Deciphering A Dream
Perhaps you can help me with this. While I said that I don't believe dreams have true meaning, there is one recurring dream that must. Not only is it recurring, it is a common dream for many people. When I say common, I mean that people have this same dream. It doesn't have the same characters or places, but the theme is incredibly similar.
For me it always works this way...it's final exam time in college and I discover that there is a class that I signed up for, somehow forgot about and never attended. For whatever reason, it is imperative that I take the test. But I never actually take the exam. The other night I had this dream and it was two classes. I have no idea what the classes were, but I went looking for the classrooms. I couldn't find the rooms, but I went to a building that was very familiar. When I walked in the front door, there were some steep steps that went up to a hallway where there was an office of some type. The front of the office had a basic blue mosaic appearance. Overhead there were some letters made from steel. They, of course, must have been a sign, but I haven't the slightest idea what they said. I went up the steps and to the left down the hall. I came to some steps that went down but were more like a ladder. When I started down, apparently my weight made the stairs extend outward and easy to descend. I got down to the bottom and there were several other hallways. This building that I was in was previously one floor but had been made to resemble the Washington Monument. Down one of the halls was an infirmary and a casino. I remember the parking lot outside had a lot of grass in it and very little room for cars.
Actually, this dream got so jumbled up I can't describe the rest of it. In any case, it started as that extremely anxious "take-the-exam-for-the-class-I-forgot-to-go-to" feeling. I've often wondered what this meant. I've got a couple of theories. First and most philosophically it could represent the threshold of death. One minute you are alive on this side of the doorway, the next you are being forced to step over to the other side. Something inevitable is about to happen and you aren't prepared. Everything is fine and suddenly the music is playing and you don't know how to dance.
The other theory is, perhaps I need to go to the bathroom. Everything is fine in my dreamy little mind and suddenly the urge hits me. It is something I must do, but I'm not in the situation where I can take care of it. I go looking for the classroom (bathroom) and I can't find it. Then, for whatever reason, the dream changes to some other theme. That may mean that I don't have to go to the bathroom anymore. The urge subsided.
If I ever have that dream and wake up in a wet bed, I'll know the second theory was correct. But if I don't wake up, I'll know that the first theory was correct. Geez...I hope I pee in the bed.
For me it always works this way...it's final exam time in college and I discover that there is a class that I signed up for, somehow forgot about and never attended. For whatever reason, it is imperative that I take the test. But I never actually take the exam. The other night I had this dream and it was two classes. I have no idea what the classes were, but I went looking for the classrooms. I couldn't find the rooms, but I went to a building that was very familiar. When I walked in the front door, there were some steep steps that went up to a hallway where there was an office of some type. The front of the office had a basic blue mosaic appearance. Overhead there were some letters made from steel. They, of course, must have been a sign, but I haven't the slightest idea what they said. I went up the steps and to the left down the hall. I came to some steps that went down but were more like a ladder. When I started down, apparently my weight made the stairs extend outward and easy to descend. I got down to the bottom and there were several other hallways. This building that I was in was previously one floor but had been made to resemble the Washington Monument. Down one of the halls was an infirmary and a casino. I remember the parking lot outside had a lot of grass in it and very little room for cars.
Actually, this dream got so jumbled up I can't describe the rest of it. In any case, it started as that extremely anxious "take-the-exam-for-the-class-I-forgot-to-go-to" feeling. I've often wondered what this meant. I've got a couple of theories. First and most philosophically it could represent the threshold of death. One minute you are alive on this side of the doorway, the next you are being forced to step over to the other side. Something inevitable is about to happen and you aren't prepared. Everything is fine and suddenly the music is playing and you don't know how to dance.
The other theory is, perhaps I need to go to the bathroom. Everything is fine in my dreamy little mind and suddenly the urge hits me. It is something I must do, but I'm not in the situation where I can take care of it. I go looking for the classroom (bathroom) and I can't find it. Then, for whatever reason, the dream changes to some other theme. That may mean that I don't have to go to the bathroom anymore. The urge subsided.
If I ever have that dream and wake up in a wet bed, I'll know the second theory was correct. But if I don't wake up, I'll know that the first theory was correct. Geez...I hope I pee in the bed.
Yours is a lot more complex, and perhaps more symbolic, too, than being locked out of the house in broad daylight, naked and hiding in a Magnolia tree.
Reply to this
I think this dream is caused by anxiety and stress. Dreams often relate to what is happening in our day-to-day lives. Perhaps the stress at your job contributed to this dream. I know that I personally worry about what I need to get done every day. This dream seems like it is a reflection of that worry.
Dr. Elkes
Clinical Psychologist
Reply to this