Unusual dreams involving forum members

[SeekinTruth]

Last night I had a dream involving forum member Prodigal Son. It was a pretty long dream and my brother was in it too. The basic premise was that Prodigal Son, my brother, and I go on a vacation to New York / New Jersey from England. The weird thing is that New York / New Jersey are very close / neighboring the UK.

At one point, I have to go back to UK and pick up some things from Prodigal Son's apartment. Then eventually we all go back to the UK and spend the rest of the dream there. Prodigal Son's apartment ends up being this huge place with different "wings." It must be about 7500 square feet or more.

One of the themes back in the UK has to do with playing music together involving many different instruments (most of them string instruments). Prodigal Son happens to have a huge collection of musical instruments, from cellos to some really exotic string instruments -- some of which I don't even know what they are.

There are many other British people in this part of the dream -- either friends or acquaintances of Prodigal Son (or somehow connected to him at any rate). The different parts of the apartment where different events take place are often very different from each other. That's the gist of the long dream.


Several weeks ago, I had another dream involving forum member Dant, whom I've never met. In that one, Dant and I were driving in a very large car somewhere in the U.S. on a highway. Dant was driving and I was in the front passenger's seat. Most of the dream is us driving on a highway. I don't know how I knew the person I was with was Dant on the forum.

Anyway, at some point, Dant starts having some problems and starts to drive erratically, at which point I suggest we pull of at an exit rest stop. We do and stop at the edge of a pretty high cliff with a beautiful view.

As I said, I have no idea how I knew the driver I was with was forum member Dant, as I've never met him. I've met Prodigal Son a couple of years ago at an FOTCM event. Just thought I'd post these dreams because I don't have any idea what to make of them.

[Prodigal Son]

Hi Seekintruth, as you may recall:

Dream action is about the dynamics of your own life (hopes, fears, questions, conflicts, way out of difficulties, possibilities, etc.)  The dream action may use images from experiences of the previous day or so before, as well as others.  The dream symbols may be both literal and symbolic interpretations – be curious and naïve in your interpretation.   

And, from a Fourth Way perspective,

… Basically, in the deepest (i.e. normal) sleep, there are no dreams. Most dreams are left over energy from one or several of the centers, and the dream content reflects this. Vaysse lists three normal kinds of dreams: associative (reactive/mechanical), compensatory (emotional), and symbolic (higher emotional). (Also telepathic, prophetic, etc.)

So … it's important to know if the dream is actually symbolic and not either of the former options. And even then, your higher self will speak in symbols specific for you, ...

To help you in your dream interpretation – of what is subjective, unique to you, and whether you recognize the images or not (and they are in you and pertain to you; they are aspects arising in your-self)  - here are some questions to ask your-self.  They may help, or not.   

When you re-experience the experiences in the dream, do they remind you of anything in life? 

The setting, what does it feel like there?  Does it remind you of anything in current life, any situation in life? 
 
Who is ‘Prodigal Son’ (tell me on the basis that I don’t know ‘Prodigal Son’), what is ‘Prodigal Son’ like?  What kind of personality?  What does ‘Prodigal Son’ mean to you?  What kind of person might you consider ‘Prodigal Son’ to be like? 

What is ‘Prodigal Son’ like in your dream? What is ‘Prodigal Son’ doing in your dream? 

What is your working, etc., relationship with ‘Prodigal Son’ like? 

Is there some part of you that is like ‘Prodigal Son’? 

Ask similar questions about ‘your brother’, ‘friends and acquaintances of Prodigal Son’, ‘Dant’. 

Positive characters are about strengths and achievements.
Negative characters represent conflicts in life (personification of attitudes, beliefs, habits, etc)

What do ‘the musical instruments’, ‘string instruments’, ‘cellos’, ‘really exotic string instruments’, things from Prodigal Son’s apartment’ mean to you?  How do they ‘work’?  What are they used for?  (ask on the basis that I know nothing about it)

What is the ‘vacation’ like in your dream?  How do you feel about it? 

Does ‘Prodigal Son’, ‘your brother’, ‘friends and acquaintances of Prodigal Son’, ‘Dant’ in your dream remind you of anything, any part of you, or anyone in your life?  How? 

Imagery is often idiosyncratic yet culturally moulded, for example Victorian houses suggest attitudes held are Victorian, and might be those of the dreamer.

Rooms suggest areas of concern – living = daily living; bed = private, tranquillity, sex, refreshment, etc; basement/attic = concerns or values, unconscious, forgotten, rejected – what does ‘huge place with different ‘wings’’ mean to you?

Cars represent the physical body or ways of getting around in life – personality, drive, ambition, etc.

The action, events in the dream, what do they remind you of in your waking life?   

Think about the dream as you go through the day, and test insights and ideas gained.  Understand obvious metaphors.  Keep using language and images of dream whenever possible.  Interpretations may spring to light.  String descriptions together to bridge dream experience to any situation in life.  (Ref: adapted from Living Your Dreams by Gayle Delaney)

This may help, or not. 

[SeekinTruth]

Thanks for the input, Prodigal Son. I have to think about some of these things. I also don't remember all the details. In last night's dream, "your 'apartment'" was like a giant space with all sorts of different things going on in different parts, but they were all connected, i.e. one building space. There were parts where we were just walking from one part of the "apartment" to another, and we passed what seemed like a university type setting (at least that was my impression), what seemed like a large cafeteria, another part that reminded me of the British Parliament but the benches were not upholstered in green (I think some of them were checkered pattern), etc.

