Hi.

I have recently been having dreams that have reoccuring concepts or symbols in them. Those symbols being the presence of a boat and a flute. I've had at least 3 or four and I was wondering if someone could help me decipher the meaning behind them.

1st Instance. I was just returning from a cruise...and I was walking around the boat trying to find my way to the exit. My sister and my dad had already found their way out and to the car and were looking for me. I had forgotten something and went back to my room to go and get it. On my way back out again, I got even more lost and ended up coming into a ballroom/banquet room where a band was practicing. And by band I mean a full on orchestra with violyns, clarinets, saxes, flutes, etc. I used to play the flute in High School and haven't touched it since. But I was yearning to pick up a flute and start playing or to ask the director of the band if he would let me play with them. Eventually some people came out of a door and ended up hurling me into a pew at some point... it gave me a massive headache. And then finally I got off the boat somehow and was wandering around a lakey pretty green area looking for the parking lot where my car was when my sister found me and was crying and wondering where'd I'd been all that time. I told her and she told me that our dad had been arrested and takento jail! But it was just down the street so we just walked to try and bail him out but I thought about just leaving him there so he could learn from his mistake. The End.

2nd. There was a big lake and we were again on a cruise ship. My dad was there as well. The entire lot of the passengers were let off the boat for a swim in the middle of htis big lake as the sun was going down. well me and my dad wer swimming and trying to swim back to the boat as it was trying to sail away. Thats all I remember of that one.

3rd. I was, again, on a cruise ship. I had some how gotten below deck in the cargo hold with my brother and some other close friends. I'd found a flute in the cargo hold and pulled it out, put it together, and I was thinking about trying to play it when we were suddenly attacked by a shadowy creature. We opened an unloading door on the side and let it be sucked out. My brother and I ended up being sucked out as well but we were saved by a floating thing attached to the back end of the boat. Then it was time for us to go back in because we were going to stop by an island on the way back from Jamaica to home. I had $20 and I wanted to buy a pair of shorts before I would go back to my room and get more money to do other things but we really didn't have much time to do anything in. The end.

4th. This time the boat was a Yacht. I was on the boat and it had this elevator thing that stretched around the front end. It was really sunny and tropical. All the girls from the Dead or Alive movie were there as well as the guy, Max. Something was happening on the boat and everyone was trying to blame me for it. So I just kind of stuck off all by myself. I remember being in the office looking at some papers and things. And Again. I somehow ended up with a flute and wanted to play it. =/

5th. This one I had last night.

Again it was around Jamaica. My sister and I were at a resort or something and we went to check out the beach and go swimming. There was an elevated area over the beach... it was probably only 5 feet tall and you could slowly climb down to get onto the beach. The beach was polluted and there was a big bridge and grey-brown city scape in the distance. Also there were dead dolphins on the beach and the other people who were going to go swimming just kind of jumped the dead dolphins and my sister andI were like "wtf? Your still going swimming?" We had decided that the dead and mauled dolphins were victims of a killer whale. Well I was still on the elevated rocky area watching my sister play around on the sandy beach when I saw a dark shadow in the water which I knew to be a killer whale... it popped out of the water and kept plopping down trying to eat her but she kept dodging out of the way only to be attacked by another one.

We somehow ran off and ended up on an Oil Tanker-like fishing boat that my dad was the captain of. We were sailing down the ocean and this time it was storming and raining and th boat was tossing so we stopped off at this mechanical like docking station in the middle of the ocean where a friend/ally was... I got tossed from the boat upon docking and was in the water, but no one was worried, not even me, because it had happened before. So I just swam around and climbed back up onto the mechanical docking area. Then I was handed a new flute. I looked it over to make sure the pads under the keys were alright, because I own a flute that the pads need to be replaced on. But there were no pads on this flute's keys but the girl assured me it would play and I tested it out while laying on my back in kind of a cat-playing-with-yarn kind of position while I tinkered with the flute.

Then I somehow ended up off in a soaked marshy area in a marching band!! And I was tagging behind my friend Stephanie who was telling me how much she liked Marching Band and I was remembering how much I hated it cuz we had to sit out in the cold all the time.

The End.

So. Anyone have any idea what a boat symbolizes and why in most of my dreams I end up with a flute or wanting to play the flute?

