car dream | The Dream Well

Guest Post: A Dreampoem from Rita H Kowats

January 16, 2014 · by Amy Campion

Leave The Island: A Dreampoem

DREAM

It’s time to leave my friend on the island and embark the ferry back to the mainland. I drive on in the middle lane, stopping abruptly when signaled by the traffic director. “You need to be in that lane by the window. Make a U-Turn, drive to the end of the ferry, then back up the car in the far lane by the window.” It seems like a strange command, but I follow directions. While backing in, I crash through the wide open portal on the side of the boat. The car hangs precariously over the sill and the hammering of my heart rivals the percussion section in “The Rite of Spring.” Puget Sound in January runs an average of 45 ｺ, hardly an invitation to drop in for a visit. I contemplate the possibility of drowning in the car if it dropped into the water. The very thought of suffocation cuts off my breath, so I decide to take my chances on surviving in the water. I jump out of the car into the depths. I swim effortlessly, feeling emancipated, at one with the Sound. It is as though “I am in the sea, and the sea is in me.” I experience true peace for the first time, free from fear.

POEM

Ego skims
The surface of
Life’s Lanes
Looking to escape
Its wrong-way-one-way
Insular ambages,
Until the call to
Leave the island
Pushes it to the edge
Where water once devined
Cannot be called back.

c. rita h kowats 2013

Thanks so much for this post from Rita Kowats, an inspirational explorer of the soul with a talent for distilling the essence of a dream into a profound human truth. If you like this, you may enjoy more of her writing at “Spirituality Without Borders.”

A Word on Recurring Dreams

August 22, 2008 · by Amy Campion

Chances are at some stage in your life you have had a recurring dream. This may have been a period where you dreamed of the same thing night after night, or it may be a very dominant symbol that seems to come back through-out your life at important times.

Recurring dreams are often trying to give us a wake-up call. The message they have is so important that they insist on you paying attention, and will come back night after night until you:

either understand them and act upon them
inadvertently change your life which will also change the dream
or manage to suppress them so deeply that you might even stop remembering your dreams at all.

I would suggest the final option is really not the best way to go! Sooner or later the things you choose not to address in your life have a way of popping back up, maybe in the form of a nightmare, maybe with an illness or accident, maybe with some form of self destructive behaviour.

What repeating patterns are in your life?

So how do you deal with a recurring dream then? The first thing to realise is whether this is a normal dream to help you through a life transition, or whether it is the direct result of some trauma. In the case of trauma, and repeating dreams related to this event, I would suggest that you please don’t go it alone. Find someone who can help you and support you through this time. Your dreams are a reflection of your subconscious mind trying to deal with what has happened. Eventually, with time and help, you will heal, and your dreams will start to show you signs of resolution. Your dreams can help in this process, but especially early on they can seem to be as bad as the event itself, so that it is always a good idea to have someone wise and caring there to support you as you go through the difficult period.

Many recurring dreams though, are not related to a specific trauma at all, and are simply the mind’s way of helping you make some important life change. This can be at a transitional phase of your life, such as finishing school or university and preparing to become independent, at the start or end of a relationship or marriage, taking on a new job or new responsibilities. Or it could be something much more internal, such as finally overcoming a long held fear, giving up a harmful habit or starting a new good one.

If your recurring dream has come back after many years of being absent, ask your self how this period of your life is similar to when you had these dreams before. Does the end of your relationship make you feel abandoned as you did when your parents divorced? Does the stress of taking on a new job remind you of the nervousness you felt in going to a new school? These kind of recurring dreams remind us how we coped with this situation last time, and give us hints as to whether we should use those skills again, or maybe try something new. They do remind us that we survived last time, so we will be alright again this time. But maybe we can do it even better than last time, learn from our old mistakes and have a second chance to get it right this time.

If you are having recurring dreams and not doing anything to change your life, look for ways you can. If you keep dreaming of running from something, you might have to learn to face who or what is chasing you before this dream changes. If you keep dreaming of crashing a car, you might need to learn how to gain better control of your life before this dream goes away. These are just some examples, but the important thing to recognise, is that recurring dreams are urging us to do something, to wake up to ourselves and change the repeating patterns in our own life that aren’t getting us anywhere.

