To hear of any friend or relative being dead, you will soon have bad news from some of them. Dreams relating to death or dying, unless they are due to spiritual causes, are misleading and very confusing to the novice in dream lore when he attempts to interpret them.
A man who thinks intensely fills his aura with thought or subjective images active with the passions that gave them birth; by thinking and acting on other lines, he may supplant these images with others possessed of a different form and nature. In his dreams he may see these images dying, dead or their burial, and mistake them for friends or enemies. In this way he may, while asleep, see himself or a relative die, when in reality he has been warned that some good thought or deed is to be supplanted by an evil one.
To illustrate: If it is a dear friend or relative whom he sees in the agony of death, he is warned against immoral or other improper thought and action, but if it is an enemy or some repulsive object dismantled in death, he may overcome his evil ways and thus give himself or friends cause for joy. Often the end or beginning of suspense or trials are foretold by dreams of this nature. They also frequently occur when the dreamer is controlled by imaginary states of evil or good.
A man in that state is not himself, but is what the dominating influences make him. He may be warned of approaching conditions or his extrication from the same. In our dreams we are closer to our real self than in waking life.
The hideous or pleasing incidents seen and heard about us in our dreams are all of our own making, they reflect the true state of our soul and body, and we cannot flee from them unless we drive them out of our being by the use of good thoughts and deeds, by the power of the spirit within us. See Corpse. ... death dream meaning
If you are defeated in battle, it denotes that bad deals made by others will mar your prospects for good. ... battle dream meaning
2. Confidence in conflicts and confrontations. ... life jacket dream meaning
To see a life-boat sinking, friends will contribute to your distress.
To be lost in a life-boat, you will be overcome with trouble, in which your friends will be included to some extent.
If you are saved, you will escape a great calamity. ... life-boat dream meaning
If you have this kind of dream, the chances are you are fighting for survival in some aspect of your waking life. On the other hand, you may be the kind of person who makes ordinary choices and decisions as if their survival were at stake. For example, small disappointments or minor upsets send you into meltdown and you are frequently dissatisfied if some invisible inner standard has not been met.
If you are prone to life-and-death dreams, your unconscious is urging you to find a kind of security that cannot be lost. In other words, you need to look at things that are intangible and reside in your spirit and in your emotions, because everything else—since it is out of your control—is at risk. You need to develop greater flexibility and tolerance, and by so doing you can find contentment and peace.
If your life-and-death battle involves a war scene, the emphasis shifts.
Despite war’s disturbing and destructive nature, it can sometimes be represented as a cleansing process that represents a victory of good over evil. However, in dreams war is generally regarded as a warning that dangerous times lie ahead, as well as indicating inner conflicts and deep-seated grievances. An important aid for interpreting dreams of warfare is to remember whether you were on the winning or losing side.
If you were on the winning side, this suggests you are on the right track.
If you were on the losing side, what can you learn from the tactics of the winning side? Surprisingly, to dream that you are wounded in battle denotes that you have finally been accepted by your peers.... life-and-death struggle dream meaning
If they appear distorted or unnatural, the dream is more unfortunate than good.... life-insurance man dream meaning
2. Loved one has done something very wrong. ... warrant, death dream meaning
If one sees himself in agony in his deathbed, combating the throes and pangs of death in a dream, it means that he is unjust toward himself or others.
(Also see Death)... agony of death dream meaning
(Also see Death)... death of a king dream meaning
Basically, there are eight different levels of this symbol:
1. An indication that a necessary end has come to a certain phase.
It is a transition to something new.
2. The desire to shed something (attitudes, behavior, situation, etc.).
3. A suggestion to come to terms with death and the fear of death, meaning a search for fulfillment and productivity.
4. A limit has been reached and there is an inability to know how to go beyond that limit.
5. A suggestion to take better care of one’s health.
6. Something is dying inside.
7. A close connection with somebody deceased.
8. A desire for peace, solitude, and harmony (“the death of fear”).
According to Jung, dreaming about death means letting go of something that has died; it is a symbol of transformation and a new beginning.... death / killing dream meaning
What lies beyond death is conjecture, but the archetype of death we are considering is not completely about physical death.
