Dreaming of Glass Windows

(image by Robert Peggy)

My friend told me of a dream she had recently, where her ex-boyfriend had built her a beautiful new house. But it was emtpy except for glass windows that he was very proud of installing.

In real life glass windows serve as a barrier between us and the world. In dreams they represent social barriers like caution, inhibition, pride and the fear of being hurt.

Glass that is opaque or not easy to see through could symbolize parts or yourself that you are keeping hidden from view of others.Jung believed that looking through glass windows that are transparent, allow us to see things that we cannot yet reach.

If you dream of glass breaking, it symbolizes breaking through barriers, represssion or even relationships.

Windows also serve as symbols in dreams. A closed window suggests a closed mind or situation whereas an open window implies a means of escape.

In the case of my friend's dream, I would think the symbol of glass windows suggests that the ex-boyfriend has put up some emotional barriers in their relationship which is preventing them from turning the house he has built into a home.

Dreaming of a Wedding

Photo by Peter J Bellis

Maybe it's the time of year or my time of life but I've been dreaming a lot of weddings. In my latest dream, I was in a small chapel with high ceilings. Everything was white. I was wearing a pale, pink dress. I realized, just before the ceremony was about to start, that I had forgotten to book any entertainment like musicians, but strangely I wasn't stressed out about it. I just thought matter of factly, "oh well, I can just do it myself."

Freud would say that dreaming of a wedding indicates wish fulfillment but others see weddings as symbols of relationships. That's why you can dream of marrying your mom or dad or some other totally inappropriate person. It's not something to be freaked out about, it just means you are thinking about your relationship with that person.

If you dream about a wedding, and you are about to get married in real life, pay attention to how you feel in your dream. Feelings of anxiety or panic could be unconscious feelings you have about the situation. The dream could be a warning to call off the wedding.

If the wedding doesn't seem related to real life relationships the wedding could be a symbol of unconscious romantic feelings you have towards the person you are marrying in the dream. A wedding could also be a symbol of a merger between two different ideas or aspects of yourself. Jung would say a wedding could symbolize the bringing together of masculine and feminine qualities in yourself (anima and animus).

If you are already married and dream of remarrying your spouse, the wedding could symbolize the need for a recommitment or change to your union. Dreaming that you are a best man or bridesmaid could mean you need to pay attention to feelings of jealousy or loneliness you are feeling towards the people getting married.

In traditional interpretations,dreaming of a wedding means a death in the family or a change in circumstances.

I see my wedding dream as being a symbol of a relationship with myself like Jung would suggest. My pink gown contrasting with the white chapel would suggest that maybe I am not as innocent and pure as I seem. Also, I realized that I could fill the role of the musical entertainment. This is an aspect of myself that I have been neglecting in real life.

Dreaming of an Ex

(photo by Roland Tangloa)

Every once in awhile I will have a dream about a particular ex-boyfriend. I always have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I'm happy to see him but on the other hand, its always frustrating. In these dreams we can never quite connect. For instance, we are having a great conversation and he's telling me something really important and then I wake up. Or else, in the dream, people are trying to thwart my attempts to be with him. I used to always wake up from these dreams really irritated. Why was I still dreaming about this guy?

I came to understand that my dream ex didn't really represent my real ex in these dreams. Rather an ex can be a symbol for lots of different things. He/she can symbolize a particular time period (i.e. high school) when this relationship took place. Dreaming of an ex can also represent a state of transition. You could also be still trying to work out the outcome of the relationship in your unconscious, the feelings and attachment. Your ex could symbolize your hopes for love that are maybe not being fulfilled in waking life.

Carl Jung would say if a woman dreams of a man he could symbolize her "animus" or the masculine traits of her personality she wants/needs to explore. (A man dreaming of a woman would be the opposite, his "anima".) Freud would say an ex could also represent wish-fulfillment, something that you long for because it's missing in daily life. Folk dream interpretation (as recorded by Gustavus Hindman Miller) places much value on the appearance of the man in question: "if handsome, well formed and supple, denotes that you will enjoy life vastly and come into rich possessions. If he is misshapen and sour-visaged, you will meet disappointments." If either of these words describe your ex then these outcomes probably did take place in real life!

