your own real life, what prevents you from following or developing what she represents?

Instead, you seem to be diverted by the woman behind you. What qualities in yourself does she represent? How do these qualities prevent you from following the other?

This woman shows you a world that is made of "salt". Do your personal associations with the word "salt." You are diverted by these qualities from following a deeper part of yourself and you end up in this world of "salt."

Although I do not know what your personal associations are with salt (and they control the meaning), I would posit that this dream is giving you a warning. It is telling you to look at your present situation. Do you really want to be diverted? What is diverting you? Answering these questions will give you some clarity.

Response to Heather Anderson's dream:

Dear Heather:
You should underline the key elements of your dream and do at least five associations with each element. Then you weave the associations back into the dream story to find its meaning. We teach this method in depth on our video Understanding Your Dreams: The Method.

Your personal associations control the meaning of your dreams.

In the dream you have recorded for us, you should do some associations with the two feminine figures, your husband's cousin and the other woman whom you try to help. The question is what is the "fire" from which you are trying to save these feminine aspects of yourself? What is going on in your life that seems like a "fire"? What qualities, aspects of yourself are in danger from this "fire"?

This type of dream is a warning. Figure out what parts of yourself (by doing the associations) are in danger. They are not listening to the ego warnings you are giving them. By focussing on them consciously you can avert the danger.

Response to Jennifer's dream:

On a piece of paper, I want you to write your associations with the ring of a doorbell. Do it this way: Finish each of the following sentences with AT LEAST five endings:

1) When I hear a door bell ring, I think_______________________________.
2) When I hear a door bell ring, I feel ______________________________.
3) When I hear a door bell ring, I expect ______________________________.

Now, try to remember one of your dreams. What was going on when the door bell rang? Look at your associations to see which might be applicable to the situation. Your psyche clearly wants you to pay attention to this because it is so "real" and it repeats itself.

Let me know if you have hear the door bell again AFTER you do the exercise,

Response to Sumei Chan's dream:

Dear Sumei:

This teacher did something which was so horrifying and painful to you. Make associations ( memories, qualities, adjectives) with that classroom, that teacher (or "teacher"), baby (something new and able to grow?). Did you have a traumatic disappointment in junior high? Might a teacher have treated some new interest with the kind of abuse the baby in the dream received? See Tape II for help in decxiding how to do ACTIVE IMAGINATION with the dream. You need to confront this teacher and stop the abuse even though it may have happened in the past.

Response to Cyb's dream:

Dear Cyb:

Sounds like you have been visited by the crone herself. This thousand year old fat woman good be your own connection to ancient feminine wisdom. Your compassion for her can bring you great riches. The "furry" carpet and dark heaviness of the atmosphere seem also so archetypally connected to the repressed feminine. Please look at our tape on WOMEN IN MEN'S DREAMS. I hope you will continue to care for her and stay in dialogue with her. Is this place where she appears a familar place in your life, in your p[syche? Might she come when you are in a dark and brooding mood? You will do well to deep taling to her, but do not let her take over your feelings so that you become her clone!

Response to Elizabeth Franklin's dream:

I can't address the psychic connection, but I can help you explore the dream. I want you to read the article we have running now in the DreamWeavers Circle. It focusses on the difference between the subjective and objective level of dreams.

Up to this point, you have been looking at the dreams only on the objective level. I want you to examine i on the subjective level. That means we assume this man represents some aspect of your own psyche, one of the aspects of your animus (the internal masculine of a woman). The personal question for you is, what are the masculine aspects represented by the man whom you know.

The way to answer this is to sit with a piece of paper, put his name in a circle in the middle of it, and all around that circle list the things you think about when you think of him. Put the ones that are similar close together. When I think of __________, I think of a ___________ man. Because he appears so prominently in your psychic life, I would try to think of 15 or 20 associations. Connect these all with lines to his circle.

