A widow in mourning

[Shifani]

I had the weirdest, weirdest dream ever some time ago, it was SO weird I actually wrote it all down on paper so I could ask someone about it later on. Keep in mind: I'm still a teenager, have never been married, let alone been widowed. Didn't watch sad soap operas before falling asleep, and was in a rather happy mood when I went to bed. Also, I hate soppy stories, cheesy romantics and such things, and would rather poke myself in the eye than read/watch things of that sort. Also keep in mind that some details in this dream are going to sound really funny, and sometimes, inexplicably weird and/or confusing. So in this dream, I was this character, an adult woman who was fostering the children (kinda like a nanny) of this man, let's call him Guy A, whose wife had been dead for a long time already. So I, or rather the character that I was in the dream, was totally in love with Guy A. This man- had the face of Charles Shaughnessy (okay, that's the funny part. anyone who's wondering who the heck that is, google it.) So anyway, this man dies eventually, natural causes or something, before I get to tell him that I love him. I know, when I woke up, I almost barfed at the corniness of it all! All these above mentioned details don't HAPPEN in the dream, but I, or the character that I am in the dream, just- knows it. So she or -I'm- totally over the man after some years, and continue to look after his children, and then there's this other guy, Guy B, who kinda looks like Charles Shaughnessy again who helps me (or rather the character I am in the dream) take care of the kids, I think he was Guy A's good friend so he starts looking after the kids too. So he gradually starts to like me a lot, and there's a Guy C who comes from nowhere and likes me a lot too - mind you, 'me' here is not actually ME, me is the character I am in the dream. Sort of like living in the body of another person, so I can feel what she feels and see what she sees. So I get confused between the past and the present, and I hesitate, and am not sure of who I sincerely like, and I'm not sure if I can get over Guy A who died either. Eventually, things get rather confuzzled to the REAL me (because I am sort of in a semi-lucid state, and prefer playing along to the drama that's unfolding)- I end up giving away one of Guy A's valuable possessions (which in the dream, is a box of TOOTHBRUSHES. What the devil is a toothbrush doing in this episode?!) to Guy C (who came out of nowhere) as a means of 'letting go of the past' or something along those lines. So Guy B is a bit sad about it because I'm giving the toothbrushes to Guy C and not him, but he tries not to show his disappointment (Whatever this is, the toothbrushes, despite the absurdity, hold some sort of value in the dream, and probably don't neccesarily have a symbolic meaning). So when I'm giving off Guy A's valuable possession so as to let go of the past with Guy A, I go into the Depressed Widow state, I remember spending time with Guy A and that I miss him so much and am not sure I will ever be able to get over him... 'My Immortal' by Evanescence starts playing in the background now (Wtf?!?) and I, or the character, am crying. I have never viewed My Immortal as a song about the dead, I've always thought about it as not being able to get over someone who is ALIVE but who is not with you- but this dream put the lyrics in a TOTALLY new perspective, which makes the song make more sense ("These wounds won't seem to heal. This pain is just too real. There's just too much that time cannot erase.") I woke up with the song resonating in my head, and a heavy, heavy heart, as though I was a widow in mourning, sad and broken. My background: Have never lost someone close to me. Never had a heartbreaking relationship that fell apart. Just the usual school-going girl, I don't get emo about things, very practical and realistic most of the time. All in all, this dream kept me amused all day after waking up, it was really fun, sort of like being a character in a play, only that the script was serious, if that makes sense. So can anyone tell me what the devil all that was about?

[Leo Volont]

Dear Shifani, People used to... oh, and still do... explain these kind of dreams in terms of Past Life Experiences, but I prefer to think of them as messages from Sympathetic Souls -- there are Souls over on the other side, who, looking down on the World, find that they have a wonderful resonance and sympathy for you -- seeing themselves in you. Remember that they can see some 7 Billion People, and so when they think that you are the one that does what they would do, and says what you would say, they are pretty darn sure of it. If you are not exactly the same Soul, then you are fairly darn close. Anyway, one of these Souls decided to show you a dream which much summed up the highpoints of her life. You should take careful note of it. The wonderful things she had done, you are just as capable of. But also the mistakes, if you think you see any. This is an oportunity to examine your Life... a possible Life... before you have even had it. To learn lessons from things done in the past by somebody effectively just like you. Now, remember this Soul on the other side has some real affection and concern for you, and so you should be aware that if you seem too dismissive, it would only go toward hurting her feelings. She could understand, of course, but being able to understand falls far short of a shared affection and camarraderie of Resonant Souls. This Soul on the other side could be something of a Patron Saint and Guide for you. If not very powerful in her own right, she would certainly know who to see and talk to Up There.

[Shifani]

Dear Shifani, People used to... oh, and still do... explain these kind of dreams in terms of Past Life Experiences, but I prefer to think of them as messages from Sympathetic Souls -- there are Souls over on the other side, who, looking down on the World, find that they have a wonderful resonance and sympathy for you -- seeing themselves in you. Remember that they can see some 7 Billion People, and so when they think that you are the one that does what they would do, and says what you would say, they are pretty darn sure of it. If you are not exactly the same Soul, then you are fairly darn close. Anyway, one of these Souls decided to show you a dream which much summed up the highpoints of her life. You should take careful note of it. The wonderful things she had done, you are just as capable of. But also the mistakes, if you think you see any. This is an oportunity to examine your Life... a possible Life... before you have even had it. To learn lessons from things done in the past by somebody effectively just like you. Now, remember this Soul on the other side has some real affection and concern for you, and so you should be aware that if you seem too dismissive, it would only go toward hurting her feelings. She could understand, of course, but being able to understand falls far short of a shared affection and camarraderie of Resonant Souls. This Soul on the other side could be something of a Patron Saint and Guide for you. If not very powerful in her own right, she would certainly know who to see and talk to Up There. Dear Leo, Thank you so much for that interpretation. I am very sorry but I'm laughing right now. Were you being serious? I can't be sure of your tone, but all this Soul-looking-down shindig sounds very silly to me. First off, this supposed soul, is she part of a bigger party? Like perhaps, a big gang of souls that sit up there with nothing to do but peep into the lives of those 7 billion people you mentioned? You make it sound like this Soul, without a body, acts just like a humanbeing, who, with being 'very powerful in her own right', might get her wittle feelings hurt up there just because I may dismiss her. What constitutes as a dismissing exactly? I would like to know. A patron saint? A guide? What do souls do once they leave the body? They gather up in the clouds and point fingers at the living and spend their entire second-lives on guiding people they don't even know? Then doesn't that make our after-death lives oh-so-dull and sad? I do not mock, though these words may suggest, I just tend to ask very many questions at a time out of musing or rather curiousity.

[Leo Volont]

Originally posted by Shifani Dear Leo, * Thank you so much for that interpretation. I am very sorry but I'm laughing right now. Were you being serious? I can't be sure of your tone, but all this Soul-looking-down shindig sounds very silly to me. * First off, this supposed soul, is she part of a bigger party? Like perhaps, a big gang of souls that sit up there with nothing to do but peep into the lives of those 7 billion people you mentioned? * You make it sound like this Soul, without a body, acts just like a humanbeing, who, with being 'very powerful in her own right', might get her wittle feelings hurt up there just because I may dismiss her. What constitutes as a dismissing exactly? I would like to know. A patron saint? A guide? What do souls do once they leave the body? They gather up in the clouds and point fingers at the living and spend their entire second-lives on guiding people they don't even know? Then doesn't that make our after-death lives oh-so-dull and sad? * I do not mock, though these words may suggest, I just tend to ask very many questions at a time out of musing or rather curiousity. My... what silly little disrespectful girl we are? So, you think that a Soul in the Beyond would only be wasting its time caring about yourself. Yes, I agree. It is.

[Shifani]

Hahaha! Touché, old chap. I don't know, I just thought that when you die, you'd be relieved of the burden of having to work and all that labour that we do on earth. I mean, isn't the soul's departure from the body for the purpose of going to a different place? Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but I thought those people Up There may not be so cruel as to put souls on a constant labour routine (guiding strangers via dream state) for the rest of their second-lives... So any other interpretations to go with this delightful one that Leo Volont has so generously contributed? Hehehe.

[Inspirer]

Right away I feel these characters are not people but qualities, perhaps ideologies or cultures. The late Guy A maybe old fashion ways of life, a romantic past you still feel for but are forced to modernize. Guy B is modernism, and Guy C who knows. Just a guess.

[Leo Volont]

Originally posted by Shifani but I thought those people Up There may not be so cruel as to put souls on a constant labour routine (guiding strangers via dream state) So people are being "cruel" when they offer to help? Relieving Suffering, guiding the lost, feeding the hungrey.... all these things are now Crimes against Humanity. Anyway, nobody give this girl any help. she would only interpret it as abuse.

[Shifani]

Woah woah, hold your horses buddy. I didn't know you'd take it so seriously. What I meant was death would be a lot nicer for me if I knew I didn't have responsibilities in that potential second life, such as perhaps needing to guide other people. Didn't mean to offend you, ole chap, take it easy. Appreciated your interpretation, wasn't abused by it; I'm just very curious and tend to ask questions like so, they aren't meant to be questioning your knowledge, but are just questions. Anyways, like so many have said, I guess the best interpreters of our dreams are ourselves at the moment since it may be difficult for another to do so without knowing the dreamer too well or not being able to see the dream as the dreamer did. Thanks anyway, you guys.