House Brings Up Childhood Issues

Thu., Nov. 30, 1995

Nancy Huseby Bloom

Dear Nancy: I am married and have no children. My husband and I are having marital problems and I just started seeing a counselor. I usually don’t remember my dreams, but this one seemed very real and vivid. - Mindy

I am walking in a very lush field of grass. I see my childhood house sitting on a cliff. It is all dilapidated and falling down. I walk to the house and knock on the door. A lady answers and I ask to come in and see the house again. She lets me in and I go to my old bedroom. The room seems distorted. The walls and floor are bulging and the bright blue and yellow paint is ugly. Old mattresses are lying on the floor. I’m getting very confused by this. I pick up one of the mattresses and there are hundreds of mice underneath it. I scream and run out.

Dear Mindy: The setting in this dream is a lush field of grass. This tells us that the dream is about personal growth, healing and creativity. The fact that the dilapidated house is your childhood home suggests you will be exploring childhood issues.

Houses in dreams generally represent the self and this house hasn’t been cared for. It is crumbling. Were you not cared for as a child? It may be that your “inner child” needs care and attention at this time.

The ugly blue and yellow walls may show what “colored” your experience as a child. Were you sad or disappointed, “feeling blue?” Were you fearful or lacking courage as hinted at by the yellow color?

In your dream, you pick up a mattress and find hundreds of mice hiding under it. This shows that something hidden will be revealed. These mice may be problems that are taking your energy. By uncovering them, you can discover what they are and correct the situation.

I hope you will be addressing these childhood issues in your therapy sessions, Mindy.

Tips for readers

For the past two weeks I’ve given you some pointers on sharing dreams in a dream group. Here are some more tips:

What is happening in the dream? Step back from the dream and look at the larger picture, the dynamics. How is the dreamer responding to these dynamics and how does he or she respond in awake-life experience? Usually dreams show us how we truly do respond in our daily lives.

What are the issues, conflicts and unresolved situations in the dream?

Does the dream offer any suggestions for resolution of these conflicts? What are the positive symbols in the dream? Can the dreamer visualize a positive outcome to the situation?

Key questions adapted from “The Jungian-Senoi Dreamwork Manual” by Strephon Kaplan-Williams:

What symbols are important to me?

What are my feelings within the dream?

What relation does this dream have to my life right now?

Is there a helping or healing character in the dream?

Is there a destroying or disturbing force in the dream?

What would I rather not explore in the dream?

What choices and resolutions can I make as a result of working with this dream?

Why did I need this dream?

xxxx

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