Dream on Christmas Eve 2019

[OldDuckman]

First post. I love dreams and hearing other peoples dreams. I am the guy my coworkers come to, to tell their dreams. I read the "if you want your dream interpreted" sticky so here are the extra details: Male, 64, healthy (relatively...for my age) The friend mentioned in the dream has been a friend since 3rd grade. He is an odd character but a very good person. He is a better friend to me than I am to him, I must admit. The car mentioned in the dream would be a 2000 to 2002, BMW Z3, 3.0 liter engine, manual transmission. I do have strong religious beliefs but don't fell that I am where I should be in that respect. The car being white made me wonder if that aspect of my life was involved in the dream. I do not like white cars in waking life so I'm not sure if that symbolism does apply. There is no such thing as a "static electricity button" that was mentioned in the dream. When I woke up I would have to call the dream disturbing and I thought about it for some time. I hope some of you can lend some insight. Thanks in advance. Dream Christmas Eve 2019: Background: I plan on buying a particular used model of a BMW next year. I have a friend named Todd who works on the ocean and visits once or twice a year, he is not here at this time. The Dream: (not lucid) I saw the model car that I want to buy, it was white and I do not want a white car but this had everything else I wanted. The owner let me take it for a ride by myself. Prior to giving me the keys he said “The salesman told me, 'Whatever you do, don't push the static electricity button.” I drove off and really enjoyed the ride. Apparently I did push the static electricity button (as I found out later in the dream). The car ran fine for me and I returned it to the owner and also, apparently, we swapped our shoes with each other for awhile. The next scene I was in a place I would describe as an auditorium. The owner of the car came up to me and we started to swap shoes (I remember that I found that disgusting as I would not want to actually wear someone else's shoes). As we were exchanging shoes he said, “Why did you do it?” (I honestly did not know what he was talking about) I said, “Do what.” He replied, “Push the static electricity button.” I had no answer but told him I would pay to fix it. He said that he had already done that and it was still running poorly and that the car was talking to him. When he said the car was talking to him I knew it wasn't in some supernatural way but just the way modern cars do now. In this scene the previously faceless owner was now my friend Todd. I woke up.

[sealchan]

First post. I love dreams and hearing other peoples dreams. I am the guy my coworkers come to, to tell their dreams. I read the "if you want your dream interpreted" sticky so here are the extra details: Male, 64, healthy (relatively...for my age) The friend mentioned in the dream has been a friend since 3rd grade. He is an odd character but a very good person. He is a better friend to me than I am to him, I must admit. The car mentioned in the dream would be a 2000 to 2002, BMW Z3, 3.0 liter engine, manual transmission. I do have strong religious beliefs but don't fell that I am where I should be in that respect. The car being white made me wonder if that aspect of my life was involved in the dream. I do not like white cars in waking life so I'm not sure if that symbolism does apply. There is no such thing as a "static electricity button" that was mentioned in the dream. When I woke up I would have to call the dream disturbing and I thought about it for some time. I hope some of you can lend some insight. Thanks in advance. Dream Christmas Eve 2019: Background: I plan on buying a particular used model of a BMW next year. I have a friend named Todd who works on the ocean and visits once or twice a year, he is not here at this time. The Dream: (not lucid) I saw the model car that I want to buy, it was white and I do not want a white car but this had everything else I wanted. The owner let me take it for a ride by myself. Prior to giving me the keys he said “The salesman told me, 'Whatever you do, don't push the static electricity button.” I drove off and really enjoyed the ride. Apparently I did push the static electricity button (as I found out later in the dream). The car ran fine for me and I returned it to the owner and also, apparently, we swapped our shoes with each other for awhile. The next scene I was in a place I would describe as an auditorium. The owner of the car came up to me and we started to swap shoes (I remember that I found that disgusting as I would not want to actually wear someone else's shoes). As we were exchanging shoes he said, “Why did you do it?” (I honestly did not know what he was talking about) I said, “Do what.” He replied, “Push the static electricity button.” I had no answer but told him I would pay to fix it. He said that he had already done that and it was still running poorly and that the car was talking to him. When he said the car was talking to him I knew it wasn't in some supernatural way but just the way modern cars do now. In this scene the previously faceless owner was now my friend Todd. I woke up. Thanks for sharing...I'm new to this forum myself but also not new to dreams. I see in this dream the fairy tale-like one flaw motif. I suspect that the static electricity button and the white color are related...two different ways of looking at the same thing. The white color being an unwanted aspect on your part and the pressing of the static electricity button being the unwanted aspect for the owner/Todd. Todd is likely a lifelong "shadow" figure...a same age, same sex psychic figure who is largely cooperative but has some specific opposite opinions from your own. As such he is a friend and an occasional adversary. Your lack of awareness regarding you having done the "one thing that must not be done" (definitely a common fairy tale motif) suggests that in this small area you and he have opposing levels of awareness. So in relation to this dream I have some questions that would relate to your subjective relationship to its content: -Do you, in waking life, not like the color white on a car? If so, why? -In what way to you and Todd not see eye to eye? Do you share an interest in cars? What about shoes? -My father is big into cars...he has even rebuilt a few including a Model A. He recently purchased and then resold a 57 Chevy. He used to go to "swap meets". Does this play on words have anything to do with your dream or Todd or whatever? I would be happy to hear your answers or perhaps these questions will help you to make some discoveries on your own.

