Language of the Dream

candleimages (1)

The language of the dream is foreign and hard to decipher. This is not surprising – learning any lesser known language takes time, frustration and much patience. 

But surprisingly, the dream is tailor made for you. It’s a candle in the dark as it lights the way through the labyrinth. One’s inner eye adjusts to the shadows cast, all the while as the unknown other in the dream becomes more familiar. That unknown other is you, the dreamer.

The language of the dream is the language of the arts i.e. metaphor, myth, symbols, images, allegory – all seems vague and strange to us in the beginning. Its language is often indirect but not always; at times it is obvious what it is portraying.

Landscapes are often part of the scene. Some may present as desert-like, dry, life-less with no horizon in sight. Others – green and peaceful.  Mountains climbed, rivers crossed, valleys descended. Some landscapes show bridges to be crossed, or a fork in the road, driving a car in the dark, no lights, or being a passenger. A colour may stand out. Or all is dark and dank, sometimes bright and light. Invariably they reflect the inner life of the dreamer and it is up to us to figure it out.

Because the dream may seem irrational, it is necessary to approach our dream in the light of day in a non-linear way. Lost in this landscape? Why lack of direction? What longing is being expressed? What loss? Why lavatory dreams? What are we needing to expel? What lie have we been telling ourselves? What love is being expressed?

We have limited awareness of ourselves, the ‘me’ the ‘I’, the ‘thou’. If we listen, we hear more of who we are.

Talmud: An unexamined dream is like an unopened letter.

The lotus emerges from the mud and awakens in its longing for the light.

lotusimagesThe dream is a candle light, leading you out of the labyrinth –

Thanks to google images for graphics.

42 Comments on Language of the Dream

  1. Thanks again. I remember feeling lost in symbolic language. Many years later, I live in a symbolic world and rely on the language. Still, my dreams usually feel mysterious at first glance and I’m grateful to work on them with a therapist and friends who know the language of dreams. When a synchronicity occurs I pay attention. Two weeks ago, I was painting an apricot-gold full moon that had appeared in a dream a few nights before when a friend pointed out a huge apricot moon on the horizon in the window behind me. Lunar consciousness is calling and insists on my attention.

    • That is so lovely Elaine! Those synchronistic moments are truly wondrous. I am so grateful when the inside and outside cohere. The connection is a real one. How lovely to feel the pull of the moon, our gracious and mysterious Feminine.

  2. Hi Susan. Your posts are always so thought-provoking, almost as if I’m in a dream 🙂 “Landscapes are often part of the scene” ….yes, often the case with me. Walking through an unfamiliar/familiar village; the interior of a house (often the same, and I still do not recognize). All so perplexing, but not frightening, as they once were.
    Inventions by Women A-Z
    Shells–Tales–Sails

    • Thank you Sharon. Glad you found the landscape post spoke to you! I too am sometimes in unfamiliar places and I wonder what I’m doing there. Those dreams continue to speak to me metaphorically.

  4. Hi Susan – I can see the language would be so pertinent .. I’ve come to realise there are layers of life and this must be apparent within our inner self, our dreams, our instinctiveness … it’s fascinating to read some I get, some I need to dwell upon … Language I get … but now obviously the know bit that applies to me and my dreams and life … cheers Hilary

    • Hi Hilary, I promise you I am battling muchly from a dream this morning. The scenes are clear, the actions are clear. I know the people, well, the one I don’t know but know of him. I am puzzled but I trust that it will become clearer. Its ‘language’ is strange indeed, a metaphor I need to get to grips with.
      Thank you for coming by, Susan

  5. I have lavatory dreams quite frequently… I think I’ll have to try and figure them out if I want to move on from them. Your posts are giving me a good starting point, Susan. Thank you!

  6. The candle in the dark, the “other” possibly in the shadows, the shadows as the other. Non-linear: I like to do that with my sentences when I write — turn them around: Language. Enlightening.

    Thank you, Susan. Beautiful imagery.

  8. Ah Susan, you continue to outdo yourself and dazzle me. You are an amazing writer and writing of a subject so interesting to me. Love it!!!

    • Marsha, thank you. Something strikes a chord about dreams and reading about dreams within you and it is this that appeals to you! I’m very happy that I fulfil that function albeit in brief fashion!

  11. Jean Raffa, I am another one of Sue Scott’s readers, self-directing my attention to you.

    I browsed your blogs about Inner Wisdom, going from April 14th, 2015 and backwards. It is not surprising you were a recipient of the 2013 Wilbur Award, that is given for excellence in communicating —etc.

    I am humbled by the amount of works of excellence by you – – -in a note to myself, I addressed my feelings of insufficiency by a plan of action – – – I might write x number of publications per year that are inside my range of ability – – – also, self-affirmation from Buddhist sources that I am “Perfect enough.”

