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Sharks - Near Death - Praying

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since I've posted, but I was hoping for some insight on a dream that I had last night. This dream had a very strong effect on me and it was difficult to go back to sleep afterwards.

Dream: I am reading a story in a newspaper. The headline says something like "Only 2 survivors from Shark Attack". I continue to read the details of the story and discover that there were seven people on a medium-size motor/speed boat. The boat was under attack by two large sharks. The people on the boat knew that they were in danger and decided to go into the cabin of the boat (below deck) for protection. The sharks manage to capsize the boat and I had a visual of the people trying to swim out of the cabin and avoid the sharks.

After reading the story, I sympathize with the 2 survivors. I wonder how they must feel knowing that they were able to escape and that their companions died.

Immediately, the dream sort-of morhps with myself as one of the survivors. I am floating on the surface (hanging onto some debris) and I feel horrible that I'm not able to help the others around me. Then somehow, I am still in the ocean but now I am able to float towards a ledge (like the edge of a swimming pool) and I climb out,just in time to escape the two sharks coming towards me. I stand on the ledge, pressed up against the wall, and am very scared. The sharks have come partially out of the water and their noses are touching my feet. Eventually, they go back into the water and leave.

The dream then morhps again...this time I am in the boat before it capsizes. I knew that I had a dream that had "predicted" the shark attack and am nervous/scared b/c I know what is about to happen. The seven of us are in the cabin, and I tell everyone that I think the boat will capsize and that the sharks will attack us. I am borderline frantic, but stern, and I tell everyone that we have to pray. We stand in a circle, holding hands, and I start to lead a prayer, with me pausing at certain phrases and the group repeating. I also tell the group something like "I don't care what your personal beliefs are or if you beleive in anything or not. I want you to pray right now." I also give them instructions on how/where to hit the sharks if they come too close.

The boat tips over, and we are again in the water. This time everyone makes it to shore unharmed. We are on some kind of island. My emotions are all over the place...b/c I feel like the only reason that we were safe was b/c of some kinds of divine intervention. I tell everyone that I need to be by myself for a while, b/c I need to mediate and calm down. The dream ends.

About me: For a long time (many years), my spiritual beliefs have not involved praying to any kind of entity. However, recently I have begun to use meditation and prayer/sutras on a regular basis; and have become to accept why prayer can be a positive thing. (My beleifs are more in the Eastern/New Age category) However, leading a group of people in a prayer is still not something I would do.

Also in the dream, I can't place who any of the other people were. There is a small (emphasis on small) part of me that thinks it's something related to work, but again, I don't know what in the dream gave me that impression.

Third - before the dream morphed, I wasn't sure if the people died from being eaten by the sharks or from drowning. I don't remember seeing any blood.

In the various dream dictionaries, I have read the definitions of "shark" and "prayer", but I'm having trouble connecting them to each other. I beleive that the praying is most likely symbollic of my "speaking to my higher self"; but, how does this relate to the sharks/boat/near death?

Thanks in advance for your input

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 28

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Female

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? Yes

Re: Sharks - Near Death - Praying

this dream is about fear doubt and seeking calm. Many of your previous forms of seeking refuge have been shown to be futile: something in your sub is atacking you. You may have been comfortable where you were before in you life. Now you are seeking something better, something calmer, something more serious and you have self doubt.

Just as you pray on the negative asepcts of you psyche, your sub, and psyche, some aspects of your sub, are praying on aspects of you. ITs is a parardoxical in that you are moving to new unknown territories, and trying to change, but in order to do this, you must rid yourself of old values. these old values, which may have been self centered, and loving of the thrill, are being killed by prayer, and your sub is telling you that you are changing yourself, perhaps in a harsh way, or you are dealing with very well entrenched urges in you that you are trying to coral.
Some negative feelings and urges within the human sub. have to be acknowledged and controlled gently or they lash back at you.

Sharks are animals that are totally of the sub., and the feelings attacking you may be totally subconscious feelings or urges. Things like anger are survival urges innate in humans in order to help us survive and fight back.

I use anger as an example, not as the definitive meaning of the shark. There are a many other innate urges that are viewed as negative today, that were developed to help us survive in wilder time periods that we endured in the history of man. there are others but in order not to get into a debate on what is innate and what isn't i won't go into them.

hopefully this helps. if not, there are others here that can help.
good luck.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 42

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} male

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? no

Re: Sharks - Near Death - Praying

Carlos - Thanks so much for your reply. After much thought, I've been able to connect the dots.

To summarize:
Historically (the newspaper) I have been allowing the "sharks" to attack/kill the various parts of my psyche. (Also explains why I don't know who any of the people are.)
However, now I want to change this (the morhping of the dream). And the way that I am able to do this, is to connect with my "higher self" (the praying).
At the end of the dream, we are on an island (the "new" place you mentioned) and I am scared/uneasy which represents my "lack of confidence" that you mentioned as well.
Now I just have to figure out what the sharks are! I have some ideas, but I suppose that what they represent specifically isn't important. The important thing is that I have figured that I can "avoid" their attacks.
For the past month, I have been making a conscious effort to do more positive thinking (ie "The Secret"), and I think this dream is telling me that I am off to a good start.
Thanks again!

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 28 Texas

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Female

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? Yes

Re: Sharks - Near Death - Praying

yes the dream can be saying you are off to a good start. Often when we take effective action to change entrenched aspects of ourselves, they revolt and we havea nightmare like the one you had. Sometimes the dreams are confusing because something precious to you will be attacked. At this point you must decide whether to continue your actions of change while you sub pulls out all the stops to continue to remain int he same rut one has known through out there whole life.
You reassert your new self by going of to the island. This is good. I looked it up in a dictionary, and one of the meanings is to be isolated from situations you once knew. This falls in line with the meaning of the dream that you and I have been thinking over.
If you want to look a little further, Then lets go to the beginning of the dream where you are reading a newspaper. Newspapers tell you of things that you are should be aware of. YOu read that "7" people die. "7" is a number of completion. You may have completed something by your praying and efforts. But then the dream abruptlyy changes and includes you in it. YOu are praying (preying) upon yourself.

The sharks, and I am really reaching here, I think might be an instinct to indulge in life. I sya this cause the people attacked were on boats and jet skis. The are not people thinking profoundly about life, they skim the surface and just enjoy themselves in their manmade devices that help them spend their time playing, indulging in the conscious realm with no thought about the sub.: maybe even living more of a life controlled by instinct, than profound rationalization and peaceful acceptance of yourself as the true source of joy; rather than denial of yourself and distractions through indulgence.

The sharks are trying to effect the direction you take in life. Their noses touch your feet. They are not succeding but they are vexing to you. If what I wrote above about the indulgence is inaccurate, then maybe try to think of something that is vexing you as you try to move in the new direction you are headed in. That may be what the sharks are.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 42

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} male

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? no


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