When you start to dream about the same thing that always appeared in your recurring dreams, but the ending of the dream changes, you are on your way to breaking the cycle. As you grow and develop, so too will your dreams evolve to reflect the new changes in you.

The Meaning of Driving the Car in a Dream

August 18, 2008 · by Amy Campion

Dreaming about cars and driving is a really rich territory to start understanding some of the fundamentals at work in our lives.

The first things to consider are:

– Who’s driving? Who is actually at the wheel in your dream? This often indicates who or what is controlling your ego or conscious mind. Is it you? Then you are probably making conscious decisions about your life. Is it some one else – your mother, father, teacher, boss? Then look at how you have let their values and beliefs in life become your own. So, you may have learned from your mother that a good woman should always pay attention to how she looks, or your father that a man must prove his success through a good job, and this belief is now “driving” you.

– How do you feel about who’s driving? If you are happy, relaxed or exhilarated, that’s great! Even if it’s not you at the wheel, you may be letting your subconscious or intuition drive you, and this part of your self is helping you get where you want. If you aren’t happy with some one else driving, look for how your beliefs may need to change. Maybe your mothers excessive concern for appearance is making you eat unhealthily, maybe your father’s drive to work harder and harder means you never spend any time with the family. If it’s you at the wheel and you can’t control the car, look for where in your life you feel you don’t have the control you want, or where you need to steer your life in another direction. Or maybe you are trying too hard to control thing, and need to relax a little.

– Do you get to your destination, or do you get lost, break down or crash? A safe arrival is often a reassurance we are heading in the right direction in our life, but look for hints that might help us get there faster, or more directly, or more enjoyably. Maybe your dream is saying to slow down and enjoy the scenic route – instead of rushing to a certain goal, maybe you need to enjoy the process! Dreams of delays, crashing or being lost can indicate you need to take a look at your present course of action and see what needs changing. Crashing can mean literally working so hard that your body “crashes” – this is a clear sign to take some rest, or slow down. Crashing can also be related to your emotional state. Maybe you have been in a relationship that has come to a sudden end, or you know one is about to (maybe deep down, but don’t want to admit to it,) or maybe you fear the relationship ending and feel “out of control.” Remember this is not a prophecy of what will happen, just a reflection of your own fears and subconscious beliefs. Being lost in a car is like your soul being lost. Doing dream work can help you find the direction you need to go. Dreams of cars and driving are often rich in symbols, metaphors and signs. Do you see a green light? This could be telling you to start the thing you are waiting to start. Are you driving in the dark without lights? This could mean you feel in some area of your life you are “driving blind” without all the information you need to make decisions. Are you on an open highway? This could mean you feel free and optimistic about where you are heading in life. Or it might mean you are feeling lonely and seeking the company of a town or people. Are you stuck in traffic? This could mean something in your life is frustrating you and preventing you from reaching your goals. Or maybe it could be an opportunity to get out of the car and walk, to try a new approach. Only you know where this applies to your own life.

Where do you want to go?

Car dreams ask us:

Who or what is “driving” us? What beliefs and motivations and behaviours? Do we want to keep them or do they need to change?
Where do we want to go? Are we headed in the right direction on our life? Do we need to change course?
How do we want to get there? Do we need to slow down or hurry up? Do we need to take a more scenic route, or stop and pick up something or someone that we may have lost or forgotten?
Who can help us get where we want, to achieve our goals?
What warning signs (often literally road signs) do we need to pay attention to?

While having a dream about driving can highlight where we feel distressed, confused or out of control, by making small changes in our life we can take the wheel of our own destiny, and drive our own lives forward with happy confidence.

You may also be interested in the following posts

The meaning of other people in dreams

The meaning of landscapes in dreams

The meaning of a window in dreams

The meaning of being chased in a dream

The meaning of colours in dreams