Dream Symbols

Ben

Ben

The Living Force
FOTCM Member
I have a couple of very common dream symbols which I have been experiencing for many years, and so I think it might be time to come to some kind of understanding about them! The first is aquariums with fish in, all kinds of situations and species but essentially a single aquarium with fish in. Sometimes I am looking at them, less often I am simply aware that they are in the background. The second is similar - rows of glass tanks with various kinds of reptiles in them. In this case I am always looking at them with interest, it is perhaps relevant that I really enjoy doing this in real life in zoos at pet shops and I have kept reptiles myself. The reptile theme is unlikely to symbolise the obvious choice, lizzies, because I have had these dreams longer than I have been aware of hyperdimensional theories. I am not well practiced at dream interpreation and I was just wondering if anyone might have some knowledge of recurring dream themes - am I missing some kind of big message here?
 
I think your interest has allowed your subconscious to use the zoological perception as a symbol because it draws your attention to its messages.

I may be wrong, but my impression upon reading your post was that the menagerie theme in your dreams seems to symbolize your perceptions of the Matrix (although the movie may have nothing to do with that perception, in that it was purely intuitive).

It's interesting that this perception is limited to "lower" vertebrates such as fish and reptiles, possibly indicating that you may be intuiting that it is our more primitive aspects that are most caged. Just a general observation, though.
 
Possibly, but as I said these dream symbols preceeded my perception of the world as a matrix of hyperdimensional control. I should point out a) how much I enjoy looking at the animals in my dreams, b) how uniform and regular the symbol is. The vivariums, for example, are always in a row lined up against the wall and I look inside them in order, like in real life. I was of the impression that my subconcious would continue to present a message to me until I understood and engaged with it, but I realise how other factors may be involved.

While writing this I have remembered a few other dreams, such as being in the cages with crocodiles and not enjoying a minute of it. Some higher vertebrates have appeared too, it may be significant that there was one involving a huge whale which was trying to escape from a tank and I was really distressed to see it. One final dream I remember from recently involved a shark in a huge tank, my mum had to go into a kind of 'airlock' to put food down for it, but she misunderstood the release mechanism and couldn't get out in time before it killed her.

I really don't know if I am going to be able to come to any kind of conclusion about these dream symbols....
 
Well, the movie The Matrix, and hyperdimensional views of reality clicked with people because they probably had a prior intuition about those zones that they could not put into words. I heard many people admit the same. So there is nothing strange about the intuitive perception preceding actually encountering the concepts.

Also, fish seem to be the lowest forms of life in these menageries, and the dreams seem to be more harmonized with them, as well as the smaller reptiles. 2D reality can be a kind of Matrix in itself, where animals function adapted to it to the point that it seems to be one with the natural way.

Whales are considered evolved and quite sentient creatures so they would certainly resist the Matrix more, and the crocodile could have been a representation of a hostile force while at the same time perceiving you yourself were in the matrix. Sharks are also hostile forces (usually of a psychic variety).

So you may be observing the structure of the natural world in terms of the 2D matrix (which can be viewed as the natural world's inherent harmony), and which is different than that of 3D, and also may be combining this perception with psychic forces acting within the 3D matrix. The symbolism might not have a singular meaning in every case, but present a general template adaptive to various dream scenarios.

To me the menagerie template seems to be a generalized dream context, a kind of standardized way of viewing dream situations that you seem to identify as funamental to reality, OSIT, yet one that also adapts to particular situations and varies accordingly.
 
Interesting, thanks EsoQuest. I am inclined to agree with you that sometimes they are symbols of hostile forces because of the emotional feel of the dream, but usually there are a sort of representation of reality, or at least as I perceive it. I will keep thinking about these dreams.
 
