I rarely have dreams that I remember but I did last night and it bothered me greatly because there was written message in it and I can't remember the whole message. I just know that it was an extremely important message that I need to know. Here goes:
I dreamed my boyfriend (he's in his fifties), mother (she's in her seventies) & I (I'm in my fifties) were driving to a town that I knew. I needed to buy a pair of jeans as I had only packed one pair. We went around a large right turn in the road. The place was familiar to me, I've driven on it myself at some time in my life, and I had the impression of where it is in real life. As we rounded the turn I saw the store I wanted to go to ahead on the left, with another small store attached to it on it's left, but my store was the second, not the first. Just slightly past the store I wanted, there was a large group of cars all stopped in every direction, as there would be if a bunch of police had responded to a serious call. But there were no police cars among them. I knew bad people were there, searching for something and they would be dangerous. My bf said we had to get out of there and he started to do a fast u-turn to the left. I tried to stop him, and told him that I needed the jeans and why. He didn't know before that, because I hadn't told him. I could see the store I wanted to go to and I knew the jeans were all on shelves just inside to the right. I badly wanted to go in that store and only that store.
Next my bf, mother & I were in a restaurant. We all wanted fish & chips, me badly. Next, I was alone at a single table naked with no food. My bf and mother were at the end of another long table filled with people at my right, sitting side by side with my bf on the end with his back to the wall and my mother second from the end beside him, eating fish & chips. Four young waitresses approached me and gathered around the table. All had pretty, dark brown shiny hair and were nice looking girls. I felt that I knew who they all were, but not well, as if perhaps I had seen them before at my daughter's school.
The one second on my right said "either she's an idiot or she's a genius". I asked what she meant. She told me that I had been ranting loudly at the table disturbing everyone. The one second on my left passed me a piece of worn looseleaf that looked like it was from her school homework.
The top left corner was dog-eared from use. On it was a message that they said I had written down. It started out with "There! There! Look!" Then the rest of the message appeared to be in code. 3(b) was near the top. Throughout the message some numbers appeared at random inside sentences. The number "one" was there, also the number "three". The imprint of a large picture was showing through the page. I turned it over and it was a huge coloured strawberry starting partway down the page, but taking up about 4/5 of the page. Something else was written above it, a small paragraph with a line after it dividing it from the strawberry. The girl told me "No, no, that's just my homework". She helped me turn the page back over to the message. The message was widely spaced, and very cryptic. I handed it to the girl second on my right, the one who had said "either she's an idiot or she's a genius" and I told her "don't let anyone take this from you".
I knew I was naked, in this restaurant and I wanted my clothes. I also wanted my fish and chips. My boyfriend told me I would have to settle for something else and take it home to eat it. A hamburger and fries was what he wanted me to eat, but I didn't want that, I wanted the fish and chips that he and my mother were enjoying as they were eating at the other table they were talking comfortably together and ignoring me.
I tried to tell the waitresses that I had epilepsy and that my yelling out loud was because of that. They didn't care and a young man, like a cook, came out from my left and stood there. I tried to tell him what had happened and he told me I had to leave. I got up and turned to a door behind me on my right. I knew my clothes were in there and I had to get them. I was still naked and the body part I noticed most of all throughout this were my breasts, naked. I wanted to cover my breasts. I went through the door and there was another door ahead, open, and to its right was a passthrough window like in a restaurant kitchen. There was a huge man behind that passthrough and he wanted to stop me. I had to defeat him to be able to get through the door. I did, by pulling him through the window and hitting him. I went through the door and another huge man tried to stop me. I fought with him and he finally told me where my clothes were. I saw my jeans and they were stained with something orange and they were dirty but I had no choice but to put them on.
When I started to put my shirt on over my head, suddenly I was back in my mother's kitchen and my clothes were on the kitchen table covered by an old blanket. I had the blanket lifted up and partially over me and I was trying to hide under it to put my shirt on. On my left were my sister, then my mother. Farther down and slightly away from the table was my father and he was trying to peer around my mother and sister to see my breasts. It bothered me so I pulled my shirt on quickly. There were others on the other side of the table that I could see but not clearly. I had the impression that it was my two brothers and one sister-in-law.