It is about our observation of it in others; our conceptions of it gained from our culture and our impressions; the feelings which generate around our experiences and thoughts; our attempts to deal with our own aging and approach to death, plus what material the deeper strata of our unconscious release regarding it.
It is about how our sense of conscious personal existence meets the prospect of its disintegration.
Unless we can come to terms with what is behind the haunting images of death we meet in our dreams, we fail to live fully and daringly, we are too haunted by death lurking in the shadows of injury and the unknown. Images of death and the associated emotions, carried within for years, can have a negative influence on our health. Coming to terms means the courage to feel the emotions of fear or chill and discover them for what they are—emotions. They are certainly not death, only our feelings about it.
The differences shown in the two following examples illustrate the avoiding and the meeting. Example: 4So to get to the bedroom I had to jump across this gap. I tried to jump but missed and I fell and hit the bottom.
The next thing I remember was I was floating up. I looked down and saw myself lying face down with arms spread out and I suddenly realised I was dead. I was so frightened that I woke up. I had the feelings of fear of dying, but I felt no pain’ (Cath). Example: “Suddenly I was in a huge underground cavern. It was hundreds of feet high and as wide. It had two great statues in it, both to do with death.
The whole place overpowered me with a sense of decay and skeletal death, darkness, underground, earth, the end. I cried out in the dismal cave, “Death, where is your sting! Grave, where is your victory!” I immediately had the sense of being a bodiless awareness. I knew this was what occurred at death. Fear and the sense of decay left me’ (Andrew).
Summarising these and many other dreams, it is not only the accumulated images of death, but also bodilessness and loss of power and identity which bring so much fear. There are two antipodes of human experience. At the tip of one is focused self-determining self consciousness. At the tip of the other is unfocused void without identity. Strangely enough we experience both each day in some degree—the first while awake, the second when we sleep. Yet to face the second with consciousness feels like all the horrors of death and loss. Yet facing it is important, especially to the second half of life.
The symbols of rebirth are: the cave; an egg; spring; the tree; the cross; dawn; emerging out of the sea; the snake; the bird; a seed; arising from the earth or faeces; green shoot from a dead branch; phoenix; flame; a pearl; the womb. Rebirth is as difficult to face as death. It holds within it not just the memones of the struggles and difficulties of our own physical birth and growth, but also the challenge of becoming the unknown future, the dark possibility, the new.
The dream of Andrew in the underground cavern is an example of positive rebirth. After realising himself as bodiless awareness he emerges from the cave and finds himself near a tree. Example: ‘A tremendous jolt of power poured into me from the tree. I saw that we had arrived at a place where a line of trees, about a 100 yards in length, stood very close together in a slight semicircle on the top of a bank.
The trees had great spiritual power and the place was a holy temple. Two spiritual beings were there—an ancient Earth Being, and Christ’ (Andrew).
The next example is of a dream typical of meeting memories of physical birth. As can be seen, the experience is powerful enough to cause physical shaking. Example: All I can see of what I enter is a very narrow space with a light showing through. But immediately I enter I realise I have made a mistake for I am being forced swiftly through a dark, very narrow tunnel. I feel pain as I am dragged along and I hear loud banging noises which frighten me, but although they are loud they seem to come from inside my head. I feel terrified and breathless and very relieved when I wake before reaching the end of the tunnel. In fact as I write this account I am shivering” (female, anon). ... death and rebirth dream meaning
2- One’s own death can often be used in dreams to explore others’ feelings about us.
3- Death is a transition from an awareness of the gross physical to the more spiritual self.... death of oneself dream meaning
To dream of colorful candy life savers represents happiness and security.
To dream of floating in a life saver indicates that you feel as though you have been rescued.... life saver dream meaning
If you speak to friends or relatives who are Dead, it means news of some living friend or relation; if you touch or kiss them, the news will be of a sorrowful nature.
