I had an unusual dream last night... I was wandering through a hallway until I came in to a very spacious room that had the sense of being in Church... yet no alter,pews or anything religious. The walls were painted like a mural of continous soft pastels or trees, clouds and grass. The ceilings were 4 stories high and it was circular in shape. The room had many doors... more then 6 doors yet there was a flowing thin sheet of water flowing in front of all the doors blocking the passage. I went to turn the other way to leave the room and then woke up!

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 35 Seattle WA

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Hi Elle

A house or building in a dream usually suggests your self. The condition of the house and what it is used for signify your own current condition and/or outlook, so a church would mean your spiritual self, maybe not in the 'religious' sense (no pews, altar etc) but you 'sense' this is a place of worship and it has a naturalistic look. So this is part of your spirituality.
Water represents the emotions and again the condition of the water tells us what kind of emotions these are.
In your dream, sheets of water (like doors) are blocking the entrance to several passageways/doors/other rooms. This would signify that your emotions are blocking further self-exploration/development and growth at the moment.

Are there feelings in your waking life at the moment which are 'blocking' future self-development? Do you feel 'held back' in some way? Do you have feelings over various issues to resolve before you can develop greater self-knowledge?

Just a few ideas to think about and by no means a 'defining' interpretation. Others will contribute different viewpoints too.

Claire

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Hi Claire,

Thanks for your thoughts... The water was crystal clear, gentle flow... I could of easily gone through it but I would of gotten wet and picking the right door... They all looked alike. The room was very calming, but I had the sense that if I came back another time one of the doors would be available or it just wasnt the right time to go through any door just yet because of the water.

In my waking life... here is what is going on. I have been seperated approximately 9 months and in a divorce. I have since found someone else in my life who is absolutly the most wonderful person I have ever encountered. However we or I have held off any physical encounters because I feel that the divorce needs to be over with first before we move on together.

So in my opinion based on what your thoughts were... I know where the good place is that I want to go, but it isnt time yet and I have to wait for the water to clear so I can go through the doors.

But I am only guessing... LoL

Elle

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Hi Elle

Yes, this would make sense. Although the water was clear (you are clear about how you feel about the separation and divorce and can see your emotions for what they are) it is still running/moving, so you feel you may have to wait for certain processes or feelings to end or be still, so you can look further into other parts of yourself?

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Hi Elle

As I read your dream there are symbolic aspects that may be of interest to you.
The location of the dream is the spiritual realm - and the feeling is that it can be trusted. The boulding is round - a symbol of completeness.
Being in a sacred place the water could also be 'baptismal' ,,, of an action undertaken within your own free will. The water could also represent the water of life as it is flowing, or aspects of your own unconscious that is / are 'blocking your passage' ie: things you need to process within the unconscious.
All the best
Justin

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Elle,
I have to comment simply because of the symbolic language of your dream that points to what Justin describes as spiritual realm. First, the sense of being in a church is a spiritual realm in itself. This would not necessarily be a real church {although somewhere in recent days you may allude to one} but instead your own 'inner' sanctuary. This is reinforced by the statement 'no alter,pews or anything religious'. Spirituality and religion may be related but are in many ways separate {nature has its spiritual component but it is no way religious}.

A mural is a painting on a wall, ceiling, or other large permanent surface. Murals of sorts date to prehistoric times such as the paintings on the Caves of Lascaux in southern France.

This addresses two aspects I feel important. One is the mural itself which symbolically is how your being is painted. I dare say spirituality is important to you. Second is the cave, the deep unconscious, that holds these ideas of yourself as primary in how you live your life. The scene of 'continuous soft pastels or trees, clouds and grass' often paint how the waking life really is, or how we wish it to be. This may point to your actual spirituality, perhaps based more on natural truths more so than religious ideology.

Then there is the numbers 4 and 6. In Jung's thinking the number 4 represented wholeness, completeness, balance, the completely integrated human psyche. The circular shape is also very often symbolic of wholeness. The number six can also represent completeness but with a caveat of some type of conflict in that aspect.

The room. This is an aspect, a room within the unconscious, of your psyche. The doors are openings to possibilities. Six of them may suggest there are choices to be made, some of which may cause conflicts while others abide by the principles by which you live your life. The thin flow of water {water represents emotional energies] which is blocking these doors may be the unconscious conflicts of certain decisions to be made in your life. You can not open these doors without causing conflicts. But you have to open these doors so you can realize that spiritual balance required in life.