I hope you will choose this and help me. I know there's an important message in this for me and I want to find out what it is. I feel like I have to know in time to prevent something bad from happening. Thank you so much.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 50

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? no

claire,
If you still want an interpretation please respond. I apologize your dream post was overlooked. We sometimes miss a post especially when Forum volume is on the upswing.

Kind regards,
Kathy

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 44 Central OH

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? Y

Hi Kathy: Thank you for replying! I would very much like some help with this dream - it really stuck with me, many details were so clear, and I am so concerned about what that message could be - the one I was concerned that no one else should get it in the dream. I don't remember dreams often and I've never dreamt about a message before.
Thank you! -- Claire

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: A 49 Nova Scotia, Canada

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? No, just this one

Hi Claire,
Apologies on missing your response! Working on an interpretation. Will post tonight or tomorrow morning.

Kind regards,
Kathy

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 44 Central OH

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? Y

Claire,
Thank you for your patience!
Once again delayed response however not intentional. A few friends staying with me left today and preparations were a bit hectic. One developed a habit of dashing into the fridge to sit until I fished him out... kittens!


Our emotions during a dream, upon waking and dreamer thoughts are critical keys to unlocking the unconscious message in dreams. You mention ‘know there's an important message in this for me’ and ‘I feel like I have to know in time to prevent something bad from happening.’

For some at mid life the ‘important’ dream feeling leads to seeking meaning of the dream. Essentially this is seeking to know and be true Self, Campbell’s Call to Adventure. This is what the interpretation addresses, current Self, and inner desire to live true Self. This can be felt as ‘preventing something bad from happening’, missing a Call to live true Self.

Generally, every dream character represents aspects/traits of Self, of the dreamer. All aspects together comprise the whole of Psyche, or inner Self. Male characters often represent the animus, a repository of masculine traits within the feminine identity. Aspects, by means of multiple traits, are properly, under or over developed. Each person has these differing levels of development of specific traits developed through individual cultural, social and familial interactions throughout life. With current conditions these influences more often than not exert pressure to mold the person to external demands, the physical founded of five senses, rather than true nature of Self, the metaphysical existence, more broad to include without physical form or substance.

With the following interpretation look for what resonates with you, if anything, and disregard what does not. Overall, the dream may describe conflicts typically found in mid life.


Interpretation:

Your current direction in life is not your own but the widely held or common social (jeans) direction. While comfortable this is not what your inner Self desires. Inner knowledge there is more than one direction, one more suited to you. Over dependence on animus (bf) places feminine (you) and higher feminine (mother) in subordinate position in Self. An indication to return to a known point of reference (you have been there before in waking life). Psyche directs an inner desire to explore unconscious content (left, second store) rather than conscious/ego content (left, first store, not what you want) to figure out what went wrong and rediscover your original direction in life. Also a clue to utilize both rational analysis (turn right) combined with intuitive sense (stores on left). Unconscious content includes the darker or Shadow complex, (chaotic placed cars, danger, bad guys) being a dangerous place for conscious/ego to delve. Feminine aspect requires animus to safely lead into and return from unconscious. Animus is not yet prepared to do so, it has not received proper development. (Get out of here, wants to U turn). Feminine knows this is necessary communicating to previously unaware animus it’s important function (yet which is unprepared to fulfill). The knowledge you require is there but must be retrieved. (jeans in store, on shelves).

Revealing masculine and higher feminine aspects (restaurant, fish and chips, naked) are two of many aspects (many people filled the table side by side) that comprise the totality of inner Self/Psyche. Clue to reflect on your life aspirations you had at the age of the four young women to serve inner Self (servers, 4=whole). Idiot/genius could be idiot savant - remarkable aptitude in some field, dual meaning of easy not complicated to perform as in natural talent and to figure out what your talent was at that age. Perhaps overly negative feminine emotions prohibited pursuing this path or it was outside mainstream so withheld from you. Code may indicate unconscious content coming to consciousness via dreams as metaphor and symbols. Perhaps a product or consequence of effort or action to decipher the dream.
Doing the work, looking within, may bring you to center, your bliss.