To dream of a Death means news of a birth.... dead or death dream meaning
If you dreamed of saving others, this foretells that you will be appreciated by others for your good deeds.... saving a life dream meaning
• Some part of your behaviour, your life or a habit has to “die”. You need to take some radical, life changing action to resolve your current dissatisfaction.
• Find the courage to let go of the past and act on your inner ambition to solve this dream.... death & dying dream meaning
Be extremely careful how you use or react to it, as your handling of the situation could affect your future.... death’s head dream meaning
This kind of dream death is, in other words, a symbol of self-transformation.
A lifeless corpse, on the other hand, may represent a feeling of devitalization—a kind of death in life that comes from adhering to a lifeless routine. (See also Burial, Coffin, Crypt, Grave, Hearse).... dead / death dream meaning
Grieving a specific loss or change in your life (losing a loved one, losing a job, etc.).
A fear or feeling of abandonment (whether due to death or some other reason).
Someone in your life who has experienced a loss or significant change.
See also: Dead Acquaintance; Dead Body; Feeling; Death of You; Dying; Abandonment... death of a loved one dream meaning
Your soul.
Your will, ego, or consciousness.
Your identity.
The idea of being alive.
Your life force flowing out of you can represent feeling: tired, weak, or drained by something in real life; disappointed or apathetic; out of touch with your sense of purpose or the meaning in your life; disconnected with God.
See also: Life; Alive or Exists; Dying; Death of You; Killed, Being; Dead Acquaintance; Death of a Loved One... life force dream meaning
2. Doctrine;
3. Covenant;
4. The Church;
5. Substance;
6. Provision (money, food, etc. )Matthew 4:4; Judges 7:13-14; John 13:18; 2 Thessalonians 3:8;... bread/ staff of life dream meaning
For example, to dream of your mother dying could represent the death of your own motherly nature. Perhaps you should try to be more caring and maternal, or perhaps something or someone should be nurtured instead of ignored. Alternatively, you may be expressing hidden feelings for that person. Do you secretly resent or wish to be independent of him or her? Such dreams may also represent a positive or negative change in your relationship or attitude toward that particular person. Yet another interpretation suggests that dreams of being prostrate with grief at your father’s or mother’s funeral can be an emotional dress rehearsal staged by your unconscious to prepare you for the devastation you may feel when your parent really does die. Such dreams tend to be more common in women, especially concerning the death of a partner, as statistically women live longer than men.
Dreaming of a relative or partner who is dead in waking life is, not surprisingly, quite common. After all, that person may have played a big part in your life, and their influence and memories are still very much alive in you. It is not unusual to have disturbing dreams for some period after the death of a loved one; it is equally common not to be able to dream about the husband or wife at all, or to see the partner in the distance but be unable to get any nearer. Such dreams of dead people are expressive of attempts by your dreaming mind to help you make the transition from external reality to internal memories, or to deal with feelings, guilt or anger in connection with the person who died. See also SPIRITS AND GHOSTS.... death of a family member or partner dream meaning
If you find yourself in a trench in your dream, this may express your fear that a current situation is not as secure as you might think. A trench may also be warning against inflexibility and entrenched views. To see or live in a concentration camp in your dream indicates that you are afraid of differences; you are having difficulties accepting others and the way in which they are different from you.
Learn to appreciate diversity and the uniqueness in yourself and in others around you.
If you actually lived in a concentration camp, the dream may signify a situation in your waking life which is triggering similar feelings.... battlefield / war zone dream meaning
Although the following dreams can occur at any stage of your life, you may find that the focus of your relationship dreams shifts during your lifespan. In your teenage years, dream scenarios in which you are suddenly thrown together with someone to whom you are attracted are very common. The goal of the dream is to help you determine if someone is or is not interested in you in waking life. By the mid-twenties, however, relationship dreams move beyond initial attraction and begin to explore who is or is not right for us. This is the time when strangers, celebrities and friends tend to appear as dream lovers and partners. You may find the images shocking but it is important to bear in mind that the images are unlikely to represent the real person and more likely to represent qualities that you are evaluating.