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 22, Oklahoma

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Spiffy,
Sory I haven't looked at your dream earlier. I had a bout with kidney stones this past week and still recovering. I will give your dream a good look either later today or in the morning.
Thanks,
Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 57 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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No problem. =D

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Spiffy,
Are you going through some type of transition in your life, perhaps having to do with family and in particular with your dad? Is there some disharmony with that transition? Cruises can represent an emotional journey and boats transition. The flute may symbolize harmony in life. The tossing and turning on the boat {something you are used to} in the last dream points to possible emotional disharmony somewhere in your life. Perhaps you are expected to 'march' in step with some aspect of life and you do not life the emotional feel of doing so. You may be going through the motions just to please others but in reality it is not you.

Does the above fit somewhere with your life? Let me know your thoughts and perhaps we can get closer to understanding these dreams.

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 57 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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Hm. I really don't know how to answer that. I'm not very close with my dad and our relationship isn't changing in any way. I don't see him very often.. but all of that has been the way things have been the past few years since I moved out and work and go to school. I did go on a cruise with him to Jamaica, though, last october which is about when the boat dreams started. And occaisionally I hang out with him or take him to a movie because I know he gets bored at my grandparents house.

I suppose it could be related to that. Left to my own devices, I might not even do that with him. Perhaps that is what I'm doing that I think everyone would want me to do as opposed to what I would normally do.

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Spiffy,
Let's see if we can take a deeper look at these dreams. Your response about the relationship with your dad may provide additional clues.

In dream 4 I sense the attention is directed to the outer persona or ego {front end of the boat elevator}. This aspect of your life is mostly sunny and positive. The Dead or Alive movie {martial arts film} may indicate inner conflict with this aspect. Because of the conflict you tend to isolate yourself for emotional protection. This is where you find the harmony {flute}, in your isolation.

This dream may be addressing persona issues but also is pointing to some recent experience related to my description.

The second dream seems to be addressing some part of the relationship with your dad. Inner reflection {lake} and emotional journey {cruise} seems to be the primary theme. Not being close to your dad may the reality of the relationship but the reality of the emotional life is we all want and need parental love and acceptance. This may be more of an unconscious desire at this moment in life but later in life the focus becomes stronger and more important.

In dream 3 there is the emotional voyage and going inward {below deck}

anytime there is a descent into something deeper, the cargo hold, a basement, a hole in the ground, it most often represents going deeper into the unconscious.

The flute would represent something very close to your heart, something that you turn to when there is emotional distress. What could that be in your life?

The shadowy creature and the opening of the unloading door so it {shadowy creature} can be sucked out suggest there is something within that is chasing you {inner emotional distress} that needs to be 'sucked' out {which may suggest there is a problem with letting these emotions out}.

I'll stop here with the interpretation and give my sense of what the dreams are about. In your last post you state these dreams began right after the cruise with your dad. My sense is there is an unconscious desire or need to become closer to your dad but what little time that has been given to that relationship has been nominal {we really didn't have much time to do anything}. The cruise stimulated these emotions and unconsciously you are reflecting on the relationship. Perhaps because there hasn't been any real change in the relationship, the dream is pointing to the desire and need for a closer relationship. This may seem irrelevant to you consciously but the unconscious doesn't see the same way as the ego self. Inward there is the desire and need I spoke of earlier of the need for proper relationships with the parents. Although the dreams may be, and probably are, about something more {that occurred on the cruise and in the relationship} the primary message is about the desire for a better emotional relationship.

See if this fits. At 22 it may not seem all that important {ego wise}. But the unconscious isn't biased and the cruise has stimulated the emotional attachment to the parent.

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 57 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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Hi Spiffy,

Will you please talk a bit more about your re4al life experiences with the flute playing, like what you feel and think about it.

Also, what the girls in the movie represent for you. What was their role in the movie 'Dead or Alive'.

I have been having thoughts about trains of late and the way dream dictionaries symbolize them. The more traditional symbols were not clicking with me. What did click was that there was movement from one location to another, from one state to another, from here to there - a change, but a change of what? Jung talks alot about attitudes and beliefs of a person, namely perceptions and this is what I think wprked for me. I had a perception that wasn't working for me anymore so it needed to move/change. The trouble is that the ego likes its position and it is very hard to get it to move. So if this is the case with trains, then boats are probably the sdame thing, BUT about feelings and emotions, because they float on water. Maybe you have feeling/emotions that aren't working for you any longer and they need to change. The other thing about large ships is that they carry many people, so it would probably be in a societal setting.