[OldDuckman]

Thanks for sharing...I'm new to this forum myself but also not new to dreams. I see in this dream the fairy tale-like one flaw motif. I suspect that the static electricity button and the white color are related...two different ways of looking at the same thing. The white color being an unwanted aspect on your part and the pressing of the static electricity button being the unwanted aspect for the owner/Todd. Todd is likely a lifelong "shadow" figure...a same age, same sex psychic figure who is largely cooperative but has some specific opposite opinions from your own. As such he is a friend and an occasional adversary. Your lack of awareness regarding you having done the "one thing that must not be done" (definitely a common fairy tale motif) suggests that in this small area you and he have opposing levels of awareness. So in relation to this dream I have some questions that would relate to your subjective relationship to its content: -Do you, in waking life, not like the color white on a car? If so, why? -In what way to you and Todd not see eye to eye? Do you share an interest in cars? What about shoes? -My father is big into cars...he has even rebuilt a few including a Model A. He recently purchased and then resold a 57 Chevy. He used to go to "swap meets". Does this play on words have anything to do with your dream or Todd or whatever? I would be happy to hear your answers or perhaps these questions will help you to make some discoveries on your own. Thank you so much for your reply and interest. You surely hit some items right on, the friend/adversary is spot on. I will answer your questions in order: In waking life I do not like white cars, no reason really just taste. I remember once telling the salesman looking for a particular model vehicle for me, "no red, no white, no silver." Todd and I are similar in many ways I have known him since 3rd grade. I have great respect for him as he is fearless in many respects. He is an excellent driver and motorcycle rider. I feel I am adequate in both those areas. Politically and religiously we are on the same page but where I am a "news junkie" and am always up on current events. He, on the other hand, is not and that annoys me. We once had a conversation over breakfast where I was trying to let him know how important it is to stay up on such things. His response was "I just want to be entertained." I found that to be a distasteful attitude. With respect to cars and shoes. Todd always has a clean vehicle and so do I. He never washes his vehicle himself but pays to get it done. I, on the other hand, know I can not only save money doing it by myself but also feel I do a better job than someone I would pay or a automatic car wash. Same thing with vehicle maintenance, I do as much of my own work as I am capable of doing where he pays for all his maintenance. Shoes, well I have over 40 pairs, Todd probably less than 5 but I don't think that is significant..? Swap meets, no but in our younger days we used to take long motorcycle trips together. He rushed to get to our next planned stop so we could get a motel and he could "watch TV." I hated that and would have rather stopped to see some sights along the way but he (being an Ex-truck driver) usually rode lead and I followed. He would have made stops had I asked but when I did I always felt like he was champing at the bit to get back on the road, so I seldom suggested a stop. He is a very generous person I less so. He has always been a rather "happy go lucky" kind of person without much concern for tomorrow. I don't think he is set very well for retirement. Though some things in life he takes very (too much..?) seriously, others (that are important) he sloughs off. Thanks for the insight and food for thought. I appreciate. Maybe my answers might give you some clues to the dreams meaning.