During your thirties and forties, romantic dreams focus on explanations for why relationships may have disappointed in the past and offer dreams that can show you what to go after or avoid in the future. Dreams in which your current partner or lover is unfaithful are extremely common at this time; it is as if your dreaming mind is urging you to pay attention to your relationship, and secure or safeguard what you have.
During your fifties and sixties, dreams shift their focus onto things you have learned to value in your life. Past and present partners become shorthand symbols for the quality or experience you had with them. For example, your first lover represents passion and excitement or the partner who was unfaithful represents someone who cannot be trusted. Although you may dream of people from your past, your dreaming mind is using them as symbols to refer to your current relationships. From your seventies onwards, dreams are more likely to zoom in on the very nature of love itself to help you gain a deeper understanding of love and affairs of the heart.... relationship dreams at different stages of your life dream meaning
He viewed youth as a period of expanding consciousness, middle age as a period of questioning long-held convictions, and old age as a period of increased introspection and preoccupation with self-evaluation. According to Jung, dreams are important tools of self-discovery for you, whatever your age or life stage.
This is because in every stage of your life you will face many challenges: emotional, intellectual, spiritual and physical. These challenges can trigger fascinating dreams, some of which can help you to meet those challenges and pass on to the next phase of your development.
Jung believed that what prevents people from becoming independent, fulfilled and ultimately happy is their refusal to open themselves to change or to new and unfamiliar experiences that potentially threaten their sense of self. His approach to finding balance in every stage of life was through the analysis of dreams and a process he called ‘individuation’. Dreams are a powerful tool for self-discovery and individuation is a self-analysis, a self-discovery, a way of analysing your own reactions and responses at every life stage so you can discover what truths lie underneath your conscious and egocentric personality.
In this chapter you will explore dreams that are believed to be typical of distinct life stages; some dream analysts refer to them as ‘developmental dreams’. This is because they seem particularly to reflect the typical stresses, questions and issues you may face at specific times in your life. This makes sense as you would expect the dreams you had when you were fifteen to reflect the concerns of your life as a teenager, just as you would expect the dreams you have now to have evolved into a mirror of your current situation and age group. Bear in mind, however, that how the stresses and challenges of your current life stage is represented in the dream world depends upon your personal circumstances, your sleep patterns and your ability to remember your dreams.
Bear in mind, too, that it is possible to have any one of these dreams even if you don’t fit the life-stage profile that coincides with it.
Dreams of death will also be explored in this chapter, as death is the final stage or change that comes to us all. Although dreams of death may explore your feelings about death or represent potential you may have missed or not expressed in general, dream analysts believe that such dreams represent the ending of one phase so a new one can begin. They reveal forthcoming finalities such as the end of a relationship or career and should not be interpreted literally. Because in the past we were terrified at the idea of death, it also represents upheaval, calamity and the sense that things will never be the same again. It was something that could only be endured but never be understood. Today, as our attitudes towards death have changed, death in a dream represents a challenge that cannot be avoided and which must be confronted if progress is to be made in waking life.
The message is that some approach or attitude to life needs to be changed or adjusted; if you can find the courage to make that adjustment successfully, there can be a fresh start or a new beginning.
For dreams concerning childhood, see BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD. See also LOSS AND FRUSTRATION; NIGHTMARES; SPIRITS AND GHOSTS.... stages of life dream meaning
The Final Stage... typical dreams of later life dream meaning
Intriguingly, near-death reports from different cultures around the world are generally consistent and in many instances are identical to the features of the post-mortem state that is described in the Tibetan Book of the Dead. There is also a marked similarity between NDEs and reports of the inner journeys of shamanism, astral travel and out-of- body experiences.
The term ‘near-death experience’ was coined by American doctor Raymond Moody in the 1970s to describe the phenomenon outlined above. Prior to publication of Moody’s book, Life After Life in 1975, NDEs were not openly talked about; once the book came out, more and more people began to talk about them. By 1982 a Gallup poll suggested that as many as eight million Americans had had some kind of NDE. Moody and a number of other NDE researchers, such as Kenneth Ring, a psychologist and founding member of the International Association of Near Death Studies at the University of Connecticut, were able to identify a number of traits common to all NDEs, even though the experience was always unique to each individual. They concluded that in a NDE, people typically experience one or more of the following phenomena in this sequence: a sense of leaving the material world behind or an out-of-body experience in which they feel they are floating above their bodies looking down; cessation of pain, a feeling of great calm and peace; traveling down a dark tunnel towards a light at its end; meeting spirit beings, many of whom are dead friends and relatives; meeting a spirit guide who takes them through their life story and puts their life into perspective without any negative judgment; and, finally, an abrupt and sometimes reluctant return to life.