Social distortion interferes with healing inner masculine and higher feminine, and living your bliss. The message of do what is expected of you not what you really want. Perhaps you fight to repress a deep inner need of giving or receiving, nurturing, and sustenance; motherly love as well as physical and emotional support and well being. On the surface it is shown as aggression yet conscious emotional reaction to aggression is that of prohibitive and disgusting yet with un/underdeveloped animus this is the only known method. This is a continuing obstacle in your life. Now is the time to develop proper self love.

The last paragraph could indicate experiences from childhood concealed or hidden within the unconscious. The masculine aspect of both male and female is greatly influenced by the father. More overtly or externally identifiable in males as the animus in women usually not the dominant aspect. To identify father influence on animus development, look to the two brothers personalities for clues, as father influence on their animus will be more overt or lacking repression, easier to see but still requires thorough examination to uncover. May refer back to first paragraph of first not second, indicating oldest of two brothers is less influenced while youngest of two possesses greater father influence/learned traits or is more apparent.

As always, dream interpretation is about the dreamers impressions, emotions and insights. This interpretation may or may not be close. Please respond with your thoughts both about the dream and interpretation. At minimum this may stimulate your own insights to the dream message.

Kind regards,
Kathy

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 44 Central OH

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? Y

Kathy - I am literally blown away! You described my current situation to a T. I am very much doing what is expected of me instead of what I would do without the influence of my bf. Areas of nurturing, affection, etc are being downplayed and they are an essential part of my soul. As for following the "norm" or social way; yes, I do that also. I am not a mainstream type of person by nature - I would find a different, maybe better way to do things using my imagination, but I just keep quiet and follow the others.
It seems that I may be trying to lead my bf to enlightenment in the dream. That could also be the case as I feel I have to show him how to deal with life, love and affection; how to walk that path instead of being petty, mean-spirited and spiteful. My dream seems to want me to know that he isn't ready yet. I will take that as meaning that this is a time to wait but not to give up. I am determined that he will walk that path with me, towards a simpler and fulfilling life. His reaction to any problems is an agressive, defensive attitude, and you had that in the interpretation also. And it is an attitude that I find somewhat "disgusting" as I have a real anathema towards meanness, pettiness, spitefulness, defensive posturing, blaming everyone else instead of taking responsibility for one's own actions, etc. They all contributed to the breakdown of my 22 year marriage, and my strong personal feelings are that those things are all so totally unnecessary in one's life.
My father did very much influence my younger brother more so than my older brother and I do see aspects of him in both; more so as we age than when we were younger.
The idea of looking back to what I wanted when I was the age of the 4 servers puzzles me somewhat, but only in the sense that I can't recall what my ideals were then, although I do sense that I made some wrong decisions back then; possibly could have done things differently and had a better outcome in life. I will ponder that and see what I can determine of what I needed to fulfill and did not.
Your interpretation is not what I expected, I was thinking more on a one-dimensional level I suppose. I thought the strawberry and the homework etc were important symbols, but I failed to link the whole scene together as you did.
Idiot-savant? You have no idea how long I have wondered if I am one. My youngest daughter is a high-functioning autistic person, and as she grows, I see more and more similarities between her, myself, my father and my youngest brother; I hear stories of the "odd" behaviour of my father's grandfather; one of my paternal uncles had a garage full of items and gadgets that he invented; and I have come to the realization that we may indeed be a family of high-functioning autists. It is entirely possible for autism to be genetically-based.
Thank you, Kathy, for your time and effort. I am not frightened of that dream now, as you have made sense of it for me. PS - regarding your recent company and the fridge-loving kitty: We have a young kitten here too and boy, can I relate to that!lol.
I am going to post another odd dream; one that I had several years ago but still remember. I hope you pick it up from the posts.
Take care, be well and be well-loved.
Best regards,
Claire

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: A 49 Nova Scotia, Canada

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? No, just this one