Different Dreams, Same Face

[MicroBioNerd]

I'm hoping someone can help me shed some light on this situation. I was driving home from a friend's house the other day and, as I was driving, I had a sudden vision of a man (thank God I had just come to a red light). I only saw him from the shoulders up but he was fairly fit from what I could tell with light, dirty blonde hair that was cut fairly short (think Matt Damon in Dogma or Ryan Gosling in The Notebook). I didn't see it from my perspective but as if I was standing right up next to a person with their shoulder at my chest and my face maybe 10 inches from theirs. Anyway, I saw him leaning his forehead against the other persons (womans?). His eyes closed, mouth in a slight smile, and otherwise looking peaceful and happy and loving. Then he tilted his head and kissed the bridge of the persons (womans?) nose. When this happened I felt as if there were a pair of lips kissing my nose in real life. The vision ended just before the light turned green and, as I contemplated what I had seen, it hit me that I'd seen the man before in a dream I'd had almost 2 years ago. In that dream, I was sitting in an old fashioned bathtub (which for some reason was in a hollowed out station wagon) with the same man. I was a nurse figure and was bathing him. I wore a one piece bathing suit in the tub and he was naked. We talked as I washed him. At one point I moved forward closer to him in the tub so that he could lean forward on my shoulder and I could wash his back. When he did I could feel the cool clammy-ness of his wet skin but warm body heat under it (I'm sure you understand what I mean here). I felt his hair and his skin touch me as if I was really right there in the flesh. The whole atmosphere was very calm, personal, and comforting not to mention intimate. There was no rushing or cares. It felt as if we had all the time in the world to do nothing more than what was happening right then. I can, honestly, say that I have no memory or knowledge of ever meeting or seeing this man, or even his likeness, while conscious. I'm not really sure what to make of all this and am hoping that someone here may be able to help shed some light on it.

[IAmCoder]

This man?

[MicroBioNerd]

No. No offense but he's kinda creepy looking.

[IAmCoder]

Then perhaps this guy: "Jung believed that every woman has an analogous animus within her psyche, this being a set of unconscious masculine attributes and potentials"?

[MicroBioNerd]

There was no "guy" attached to that link. Just a link to the wiki page you got your quote from. If you're wondering if the guy I'm describing fits any of the four described in the wiki page, I'd say maybe. It's possible, I suppose, although I've only seen him twice.

[IAmCoder]

I personally believe that the meaning behind dreams is tied to the emotions in them. And you did a pretty good job of describing the calm feelings you experienced. So you might shed some light on the dream if you ask yourself when you felt that exact same feeling in your waking life...

[TwoCrystalCups]

best thing to do is write down your dream journal, and place it in the DJ here, so once you have all the dreams combined you will be able to figure out who it is. Often messages in dreams carry on until next dream.

[MicroBioNerd]

I've never felt like that in my waking life. I've never felt so calm and comfortable around anyone as I did in the bath dream or as cherished as in the vision.

[MicroBioNerd]

best thing to do is write down your dream journal, and place it in the DJ here, so once you have all the dreams combined you will be able to figure out who it is. Often messages in dreams carry on until next dream. I do keep a dream journal at home, actually, I use it to try and sort out the regular dreams from what I call Future Dreams. Which is what I call the dreams that I have about people and events that haven't happened yet. The difference is usually clear because of how I can feel physical things in the future dreams but the bathtub dream and this recent vision don't quite fit either category.

[IAmCoder]

I've never felt like that in my waking life. I've never felt so calm and comfortable around anyone as I did in the bath dream or as cherished as in the vision. Sorry to hear that and so much for my theory! Perhaps around your Self? But I like your theory about Future Dreams - that is definitely something to look out for.