The great majority of NDEs are described as being positive and uplifting; around three per cent are described as negative or frightening. Almost anyone can have the experience and it is not limited to those who have religious beliefs, although many people who have experienced a NDE do become more religious or develop a spiritual belief system afterwards. Almost all say they lose their fear of death, this being replaced by a strong belief in an afterlife. Many discover a meaning and purpose to their lives that they may have previously lacked. In some cases, the NDE leaves a person with heightened intuitive or psychic powers.
Even though millions of people claim to have had an NDE, it is impossible for researchers to prove scientifically that the experience is genuine. Evidence is therefore based entirely on anecdotal reports.
According to skeptics, the NDE is a dream or hallucination caused by, amongst other things, a lack of oxygen, the release of the body’s natural pain killers called endorphins and increased levels of carbon dioxide as the brain dies. NDEs were reportedly reproduced by Ronald Siegel, a researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, when LSD and other drugs were administered. NDE supporters stress, however, that drug-induced hallucinations and NDEs are totally different things. Such explanations also do not take into account the fact that many people brought back to life can give accurate accounts of their resuscitations, of medical procedures carried out on them or report conversations they overheard at the time they were allegedly dead. This suggests that some part of consciousness can separate from the body at death. There is no doubt that the near-death experiences are supported by impressive documentation and, for believers in them, these reports constitute a very powerful argument for the existence of an afterlife.... near-death experience dream meaning
If you are running from a murder in your dream, it depicts something you feel threatened by in waking life.
If you are the murderer, this may express intense emotional hurt towards someone, typically parents; the murder itself will be a symbol of the killing of the emotional bond or a warning that you are on an emotional ‘knife’s edge’. Dreams in which you kill someone may also point towards an internal conflict, especially if you harbor no ill will towards your dream victim in real life, or indeed if they were a stranger or an animal.
If someone provoked you into killing them in your dream, this may tell you what it is about yourself that you need to kill off. Animals symbolize aspects of your instinctual nature in dreams, so if you killed a cat, dog or any other animal in your dream, ask yourself what that animal represents within you.
If someone is trying to kill you in your dream, your unconscious may be alerting you not to a physical threat but to a real emotional or professional threat that someone poses to you.
If you were unable to identify the dream killer, your unconscious may have been suggesting to you that you are being victimized in waking life by a person, a group or an organization.
Dreams in which you are choking or strangled suggest conflict or indecision, as when you choke on your words. They can also suggest repressed emotions, or emotions or memories struggling to be recognized. Because it is associated with the element of water, drowning indicates a sense of being overwhelmed by difficult emotions or problems.
If the symbol of the guillotine appears in your dream, you may be afraid of losing self-control or of losing contact with a part of yourself or someone you value. The guillotine also represents severance of some kind, so what is it that you need to cut out of your life? If someone is poisoned in your dream, this refers to attitudes, thoughts and behavior patterns that are not good for you.
If you commit suicide in dreams, it may depict a sense of hopelessness; perhaps you have been working too hard lately and haven’t been taking care of your health. Or do you feel a desire to retreat from life’s problems or suffer from feelings of failure? It may also be a sign of repressed anger concerning relationships or business.
If someone else is committing suicide in your dream, this could be a sign that you want them out of your life.... violent death dream meaning
If you were struck down by a disease in your dream, then your unconscious may have been amplifying fears about your health in waking life. Alternatively, dreams which feature your death could also symbolize your desire to escape the burdens and responsibilities of waking life. Another explanation suggests that your dreaming mind has used your death as a symbol for something that has run its course in your waking life, encouraging you to start afresh with someone new or to make a change. Freud believed that everyone has two contending basic drives; eros—the drive towards pleasure and life—and thanatos—the drive towards death.
