I went to visit Bagdad so i could know what daily life was like in a war zone. I met up with a soldier, and even though I was with him, I walked about 8 feet behind him. We were walking down a main street and I looked to my right. At 1st it looked like a huge space of destruction or some ruins, but when I looked closer I could see tons of soldiers camoflauged and waiting to strike. While I was looking at them something happened - like a bomb or a shooting. The soldier in front of me started running and then veered to the left and into a shallow body of water. At the same time I started running and veered to the right which took me up a cliff.

When I looked over the edge I could see down over the body of water the soldier had run into. The 1st half of the water was clear and the 2nd half was much darker. From where I was, I could see about 12 mines under the water, mostly along the water line. I yelled down to the soldier to not move until I could talk him out. In the meantime, my dog ran into the water with the soldier. She kept getting really close to one of the mines, I told the soldier to grab her before she set one of them off. Everytime she got close I would gasp and look away.

The next thing I knew, I was in an undecorated room, The walls and bedding were all whiteand the floor is black. There is a window in the middle of the room and I can see out onto the main street I had been walking on earlier with the soldier. There is a tan colored rat in the room and a child. I feel bad for the child because it has to live in this scary place and fend for itself (I don't know the sex of the child).

I decide to leave Bagdad, and take the child with me. We fly to Boston, where I grew up, but no longer live. I keep the child on my lap the entire way. When we get off the plane, my grandmother meets us at the airport. She isn't happy that I saved the child and she lectures me about taking on more than I can handle. She tells me "You can't do everything. You can't save them all."

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 30 Las Vegas

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

Mrs. K.,
Dreams reveal the 'true' inner workings of the psyche, those aspects about you and your life that are at play at the time you have a dream. The language of dreams is symbols and metaphors which represent emotional experiences. This bit of info about how dreams function may help as I provide thoughts to what your dream may be addressing about your life.

The war zone in your dream most likely represent conflicts within your life. Since it is a male soldier he may represent some aspect of your masculine self. But these masculine aspects may also apply to real men in your life that you are having conflicts with. The destruction you see would represent destruction of your emotional self. You may be hiding these emotions {camouflaged} so the 'inner ruins' do not overflow into your waking life. There may have been a recent stimulus that has brought forth these hidden emotions {bomb or shooting}. Part of what is there is still hidden {left often symbolizes the unconscious and right represents consciousness}. To bring up these troubling emotions may be enough to veer you off a 'cliff', push you over the edge emotionally.

But it is from realizing the worst that will cause you to look deeper into your unconscious and confront these emotions {dreams are therapeutic and uncovering unconscious emotional aspects so they can be brought to conscious recognition is the dreams way to help start the healing process}. You are conscious of some aspects of these troubled emotions but may be repressing or ignoring other parts {The 1st half of the water was clear and the 2nd half was much darker}. There is an unconscious if not conscious fear of confronting these emotional issues {12 mines under the water}. The dog may represent protection from these emotions.
The part about the child and the rat may represent unresolved childhood issues. Often the inclusion of children in dreams do represent such emotional roots. It may be the emotional war that you are having to confront in your adult life had its roots in childhood. Very often this is the case. Feeling bad for the child indicates such a possibility {the child is you} and may be unrecognized because of you have repressed certain experiences. But it also may be addressing current issues having to do with children.

You are either ready to or you are being pushed to confront these emotions. Your grandmother may represent the 'unconditional love' on expects to receive as a child. She may also represent your wise self. But emotionally, and consciously, you may not be able to handle these emotional issues.

There may evidence of childhood experiences at play in the dream but the last part seems to be addressing something other in your life. Are there issues about taking on new responsibilities in your life 'perhaps' having a child? Overall the dream seems to be addressing inner emotional conflicts that you are not prepared to handle. Where could Baghdad fit into the equation? and the time frame of the dream 9-30-08. Does that date have any other significance?

gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 58 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