[ElizVanZee]

A vision can be interpreted just as one would any dream. As it is a vision of a man, he represents an aspect of your mind and can reflect how your mind is thinking. Because you see the man only from the shoulders up, it can imply having an image of your mind as standing head and shoulders above the crowd’s, i.e. better than the average mind. This seems confirmed by the fact that their shoulder is at your chest level so that you would have to “look up to” their face. While the mind (the man) seems quite fit, and the thinking appears enlightened/intelligent (lblond hair), there could be some incorrectness in this perception. (dirty blond hair). You appear to be sizing up or evaluating your mind in relation to your own body (standing right up next to the person), i.e. sizing up the mind from a very emotional perspective. While your mind appears to be functioning very peacefully and lovingly towards what you could assume is an aspect of your emotional self (a woman), you could question whether it is love for your emotional self or rather for the mind itself. (woman’s? - is he kissing a woman or another man?) Kissing the bridge of the person’s nose implies that your mind and its way of thinking is demonstrating affection for your sense of knowing. (nose=knows) Here the knowing would imply knowledge acquired and filtered through your body, emotional nature and instincts. [This is somewhat like trying to see truth through tinted glass.] The sensation of the kiss being felt on your own nose provides more physical reality to the idea of your mind showing affection for emotional and instinctive knowledge. [a romantic kiss is lips to lips.] Older dream: A bathtub represents our personal contact with the Holy Spirit of God. (a water filled enclosure meant for one person) The bathtub can thus refer to dreams. The old fashioned bathtub could imply that where dreams are concerned, you may not be moving with the times, living in the past. [This might suggest that you are not seeing dreams for their psychological and spiritual value or perhaps are still using symbols given ridiculous emotional meanings or seen as omens etc. The dreams were originally seen as a vehicle through which God spoke to man.] The bathtub can also simply refer to the idea of tub bathing – which should be noted is not the most modern way of bathing The station wagon represents a particular rationale, philosophy or way of thinking, one that can associated with one’s station or status in life, or with family issues. Being hollowed out implies a rationale that carries very little weight or influence. The hollowed out car can also suggest that a way of reasoning has been made to appear as if sacred (as hallowed) and it is in this context that the bathtub or the issue dreams has been placed. [Have you by some chance made tub bathing into a sacred ritual for you.?] The man represents your mind and since he is in the bathtub, he can reflect an idea you have pertaining literally to tub bathing or to dreams. Because you see yourself as a nurse figure, the implication here would be that there is something not perfectly healthy with the mind and its way of thinking; the thinking is not sound – it leaves something to be desired. But, you do find there is something to be said for tub bathing {its relaxing, soothing etc.?}and it says something to you, i.e. it addresses your needs or concerns. (we talked as I washed him) Because you are wearing a bathing suit, it implies that you are prepared to go swimming, i.e. to make some progress through using your consciousness for thinking. The True Self has not addressed her feelings to reflect any desire for bathing in a bathtub but the mind has (the man is naked as for tub bathing). As a nurse figure, you may figure/reason that you are doing something beneficial in regards to looking after the mind when you are in a bathtub. Using your way of thinking pertaining to tub bathing, the bathing experience has become a very sensual, calming experience in which the pressures of time plays no part. Note especially that by washing the man’s back - which can associate with the expression ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”- you might see yourself doing your mind a favour but the favour does not appear to be returned. While the tub bathing situation and the dreams are being used to clean and correct the mind and its way of thinking, your emotional nature/emotions are a bit too involved. [Would a nurse usually get into a tub like this?] This is the same kind of issue as in the recent dream. The symbolism in tub bathing is not helping you.

[MicroBioNerd]