[sealchan]

Thank you so much for your reply and interest. You surely hit some items right on, the friend/adversary is spot on. I will answer your questions in order: In waking life I do not like white cars, no reason really just taste. I remember once telling the salesman looking for a particular model vehicle for me, "no red, no white, no silver." Todd and I are similar in many ways I have known him since 3rd grade. I have great respect for him as he is fearless in many respects. He is an excellent driver and motorcycle rider. I feel I am adequate in both those areas. Politically and religiously we are on the same page but where I am a "news junkie" and am always up on current events. He, on the other hand, is not and that annoys me. We once had a conversation over breakfast where I was trying to let him know how important it is to stay up on such things. His response was "I just want to be entertained." I found that to be a distasteful attitude. With respect to cars and shoes. Todd always has a clean vehicle and so do I. He never washes his vehicle himself but pays to get it done. I, on the other hand, know I can not only save money doing it by myself but also feel I do a better job than someone I would pay or a automatic car wash. Same thing with vehicle maintenance, I do as much of my own work as I am capable of doing where he pays for all his maintenance. Shoes, well I have over 40 pairs, Todd probably less than 5 but I don't think that is significant..? Swap meets, no but in our younger days we used to take long motorcycle trips together. He rushed to get to our next planned stop so we could get a motel and he could "watch TV." I hated that and would have rather stopped to see some sights along the way but he (being an Ex-truck driver) usually rode lead and I followed. He would have made stops had I asked but when I did I always felt like he was champing at the bit to get back on the road, so I seldom suggested a stop. He is a very generous person I less so. He has always been a rather "happy go lucky" kind of person without much concern for tomorrow. I don't think he is set very well for retirement. Though some things in life he takes very (too much..?) seriously, others (that are important) he sloughs off. Thanks for the insight and food for thought. I appreciate. Maybe my answers might give you some clues to the dreams meaning. I believe that the reflections you have offered here should be very useful for you to make the subjective connections needed to continue to explore this dream. I have done an objective analysis on the dream and would be glad to offer it here or through a private message. My practice is to offer something about a dream in order to see if the dreamer shows an appreciation and further interest before providing a fuller interpretation. Let me know your preference. Overall I think that what this dream is getting at is that you perceive a moral issue at stake within your psychological reaction to something. To understand what this moral dilemma might be would require continuing your reflections on everything you have shared that is context to this dream. My analysis does not attempt to "diagnose" what the issue is but rather show how the dream is describing this issue as one of communication or interaction between one voice in your psyche and another. Its goal is more to show up the craft of the dream in a way that might help you see to what the dream is focused on in an objective sense. From there you can determine what precisely that focus means to you and for you.

[sealchan]

