Thread: Waterfall and cleansing myself

It’s safe to say that your dream is actually a very important one and it’s called “archetypal”, meaning that it comes from the deepest layers of your unconscious mind at this vital time when you’re about to leave university and start out into life.

At such very significant times of transition, this type of dream appears in order to provide a kind of snapshot of the dreamer’s objective, overall situation which is meant to provide guidance in his unique personal circumstances as he moves forward.

This idea comes up in your dream because you knew the information on the screen was directed to you and no one else.

But the language of dreams is based on often very complex analogies and metaphors, just like poetry, so that a dream can be very hard to understand.

However, it’s as if a kind of central core of yourself knows everything about you such as innate skills, abilities and potentials etc. along with the effects of your upbringing etc., and creates a dream to summarize all of this in the best way it can, that is, via symbols.

Also, we are not just “rational” beings as we often like to think we are when we put aside our own instinctive intuitions, gut feelings and just “knowing” what we should do at certain important moments.

This instinctive part of ourselves also seems to listen to the pulse on the overall society around us and probably beyond, although this is generally dismissed by many scientists etc. However, scientific researches into quantum theory are showing how mysterious and far-reaching quantum effects can be even in guiding migratory birds for example, so it’s not unlikely that each person’s mind/body can sense things that the ego alone can’t. This type of knowledge apparently adds itself to important dreams like yours.

So overall, the human psyche probably can “make a good guess” on what could happen in the future by looking at the person’s own innate abilities, genetic makeup, socio-economic setting and the nature of his or her upbringing etc. etc. along with somehow sensing the overall zeitgeist and where it’s going.

This doesn’t mean it’s a fixed-future type of thing but only that IF the person does such-and-such over time, then such-and-such could happen.

In an overly simplified way of saying it, genuine contentment at the end of one’s life can come only from having been in reasonable sync with what the inner core of the person “wanted” from the beginning.

So here are a few ideas about your dream but these can only be some general ones because archetypal dreams usually need a lot of discussion and a dream website isn’t the best place for that kind of thing.

For example, a river in dreams often suggests the idea of “flowing time”.

Of course, it also consists of water which usually represents the whole mixed-together feeling of physical energy along with interests, likes, dislikes and emotions etc. etc.

A river often has fish in it which symbolize realizations and thoughts etc. which are unconscious (i.e. “under water”) but which can be “brought to the surface” by consciously trying to (i.e. by fishing).

Many rivers are considered sacred because they resonate with an inner “source” and “river” of energy and meaning, namely, the unconscious mind.

But “energy” and “emotions” etc. can be dangerous and can tend to overwhelm the ego at times.

So the dream could be preparing you for life in general by showing the need for you to courageously accept that sometimes, you’ll probably be “told” (if you listen) when you’ll have to symbolically jump into the “dangerous fast-flowing river” and maybe “over the tall waterfall” although doing so could look like it would cause your “death”.

In this context, the old man in the river might represent an old, outworn ego attitude and way of looking at life (currently, a youthful outlook?) which won’t work well enough in leading to the fulfillment of your overall potentials in the future and therefore, it must “die”.

Then the dream seems to say that if you gather your courage at certain important times and carry through with what you know is right, then you can stay “unhurt”.

The dream then seems to say that each time you courageously follow your “vocation” or “true self”, it can feel like an energizing “baptism” and “rebirth” (e.g. you’re floating in the water feeling that your body, mind and soul are absolutely cleansed and pure).

It looks like this idea is being emphasized by the message that you read because it’s for you and no one else, that is, it’s about your unique self that you have to keep in touch with and help to grow over time.

“The time of the water element” suggests another aspect of the symbolism of water, namely, that water is the “universal solvent” because it can dissolve more substances than any other liquid.

Psychologically, this points to the idea that a constant breaking down of old habits of mind and thought etc. is crucial for an ongoing growth of oneself.

That way, the “water” of energy won’t be backed up and become “stagnant” by “rigid substances”, which could allow “disease-causing” ideas and attitudes to grow even larger such as, for example, feelings of “having it made” or becoming complacent etc. etc.

Anyway, I hope that these brief ideas aren’t too confusing and that they can be useful in some way.

If you haven’t already done so, it would probably be a good idea to print out your dream to protect it from computer and site crashes etc. because in the years ahead, looking at it will probably continue to provide more and more insights about the nature of your own personal journey through life.

Please feel free to ask any questions or to make any comments about this particular way of looking at your very important dream.

Thank you so much for your in-depth analysis! It definitely feels like it was a very important dream, and your reply helped me make more sense out of it. I'll definitely make sure to print out the dream and keep it so I can look at it in the future and reflect. Thanks again!

Originally Posted by Athanor

So the dream could be preparing you for life in general by showing the need for you to courageously accept that sometimes, you’ll probably be “told” (if you listen) when you’ll have to symbolically jump into the “dangerous fast-flowing river” and maybe “over the tall waterfall” although doing so could look like it would cause your “death”.

In this context, the old man in the river might represent an old, outworn ego attitude and way of looking at life (currently, a youthful outlook?) which won’t work well enough in leading to the fulfillment of your overall potentials in the future and therefore, it must “die”.

The fact the man was drunk can also mean he wasn't thinking straight. Drunk = wobbly, unstable, not fit to wok with heavy machinery or drive cars.

I consider it a good dream.

Also, dreams can predict "The future" or rather, what's already in motion but hasn't quite arrived physically yet: I've attended a local church and months before two people who attended it died last year I had a dream of two coffins which the pasteur blessed. Undoubtedly they were for those two people, nobody else attending regularly died that year. I have more examples, E.G. I was seeing the pasteur in a dream before church services just on the exact day she just arrived back from vacation. I didn't know she was back from vacation. I also had a dream in which my dog was peeing all over the yard, and then she was doing that IRL. She was old at the time, it was her last year.

I've had a similar experience in a dream! In the dream I was essentially Frodo with a similar Lord of the Rings group. Except I was myself as a hobbit and not acting as Frodo. Anyway, a group was coming to attack us in the forest and I willed the forest to do something, anything, for us to survive the attack. Suddenly a river rushes through. As a hobbit, I knew I could not swim in water, but i stepped into the river and sat in meditative style in the deepest part of the channel. I felt the fresh clean feeling of the water rushing over and past me, and felt this encompassing feeling of gratitude to the river for saving our lives. Similar to "Spirited Away", after the river washed away, I felt the need to find the homeland of that river some day and thank it. Water is a type of God molecule. Hydrogen, oxygen, and carbon are an integral part of all life forms. Perhaps the water in you wants you to know that you are safe in your endeavors. Where others may jump in and be washed away, you can fully embrace what is in store. You can go in confidence. I feel like times like you described in your dream are times when you can really connect to your "true self," the part of you that is untouched by ego or any darkness, and that is you in its purest gracious form. While I always have a lot of doubt with horoscopes and dream interpretations, maybe you should look up if your horoscope is a water element? And if it isn't, if could mean that someone who is a water element will come into your life.