Thank you ElizVanZee, I feel like your insight into the vision I had could be very accurate. I've recently graduated from a prestigious college and am preparing to go back to school for my Masters degree. Since graduating and coming back home before school, I've come to realize how the education I received was very different in relation to what most of the people in my home town received. I come from an area where community college is the only option for a higher education available to most students. I'm in no way saying that a community college education is insufficient or bad in any way. Just pointing out the difference in the level of higher education that I received, and will continue receiving, as compared with most of the people from my home town. This advantage over my peers has been a bit like a double edged sword. On one side I feel more proud of everything I've accomplished and the future I have waiting in front of me but on the other side I've had to make sure I keep my ego in check because I know that I'm a big fish in a small pond and that there are many people better and smarter than I am and that I'll likely meet many of them during my graduate studies. That knowledge, in a way, makes me doubt myself. Am I truly good enough to go toe-to-toe with those other students? Am I good enough to get a job over them? Probably where the dirty-blond hair comes in. I'm the first person in my entire family history to not only graduate from college, but to go at all and my acceptance into a graduate program is an even bigger step. I've been, essentially, fumbling my way through everything and going on instinct and a lot of help from friends because I've had no idea how to navigate all these experiences and my family doesn't have the experience to help point me in the right direction most of the time. The second dream, I'm not too sure about. Your explanation about the bathtub and the station wagon do make sense in context to when I had the dream. I had it when I was hitting, what you could call, a religious wall. It was nearly halfway through my freshman year of college and I hadn't made a single friend. It didn't help that the few people I could at least call acquaintances had been turned to hate me by a (not nice word) of a girl. I was a Catholic, I went to church almost every Sunday before college and I prayed every night and tried to be good. The more I tried to be a good Catholic and the more I prayed and the more I went to church, the more miserable my life became. Nearly 5 years later, I'm not "Catholic" anymore. Truthfully I'm not really anything. I have faith in God but I'm more spiritual with a Pagan twist and I'm happier than ever but my experiences then could explain that part of the dream. After taking some time to meditate and reflect on the part of the dream where I was in the bathtub with the man, I feel that it could mean something different that what you described. Sparing you the graphic details of my past, suffice it to say that my emotions are on a very tight, and short, leash. Not an easy task for someone born under the astro sign of Cancer. Anyway, I think that the bath might be my mind trying to impress upon me my unconscious need and desire for emotional connection, which dream me indulges in. However, the bathing suit could be my mind still trying to keep things on a leash by not allowing us both to be naked and the moment to become too intimate. I'd love to hear your feedback on this and thank you again for providing your insight.

[TwoCrystalCups]

How can a man represent your mind? It don't make sense to me. You mean subconscious?

[ElizVanZee]

MicrobioNerd, thank you for the feedback and congratulations for making family history with your scholastic achievements. This does bring up both pride and concern about keeping one’s ego in check. What you have told me reveals what the real problem here might be. You seem concerned that you are “fumbling your way through everything and going on instinct” – as if the mind should give you all the answers. The 1st dream shows that your mind has acquired some status and respect (you look up to the man) and bends over to kiss the bridge of the woman’s(or your) nose. This could be regarded as a slightly condescending move, implying that your mind could be showing affection for your instinctive knowing in a rather condescending manner. This means you’d be left to feel that “going on instinct” is not the way to go at all when in fact, where new situations are encountered and choices have to be made instincts should not be ruled out. You may need to be careful not to let your head take over completely especially, since as a female, your emotional nature and instincts have a right to be heard. A proper balance needs to be maintained. The dirty blond hair does definitely seem to apply to the negative thinking the mind comes up with and might also apply to a spiritual situation. As for the 2nd dream, I can see now that it is more spiritually oriented than I had originally assumed. Your statement to the effect that, “the bathing suit could be my mind still trying to keep things on a leash by not allowing us both to be naked and the moment to become too intimate” is interesting but has one slight flaw. It is not the mind (represented by the man) who is not ready for becoming intimate. The man is naked and ready for an intimate moment. It is you in the bathing suit, i.e. it is the True Self who reflects God’s thinking who is not ready for such a moment. What I did not mention is that the bathing suit implies having a function that is spiritual in nature (as it is worn in a pool of water). A spiritual situation is Holy Matrimony and a spiritual function is wifely sex. The leash as you call it, is coming from your own inner and more instinctual nature which will speak for the True Self and God – unless you have allowed the mind to overrule your own instincts. In answer to Hathor’s questions: “How can a man represent your mind? It don’t make sense to me. You mean subconscious?” To put it simply, people often say use your head/mind, implying, think rationally and logically. Men are known to think more logically while women tend to be more emotional. {Of course there are exceptions – but in general this hold true.} Thus men have been chosen to represent the mind and logical thinking and women the emotions. It is a psychological tool to help us view the functioning of the two aspects of any human – the mind and the emotions – as they appear through dreams. I very definitely do not mean subconscious. Any human image (male or female) is a rational image (designed in the image of a rational God) which implies it is one belonging to the conscious mind. Only an animal image can be considered a subconscious image, but never a human. People throw about the term subconscious much too freely, applying it where it does not apply at all.

[TwoCrystalCups]

I'm sorry but i have both worlds, i think logically and is also emotional. I don't think what you are meaning by is actually accurate. I actually need more evidence on how a man represents my logical mind? When i am a female with both worlds in dreams and waking life. It is kind of confusing.