Trees For Two

The Dream

I am walking along with a guide, inside a big, beautiful house. He is taking me on a tour of the house. I am admiring it, when I come across a huge, majestic tree soaring high into the cavernous eaves of the ceiling. I am in awe of this breathtaking sight. Then I realize what makes it even more breathtaking -- it is suspended in midair, about four feet off the ground -- just hanging there -- with no roots. I can't take my eyes off of it as I continue my tour of the house. I walk on a ways, and lo and behold, I come to another majestic tree, even larger than the first. This one is also suspended about four feet in midair with no roots. I look up and see the branches of the two are intertwined in places. The upper portion of the trees are reaching into what seems like eternity for I can not see the ceiling of the room, even though I know I am inside. I am utterly awe inspired by this sight when I wake up. 

This feeling of total awe continued all morning long. I knew this was a very, very important dream that must be acted on. 

The Symbolism

It is not unusual to have a guide in dreams. Your guide might be a spirit who is there to do just that, guide you in the right direction in life. It may be male or female or even animal. You may see or hear it or simply know that you are not alone. It may also just be a side of yourself showing you where you've been and where you should be going. A house usually symbolizes the personal dwelling space of the dreamer's spirit or, in other words, your body. A tree is a symbol of knowledge and/or growth. The size may be an indication of your inner strength and/or spiritual growth. 

The Interpretation

I have often felt a presence of a guide in my dreams, watching over me, showing me where I've been, asking me questions and insisting on answers. I've come to trust him completely, for I know he has my best interests at heart. I've never seen him, but I hear him and I know he is there, someone outside of myself. On this night, he is showing me my house, the place where my spirit lives, and we come upon this awe-inspiring tree. The size of the tree is an indication of how much I have grown, spiritually and intellectually, since I started my journey many years ago.

But there is something wrong with this tree -- it has no roots. While it makes a breathtaking sight, a tree without roots will surely die for it takes its nourishment from the soil it is planted in. Upon reflection, I realize that I have spent many years on a journey of growth -- but it's all been in my head. So what this dream is telling me is that having all this spirit and knowledge is useless without grounding it -- putting it to use and service. I must plant my tree in the ground so that it will continue to grow. 

Now the second tree confuses me. I have two options in interpreting it. One is that the second tree represents my hopes and dreams -- the second tree is even bigger than first -- did I mention that I'm a dreamer? The branches are intertwining with those of the tree of spirit and knowledge. If this is the case, then here, too, I must take my dreams (now intertwined with my knowledge) and plant them so they grow roots and become reality. I must act on them and make them real.

You may think the second option is a little far-fetched, but I am very open-minded and believe all things are possible. The second option is that I was not alone in having this dream. Is it possible that someone else had this dream with me and the second tree was the second dreamer? And our branches (mind, spirit, dreams) are linked together in some way?

Sound familiar to anyone? If so, we really need to talk.

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Water, Water Everywhere

The Dream

I am at the beach, alone. I savor the peace and quiet as the warm surf rolls under my feet tugging gently at my ankles. Suddenly, the water is up to my knees and I find it difficult to walk. I head for shore and I am scared. The shore gets further and further away and the water gets higher and higher. I see a building in the distance and I know that I must reach it or I will drown. My heart pounds in my chest as the water continues to get higher and higher. 

I find myself at the door of the building. I look behind me; the water is about to overtake me. I open the door and make it inside. I know that I am safe. I look around; the building is empty. I go to a small window and see the water is above the window line. The building is submerged in water, yet I feel safe.

The above was a recurring dream I had for about 20 years starting when I was about 12 years old. It was always the same for many years. At some point, I began to notice a few (one at first, then two or three) other people in the building. When I was about thirty years old or so, the windows seemed to get larger and larger until the walls were literally made of glass. Fortunately, I have not had this dream for about 8 years now. 

The Symbolism

Water is a common theme in dreams. A large body of water (an ocean) is thought to symbolize the unconscious mind. Any body of water usually symbolizes the state of the emotions. A calm body of water means a peaceful state of mind and a turbulent or stormy body of water symbolizes a worried or upset frame of mind. A building may (or may not) represent the self or the dreamer's physical body. A window represents one's outlook on life, or may signify a major insight into the dreamer's life. People usually refer to different aspects of the dreamer. (In most dreams, Mom is not your mother but you in the role you play as a mother or nurturer in your daily life.) 

The Interpretation

This is such a classic dream that one might think I "dreamed" it up just for this article. The fact is that it really was a recurring dream of mine for many years. To understand the interpretation you should probably know, without going into details, that there were several incidents in my adolescence that I repressed -- in other words I locked them away deep in my subconscious. 

The ocean signifies that the dream is referring to my subconscious. In the dream, the water is overtaking me and I am afraid that I will drown unless I go inside the building. If the water symbolizes my emotions then the fact that I was afraid of drowning indicates that I was afraid that my emotions would overwhelm me. I, therefore, needed to find shelter from these emotions and went inside the building -- inside of myself.

At first, I was alone in the building. At some point I became aware of other people. These other "people" were actually me. As each incident occurred in my life, another part of me went "inside" where it was safe.

The windows were indeed, a major insight into my life, and allowed me a glimpse of the emotions that I was in fear of. In the beginning they were very small and seeing that the water was over the top of the windows, allowed me to believe that I was right in going inside the shelter -- it saved me. The windows got larger and larger as I matured and learned how to deal with these emotions that I repressed for so long. In the end the walls were completely transparent and then the dreams stopped. I no longer needed to hide in the building, as I was no longer afraid of drowning in my emotions. Therefore, the dreams stopped.

This dream recurred on a regular basis for about 16 years. I continued having this dream even after I interpreted it. Mainly because the dream only made me realize that I had issues that I was hiding inside, without any indication of what the issues were. There were other recurring dreams that gave me this information. These I will share with you elsewhere. I hope you will continue to join me.

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