I'll try to think of what some of these things can mean and think about the questions you posted. The dream about driving with "Dant" is even harder to make sense of because not only I've never met him, I've never really interacted with him on the forum either. Anyway, I'll try to see if I can get some more insight by trying your suggestions and see what happens.

[Hithere]

FWIW, I dreamt that I passed by a small group of people and recognized Perceval (whom I've never met but seen pictures of). I stopped and said something akin to "..,you know Cassiopaea" to a woman in the group but didn't get a clear answer. That is all I remember from the dream.

[bngenoh]

I knew someone was going to start a thread with this title. 

The dreams of forum members used to happen, but they ceased awhile back. They're generally mundane, one dream or what I can remember from it was Anart getting some xylitol chocolate and walking upstairs with them, I think she was talking to someone about it and that's how I knew what it was. It was in a wrapper which had some orange in it.

Dreams of Laura are equally mundane,  in one I was outside of a house and she was in it, it was nighttime and she was in a blue green night gown but not really gown, night clothes is more accurate, light in material, she was reading and there was something about the printer needing more paper. There was also one in which I was meeting Laura and a whole bunch of other people, but we were all in our spirit bodies, I was watching the scene and I recognized myself and Laura.

There was one with Ark awhile back and we were talking in this house. The only thing I remember from the setting is that the colors were very earthy.

In all of them, I knew who the person was.

[Data]

Dreams about forum members could also relate to the symbolic meaning of forum names and avatars.

[Jason (ocean59)]

Fwiw, while I haven't had any forum related dreams recently, I have noticed a number of dreams lately where people I haven't seen in 5 and 10 years are showing up. What is interesting is, that these people appear as they are today (judging via FB photos), and it really feels like I am interacting with them in that environment. Probably just the amazing abilities of the subconscious, but thought I'd mention it nonetheless.

[SeekinTruth]

I had another one last night. Perceval, my brother, 7 or 8 forum members and I are in NYC on a "vacation with a purpose." In this one, I don't know or can't remember the other forum members, but I know they're forum members (sort of the reverse of the one involving Dant where I knew it was THAT forum member but didn't know how I knew that). I do remember that there were several male and several female forum members.

We are all involved with some important work for the group during this "vacation." At some point, everyone else presents gifts to one of the forum members, and I'm somewhat shocked and quite upset that this forum member is getting engaged and I was not aware of it and hence didn't get them a gift.

And then at another point, Perceval, my brother, and I hail a NYC cab on (I think) East 33rd Street. Then we're driving out of Central Park on the Upper East Side and my brother and Perceval are asking the cab driver if he accepts dollars. The cab driver replies in a heavy Irish accent that no, of course he doesn't, and I suddenly realize that we're in Ireland.

[Lilou]

...and I suddenly realize that we're in Ireland.

I really can't say what this dream means, but my first thought after reading the last line was, things are never as they seem! 

I haven't had any dreams with forum members lately, but the two I did have always left me with the same message - time is short and I am going to be left behind if I don't get with it.

[Be]

Dear Seekin Truth, you could well be involved in organising and preparing future events at a Higher Self level during your sleep. (Higher Self = part of self not incarnated in the Physical.) This could easily involve meeting with other group members, being in buildings with different rooms and wings. Countries strangely close geographically  . . . borders between other realms being traversed?

As usual with dreams, they could also mean just about anything, including something resembling animated filing of experiential content. You will have to be the judge. After all, you are both author and addressee of the dream, and it's been compiled in your personal vocabulary! Even when significance is felt, I've found interpretation can sometimes run an annoying gamut, from the obvious surface explanation, to a polar opposite interpretation, and everything in between. So the dream feels 'pregnant', imbued with significance, but there is nothing you can take to the bank. I like to think I have a certain confidence that if a dream is important I will 'get the message', however non-linear the detail. In fact I will find it difficult to avoid the message. (Yes, dreams can be a source of disinfo, apply the same sort of circumspection you would for data reaching you in the physical, being prepared to junk at will.) I suspect the more seriously we respect and pay attention to dreams the more we get them. The very act of trying to tease out some sense will have just that effect. In case of real puzzlement you can ask for answers before falling asleep. We *may* receive information that will unpack the meaning in a future dream.

I am pretty sure I have met Laura and Ark in a couple of dreams.

I feel I can claim to have some experience in recent years receiving dreams, and getting a feel for those that seem to be asking me to initiate real world actions. (I have experience of being led round the mulberry bush too!) By now, if it's important enough, I expect the dream nudges to be pretty categorical. I kind of ask them to be clear, consistent and backed up by sign-type material. At the moment, for example, I feel I have been prompted to join this forum group, start my own FB account, and spread the news outward as part of some larger activity that I do not yet fully understand. I am more or less content that meaning and future direction will emerge from this activity!

Dreaming can also be a social activity, with effects on the outside when the dream is shared. For example, you felt moved enough by your dream to start this thread, and now you have me 'taking the bait' and responding. Who is to say what the knock-on effect may be? Who is to say what design is at work here?