Ben said:
...but usually there are a sort of representation of reality, or at least as I perceive it.
Click to expand...
Well, this might be the key to understanding the recurring theme. You can ask yourself before sleeping or focus during the day on the question of what sort of representation of reality is being percieved. Although the zone still seems elusive, it can also provide insight as to what your specific angle of perception to reality is, which can lead to a more coherent relationship with reality through the power of the symbol OSIT.
 
Hi Ben.
Just a thought: Had you ever tryed to catalogue the fishes displayed on the acuarium?
I thought this, being so constant, could bear some meaning to you, like how many of this and that fish were there on this date. The next time: The relation numbers/species is the same? Or is there some particular specie appearing and/or disapearing more often than others? The elements of the acuarium, do they reappear? Etc.
Just a thought.
 
Yes, a good point. Sometimes they are huge shoals of small fish and sometimes there are just a few large tropical fish. I will consider this the next time I have on of these dreams.
 
Goal being to attempt to discover a ANY conection between some feature of the acuarium (say, a colorful fish or whatever), with some ANY event in your exterior, regular life.
Meybe this will require you to start to map the acuarium, while being closely attent on your life happenings.
I hope you find a conection which fortunatelly would start a cascade of realizations... and who knows, maybe even predictions, given a thorough mapping of your acuarium :).
 
Hi Ben. In addition to the above suggestions and interpretations, here is a couple of sites that might have some helpful insights for you in regards to your fish, whale, and reptile dreams:

http://www.greatdreams.com/fishdrms.htm
http://www.mythsdreamssymbols.com/dsfish.html

Try Googling for more, or maybe try a few dream dictionaries and see which ones have insights that may seem intuitively relevant to the events in your life.
 
Yes, I've tried this with many dreams but I often find the interpretations too simplistic, dream 'dictionaries' in particular. I think that they may be right about the fish representing some kind of feminine, creative, intuitive aspect. The dreams may represent that this aspect of me is 'caged' in some way, I can't be sure.
 
I agree that dream dictionaries and others' interpretations of your dreams are primarily for entertainment.

How your mind creates dreamwork to manipulate the most shocking and sleep-threatening unconscious items into tiny symbols while creating some sustainable semblance of coherence (a "plot") is unique to you. The symbols are yours and generally yours alone; there is little that is universal in dream symbolism although mass exposure to repeat impressions of the same things day in day out in a culture can make certain symbolic meanings more widespread.

This is not a huge lead... but I wonder how old you were when you first visited an aquarium or reptile-housing enclosure, and whether it captivated your interest at the time more than you remember, along with a little suppression for some reason?

To me, a feminine creative fish would be in the sea, free to swim about... so is there a reason you want to capture this creature and nurture it (so it's you the observer looking in with interest, rather than a part of you trying be let out)?
 
Well, I should mention that I do often dream about fish in their natural habitats too. To answer your question, I was very young when I first visited these places and I have visited many throughout my life (I am 20 now). All animals have always captivated my interest from an early age.

As to the other question I have absolutely no idea, to be honest :/
 
Ben said:
Well, I should mention that I do often dream about fish in their natural habitats too. To answer your question, I was very young when I first visited these places and I have visited many throughout my life (I am 20 now). All animals have always captivated my interest from an early age.

As to the other question I have absolutely no idea, to be honest :/
Click to expand...

Back when I was really into dream interpretations, I came across the books of Mary Summer Rain. She was big in the 80's and has since faded from popular thinking.
(Not a bad thing, really) I have most of her books, and one in particular is a dream dictionery.

You may find some ideas and clues on the contents of your dreams from her material. Its one of the 'gold nuggets' she has. I'm not in agreement with much of her work regarding 'angels' et cet, but I did find after years of using this dream book that the concepts she had were sound. It won't hurt to check it out if the local library has it.


Gimpy
 
Hi Gimpy, could you explain to me your statement that the concepts she has are sound? I remain very skeptical about dream dictionaries and that entire approach to dream interpretation.

Interesting that this thread has been revived, although these kinds of dreams have become less frequent for me now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom