Thread: I woke up crying. I'm looking for opinions.

Hey, I read your post and felt a similarity between this and a part of a dream I had. I have a degree in psychology which means jack shit when it comes to dreams but I like to think I have some understanding into the psyche. The fact to you experienced such a profound loss towards a stranger with aspects of similarity to something you know might suggest that you are feeling a relationship with someone you know is not working so well, either it's bad for you or them. The fact that your mother called you peanut might mean that the manifestation of this stranger who you seemed to have a strong attachment to represents a feeling of dread towards the loss of those you love. It's natural to have subconscious unrest about the eventuality that comes for us all. The mind doesn't like dealing with such facts. It's something the subconscious has to process. The fact that you had your father is in your dream too might support the family theme and some unresolved issues or insecurities.
I think death can mean many different things in a dream, I know that I personally have many different places and people I recognize turn up, or often I have people I know from one place occurring in a place they weren't from and the dream manufactures a scenario that mergers people and places to fit what ever my subconscious is trying to resolve.
You had a very emotional attachment to this character and felt a sadness even when you awoke. This isn't unusual; If it's a recurring thing maybe talk to someone more professional about it. But I wouldn't worry about it, I think your dream wrenched up something very personal and close to home and associated it with a quite traumatic event, which could be an indicator of many different things in your life but I think the way the mind works is very complex and not fully understood. You can take many different meanings away from that dream and I think the important thing is you can analyse and reflect on aspects of it that you can deal with the your life in a positive way. If you have issues with family that you can work towards making a beneficial change to. It might impact your dreams and relieve some of the intense processing by your subconscious. I doubt it's as simple as that though, the mind works in an interesting way, perhaps you could dig deeper introspectively and identify some correlation between your dream processes and your life and make any necessary changes, that could resolve your subconscious workings on this matter.
Like I said I'm no expert but I've had my fair share of strange/traumatic and vivid dreams that have unsettled me, I'd like to know what you think about your dream.

The one we once were still lives within us; the experiences, feeling, thoughts, wishes, disappointments, our wounds and happiness for different times lives on within us, although usually and mostly not in our consciousness (for practical reasons), but stored away, so to speak. Such clusters of emotions, ideas, experiences are personified in dreams, often as persons (but sometimes as animals and monsters etc.).

So, the boy in the dream may very well symbolize you as a child, one could use the cliché “your inner child”. That would explain the emotional relationship you have with this boy, since it is actually you (as a child); but it would also explain the “peanut” part: Your mother called you Peanut and when telling this dream you call the boy “Peanut boy” – so adult Peanut and child Peanut are the same.

So what’s happening in this dream is that “you” are killing your inner child, and of course that is very traumatic. There is no context for me so I have no idea why you would dream that, it is problably a reflection of something that is happening in your life right now.

Also note that this is a snapshot of what’s going on right now, obviously it does not mean that your “inner child” is simply dead; next time, under different circumstances, you may dream that the inner child is very much alive and happy. A dream is usually a snapshot of what’s going on right now.

There are a couple of clues as to why and how this event happened. The first is your father at the bar which seem to precede the murder scene. Here you also say that you have a memory of being here as a child, so there’s a connection between your childhood self and the dream, again. So the origin for these events are to be found in your childhood.

The reason for this murder to happen at this point in time is to be found in what happened right before the wounding, which would be the second clue. The child is mortally wounded after you brutally beat the “owner”. So one could speculate along the lines, that your inner child is wounded by your aggressiveness, frustrations, and disappointments.

But of course, since I have no knowledge about the dreamer and no context for the dream, I cannot know what the dream means, but perhaps these speculationas help a little bit to understand the dream.

To dream of a war signifies the inner disorder and chaos inside yourself in waking life. You are experiencing some internal conflict or emotional struggle which is tearing you up inside. Alternatively, the dream could indicate that you are being overly aggressive.
To see people you don't know in real life signifies a part of yourself that is repressed and hidden. In few case it symbolizes the archetypal dream helper who is offering you insight and advice. The peanut kid could represent a part of yourself or maybe an old aspect in your life that you have repressed or forgotten.
To see friends or people that you know in real life from your past represents your desire to reconnect with a part of yourself that you have lost touch with. A diner represents that you are feeling overwhelmed by decisions and choices that you need to make in your life. On another hand, it indicates that you are looking for emotional nourishment outside of your social support system.
To have an enemy in your dream represents opposing ideas and contradictory attitudes within yourself. You are in denial or rejecting something inside yourself, or someone. Enemies also represent the enemies within yourself and the inner conflict you have with yourself. Consider the phrase "I am my own worst enemy." Perhaps you are trying to rid yourself of certain aspects of your character. Seeing as how they begin killing a physical representation of some aspect of yourself, I'd say that's not far off. Perhaps your old friend being the one who ratted you out shows that your inner desire to reconnect with your old aspects doesn't want you to reconnect after all.
Death does not mean you have killed that part of yourself. In dreams, death represents the fact that you are lacking a certain aspect or quality that the loved one embodies. Ask yourself what makes this person special or what you like about them. It is that very quality that you are lacking in your own relationship or circumstances. Alternatively, the dream is simply telling you that whatever that person represents no longer has a part in your life anymore. You cry because you don't want that aspect to be gone. It seems this aspects disappearance from your life has upset you deeply.
Fathers in dreams represent authority and protection. It suggests that you need to be more self-reliant. Consider also your waking relationship with your father and how aspects of his character may be incorporated within yourself. If you dream that your father is angry at you, then it indicates that you are doing something that he may disapprove. The dream may also be a projection of your own anger towards him. There are some unresolved issues that need to be worked out. Perhaps the drinking?
To dream that you are at a public bar signifies your desire to escape from the stresses of your daily life and retreat into a light-hearted environment where pleasure abounds. Alternatively, you are seeking acceptance in some aspect of your daily life. The dream may also be a pun on being "barred" from some place or something. You are feeling excluded or held back by circumstances beyond your control. Of course, there is also the fact that where your father drinks, seeing him in a bar just seems most fitting. Whichever scenario seems to fit you best. An Asian person in dreams represents tradition, wisdom and knowledge. That's a role that bartenders tend to take in real life, so your dream could have made him Asian to represent that fact, or maybe he represents some inside wisdom about the situation. He is sitting on a swivel chair, which symbolizes your need to sit down and take time out to contemplate a situation before proceeding. Or you just need to relax. On a different note, it indicates that your feelings or ideas are being dismissed or cast to the side. You be the judge.

These interpretations of dream symbols come from real dream guides, and I hope it helps.