Here is an extended, detailed look at what I could see in this dream... I saw the model car that I want to buy, it was white and I do not want a white car but this had everything else I wanted. Associations: The car mentioned in the dream would be a 2000 to 2002, BMW Z3, 3.0 liter engine, manual transmission. I do have strong religious beliefs but don't fell that I am where I should be in that respect. The car being white made me wonder if that aspect of my life was involved in the dream. I do not like white cars in waking life so I'm not sure if that symbolism does apply. I plan on buying a particular used model of a BMW next year. I have a friend named Todd who works on the ocean and visits once or twice a year, he is not here at this time. Valuation: Car has one flaw...it is white. Association: Is white meaning to reference a religious belief? Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_Z3 Transaction: This dream opens with the idea of engaging in a transaction. In psychical terms this usually relates to an exchange of energy between one aspect of the psyche and another. Buying suggests a two-way exchange or a conversion of energy from one thing to another. Spiritual Context: The dream happens on Christmas Eve. The day a dream happens is often specific and tied to events that occurred that day before going to sleep. Having studied my own dreams extensively I have come to belief that one can often recognize and recall one or more specific moments during the day when something happens that “charges” your psyche but you don’t really think it out...you set it aside because of the rhythm of the moment or the potentially troubling or complicated aspects of the thoughts or feelings that are invoked. You mentioned that the dream left you with troubling feelings that inspired thought and obviously sharing your dream here for further insight. So in thinking back to that day, can you recall any moment where you might have glimpsed or had a “troubling” or “intense” thought that was quickly set aside? What does Christmas and Christmas Eve represent to you in a general way such that it might have some context for this dream? You consider a potentially interesting juxtaposition between white as referencing spirituality vs white as referencing personal preference. It is possible that the psyche here is blending these two ideas and that perhaps the blend is what is also linked to your thought that you “don't feel that I am where I should be in that respect”. In this sense, then, white could be seen as the unwanted or problematic characteristic of your religious effort. Whether this juxtaposition is a “thing” depends entirely on your personal feeling about that although if that feeling is problematic then it may be suppressed or rationalized away. The owner let me take it for a ride by myself. Prior to giving me the keys he said “The salesman told me, 'Whatever you do, don't push the static electricity button.” Owner vs Salesman: A distinction made in this scene that seems to have dissolved into just Todd in the next scene at the end. You can do anything...except this Motif: Of course, there is the classic example of Adam and Eve and The Fall. How do you interpret this story and how might you use it as a template for understanding your own psychology? In the dream the act of pushing the “static electricity button” is not presented as a temptation but rather something done “unconsciously”. One common understanding of Adam and Eve is that Adam and Eve were fully conscious of their choice to disobey God. But another case could be made, based on the same text, that at best Adam and Eve were partially aware or even unaware of the full context of their choice to eat the forbidden fruit. I would be glad to share my perspective with you in some detail if you are interested. This perspective was, in part, shaped by my study of dreams and the fact that the Adam and Eve story has, on several occasions, shown up in my and other people’s dreams in a closely analogous form. What does the notion of “static electricity” mean to you? Is there a subjective association that might be relevant? In an objective context, like a financial transaction, electricity can reference, in the psyche, a transfer of energy. We often experience static electricity as the result of friction. Could the static electricity be generated then when you and your shadow exchange energy? This would be fitting in that the shadow always represents an opposite choice or perspective from that of the dream ego and that inevitably represents some level of friction or tension. So perhaps the instruction to not press the button and then your unconscious pressing of that button represents a problem in the relationship between two voices in your psyche that results in some mild friction or bad feeling between you two. I don’t think that the dream clarifies what that problem is other than to describe it as an unconscious “choice”. What is, precisely, an unconscious choice? This is, for me, an extremely important idea in dreams that I find happening very often...the dreamer realizes, after the fact, that the dreamer “off screen” or “between scenes” has chosen to do something which was not consciously witnessed by the dreamer him or herself. It is exactly as if one’s brain made a choice but that choice never reached consciousness. In the Matrix trilogy there is a scene where the hero meets with the “Oracle” which is a being who knows more than the hero does about what has happened and what is going to happen (short scene https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTTSiCwEs08, longer scene with a bit more context https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhzNhLgPX9o). This is sort of like how one’s psyche (what Carl Jung called the Self) knows more than the ego does because the psyche has immediate access to all the decisions made whether conscious or no. The process of deliberation is as much to try to understand the choice we have already made and acted upon as it is to come to a new decision to be made before we act. I drove off and really enjoyed the ride. Apparently I did push the static electricity button (as I found out later in the dream). The car ran fine for me and I returned it to the owner. . . . You completed a test drive, apparently had pushed the button, but didn’t yet realize it at this point in the dream (yet you felt compelled to include it here, perhaps, as an act of full disclosure (“brave” honesty)). Everything was fine. Whenever two people interact, if friction is generated, it may often go unnoticed until a certain threshold is reached. So we may step on someone’s toes but not know right away because that friction