Now here's the thing. A few days ago I read your dreams out loud and my wife was listening. After the end it was quiet and my wife started talking about something that was not in context to anything in your dream. Whenever this happens I pay particular close attention to it for it is probably a commentary on the subject being discussed at the time. What she said was this,

We are currently in a rainy environment and the rain is causing the bread to sweat, so my wife was saying that it is probably a good idea to put the bread in the freezer. This is such a simple statement, yet I think the depth of its wisdom is far beyond my feeble brains ability. Here we have the symbol of transformation going from a wet/moist consistency to a frozen one. The purpose of which is to entend the usability of the object (the bread). The connection between this thought and the dream you had is the water and the symbol of the bread is something that is shared between freinds and family - to break bread. So in a way the bread could be another version of the flute. I love it when music feeds my soul.

So see what you get from this when you reflect on it.

Stephen

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 49 Sydney Australia

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Hmm. My real life experiences.

Well I started playing the flute in the 6th grade. I lived with my dad at the time. I was quite good at it and I loved doing it.

My mom and dad have been divorced for a long time and the two of them hate each other with a passion... My dad was never as nice to me after the divorce as he was prior to it and both he AND my mom would use me as a tool to hurt each other. Because of that, I had been entertainin the idea of going to live with my mom. My father used my flute as one of his many tools to keep me there with him, saying that if I went to live with my mom, he wouldn't let me take it with me. In fact I could take nothing more than the clothes on my back if I left to live with her. Then we got into a very serious fight that ended with me and my siblings leaving his house to live with my mom. I'd had my flute in my bag when I left and my dad sent his girlfriend to get it.

That didn't stop me from playing, of course. Where I moved to they had a loaner flute to give me and so I continued playing until I was in the 11th grade.

It wasn't very long ago that my dad actually returned my original flute to me. I was quite excited about it, but I can't play it because the pinky key is broken and the pads for the other keys are all withered and rotten and need replacing.

As for the DOA Movie... DOA happens to be my favorite fighting game of all time.. which was the only reason I bothered to watch the DOA movie anyways. Game movies usually tend to be really crappy and not follow the same storyline as the game... The DOA Movie even more so because it was nothing more than a whole bunch of fan service [although what can you say about the game? Its the same.. but at least IT had a good story to it. XD]

All the girls were really pretty in the movie so if I had to tag a "symbol" to them it could be "sexyness" or something related. Also they kick a lot of ass... I always kind of dig on the strong heroic figures so DOA really hits that note in me because it doesn't focus so much on the men and concentrates on these super hot girls who can really hold their own against guys!

In that dream there were two predominant figures of DOA that I actually SAW.. as opposed to just "knowing" that they are there, like the others. One was Jamie Lee Presley who played Tina... and the other was Max. I hated max. He was a weakling with no real fighting capability and was only out to steal the 'treasure behind the buddha head'. I liked Tina's character in the movie because she was pretty serious and was one of the most ass-kicking of all the girls.

Does that help a little, Stephen?

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 22, Oklahoma

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Stephen makes a good point about the dream dictionaries possible interpretations of trains. I believe it important to look past what one think the more obvious possibilities and look to the actions of the 'vehicle' as much as the symbol itself. That goes for many symbols. Whether it be a car, truck, train, bus or whatever, often the intent is as much on the action as the object itself. Of course most often the 'vehicle' is the dreamer {with other vehicles, such as "my mother's car", being related to the dreamer is some form}. Important point in interpreting the whole dream. What actions are involved of the vehicle/person.

Common sense seems to be a basic principle in understanding dreams. As life evolves so does the psyche. What nature provides is intentional {for survival} and common sense is one important aspect of our natural self. It's intuitive yet requires objective thinking. And it involves also.

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 57 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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Hi Spiffy,

Thank you for being so generous with your associations.

Because of your age I need to ask you how you think you will go with bringing up all these past feelings up again.

Do you want to continue exploring the meaning of this dream with that unfortunate time in your past? It's ok if you don't.

Are you in a position to work through this with a professional? We are dealing with big emotional situations, like the ocean.

What do YOU want to do?

Stephen

p.s. Are you able to ellaborate on how the situation arose with your father returning your flute?

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