Hi, I would very much appreciate an interpretation of my dreams.

I woke up in the middle of the night from a dream of my cousin(male) joining the marines. It seemed to be very straight forward and simple as that was all there was to the dream.

My second dream after I fell back asleep from my first dream has a bit more depth.. I was alone in a dense forest, it was very dark. I think that I was naked or nearly naked with a long spear type weapon. I felt that I was stuck in a tiny clearing in the middle of a thicket and I became surrounded by four wolves who stopped at the thickets edge, two on each side. They were threatening and waiting for their chance to pounce on me. Something held them back but I do not know what. I killed each one with the spear as they stood facing me. The last wolf was not easy to kill, it was the only one that dodged me but eventually I did kill him. There was also a small dog laying near me during the ordeal, it never moved and seemed neutral. I raised my spear to him and was about to kill him but I could not and also realized that I did not want to kill him.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 30 waltham massachusetts, USA

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Kenny,
The first, very short dream, is probably addressing some aspect of your life where you desire/need to be 'all you can be'. This aspect will require a lot of discipline.

The second dream seems to be addressing personal issues that require getting past those negatives that prevent you from being 'all you can be'. Do you have problems with self confidence? You are trying to get past the negatives, a positive step, by removing the barriers one at a time. But by doing so you endanger the positives, or what you believe to be the positives in your life.

Could this aspect that needs 'exposing' and involving personal issues have anything to do with females? In particular a lack of self confidence when approaching the opposite sex?

If this is not about the 'opposite sex' then it may be addressing 'emotional issues', especially aspects of 'being too emotional'. This aspect may prevent you from being all you expect of yourself or possibly being what others expect of you.

Examine what I have presented in the above and let me know what fits. Perhaps your follow-up will provide more clues to 'being this person' you want/expect of yourself.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 59 Murfreesboro, Tn

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Jerry, your interpretation as it is now has helped me greatly in understanding these dreams, I am very grateful.
I do have problems with self confidence, this is something that I have been struggling with recently and I feel that I am now just recently starting to make progress in building self confidence. My lack of self confidence is very much evident with regards to approaching females, so much so that I can't bring myself to do just that even though I desire to have a female companion very very much.

In regards to being 'all I can be' I have come to sudden realizations recently about my life that have had great impact on me in regards to developing my spiritual inner self and individuality. I feel that I have been wasting much of my time in my current life scenario and I desire very much to switch my career and way of living entirely which involves going back into school among other things including clearing all of my past issues.

I have also been steadily making progress pushing past negativity that I didn't even know existed until I received help and started looking for it.

The cousin that I dreamed of joining the marines; we share a traumatic event that occurred in the past as young children. It was sexual in nature but it was not abusive and was before the puberty stages if that is even relevant.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 30 waltham massachusetts, USA

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

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Kenny,
Thanks for the follow-up response. Although your dream did not mention females I sensed there was such an association was involved. Being naked usually symbolizes 'exposing' something about oneself and the language associated with it loosely insinuated factors of the opposite sex {spears as a phallus, thickets as female genital}. Although normally these symbols alone would not point to an association to females, my sense {intuitive sense] was there was that possibility.

But the primary focus of the dream did seem to me to be a lack of self-confidence. That too wasn't something that jumps out at you but again my sense was it was the case. The short dream, and because you did post it along with the longer dream, perhaps an unconscious event with the desire to help understand the second dream, 'being all you can be' was the first thing that came to mind in association with 'marines'. That involves discipline. And because you have made strides in improving this condition the 'being all you can be' is even a more appropriate symbol. If shows you are making improvements due to 'self discipline'.

We must not overlook the experience as a child having to do with the sexual experience. The fact you do have a problem with self confidence isn't something that just happens. There is almost always a stimulus in life, and most often early life, that defines character and personality later in life. Have you examined your childhood to determine what that might be? The 'sexual' experience may seem to be benign but if it were in fact a 'traumatic' event then that word alone should give cause for further investigation. If you want to overcome the problem of self confidence it may be best to get to the roots of those 'self-esteem' problems. Again, childhood is the most likely place to look.

The small dog in your dream you did not wish to kill. Not killing it may suggest that small, growing part of you that is growing, your self confidence is growing, something that you do not want to put an end to {killing the dog, an inherent human animal aspect}.

And the spiritual aspect. Wolves are very often symbols for the spiritual aspects. This dream, and your improving condition, may point to those spiritual realizations as part of the positive improvements. Wolves are a large part of Native American folklore and as a student of mythology {Joseph Campbell, my spiritual mentor} I associate such images as a natural cultural influence on the American psyche, and in our dreams. Because Native Americans associate spirituality with the earth, the 'natural' path to living a truly spiritual life resides in living in accord with all of 'God's creatures. Organized religion isn't always the best path to true spirituality and when the psyche uses wolves as a symbolic representation of the spiritual self {as it seems to be doing in this dream-as confirmed by your own admission in your spiritual search} then I suggest you explore that path as a spiritual guide {Native American mythology}. Native American spirituality is one of the few concepts I still follow as my guide to a living proper spiritual life.

Within the natural world resides positives and negatives and depending on how you treat those natural aspects {your own body and psyche included} what the world returns to you in life is influenced by those actions. In short, what goes around comes around. And that is something each of us has control over by the choices we make in life.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 59 Murfreesboro, Tn

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Hi Jerry, I have reflected back on my childhood, maybe not as much as I really need to in order to understand where this self confidence issue is stemming from. I will have to work on that. I haven't thought to look at Native American mythology, this is something that I will start looking into, interestingly enough my ancestry includes a Native American history going back to the "trail of tears".

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 30

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Kenny,
My sense is you will discover a 'natural' attraction to Native American mythology. Since there is that history within your family it would only be a natural. True spirituality, in my humble opinion, is based in earth based philosophies. We all are a part of the whole and the earth is the mother {figuratively speaking}. The universe is where the beginning and end of life is to be found and living a life in accord with nature, well we all have a natural attachment to the earth, and the universe.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 59 Murfreesboro, Tn

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? Yes