was “buffered” and not reflected immediately in the interaction. Sometimes such frictions just dissipate...other times, and with people we deal with more frequently, we get to a point where we have to raise awareness of the suffering incurred, often innocently or at least naively. . . . .and also, apparently, we swapped our shoes with each other for awhile. You went for a test drive AND you also at the same time exchanged shoes. A car and shoes are both “vehicles” for getting from one place to another. One could say that each represents a different level of psychical transportation. I tend to think that reflective thought or a search for truth is like a journey in the psyche and the car and the shoes represent the means. Perhaps walking or driving around involves considering many perspectives and arriving at a destination/conclusion. The test drive is a sort of contemplation, perhaps, where you get to try out a line of reasoning to see if it is satisfactory. Does it meet all your requirements? Does it leave you satisfied? Purchasing a car is certainly a significant experience of choice making and often involves much of what one has learned about making choices, significant choices, in the past. But we don’t necessarily choose our friends like we do cars...we seem to “fall into” friendships which seem to feel right in spite of some problematic things. The next scene I was in a place I would describe as an auditorium. The owner of the car came up to me and we started to swap shoes (I remember that I found that disgusting as I would not want to actually wear someone else's shoes). The car and the shoes are closely linked...you consider the “white” car offered although white is not a good color for you AND here you are about to agree to again swap shoes, but this time with an anticipation of the displeasure of it. Could it be said that the dream begins with your intention to test drive the car with your recognition that the car was the wrong color coming only after your decision to test drive it? The auditorium suggests a space in which many other inner voices could present themselves. I often track the number of characters (both “named actors” and “extras”) that appear in dreams. Was this auditorium actually empty or was it ambiguous as to whether others were present? As we were exchanging shoes he said, “Why did you do it?” (I honestly did not know what he was talking about) I said, “Do what.” He replied, “Push the static electricity button.” I had no answer but told him I would pay to fix it. He said that he had already done that and it was still running poorly. . . . Here there is a clear sense of moral obligation on your part. In the waking world correlation this is perfectly understandable. But in the dream world this indicates that you perceive in your interaction with the shadow a moral problem. It appears that, given your moral character, you are readily able to accept responsibility for a moral error as soon as you become aware of having made it. However, it appears that this response is not quite enough or is, at least, not the end of the story. . . . .and that the car was talking to him. When he said the car was talking to him I knew it wasn't in some supernatural way but just the way modern cars do now. So what do you mean by “the way modern cars do [talk] now”? In this scene the previously faceless owner was now my friend Todd. When you talk to another dream character you often get something back. Speech in a dream directed at someone is like a transfer of energy from the dream ego to that other voice. From that shared energy you get more back from that other voice. It seems that in this dream, although it left you feeling troubled, there is much virtue in the fact that you are cooperatively interacting with your shadow and taking ownership of your actions. The shadow often is experienced reluctantly in a moral context as someone who raises a troubling concern. But in the dream you are not fighting the trouble that the shadow brings. To share my own dream experience of the shadow and to illustrate a range of possible interactions in this regard...I once dreamt that there were “druggies” in my garage. I was so angry and fearful that I struck one of them in the back of the head when they were not looking. This prompted the individual and another to turn around and with zombie like menace approach me to return in kind. However, a less thuggish companion intervened to prevent the conflict. I knew right away how immoral and cowardly my act had been in spite of the justification of my anger at this obvious trespassing. In dreams, of course, none of the other dream characters can truly trespass. In another dream I had what I consider to be the most hilarious event ever to take place in a dream. It was a very simple, symbolic dream scene involving myself and my shadow, very similiar in appearance with our heads facing each other and close as in a filmed scene (where people get a lot closer to each other than they would in real life). We were both smiling and we each gave by way of an ironic self-introduction the following mirrored words: Me: Hi, I’m Angel, Noramiah Angel. Shadow: Hi, I’m Animal, Noramiah Animal. In this dream scene my shadow and I made a sort of yin-yang statement on several levels: Ego vs Shadow Angel/Spiritual vs Animal/Physical I am vs I am not (Nor am I a) The relationship of opposite qualities is an important one to understand when looking at the spontaneous expressions of one’s psyche. The shadow is all about understanding one’s self as a balance of a quality that one has chosen even though its opposite is always also an important consideration. This very often raises a moral question in a dream where the shadow is involved.

[MatthewHoward]

Hi OldDuckman, I noticed your dream and although its from a few months back I think it is still relevant. Yes, I believe the white is symbolic of your spiritual life. I thought this as soon as I read it. I think the dream is saying that you are in agreement with the elements or the theology of what you believe, the particulars of this and that, but there is something that you still have left to understand which actually brings overall context to the religion you practice. From your perspective, the journey has been a good one, but from a spiritual perspective, there may still be unaddressed issues that once addressed, will restore health and vitality to your practice. If you pray, it may be this area that needs attention, such as communion with the God you worship or some aspect of relationship or relating to who God is. If this doesn't sit with you, no problem, but this is what I thought when I read through the dream and your other comments.