    • Hello, Joseph. I’m happy to “meet” you here in cyber-space! Thank you very much for your kind words about my blog posts. They reflect over 25 years of inner work, studying and writing.

      I like your plan of action! I began my blog with a similar approach. My initial plan was to write two posts a week of around 500-600 words apiece until I reached 365, enough for one each day for a year. After that, I wasn’t sure, but thought I might want to make a book out of it. Still thinking about that. Anyway, after four years of this I needed a break so I cut back to one post a week! I’m still enjoying it enormously so my only plan now is to keep writing until I tire of it! Which may never happen….. I’ve never had to force myself to write, so I expect the only thing that can stop me is losing my mental or physical ability to do the thing I love most.

      Best wishes to you with your writing.
      Jeanie

  12. I love the synchronicity of us using the same quote from the Talmud in our blogs today! I used it in a comment to Rabbi Fuchs about today’s post, not having read it here yet! I’m loving your wonderful posts, with their vivid imagery. And thanks for directing one of your readers to my site!

    • That is/was extraordinary Jean. It is such a gift when this kind of synchronicity happens. Thank you for your comment, I much appreciate this.
      I hope more readers come to your site; I’ve given the link a few times – I note on this post too!

    • It takes time J.H. and a willingness to learn. Believe me, I’m still learning after decades of attending to my dreams. That’s the thrill. Hard to begin with though..

  14. I so love these posts of yours. Looking at the meaning of dreams is so awakening to me… as I understand what my unconscious tells me. It is amazing what we percolate through our systems. Thanks for your enjoyable and informative post.

  16. I don’t like labryrinths in me dream. So frustrating as I never find my way out. I wake up feeling awful.

    Stephen Tremp
    A to Z Cohost
    Twitter: @StephenTremp

    • That’s a hard one Stephen. I saw an amusing FB cartoon of a mouse walking on top of the walls of the labyrinth. But that’s a mouse. Could you draw/sketch your labyrinth? Thank you for coming by. And reminding us that we can feel awful sometimes.

  17. Susan, I have often wondered what dreaming about a lavatory means in a dream. I’ve had one recently, about three or four months ago. I don’t want to go into detail, but the dream puzzled me and I am still waiting for an understanding of it. I wrote it down as usual but up until now I am walking in the dark concerning it.

    Your questions following the lavatory dream has me thinking deeply. What am I trying to expel? Am I lying to myself about something. I will now take these questions in and lay them in my subconscious my letting them roam in me and maybe they will meet my dream and a door will open.
    Thank you. Another beautiful article. I am so enjoying your series. Keep it coming, Lady.
    Shalom,
    Patricia

    • Thanks for coming by Patricia. Let it lie in the unconscious. The gold is often found in the ‘dirt’ like the lotus. Let it unfold. The ‘lie’ I mentioned in my post is not linked to the sentences before. Be assured on that.
      Shalom to you, Susan

  18. “An unexamined dream is like an unopened letter.” Wo@! Susan, that is a fascinating concept, and I will work with it. But its Talmudic source is not familiar to me. So far I have not been able to find a citation for it, but I will keep looking. Thanks!

    • Thanks for coming by Stephen. I had a quick look myself on google to give you the exact source. Freud is supposed to have quoted it; another source says it’s from Proverbs. Another says The Torah. Another Moses Maimonides. Another: The Talmud. And there are other references.

  20. A beautiful introduction today headed by the symbol of the candle.

    Yes, Susan, EACH DREAM is given to us in a language that we first don’t completely understand. We have to uncover, or discover, what the meaning is. ALETHEIA is the Greek name for the process of enlightenment. The “lethe” part of the word refers to darkness. Linguistically speaking, ignorance could be lethal.

    • Thank you Joseph. And for saying about Aletheia. Lethe (Classical Mythology) is also a river in Hades whose waters caused forgetfulness of the past in those who drank of it, so part of the process is also recovering ..

  21. Thank you for sharing your precious dream Sharon. Lovely to share this with your husband. Hopefully you wrote the dream down and it will be one you can ponder over and over again. Here is Jean Raffa’s link that may be helpful ..

    http://www.jeanraffa.wordpress.com.

    If you go onto it, you will see links on the right hand side. Go to her January posts and you will see “Six-Step Method for Working with the Dream’. This post has added significantly to my approach to my dreams. I highly recommend it.

  22. Last night I dreamt of my 7 year old son who is no more; I was happy holding his hand, I have dressed him like a girl with two pony tails – he was looking cute and chubby, I carried him around and my relatives and friends were all taking turns hugging,kissing him and holding him close, I was happy to see my sons face glow and shine… got up happy everything seemed so real…. i shared this dream with my husband… am still thinking about it…. thanks for sharing your post…. am hoping that it will lead me to understand myself better.. cope with what I am struggling (may be losssof my child) bringing some healing into my life..

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