So instead of feeling uncomfortable about these dreams, look at them as a chance to understand your feelings about life in general. And, one thing to remember, chances are he's dreaming about you too. Wonder what you represent?

Children's Bad Dreams

(image from madmikesamerica.com)


One of my daughters has a nightmare almost every night. It is not a reoccurring dream (the characters and details vary) but they always seem to have the theme of being chased or watching a family member being captured. When she relays the dreams to me I can agree that they are scary - they'd scare me! The villians are often men - old men, police men, robbers- but the other night she had a dream about a giant rooster.

Dreams about being chased ( by a giant rooster or otherwise) usually refer to feeling the need to escape a real life situation or feeling anxiety or fear about something. For children, chasing dreams are common; they are a way of coping with the stresses and unfamiliarity that they confront in life. Stressors like tension in the home or school issues can be triggers for these dreams. Interestingly, monsters in dreams can represent people in the child's life.

Bad dreams, however,are not necessarily a bad thing. Researchers in Finland have proposed that nightmares help us, and especially children, to prepare for real life situations. Interestingly, childhood's earliest dreams mirror those of our earlier ancestors when they dreamt of being chased by wild animals. Understanding this fact can help us to put nightmares into perspective and appreciate the role that they have in our waking life.

Helping my daughter cope with these dreams is an ongoing battle but I have come across some ideas that seem to help:

1) talking through her worries during the day
2) praying before bed for good dreams and protection
3) eating less sugar and chemical ridden food (this suggestion was given to me by a Chinese herbalist)
4) writing down her dreams in a journal
5) confronting what is chasing her in her dreams (Robert Moss suggests that then the "monster" will back off or change to more manageable proportions)

Robert Moss, in his helpful book, Active Dreaming, has some other suggestions for helping children through their nightmares such as drawing a picture, acting out the dream or thinking of a "dream companion" (such as a stuffy or icon like Jesus or the Incredible Hulk) that can help them out in the dream.



Let me know if you have come across any other solutions.

Naked Teacher Dreams

(Photo by Pierre Omidyar)

Yah, this post is a shameless experiment to see if a provocative title gets more readers, but it also isn't what you think. It is about naked teachers but I'm not talking about the fodder of adolescent boys' dreams. I'm talking about the dreams that teachers have (and it's a common one) where they are standing in front of a class, notice the class's strange reaction, suddenly look down and find that they have forgotten to put on clothes (usually pants). It's a classic and one that, as a teacher, I have often had before.

What does it mean? The image of being naked in a dream often means that you are fearing self exposure in real life situations. This can happen in any job situation, but the profession of teaching entails being vulnerable to the judgements of administration, students and parents on a daily basis. Suddenly finding yourself naked in a dream could also mean you feel guilty about something. You feel the need to "cover it up".

Usually these dreams happen during times of anxiety that could relate to teaching but also to any other areas of life where you are worried about failure or rejection. However, if your dream audience doesn't seems bothered by your nakedness you shouldn't fear being emotionally open in waking life. Jung saw nakedness in dreams as a desire for spiritual awakening. Apparently Freud's favourite dreams were about being naked in a crowd of people. Dude must have had a lot of self-confidence.


There are many other kinds of teacher dreams. Being naked is just one but it is classic. Ask any teacher.

Mouthful of Pins

photo by Steve A. Johnson

I just listened to a radio broadcast by one of my favourite dream gurus, Robert Moss. He talked about the importance of "naming your dream" when trying to interpret it because the name that easily comes to you can provide the focus of the dream.

The dream I named "Mouthful of Pins" was actually quite long and contained lots of different symbols and scenes but I'll focus on one part. In this scene I had been given a large, beautiful wooden sewing box. It had lots of little drawers. Some were open and overflowing with ribbons (like place awards from a track-meet) and also little flags. One I recognized was from Great Britain. There was a sign above the box that said "Happy Mother's Day" but it changed back and forth to "Happy Anniversary". I wasn't sure if it was a gift from my spouse or my mother. Suddenly, I was aware that my mouth was full of pins. I couldn't speak because every time I did they would overflow from my mouth and prick me. I was trying to spit them out or pull them out with my hands but it hurt and I couldn't get them all.