Now, sit back and look at what you have drawn/written. Focus on the BIG associations. Go to a recent dream and insert a "man like these" in it and see what the story of the dream tells you about yourself. Many times our animus can be quite revealing in terms of our self knowledge. If you could look at our videotapes Men in Women's Dreams and The Inner Other, you would find them very helpful. They address the situation in your dreams directly.

Response to Antonio's dream:

When a man dreams about a woman, it is important to remember that the woman in the dream represents some aspect of your feminine self. The great psychiatrist C.G. Jung calls these female figures in a man's dream his Anima. You should do associations with this real girl in your life. This means going through an exercise stating what she reminds you of, the qualities of "female" you think about when you think about her.

Sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper (or at your computer) and list all the female qualities you think of when you think about this girl. "Going to the bathroom" is a symbolic way of talking about expressing yourself. This female aspect "strips naked" in order to express herself, but when "you" go in she disappears. What are the qualities of this dream ego? What is the "you" like? This is the clue as to why the female part of yourself disappears. What masculine qualities are interfering with her expression?

In a whole person, the masculine and feminine aspects are balanced. Both have avenues for expression. Perhaps you can think of some ways to help this Anima express herself in real lfe so that she doesn't disappear.

This is an important dream.

Response to Jackie's dream:

I want you to read the article that we now have in the DreamWeavers Circle. It talks about the difference between the objective and the subjective levels of dreams. You have looked at your dream only on the objective level. Now, I want you to examine this dream from the subjective level. This means looking at the "ex-boyfriend" as representing an aspect of your own psyche. He represents a part of your masculine self that wants to be held and recognized in a loving way.

It is important to zero in on what aspects of the masculine we are talking about. In ten or twenty words, describe the ex-boyfriend. What kind of person is he? What does he like, dislike? How does he treat you? What kind of "man" is he? Then, ask yourself, how can you express these qualities in your own life?

Response to eva rendon's dream:

Eva, pregnancy in a dream usually symbolizes the effort of the dreamer to "give birth" to a project or to something creative. It seldom literally means a real pregnancy. The interesting thing about your dreams is that you are always having problems bringing forth the project or creative endeavor.

Look at your life closely to see if there is some problem with the masculine that is limiting your creative efforts. Sometimes the masculine can refer to men in your life (father, boyfriend, male teacher, etc.). Other time it refers to the ideas of the masculine that we have taken in and made a part of our own psyche...we can allow these to limit us just as effectively as if they were outside us. It is clearly important to you to "give birth." You must be very creative and very eager to express this, to incarnate it in the real world. Try to figure out what these limiting forces are that trouble you and make your best effort to eliminate them.

Response to Natasha's dream:

What a beautiful dream! The nature of the psyche is such that these two strong powerful people are not lost to you. In fact, such dream figures are now yours forever. You can access them anytime that you want because the psyche is not limited by the physical bounds of time and space. They can become powerful influences of comfort and protection for you.

The way to acknowledge their reality is through the process of Active Imagination, as explained and developed by Carl G. Jung. You can dialogue with these figures, orally or in writing. You can draw them or sculpt them. You can collect pictures from books and magazines that capture enough of their qualities to make them real again to you. These methods are explained and demonstrated in our first videotape, Relatng to Your Dreams: The Method. This tape gives you a powerful Method for analyzing your dreams.

Your dream is a BIG dream. You should apply an analytical method to it time and time again until you are able to unlock the meaning on an increasingly deep level.

The FIRST step, and the most important to do right now is one of the methods of Active Imagination. That will bring these figures back into your conscious minds so that you can keep them as real companions. When you do this, you will no longer feel lost or alone. You will know that these precious figures, these powerful aspects of your Self are with you forever and ever.

The figure of the Horse with its powerful Mother Imagery is a suitable carrier for the three of you. Did you notice that the three of you plus the horse is four, which is a symbol of psychic wholeness...completeness. No wonder you felt so at home, in your place.

