Dream Out To Get Your Attention

Dear Nancy: I have had this strange recurring dream for several years. I recently discovered that my brother, my mother and my aunt all share the same recurring dream. I would appreciate your insight. - Barbara

When these dreams begin, I am in any normal situation. I realize there is a substance in my mouth that is keeping me from being able to talk. I try to pull it out of my mouth. It is a gum-like substance and it seems to be endless. I keep pulling, but I can never remove it all. I become increasingly frustrated, but I don’t panic.

Dear Barbara: I can understand your frustration in this dream. The mouth is a symbol of self-expression and you are trying to rid it of a huge wad of gum.

Gum is a sticky substance we chew on. Are you mentally “chewing” on an issue that you feel unable to speak about? This could pertain to a “sticky situation.” The fact that other members of your family are having the same dream suggests a family pattern of holding in what should be expressed.

Oversized symbols usually show up in dreams to get the dreamer’s attention and shows a strong mental or emotional investment in that symbol. The size of the gum is your psyche’s way of saying, “Notice this!” Are you allowing yourself to express what you feel? Is there a family secret that needs to be talked about?

The need to open up and be heard is the message of this dream. When you begin to talk about what you feel, Barbara, this dream will probably stop recurring.

Dear Nancy: I have had many wounded animals in my dreams, but this one was different. I’d appreciate your comments. - Paula

I am walking with two women and we are discussing my sister’s upcoming wedding. I see a small animal similar to a prairie dog or gopher running along the edge of the road. We stop to look at it and the other women point to the animal’s head. I see a hole in its head and a shiny black creature is poking out of the hole.

The women both remark that they want one of these shiny black creatures. I agree that it is cute. There is something soft and babyish about it. I realize that it is only alive because of the “host” gopher. I know the host will die because of the smaller creature. I contemplate having a shiny black creature but make no decision.

Dear Paula: Your dream begins with a conversation about an upcoming wedding. Weddings are universal symbols of unity, wholeness and the coming together of the masculine and feminine parts of the psyche.

Prairie dogs and gophers are underground animals. They represent the ability to dig deep into life and the underworld of the unconscious. This one is above ground, suggesting that what was hidden or unconscious is now revealed.

There is death and rebirth here. The gopher is a “host” or womb for the new life inside. What in you must die? What is being born?

This is a natural progression of life; the old dying to make way for the new. The shiny black creature is still unknown. It is not fully developed and is still in the “womb.”

In your dream, this creature is “cute” and desirable. Try to be aware of what is growing in your life, Paula. This dream is revealing the process you are now engaged in: death of the old way of being, birth of the new, and the ultimate uniting of the masculine and feminine within.

xxxx