The sewing box: boxes are containers and in dreams, containers "contain" stuff like our emotions. Sewing refers to mending or
fixing something. The ribbons could refer to my achievements. Flags, as dream symbols, usually represent values or ideas from the country they are displaying. In my case, my ancestral home is Great Britain so the flag could be a symbol of my family's traditions. (I neglected to mention I was also wearing a black and red tartan shift dress - very cool, very Vivienne Westwood, which also represents Britain).

In waking life, pins can be used to either hold something together or used to hurt (poke or prick). In my dream, they definitely hurt me, almost like someone was trying to pin my mouth shut. Mouths, as an images, symbolize the way we communicate.

The changing signs for mother's day versus anniversary, and whether the box originated with my mother or spouse, perhaps shows conflicting feelings about the different roles I play as wife, mother and daughter. Where is my "Self" in all this? Maybe it is the box that contains my achievements and traditions. Did the pins in my mouth come from the box (like these are the things that are preventing me from communicating)? Or should I have taken the pins out of my mouth and put them into the little drawers? (It seems like the pins would belong in there.)

Anyways, I love that this dream contained so many symbols that are rich in meaning. So now in waking life, I am trying to be aware of what things (long held beliefs, people's expectations) are holding me back from saying what I need to.

Kim Kardashian's Mushroom:Dreaming of Celebrity Fungi

photo by dendroica cerulea

Well, it's official. Now that the Kardashian's have conquered the "real world" they are moving into our Collective Unconscious! Here is a dream I had that contained some very random images.

I was in a forest and in a clearing there was a table set up with crafts to do. My daughter was with me and so was Kim Kardashian. We were making huge (people sized) mushrooms out of black felt cloth. When the craft was finished you could throw the mushroom up in the air and it would billow out as it fell like a jellyfish parachute. Kim Kardashian turned to me and said, "I just want people to leave me alone, you know? I'm so misunderstood."

So, what does it mean? Even though the dream contains lots of images worth investigating, I am going to focus on Kim Kardashian and the mushroom.

Kim Kardashian: Carl Jung believes that we often have archetypal images in our dreams. These consist of myths and legends that have been passed down through time and now have a place in our collective unconscious. In Greek and Roman times, a pantheon of gods and goddesses provided archetypal symbols representing greed, love, pride etc. Today we worship at the cult of celebrity so it isn't surprising that celebrities might figure in our dreams as symbols. If you google Kim Kardashian you will find that she is famous, not for any obvious talents besides her beauty, but for expertly marketing herself. She could definitely be a symbol representing the preoccupation of outer appearances.

Mushroom: Looking through various dream dictionaries online, it seems there are lots of interpretations for the mushroom image. It could symbolize relationship difficulties, unhealthy desires, foolishness in amassing wealth...does any of this remind you of Kim Kardashian? Other interpretations include the mushroom as a symbol of male fertility, a symbol of the human soul, knowledge or enlightenment, or a symbol of magic. My article Dreaming of Mushrooms talks more about the mushroom symbol.

At this point, I'm not exactly sure what the mushroom symbol meant in my dream so I'm going to look at other images presented.For example, the mushroom was made out of cloth which also has to do with appearances and the way people perceive us. In my dream I liked the billowing mushroom, I thought it was cool and it gave me a good feeling so I don't feel like it was a negative image. The image of parachuting symbolizes protection. The dream took place in a forest which is a place of testing or initiation.

So the images of Kim Kardashian and the cloth represent a preoccupation with how the outer self is represented to the world. I think because of the forest setting and the way I felt about the mushroom, I'm going to say it was an image of self-knowledge. The phrase that Kim said about wanting to be left alone and feeling misunderstood seems to represent my own feelings of insecurity about how I'm perceived in the world. So thank you Kim Kardashian for dropping by my dream! Maybe next time though, you could send David Beckham?:)