You are very fortunate to have such powerful companions shown to you at your young age. They will be a tremendous source of strength and comfort to you. Make them conscious companions by acknowledging them with Active Imagination.

Response to Janette Rodriguez's dream:

Dear Janette:

Sometimes death in a dream points to a need for separation, psychologically...Your reaction of not wanting to face "his death" is corrected in the dream by his face coming to you...you must "face it"...face the need to let your dependence on him die...but then at the end of the dream, you go into denial once more with "no he didn't die"...Think about how you might let your attachment to this person die...See our tape on MEN IN WOMEN'S DREAMS and the tape on RELATIONSHIP.

Response to Betty Bridgman's dream:

Dear Betty:

I assume some of the life story is woven into the text of this dream..Without our having a conversation, I can't tell which is which. But such a recurring dream would indicate that there is some issue, some feeling represented in the dream which you have not yet dealt with. Were you actually offended in such a way? Have you expressed your anger to the people involved? The "hate" boxed up in the dream needs to be dealt with...might you express your feelings to the people involved? Or do some active imagination, rewrite the drama, imagine yourself in the other person's place, write a letter you might not send. Do something with your feeling. Watch Tape II on ACTIVE IMAGINATION.

Response to Emily's dream:

Dear, dear Emily:

Your dream is such a blessing to help you hold closely to the memory of your dead mother. That she has forgotten about you in the dream might call your attention to your own having forgotten her...you are "walking around in a cloud"...which is certainly understandable..it is so hard to really accept the loss of someone so close to you. In the dream, you make connection with Mumma by reminding her of memories and stories which you share. Why not take this as instruction for how to stay in that loving connection? Write about your feelings about your mother. Write everything you can remember about her...make a little memory book about you and her...with pictures and drawings..whatever comes to you...and hold those treasured memories close to your heart. People often dream of a lost loved one about a year after the death. I hope you have someone close to you with whom to share these feelings.

Response to Diane's dream:

Dear Diane:

What a beautiful initiatory dream! What do you associate with cave, "large cedar tree"?...Your inner decision to enter the cave is primary...and it looks as if you will be exploring whatever that tree means to you...family tree? Life? your roots? Such a dream invites active imagination..see our tape, ACTIVE IMAGINATION, Paint the tree. Keep some kind of symbol for yourself to mark the "entrance" into this important part of your life's journey...an exploration into the "cave", the unconscious. Are you in analysis? You might want to find an experienced guide.

Response to Julie Benesh's dream:

Dear Julie:

Would you name this dream, "the blockheads"? Make associations with "my father", my analyst, commercial garage (through which you take a "short-cut"), grey-haired woman, cement. Then substitute these associates for the images in your dream. The ending sentence..."I think to myself...." seems to be the consciousness you gain from the dream. Might that thought be your realization that perhaps whatever stubborn resistance (blockheadedness) you might expeerience in your analysis is "the splint" that holds your head together because of early trauma (accident). I do hope you are discussing this dream with your analyst! It can be so helpful in the context of ongoing work and you might have an immediate take on it within that context. Since you are already in Jungian analysis, you would particularly enjoy our video series...ask for it as a present.

Response to Maggie's dream:

Dear Maggie:

The dream sounds like you take onh a great deal at one time...five children at the Anderson's and pets at the Clinton's...Write down associations (qualities) with Andersons, Clintons, Kevin, the song "Dream Lover", Becky...Then substitute these associations for the images in the dream. Now does it begin to tell you something meaningful? Perhaps the man who breaks in could be seen as some conscious awareness of your situation breaking in? I notice some metaphoric clues: mother hangs up because we can't understand each other....you can't call the police because the music is too loud...whatever that music means to you interfers with your getting control of your life? Write down your dreams and date them, putting also the story that is unfoldding that day. Soon we will have a dream journal on the market in which you will enjoy recording your dreams and working on them. Watch for it.

