When I became aware (in my dream) of the bird I was standing in my driveway looking back over the garage toward the backyard. As I was looking up over the garage roof there was a rather large all white bird with wonderful plumage flying (floating, it came down feet first) down to light on a tree branch. It was all white and my immediate “thought” was that it was a bird of paradise. I don’t really know what one looks like but it had feathers that resembled a cockatoo, long tail feathers and plumage that stood up on its head. It almost seemed to have some kind of ornamentation on its head as well like earrings or bangles hanging down. It looked at me quietly just sitting on the branch looking very; well, almost regal with all its beauty.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 53 Akron, OH

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? No

Laura,
I am going to take a bit different approach to your dream than I normally would, breaking down all the symbols instead of just interpreting them without elaboration. Your dream 'seems' to be fairly 'direct' in what its trying to communicate and breaking down the symbols may help you identify what particular aspects about yourself/your life the dream is focused.

Your dream seems to strongly point to the 'spiritual' aspect as the primary focus. It could involve creative aspects which is an aspect of the spiritual {giving of oneself through the MUSE}. But consider also the 'looking back' as a comment on some other emotional 'charge'. This 'looking back' may be a reflection {consciously and/or unconsciously} that will let you realize/understand something about yourself that you have had strongly held 'emotions' about previously {earlier in your life}.

Here are 'broken down' symbols. Your task is to fit the possibilities in the dream to your waking life.
Determine if there are other aspects besides the spiritual where the 'emotional energy' would fit. If the spiritual aspect does indeed fit then you can take that as the primary focus of the dream.

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standing
Your position in life
asserting yourself and making your thoughts/feelings known

driveway
an end to your journey
security and rest
your path toward achieving inner peace finding your spirituality

looking back over the garage . {toward the backyard}
looking back over the accumulated experiences/emotions over your life time.

backyard
your unconscious

garage roof
beyond the barriers {higher self/spiritual}. above/beyond the normal emotional self

tree branch
branch
parts of yourself that has the ability to expand

tree
your natural self, your true self.

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the tree is you, a genuine self, branching out

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bird of paradise
closeness to spirit/God/purity removal from worldly concerns
in mythology, symbolic of the Virgin Mary which could represent the 'pure self' or spiritual Self

bird
Energies that bring about wholeness
An invitation to enter the spiritual realm In touch with nature

paradise perfection/spiritual perfection.
retreat from the stresses of the real world.
extravagant and elaborate thoughts.

ornament
symbolic of a spiritual gift.
things in your life and the things you do to make you feel good about yourself

head
wisdom, intellect, understanding and rationality.
your accomplishments self-image/your perception of the world.

ear/rings
ear
responsive or receptive to guidance
rings
completing the circle of wholeness-spiritual

sitting on the branch indecision/not knowing what you want to do. being idle/doing nothing

Again, there are strong indications the dream is focusing on spiritual matters a great many of the symbols have associations to the spiritual}. Are there spiritual matters you are currently dealing with in your life? There may be specific spiritual concepts that are in question or even conflict. The 'ornaments' could be about actual 'ritual' ornamentation.
Consider also that something may have awoken you recently to do with spiritual concepts.

If there are other aspects that have 'emotional energy' that the dream is addressing I would think it is less important than the spiritual. Things to consider, other than a spiritual aspect, is:

Something that would make you feel good about yourself, something beyond what you possess now. Expanding on this issue has become important for you. It requires higher thinking, beyond the normal aspects in your current life.

Let me know your thoughts. We should be able to pinpoint what the dream is wishing to communicate after you give thought to the possibilities I have provided.

Jerry 　

　

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 61 Murfreesboro, Tn. USA

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

You have given me much to ponder. One of the reasons I wrote down my impressions of the dream was to at some point re-read what I had written and examine the words I chose more closely. This is part of what you have done and it is very helpful in my own interpretation. I appreciate your input and will post more after I mull this over more carefully.Thank you.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 53 Akron, OH

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? No

Laura,
As I stated in my original interpretation, breaking down the symbols as I did with your dream is not my usual practice. Although the dream does seem to point to 'spiritual' aspects, spiritual could have many applicable possibilities. Consider these {parts coming from the HyperDream Dictionary}.

The dream opens with the statement 'When I became aware (in my dream) may suggest a conscious recognition of unconscious contents. What this is would be the question to be answered.
Possibilities that may support 'spiritual' aspects:

the bird may represent joy, harmony, ecstasy, balance, and love. It indicates a sunny outlook in life. You will experience spiritual freedom and psychological liberation. It is almost as if a weight has been lifted off your shoulders.

Look at your life and see what may fit. There are strong indications of 'looking back'. Garages are where we 'shelter' our emotions {cars are symbolic of the direction in life}. Looking over the roof, the protective nature our unconscious mind, suggests looking beyond the emotional self and seeing higher possibilities. Looking back in your life may help you recognize aspects that now are important in your current life. Higher possibilities. If not straight forward spiritual aspects then aspects that are 'liberating'.

A possibility. Are there creative or spiritual aspects in your past that would now fulfill the 'higher' possibilities in your current life? You may have forgotten these aspects but because they are so 'emotionally' stabilizing they were stored in the unconscious. These past experiences/aspects may now be what you need in your life.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 61 Murfreesboro, Tn. USA

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