If the dead person in your dreams was yourself, you might want to consider what is being expressed in your dream.
Perhaps you fear dying and the dream is reminding you of your own mortality. Or are you trying to liberate yourself from something? Do you want to free yourself of emotional burdens and open yourself up to new possibilities?... your own death dream meaning
Britain was once covered by mighty oak, lime and pine forests, and reverence for trees is a major feature within Celtic religion, reflecting a link between the upper and lower worlds. Druids had their teaching center in the midst of oak groves, and the words for wood and wisdom are similar (Welsh gwydd and gwyddon). The Celtic Tree of Life is one of the most popular and enduring motifs of Celtic art, found both on Northumbrian and Celtic crosses and on illuminated manuscripts. It is also portrayed variously as the Golden Bough, vine, or mistletoe. The ancient Celts envisioned the cosmos in the form of a great tree, whose roots were deep in the earth and whose branches stretched to the heavens.
The Celtic Tree of Life is therefore a symbol of balance between these worlds; the unification of above and below; a symbol of balance and harmony. Its branches and roots form a map of the cosmos wherein all things are interwoven and connected; it dwells in three worlds—a link between heaven, earth and the underworld. In dreams the appearance of the Tree of Life or any kind of tree can therefore be a powerful symbol of harmony, success, integration and fulfillment.
These can be achieved in waking life when there is a union between the material and the spiritual, and the feminine and masculine aspects of your personality.... the tree of life dream meaning
Some aspect of your life situation coming to an end (or a fear of or desire for such).
A fear, expectation, or curiosity about an ending or about death.
Feeling physically, emotionally, or mentally tired or overwhelmed (such as from trying to deal with too much).
The “death” of a process, habit, or your ego.
For more clues, consider the circumstances of your death in the dream.
For example, death as a result of being attacked could represent a feeling or fear of victimization.
Death can also be an indication that you were having a Toxic Dream.
See also: Dying; Life Force; Killed, Being; Ending; Death of a Loved One; Heaven... death of you dream meaning
STEP THREE: LINKING THE STORY LINE TO YOUR LIFE IS STEP THREE OF THE FIVE-STEP DREAM TECHNIQUE
1 TO LINK A DREAM TO YOUR LIFE: ASK THE RIGHT QUESTION ABOUT WHAT A DREAM MEANS. As mentioned previously, the question is never “What does this dream mean?” The question is always “To what in me or in my life does the dream refer?” Retaining that focus bears repeating. When you keep in mind that a dream speaks of your life and is not merely an amusing tale, you stay on the right track to finding its meaning. Match the story line to an actual life area or experience, and the meaning surfaces.
2 TO LINK A DREAM TO YOUR LIFE: THE IMPORTANCE OF MATCHING THE STORY LINE TO AN AREA OF YOUR LIFE. As if moving a puzzle piece around a board to see how it fits, scan your life to see where the story line coincides with an attitude, a relationship, activity, or an ongoing situation. For example, suppose you dream that you ran a race in the Olympics and won a gold medal. The story line says, “After much effort, someone succeeds brilliantly” or, “By persevering, someone achieves great things.” Which success in your life is highlighted by the dream, depends on your life; only you can know what that success is for you. To some it may refer to fitting into a glamorous outfit after losing weight; to others it might be completing a degree or sprinting up the corporate ladder.
3 TO LINK A DREAM TO YOUR LIFE: TURN THE STORY LINE INTO A QUESTION. If you have trouble fitting a story line to an area of your life, try turning it into a question.