Response to Sarah's dream:

Dear Sarah:

So the little watergun fight turns out to get quite nasty, bloody, that is! Would that mean more real than you had intended? What are your associations with the Math building? watergun fight? fake blood? couple? Would you have a fight like that about your "time card and paycheck"? Do you have some rage about that situation which you have not owned? or expressed? How does the "couple" inadvertently get wet? Is it really fake blood or are you afraid to face how bloody angry you are? Maybe do some active imagination and ask the couple why they just didn't go around, then listen to their answer. Write the dialogue down. Tape II will be helpful..also ALCHEMY OF RELATIONSHIP.

Response to anonymous's dream:

Dear Anonymous:

It is very important that you mark such a dream. Please paint the scene and keep it in a safe place for yourself. Someday you may see this as a very personal symbolic expression of your life's story. Can you put the Painting on the net? I'd like to see it if you can. In a way , you are a young knight and you will pursue ayour own search for the grail. You might enjoy Robert Johnson's, HE, about Parsifal, and see our tape on MEN IN MEN'S DREAMS.

Response to Christine's dream:

Dear Christine:

Your Mer-bird is a remarkable symbol....it can live in water and in air...and you are retreiving it and resuscitating it...bringing that lovely spirit back into your life. The dream opens with a description of a place...perhaps a psychic space in which live is frozen and dark and things begin to move and thaw. So your feelings must be warming up...and then you discover this wonderful bird! Please paint the bird. Your sister (a part of you) just shrugs this experience off...doesn't take it seriously, but your ego keeps struggling. You will find our tape on BIRDS AND OTHER FLYING THINGS very helpful.

Response to Carey Miller's dream:

Dear Carey:

You are on an island (isolated?) and the woman (the feminine or a real live woman, who instead of "walking on water", "rides bike on water") gets you into the water (your feelings?), and the water clears up. Might this brown and black dog which surfaces symbolize your instinct for relationship? What does such a dog mean to you? Sounds as if you discover that you do not have to be frightened and can tolerate the anxiety and pain associated with relationship. See our tapes on WOMEN IN MEN'S DREAMS and RELATIONSHIP.

Response to Andrew Lowe's dream:

Dear Andrew:

What is the "something else" in the relationship with this partner? As you try to leave the "darkened" room, the soup gets thicker and more malevolent. Might that suggest that you should try to shed some light on this dark place without trying to "exit" it? Paint or dialogue with the "unseen thing which is weighing us down and descending upon us". See our tapes on ACTIVE IMAGINATION and THE ALCHEMY OF RELATIONSHIP.

Response to Bill Matthews's dream:

Dear Bill:

Make associations (see Tape I of our series) to elements in the dream: countryside, plane, "hits the ground", explosion. the feeling in the dream seems to be "exciting" and "thrilling". ; these emotions are in such contrast to what we usually associate with "countryside". I wonder if there is some way in which you are as if in a peaceful, pastoral kind of psychic space and then become conscious that your spirit (plane) needs to "come down to earth" as it were? The feeling tone also suggests that you include more fiery feelings in your consciousness. We have published a wonderful lecture about flying things: BIRDS AND OTHER FLYING THINGS.

Response to Jill's dream:

Dear Jill:

A recurring dream insists on being related to. Paint the tornadoes..in color.. What do you associate with tornadoes? Have you ever been in a tornado? Does anyone in your life roar like a "tornado"...do you have "stormy" emotions? In MEN IN WOMEN'S DREAMS, I tell about the tornado in Dorothy and the Wizard of Oz as a wake-up to consciousness, and initiation. Watch that tape.