Before you made your follow up post I could only venture a guess at what your dream was addressing. But with the added info I can see there are decisions of conscience that are prominent. Holding off on physical contact until the divorce is final is probably primarily a moral decision. But I dare say there are conflicts related to this decision {how hard is it to refrain from physical contact with your perfect man?}. Also, what is his reaction to that decision? He may agree but the masculine aspect, the Freudian sexual attitude is hard to ward off when bodies are close and emotions are at a high pitch. You can not open that door {physical contact} due to the conscious/unconscious attitudes you hold.

So the bottom line would be the dream is addressing your attitudes toward the physical contact and also the possible conflicts associated with that decision. But there may also be deeper issues at play. Although the moral aspects play into the dream message, is there deeper issues surrounding your decision to hold off on physical contact? Were there issues of physical contact in your failed marriage {I am not making judgements of failure}?

Claire and Justin properly address the possible issues within your dream, and waking life. I wanted to comment on the spiritual aspect {or moral issues} aspect since there is very strong symbolic language that associates with the spiritual realm. I have repeated much of what they had to say. Hopefully it all comes together for you and you will be able to open all the doors to finding that balance and harmony in your life {dreams are intent on helping you do just that}. If indeed you have found that perfect man then I dare say your moral compass will add to that perfect union.

Gerard

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Hi Gerard,

Thank you for detailed post. To answer your three questions....

1){how hard is it to refrain from physical contact with your perfect man?} - He currently is stationed 3000 miles away in the military.

2) Also, what is his reaction to that decision? - He of course would want me by his side now... but due to the circumstance he is respectful of the situation.

3)Were there issues of physical contact in your failed marriage {I am not making judgements of failure}? - None... The marriage failed because I did not feel emotionaly connected or a closeness one should feel towards their spouse and I chose to end it because I didn't want to live my life that way any longer.

Elle

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Thanks Elle. Your response points out an important fact about interpreting dreams.

The more you know about the dreamer's personal life the more likely of a successful interpretation.

There are many facts about your personal life, if known before the interpretation, would have provided clues to the dreams message. Since dreams have at least two interpretations {the personal aspect that addresses the current waking life and the deeper aspect that addresses the root causes of personality and behavior}, knowing more about your personal life provides more clues to the dream message. By comparing the dream symbols to your waking life you can see where they fit. Without knowing a lot about the dreamer's life a correct interpretation will usually fit the more deeper aspects of the dreamer's life.

The question about 'how hard is it to refrain from physical contact with your perfect man' would have been look at in a different way since he is stationed 3000 miles away from you. Your statement 'He of course would want me by his side now... but due to the circumstance he is respectful of the situation' leaves the impression that there was a decision not to follow him to his current military post. Is that correct?
No matter the answer the important thing to understand {at least for those of us who study dreams} is the necessity of knowing as much about the dreamer's personal life if we truly want to provide good interpretations to their dreams.

But with the information provided we do our best.

The desire for closeness {which you did not receive in your marriage} could be represented by the numbers I highlighted in my interpretation. Your deepest desire {and dreams reflect those deepest desires} is for a relationship where there is a true bonding between the two. This could be the wholeness that the number 4 represents. The circle is also a symbol for that desired wholeness. The number 6 can fit as I described it; desired wholeness but with conflicting emotions. Your response shows us what those conflicts are.

But there is still a deeper aspect to the dream that I believe important. Are you a spiritual or religious? I see something along those lines in your dream. It may be related merely a coming together with your 'perfect man' {marriage and happiness}. The church symbol could be addressing marriage.
But is there something deeper in your spiritual life that the dream may be addressing?

The question comes up. Why did you have this dream? It would be because this aspect of your life is one the most important things occurring at this time in your life. And the deep desire to be with your perfect man.
There may be, and probably are, deeper issues the dream is addressing but that would take some in depth analysis and knowing a lot more about your personal life to ascertain.

Gerard

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 56 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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Gerard... Your responses have been very interesting. I believe we understand the meaning of this dream now. Thank you If I have more that seem puzzling I will surely know where to come ask.

To answer your last question... Merely for your own studies... I am not a religous person. I find myself to be more of an agnostic individual these days.

Elle

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