Normally when I dream I don’t dream very clearly, and I have problems remembering the next morning. However, these two I remember like they really happened, and I am curious as to what they mean.

Last night I dreamed my mother was looking for a new house. My father wasn't in it at all, which doesn't seem to make sense, since they're married. I decided to help look for her, and ended up exploring this location deep in the countryside. I was following a road when it suddenly branched off into two roads. There was one rather beaten-up, but paved nonetheless, option, and a smaller, gravel road as my other option. I took the paved road, although I felt very curious about the gravel road as well. I made up my mind that I’d explore it later, and began walking down the paved road. It led me through this gorgeous green forest. I passed through a very small commercialized place (4 or 5 buildings at most), which was supposed to be a town, and continued down the road through a forest. Then I found what I called “the perfect location for a home”. There was an open green clearing off the road, which had a flat spot, and then a sudden slope downhill to a creek. This clearing was surrounded by woods. The road led off into the distance, although I didn’t follow it. I remember being so excited about this location. I couldn’t wait to tell my mother about it, thinking she’d like it, but then I remembered a problem. She didn’t want to be anywhere near that little town I mentioned, but I decided maybe she’d overlook a thing like that. I turned around and followed to road back home, past the town, past the branch-off, and then my dream ended before I had a chance to tell anyone about my discovery.

I had my other dream last week. I was at a beach, sitting in the sand, searching for shells. I found a fairly large conch shell, and I was excited, as it was completely whole. A man walked over to me and I bragged to him about my find. However, he seemed unimpressed. He told me he’d found a much larger one a few days ago, and that he’d left it around here someone (why he’d just leave it, I don’t know). I began digging through the sand, and lo and behold, I found his shell. It was gigantic, about two feet long, a scallop shell I believe. I was lost for words, and he began to tell me his theory about a river nearby and its gigantic shell. He believed that there was a gigantic shell hidden in the bottom, buried in the earth, having been laying there for centuries. He said it was his goal to dig it up. I was mildly interested, and followed him to the river. Immediately I found a fossil of a shell. This seemed like a good luck charm, so I decided I’d help him with his search. My dream ends there.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: USA

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

Heather,
I am working on your dream and will have an interpretation for you later today or in the morning.

Question. What is your age? Often age is important when looking at symbols in dreams.

My first impression is you are at a crossroads in your life. One possible path is something you have considered before but did not act on it.

Something that may be of significance is the conch shell. Even though the shell is a common there may be deeper signficant spiritual meaning. Read this link to understand what I
mean. Let me know your thoughts.

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 55 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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

Heather,
Not knowing your age places a bit a handicap on just how to approach your dreams. Age often has a bearing on how the dream contents reflects on the intertpretation.

Perhaps the language in your dream is more to the point that the eye may first realize. The line " I decided to help look for her, and ended up exploring this location deep in the countryside" may be the main message the dream is trying to communicate. The task is to determine what your mother symbolizes in your dream. Is it your actual mother {your relationship with her} or is symbolic of some higher aspect of your own psyche? Or perhpas both. From the title of your post we know you are indeed looking for something.

I am going to approach the dreams from the standpoint of mother as a representing an aspect of your pysche. In that context the interpretation is as follows.

Your mother in your dream would represent that wise feminine aspect. It could be alluding to your actual mother but to a lesser extent. Looking for a new house would indicate a desire or need to find a new self, or some new aspect for your life. Since your father isn't in the dream {an impression that is left from the dream which is significant} leads to me to believe this is dealing with the feminine qualities and you are searching for the wiser aspects of those qualities. Exploring the deep countryside gives the impression you are looking deeper within yourself, the outer regions of the psyche which often hold greener pastures. You may be looking to make changes in your waking life. These pastures may also be of the spiritual nature.

In life, especially in later life, we find ourselves at crossroads. This may be where you are in life. The hero/heroine of myth goes through different stages in his/her search for meaning, and ultimately the true self {The Hero's Journey}. You have two choices of roads to take {which is true when we come to life's crossroads}. Taking the beaten up paved road may indicate you have had an opportunity with life choices previously, but found at that time the road was to difficult {we seldom take the correct path the first time around}. The lesser road is aspects within that have yet to be explored. But I believe the paved road you take in the dream includes aspects of the lesser road.

The description of what you find as you travel this road may have to do with personal growth. Since you take the raod but return would indicate this option has not been actually taken in your waking life. Also there is something about this option that seems to be out of bounds {your mother didn’t want to be anywhere near that little town} but since it is 'little' it doesn't really pose a problem.

Look at your waking life and see what 'little' things seem to be in the way of personal growth.

This dream seems to be offering insights to the choices you have in life and although there is a preferred direction you wish to take you have yet to do so. This direction, if taken, is probably the path the hero/heroine would take. But it takes courage to do so.

The second dream seems to be offering up the same possibilities. The conch shell may have deepr meaning but on the surface it is something that offers protection against outside negative forces. The other possibility may be alluding to the deeper psyche as in the Buddhist conch shell. This would be addressing the spiritual aspect.

In this dream the masculine is unimpressed which may be referring to the masculine aspects being unimpressed with the higher feminien qualities {in the first dream the masculine father was 'left' out completely}. This masculine aspect could also represent the ego which always seems to have something bigger and better to offer, even though it is almost always illusionary and temporal. Beaches often symbolize the edges of the unconscious, a link to those unconscious contents taht need to be acknowledged.
The fact that this masculine aspect has found a much larger shell may be referring to your developed masculine qualities, or perhaps the imposed masculine dictates of society. It is bigger than what the feminine has yet to find. Perhaps your feminine aspects have taken a back seat to those imposed masculine dictates {often society requies all of us to be more aggressive in our nature so to successfully navigate the ego world. But because we give so much to the ego centered life the inner world is left out}. Since you were only mildly interested in what he had discovered in the dream, this points to the mild interest of what the inner world desires as opposed to 'his' outer interests. Good luck charms are represented of superstituions and not normally based on the facts. The facts here would be your desire to find those true inner qualities of the feminine self.

In my post from yesterday I asked about a spiritual search. Is that a part of your life at this moment in time? Or is a deeper search for something you feel is missing in your life? Those are feminine aspects. I get the feeling the search for a new house that involves the mother is a serach for something higher in your life.

Let me know your thoughts on my interpretation {which is quite long} and perhaps we can expand the possibilities of these dreams.

Gerard