Response to Jen's dream:

Dear Jen:

What does this summer resort mean to you? Do you have pleasant associations with it? Unpleasant? What memories does it evoke? The town "blanketed in 3 ft of white foam" is a strange image. Does white foam mean anything in particular to you? Might it have to do with a blanket of "whiteness"...perfectionism...foam does not have much substance...a blanket or cover of being so pure and perfect? and then a "crazy man", which is definitely not "white fluff", tries to break in. You and your sister are able to lock him out. Do you want to lock him out? What if you let him in? Might the resort be more fun and more creative? Instead you and your sister sneak off and smoke, which is a little bit crazy and imperfect...but mother must not see? I wonder if the dream invites you to quit playing around (resort) and "unblanket" and let in more of your "craziness",, which is usually what individuation or creativity looks like. Look at Tapes I and II and also the one on MEN IN WOMEN'S DREAMS.

Response to Pam's dream:

Dear Pam:

What a precious dream experience! It is as if your loved cousin turns into light..pure light..consciousness: as you really consciously accept his death. Death, especially self-inflicted death, is so hard to accept. Your grief and your experience of this person's release after so long are not-unusual experiences. I wonder if your hand on his chest might have anything to do with getting in touch with something "on your own chest"? You might do some active imagination with him, telling him good-bye and whatever your personal feelings for him were in a letter that you could bury or burn or somehow release also. See Tape II on ACTIVE IMAGINATION. Also you might enjoy Stephen Levine's book, Who Dies? , in which he talks of this common experience of bright light associatied with death.

Response to Heidi D.'s dream:

Dear Heidi:

When you are three or four, the whole world must seem like a world of giants, some friendly, some not so friendly. And sometimes as adults, we feel just as small in front of a giant task. What were the giants going to do with you? Might you think of the giants as big ego tasks...giant steps forward...children are both terrified and frightened by giants in fairy tales.. To be caged by the giants might mean that your little child-like ego is now to be committed, caged, to the task of growing up, performing the "giant" job. As an adult, your terror might symbolize your resistance to getting "caged" by the giant tasks. Look at our dream tapes I and II.

Response to Jennifer's dream:

Dear Jennifer:
While in a waking, but relaxed state, try imagining yourself facing the killer instead of running away. Ask him "what do you want of me?" "Who are you?" Let him answer and write down the conversation. Often being "killed" in a dream symbolizes the need for a certain ego image, ie, view of ourselves, to "die", give way to a new self image. On the other hand, being "killed" can symbolize the destructive effect some person or attitude has on our beingness. Use active imagination to find your own meaning. Watch our tape on MEN IN WOMENS DREAMS and TAPE II; ACTIVE IMAGINATION. DREAMWEAVERS

Response to Lynn's dream:

Dear Lynn:
What an interesting dream! This is the kind of dream which might be considered a "tribal dream" in other cultures...or a "collective" dream by Jung's standards..it might say something about a new religious order in the world. You might look into what was going on in the church and in religion, in general, 800 years ago. In France, for example, this was the time of the Templars who were trying to preserve the values and meaning of the feminine in the religious order and who had shrines to the Black Madonna. The best book I know on the subject is Ean Begg's THE CULT OF THE BLACK VIRGIN. Many people are dreaming of similar changes in religious structure at this time...it is about to be a new millineum and we certainly need some inclusion of feminine values (maybe 800 pounds of it would help!). On the other hand, you should consider the dream in a personal way. What do you associate with the Vatican and the Pope? How would you vote for a new reigning religious principle in your own life? What would it mean to you if chocolate cake were served? Chocolate is particularly important to women and to the feminine...its darkness and its sweetness. Eight is the number of wholeness and 100 times that emphasizes its importance. New religious values and practices are certainly needed in our world, and you seem to be asked to attend to the new order. See whatever of our tapes you can about the feminine (WOMEN IN MEN'S DREAMS, in WOMEN'S DREAMS, and FEMALE ADORNMENT). Soon we will publish some work I have done about the Black Madonna and her meaning in various cultures.