DREAM EXAMPLE 1 OF TURNING A STORY LINE INTO QUESTIONS: INVADING MY SPACE. A man dreams of walking into his office and seeing the manager’s assistant at his desk pulling off pieces of Scotch tape for her own use. She has no right to be in his office or go through his belongings. He walks up to her and asks her in a quiet voice, “What are you doing?” She knows she has been caught doing something off limits but ignores him and blatantly defies him by continuing to rip off tape. The man stays quiet and does not challenge her further because he is not sure what to do. The story line is, “Someone watches another misuse their position but does not know how to stop them.” The story line calls to mind questions like: Where in your life is someone overstepping their boundaries? Are you letting someone take advantage of you? Is there a situation at work or elsewhere in your life, where you would like to speak up but feel unsafe to do so? As you answer the questions that the story line initiates, the life area that the dream relates to should become clear.
DREAM EXAMPLE 2 OF TURNING A STORY LINE INTO QUESTIONS: THE WOUND. A dreamer is shocked to see a large, gaping wound dripping with blood. The story line is, “Someone sees something that needs a lot of help.” This story line begs these questions: Where in your life do you feel wounded or in pain? Have you overlooked someone around you who may be hurting? Have you, or someone close to you, caused emotional damage by your actions or habits?
DREAM EXAMPLE 3 OF TURNING A STORY LINE INTO QUESTIONS: A BEAUTIFUL SCARF. A woman dreams that her work associates are frantic and scurrying to get things done. She ignores them and peacefully puts on a wide, red silk scarf, carefully tying a bow in an artistic arrangement. The story line is, “Instead of getting caught up in the frenzy and chaos around her, someone peacefully focuses on creating something beautiful.” The story line brings up questions like: In what area of your life are others frantic? Would concentrating on doing your best resolve an issue? Are there creative activities that would distract you from the anxieties in your life?
HINT 4 TO LINK A DREAM TO YOUR LIFE: THE STORY LINE MAY RELATE TO YOUR INNER OR OUTER LIFE. As you search for answers raised by story line questions, insights about a particular situation in your life may begin to pop up. When matching a story line to an area of your life, remember that you lead two lives: an inner one and an outer one. Sometimes the life event about which the dream is commenting is an attitude, an emotion, a set of thoughts, or a perspective that is going on within you. Your inner life is also subject to lots of episodes and events, so to speak. We tend to look at outside circumstances and events for the meaning of a dream, but just as often, a dream relates to your character, attitudes, or thoughts about potential decisions, hopes, fears, and wishes.... a dream is not a mini-movie - it is a link to your life dream meaning
Dreaming Lens: Were you in a battle? How much danger were you in? Were you connected with others on your side or were you close to the enemy? Were you advancing the front line or attempting to damage the resources of your enemy? Did you know the cause for which you were fighting?
Personal Focus: The object of war is for one entity to obtain the land and/or resources of another. Therefore, war in a dream indicates change on such a large scale that it can only be accomplished by the use of major force. Our world is a set of organized boundaries we know as countries. Our psyches are divided in a similar way. These boundaries are, ultimately, fluid. Things change—sometimes dramatically—which leaves us feeling vulnerable. When the change is sudden and violent, the unconscious may use a dream of war to express the enormity of the internal shift that’s occurring.
There is a distinction between war and battle. War implies an ongoing state of flux whereas battle is the actual shift taking place in a small increment of upheaval and change. If you dream of being in wartime, then your life may reflect a grand cycle of transformation that is currently taking place. Most people living in America have never experienced wartime, but to live under the threat of war is to be in constant, hyper-awareness of danger lurking just about everywhere. If this is the case in your dream, look to where in life your defenses might be running on high. If you dream of an actual battle, then the immediacy of the symbolism implies something much more current in your waking-life. Look to where changes in boundaries are eminent, both in your outside world as well as within, as many battles are with ourselves.
Generally speaking, there are two points of focus for modern war: one is to advance the front line in either direction, essentially shifting the land borders between countries. This connects symbolically to the establishment of boundaries that we must carve out each and every day of our lives. The greater intensity of the war in your dreams, the more intense the daytime conflict being expressed is likely to be. The other focus of war is to destroy the resources of the enemy. This has a more complex symbolism as it involves invasion and aggression; qualities which imply assumption and risk. When this is the focus of your dream, know that you are in some dark and dangerous territory. If you knew the cause you were fighting for, you must add this information to your interpretation.... war/battle dream meaning