Ask The Dream Detective: from Mimi’s Dream Column for the New Spirit Journal

A 47 year old man had the following recurring dream:

“In my dream I am on a beach at the ocean. A tidal wave is coming. I think to myself how beautiful it is, and I am in awe of it. But I also know that I’d better get away from it.”

This dream is a classic example of why working with a dreamer’s individual meaning is so important. Before we get to the meaning of his dream, I’d like to ask you to close your eyes and imagine that you are standing on a beach and a tidal wave is coming towards you. How would you feel? What would you do? Most people would be terrified and run for their lives, if they were not already frozen in fear!

Dreams of tidal waves are very common. Water often represents emotions, so this type of dream can indicate that the dreamer is feeling overwhelmed emotionally.  We look to the quality of the water, as well as the emotion the person is experiencing, for clues as to what area of life the symbolism pertains to. Most of us would be fear stricken if faced with such an unstoppable force of nature, and wake up with our heart pounding.

However, this man felt differently. He was in sheer awe of the tidal wave and described how he wanted to just stay and take in its beauty. He did not want to leave, but he knew that for the sake of his own well-being he had better get out of there.

This was a recurring dream the man had been having for 20 years. Recurring dreams happen every time a recurring situation or issue comes up in life, and this is where the detective work comes in. I asked him what had changed or started in his life 20 years ago? He said that’s when he met his wife, whom he had been happily together with ever since.

I then asked him if there had been anything that came up intermittently over the last 20 years, some kind of feeling that might have been a bit overwhelming, where he was in awe of some kind of beauty? He blushed and we both knew the answer. This was a business man who travelled a lot for work, and encountered many different people on his journeys – including a few who’s beauty set him in awe.

Another important piece is to look at is the action of the dreamer. When faced with overwhelming feelings of awe regarding something (or someone, in this case!) of beauty, much as he wanted to stay, he knew he had to leave. This was a loyal man. I knew in my heart at that moment that he had never cheated on his wife, nor would he. The dreaming mind does not lie. While the limbic brain may feel drawn to someone on a primal level, the conscious mind has a choice. This man chose his relationship every time, even in his subconscious mind. It doesn’t get more real than that.

What a love story! This dream also is a great example that what appears on the surface of a dream is not usually the deeper meaning. The dream did not appear to be about relationships – there was no kissing, sex, or romance, not even another person – but yet it was truly about love and loyalty. It also shows that the classic meaning for a dream is not always the case. Tidal wave dreams usually occur when we are feeling overwhelmed emotionally in a negative way. While he was ‘flooded’ with emotion, the feelings were actually rather good!

Our dreams want the best for us, and love in all forms is a high priority in the landscape of the unconscious and of the soul. Sleep well my friends, and may your dreams be filled with love for yourself and others.

Here is another entry from my website via “Ask The Dream Detective”:

If your dream were a movie, what would you title it?: The Disorganized Hiker

General feeling of this dream: Rushed/Anxious

Tell me your dream here:

“I have had three dreams recently, two that I can really remember where I’m trying to leave for a hiking trip/adventure in nature and can not find my backpack or cannot pack it properly when find it.

In the first dream I remember I was hiking up through this shallow but fast river with a friend who I don’t remember if I recognize. I wasn’t wearing proper shoes and was carrying my supplies in a tote bag.  Though the river was shallow were i was I could tell it was getting higher and higher and faster and faster.

The rest of our group was up ahead and I felt the desire to be at the front with them but felt like I was un prepared and that my tote bag was going to get wet and weigh me down.

I stopped on the side of the river at a cafe and two men joined me. We had cool beverages on the patio behind the cafe and I told them about my desire to catch up with the rest of the group and that I needed a backpack to do so. One of the man’s parents showed up in car and told me they could bring me a backpack and that was the end of my dream.

I had one dream about a back pack and hiking in between this one and the next one I can remember.

Last night I was dreaming and there were a lot of things going on but eventually I ended up in a kinda garage/cabin. My parents were there and they told me that we needed to leave soon for our camping/backpacking trip. I looked down and I had this duffle bag that at first didn’t seem so large but definitely cumbersome to carry.

I decided I would need to move the essentials into a smaller backpacking back pack and so i began going through my duffle.

I pulled out 5 pairs of shoes and tried them all on to see which ones would work for my trip. They were all different variations of sport shoes/hiking boots and finally I chose the ones that most resembled the boots I have in real life.

While I was going through all my clothes the pile seemed to get larger and larger and my dream ended before I could pack my back pack properly.”

Dear Dreamer,
It seems clear that there is some area of your life where you are feeling rushed, anxious, unprepared, and like you need to catch up with your peers. I see recurring themes with the river ahead getting faster and faster, the clothes piles getting larger and larger, also the cumbersome duffle bag. These all seem to represent the feeling of some kind of surmounting task that feels like it just keeps getting bigger, and is a big load to carry that could ‘weigh you down’. The fact of the back pack makes me think of school and I wonder if you are in school and feeling like you need to catch up with the rest of your peers, and like the ‘load’ just keeps getting bigger.  If you are not in school ask yourself what area of life these descriptions fit. Then give yourself some credit for being out there, carrying that load, and ‘getting your feet wet’!
I hope this helps,
Mimi