Response to Valerie's dream:

Dear Valerie:
Underline the significant elements of the dream (beach, clear day, white horse, city street, trying to shoot her). Make associations to each of these elements and then substitute these associations in the dream. Does it begin to come alive? Dreams use concrete images(white horse) to express metaphors. White horse is a rather magical image...When I was a girl, we spoke of menstruation as "riding a white horse", porobably referring to the menstrual pads which used to be popular. There is also the white horse, Pegasus, which is the icon on my mail service, by the way. Pegasus had wings and is often associated with poetry. You might do some active imagination(our Tape II would help) with the white horse. Ask it what it needs from you. How can you help it not get "shot down"?

Response to Alexandra's dream:

Dear Alexandra:

The main feeling in the dream seems to be the awful experience of not feeling seen...as if "I wasn't there". It would be disappointing to look forward to meeting a boy to fall in love with, but it looks like you have trouble imagining yourself to be attractive because of not feeling seen by "the mother". Do you have that feeling about your own mother? Try imagining yourself confronting "the mother". How would you make her aware of your presence? your friend might symbolize the part of you that is able to connect with boys. How can you develop that part of yourself? Create a "mother-who-sees-me" in yhour imagination. Let her speak to you lovingly. Tape II might be helpful.

Response to Maureen's dream:

Dear Maureen:

The setting of the dream is an outdoor festival. What department of your life does that refer to? What kind of mood? or feeling? or activity? In that psychological space, you lose your dog. What do you associate with your dog? Generally, dogs are a symbol of our ability to relate to other humans in an annimal-like way, instinctively. You lose that facility and your friend gives you a magical potion. What do you associate with this friend? With such a potion? In the end you and the dogs go to sleep peacefully. It seems that whatever "drug" your friend gave you brought you back together with your dog instincts. Do something imaginal with the potion...draw it, let it speak to you in imagination...See Tape II on Active Imagination for help.

Response to Carolyn's dream:

Dear Carolyn:

What a frightening dream! The psyche seems to be warning you about swimming with this seal in this pool. The setting is a hotel...hotels are temporary residences to most of us. The stone-sided swimming pool sounds old, too, and romantic and carefully and solidly constructed. What do you assocaite with the hotel? With the pool? Do you have any personal memories, experiences, or other associations with selas, or sea lions? Generally seals are seen as a particularly trustworthy guide in the water ( the unconscious) but this seal abandons you, or you let go of it. Seals can live in the water and also on land...which would symbolize our ability to relate to the depths as well as everyday life. But when you separate from the seal, you get lost in the pool( the personal unconscioous). The dream might warn you of your need for a guide when plumbing the depths, so you don't get stuck there! I think you will find help in our tapes...particularly, I and II.

Response to Marlene's dream:

Dear Marlene:

I grew up in Alabama where cardinals signaled the magic of spring. What do cardinals mean to you? The Catholic church also has "Cardinals", of a different kind. The setting is a place of worship, I gather. So what if you assume this speaks to your relationship to Christianity. Is that an issue for you? Make associations to the statue of Jesus and imagine what it would be like for you to see a cardinal coming out of his mouth. What would you feel? It is almost as if his message is in symbolic language instead of words. Either get for yourself a picture of a cardinal, or paint one. Meditate on the differences or similarities between the message of Jesus and the message of the cardinal. I hope you will look at Tapes I and II of our series.

Response to Arnel's dream:

Dear Arnel:

Don't abandon your girlfriend YET..and don't blame yourself with infidelty! Dreams are about our inner life. So this one is about your school life...I gather you are actually in the University. Do you play with a girl's hair? Well, if so, this dream might warn you that such sensuous behavior might lead to more. Or is the girl a symbol of your own feminine side with which you succumb to a seduction? What do you associate with this girl? Substitute those qualities for the girl in the dream and feel into where those qualities are in you. Might that be what you find yourself surprisingly attracted to, involved with? See our Women In Mens' Dreams tape.

