DREAMCATCHER : Alex Hossack and Catherine Aubrey interpret your dreams

Today’s Dream from Charlie:

I’m in the woods with friends from the army. They all started turning on each other, shooting each other, which surprised me.

I saw a big truck coming toward me and I had to fight. Me and my friends started running toward a building which turned out to be a church. We ran into the church and everybody ran upstairs. I thought they were stupid because they were going to get trapped, so I ran downstairs on winding stairs.

I realised that I had bags with me that I had to look after. I then had to jump across some platforms across gaps in the floor to get to the other side and get out.

I saw a priest who I thought was going to attack and kill me. When I stopped I realised that the priest was actually trying to help me. I woke up.

Dream Analysis and Basis for Interpretation:

The dreamer starts in the woods with friends from the army. This setting may represent being shielded or protected, however something unexpected has occurred and he now feels disorientated and threatened. This is symbolised by his friends shooting each other.

The dreamer is facing something significant in his life and is ready to face the challenge. However while facing it he is seeking protection and a place of safety. This is likely to be a psychological place.

There is some urgency about this need and he sometimes feels supported and protected in reaching his goal. This is represented by the appearance of a church towards which he runs with friends.

He has recently realised that he also has past psychological baggage. He knows that he has responsibilities to attend to this psychological residue but as he mentions the ‘bags’ once in the dream, it suggests that this is not a current priority.

He continues to experience difficulty in his bid to escape his current fears and anticipates that circumstances are worse than they really are. This is symbolised by the platforms he has to jump over and the priest who he fears is going to harm him but who turns out to be supportive and helpful.

He realises that things are not as bad as he fears when he ‘stops’ to consider what he is really facing.

The dreamer is trying to escape from a fear which has caused confusion and anxiety. He quickly moves between different psychological states throughout the dream from feeling protected, strong and in control to feeling threatened and fearful.

He is trying to face his fears but also finds himself trying to escape from them. When he stops to think, he is able to make better sense of his circumstances. The dream may be a message for him to stop allowing himself to become overwhelmed by his fears and take control by making more reasonable assessments of his situation.

If the dreamer would like to provide feedback about the interpretation, please send it to ACDreamcatchers@mail.com.

Interestingly, we have found it is not always possible to interpret your own dream, probably because it often represents the sublimation of feelings or thoughts that we are trying to avoid in our waking lives. However, with a little assistance from the dream interpreter, the symbols and themes can start to make sense and help us to move forward.

If you are interested in having a particular dream analysed, please send us an account of your dream to the following email address: ACDreamcatchers@mail.com We only have space to interpret one dream a week which will be selected from those received. Please refer to the guidance provided to describe your dream as this will enable us to provide a full interpretation.

Guidance for the Dreamer:

• Record your dream in writing as soon as you wake up with as much detail as possible.

• First of all ask yourself who is in the dream.

• Where are you, what is happening to you and what is happening around you?

• Record how you are feeling about what you and/or others are doing.

• Are there particular symbols or objects in the dream that are unusual?

• Are there any sounds and is the dream in colour or black and white?

• Are you watching yourself in the dream or are you experiencing it first-hand ie: through your own eyes.

Alex Hossack and Catherine Aubrey are Public Service professionals with years of experience as practitioners and managers in the Criminal Justice System.