Response to Debbie's dream:

Dear Debbie:

What a lovely dream! Your feeling of peace and beauty is obvious. The place you have this experience is in your living room. What does that room mean to you? Or does the dream point out that such peacefulness occurs when you "are standing in your own living room", your own psychic space. It is interesting that you think yhou will see snow, which is frozen and cold, but instead you see these beautiful white flowers and this view of yourself as such a beautiful and serene and "whiteneed" woman. Perhaps the dream reminds you not to think of yourself so darkly as you might be at present. It might, on the other hand, point toward an image of yourself that is too white, too pure, too perfect...like snow...an idealized image that might actually lull you into isolation. Only you can know what the dream speaks to. Mediate on it...Draw the woman and the white flowers. See how it feels to take a look at this part of yourself "out of the corner of your eye" as it were. Tapes I and II will be very helpful, as well as the tape about Women In Women's Dreams.

Response to Connie's dream:

Dear Connnie:

How are you being sexually abused at this time? Sexual abuse is pretty vague..Write down what you actually remember about the abuse..What kind of abuse. Then imagine that the sexual activity is symbolic for something abusive to your very feminine soul that is being perpetrated and silenced. What about the doctor? Your associations with the doctor? Substitute those qualities in your associations for the doctor in the dream. How are those qualities in yourself abusing you so violently? Even if such a dream wakes up a memory, the work is very similar..you have to come to terms with it symbolically. See Men In Womens' Dreams.

Response to Sam's dream:

Dear Sam:

There are a myriad of possible reasons people don't remeber their dreams: repression, drugs, alcohol, business, lack of attention, and on and on. Sometimes people your age are very much appropriately engaged in their everyday lives and need all their energy for that development. When you need a warning, the psyche will wake you up! If you really are interested in accessing the unconscious and have the time, read some of the dreams on the Internet, read some psychologically stimulating material. There's a wonderful old book that is out of print: MY DEAR EGO by Fritz Kunkel that you might find helpful; it is written for young people. What do you fantasize about? Sometimes fantasies can also be instructive. Be easy with yourself.

Response to Jennifer's dream:

Dear Jennifer:

Well it looks like the dream is telling you that you have business to take care of before you can go riding bikes! Babies sometimes symbolize new projects, new ideas that can grow. Sometimes they symbolize a very big "baby part of ourselves that we leave for our mothers to take care of. The good news is that when you join the mother and aunt, the babies come alive. There is so much feminine energy in this dream...though it doesn't say whether the babies are boys or girls. All those women to take care of the babies. How might you be as dependent as 50 babies? How might you have "50" new projects that lay "dead" until the "8" (wholeness) of women take care of them? Tape II about Active Imagination might be a fully alive "baby" that you could enjoy!

Response to Greg's dream:

Dear Greg:

What are you trying to fly away from? What do both you and your brother need to escape? Who are the people trying to hold onto your feet? I would guess you night sweats are indicative of the level of your anxiety. As much as we humans would like to fly away, it seldom works. Better to find an earthbound way of dealing with whatever you are "trying to fly away from". Marie Louise von Franz's book, PUER AETERNUS ( which means eternal boy) might be helpful to you. She speaks extensively about men and flying. I think you will also find some help in Men In Men's Dreams, one of our tapes.

Response to Jon's dream:

Dear Jon:

Write your associations to school, receiving carpet, and your friend..try to get at least five adjectives for each of these symbols. The dream is about the "school" department of your life. The struggle between you and your friend takes place in "another building"...perhaps there is some hostility between the two of you which you haven't noticed...Does he "push" you in some way? What part of you does your friend symbolize? How might you be pushing that part of yourself and feel afraid of the consequences? Substitute your associations to this friend for him in the dream. Maybe you could do some active imagination by imagining a fight between the two of you. Look at Tape II.

Response to Giovanni's dream:

Dear Giovanni:

How distressing! It is not unusual for children in this stage of pre-puberty to have such frightening dreams, however. Their bodies and minds and psyches are changing so drastically and so fast. Is the boy in any kind of anxiety-producing situation, like parental divorce, new school, new house, etc? I would wake him up and give him a chance to tell you whatever he remembers about his dream. If he does not remember, you might have a large sketch pad and some crayons and sit up with him while he draws whatever he can imagine might frighten him so. Then play a game of conquering or dispelling the frightening object. Also you might try quiet him by letting him talk about his feelings before he goes to sleep. Give him a suggestion about what kind of help he has available when he gets scared. Help him know that he can tell whatever is bothering him in his sleep to go away or "the bad thing" will be reported to his father who will take care of it. Reassure him and comfort him and give him as much room to express his fears as you possibly can. If the nightmares continue, you would do well to seek professional help. There are child therapists in almost every major city. I would particularly reccommend thrapists in the International Sand Play Association.

Response to Kylie's dream:

Dear Kylie:

Of course, you would be afraid...it seems that you are not safe in either building! Only when you escape to the top of the right-hand building do you have a decent view of the city. So get ready to do a lot of work about a very significant conflict in your life!

The dream may express a very central conflict in your relationship to yourself-in-the-world (the city). There is a war goin on in you. What two structures ("builgings") are you torn between? On the "left side" there is a structure which contains also your ex-fiance and two friends...What "structure" might you have in common? It looks like that is now being attacked by the collective ("the people"), or perhaps you are afraid it will be. Some part of you (Sharon) runs from that danger, also pulling your ego (your sense of yourself) with it...barely. But then the attackers come after you in the structure (building) which Sharon enters easily...the "right side". You and Sharon (a part of yourself with which you are friendly) escape to the top, to a pleasant view of things, while the attackers invade the bottom floor...maybe the top floor symbolizes fantasy or abstract thinking...some place "high up", not grounded, on the ground floor.

The witches hats are very interesting: What do you associate with witches? They are orange, not the customary black of fairy tales. What does orange mean to you? Do the witches hats( associated with the head, a certain way of thinking) symbolize a kind of bewitchment which creates this duality ( one building or the other) in you? Orange seems like a hopeful, cherry color to me, does it you? Whatever your feeling about that color tells you your feeling about the witches hats. Maybe that feeling makes it difficult to sense the danger to you of the witches' spell?

Make associations to the key elements in the dream: city, war, street next to river, left side, right side, witches hats, orange, ex-fiance, the two friends( one male and one female). Substitute these associations for the images in the dream and reread it. I think the intensity as well as the reccurrence of the dream points to how unconscious you are of this conflict. Make it conscious. Now perhaps you are ready to encounter the dream with active imagination. First, draw the buildings and the orange witches hat dividing the street( your path along the river, of life, perhaps). What happens if you remove the hats? Get in touch with how you are like the "attackers, the warriors" in the dream. Have a dialogue with one of the attackers, ask him (or her) what he wants of you, who is he, where will he allow you to be at peace? Let him speak back to you. Be sure and write down the dialogue. Just let your pencil( very old-fashioned) or computer write whatever it wants for the voice of the warrior...play like you are a screen writer. Let us know how it goes..what you run into.

Response to Alex McLeod's dream:

Dear Alex:

Perhaps your typing slip in the second line gives you a very big clue about the dream's message: you wrote "left" instead of "felt" which I imagine you to have intended. What if the dream and the slip invite you to consider how you leave work. Do you leave having personalized the severity of the boss-woman and also having projected that severity onto everybody in the office? There is such a different experience of her when you "go to see" her. Might that suggest that your actually "seeing" her would reveal a certain friendliness and femininity that you have not seen before. Also the change in her character might instruct you to "go see her". You might also relate to the dream as different parts of yourself...the smart, severe side and the persecuted side of yourself. Look at our tape on Women In Men's Dreams.