Hi Everyone,
This is my first post and it's been prompted by some violent dreams that I have been having recently over several months. I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could shed some light on the reply that I received.

I have two translations that I use, Karcher's Total I Ching and Balkin's The Laws of Change.

In my dreams I am either:

a)Being machine gunned;
b)Being bitten by some entity that I can't identify while lying in my bed;
c)Being crucified;
d)Being bitten by a zombie;
and finally e)Shot by Nazis.

Needles to say It's got me a little concerned so I decided to cast a hexagram and try to make sense of what my dreams are telling me. My question was simply "Why am I being killed in my dreams?". The reply that I received was hexagram 20.6 Viewing and it's relating hexagram 8 Union.

Despite the two wonderful translations that I have, I can't make sense of or relate the reply to my question.

Thanks very much
Peter

Hi and welcome, Peter.

If you have access to the works of Carl Jung, I recommend that you read up on what he calls the Shadow. Clearly these dark and heartless figures in your dreams represent this Shadow. If you do not have hard copy information on Jung there?s several essays to be found by searching Google. Just type in Jung?s Shadow. Be aware though that these essays are typically not Jung?s own words but reflections and interpretations of his work.

Here is one such description authored by Rebeca Eigen, which I feel adaquately describes the Shadow:

The Shadow
The Shadow, is a psychological term introduced by the late Swiss psychiatrist, Dr. Carl G. Jung. It is everything in us that is unconscious, repressed, undeveloped and denied. These are dark rejected aspects of our being as well as light, so there is positive undeveloped potential in the Shadow that we don?t know about because anything that is unconscious, we don?t know about.

The Shadow is an archetype. And what an archetype simply means is that it is typical in consciousness for everyone. Everyone has a Shadow. This is not something that one or two people have. We all have a Shadow and a confrontation with the Shadow is essential for self awareness. We cannot learn about ourselves if we do not learn about our Shadow so therefore we are going to attract it through the mirrors of other people.

Taking Responsibility for Our Lives
The first thing we have to do in order to begin to see our Shadow sides, is to take 100% responsibility for our lives. This is a very difficult thing to do and no one does this overnight so we have to be patient with ourselves.

Being in the human experience, we have all had many painful, difficult experiences where it clearly looks like it is the other persons fault, or bad luck in life or whatever else we want to call it. So taking total responsibility for what appears to come to us is no easy task but it is well worth the effort because when we take responsibility for what happens to us, we can then learn and grow from our experiences and make new choices for ourselves.

Changing our attitude from blame to responsibility will change what happens next in our world. Our destiny is of our own making and what goes on inside of us will be reflected outside of us all the time.

I am very fond of this ancient axiom given to us by the alchemists of long ago: ?As above, so below, as within, so without, so that the miracle of the one can be established.? What it is saying is that what is within us, will also be outside of us. Inner states of consciousness will be reflected in outer situations time and time again. If we are willing to look at the significance of these repeating patterns, we will see the synchronicity of events and situations and ultimately once integrated the miracle of the one is established as we become one with ourselves.

So What Does This Look Like in Real Life?
We have all had experiences with other people that really irritate us. Whenever we feel ourselves over-reacting emotionally to a quality or characteristic in someone else that pushes all of our buttons (and there will be a repulsive element to it), we can be sure that we are seeing a part of our own Shadow.

We will not be able to stand this other person or be around them at all. The reaction is usually extreme distaste as these characteristics or qualities that we despise or hate in others are our own and they are usually operating outside of our awareness. They are in our unconscious and usually they will be the exact opposite of what we believe to be true about ourselves.

Now a person carrying a light part of our Shadow we will be very drawn to, and may even fall in love with, and this is the ?Gold? part of our Shadow. So we can also project some of our very positive qualities when we meet someone we truly admire, but most of us have more trouble with the negative experiences as we encounter our Shadow. This is the psyche?s way of bringing itself into the light meaning the light of consciousness.

__________________________________________________

Hexagram 20, and specifically line 6, examines self as it would examine a stranger. That is to say, objectively. I believe that understanding this Shadow archetype will help to reveal the reason behind your troubling dreams.

Hexagram 8, in this case, would suggest holding the elements of your self together, not becoming lost in confusion or dysfunction. Union, yes. What is being united are your conscious and unconscious aspects of self. By examining yourself from the objective position of line 6 in 20, you will be able to discover the message being sent to your conscious mind through these dreams. There is a creative purpose behind these ghoulish and troubling images. Your job is to contemplate and discover what that purpose is. As suggested in the above essay, that typically means assuming responsibility for your life, the person you are and the person you're becoming - the good, the great, the bad and the ugly.

Candid's ideas are good ones. Jung's concept of the shadow is a pretty useful way to view negative energies in us.

When you have powerful dreams, one of the things it means is that it's crucial to pay attention to those dreams. Basically that's it. A powerful dream is attention-getting. I think it's designed to be that way. Powerful dreams (well, all dreams actually, but especially the powerful ones) need the attention of the person who dreamed them. That attention can be an attempt to interpret the dream, or it can be as simple as writing it down, or posting it on the internet, or just thinking about it again and again. You know, if you go back to sleep right away after you have a bad dream, you'll often just have more bad dreams lol. But if you give the dream your full attention, and go over it in you mind, looking at every detail, three things will usually happen. First, each time you go through the dream, it will become less horrible. Next, when you go back to sleep, you won't have more horrible dreams. Finally, if you keep doing this each time you have those dreams, you'll stop having those dreams - or not so intensely and frequently anyway. Once those energies that the bad dreams are expressing get the attention they deserve and need, they can subside and dissipate. They've been attended to, assimilated, digested.

And I think that 20.6 is giving you similar advice. Hex 20 is the hexagram of contemplation, of 'just looking', of giving something your full and undivided attention. You don't have to do anything at this point: just look and watch what the dreams are showing you.

Good luck with it.

BTW, you in your twenties by any chance?

Peter,

Welcome to Clarity.

I've done a lot of dream interpretation over the last few years, sometimes here at Clarity.

You say that you have recurring violent dreams.

In my experience, a recurring dream means that you are not fullly taking on the message that you're being sent by your creative mind.

The more you disregard your dreams, the more graphic the dreams will become. Here's the list of dreams that you posted:

"a)Being machine gunned;
b)Being bitten by some entity that I can't identify while lying in my bed;
c)Being crucified;
d)Being bitten by a zombie;
and finally e)Shot by Nazis."

Being bitten features twice here.

Are you feeling angry with something or someone in your life at the moment?

Generally, how do you tend to express your anger?

In my experience, if you try to suppress angry feelings, they will surface one way or another. Especially in your dreams.

As for the I Ching reading, Hx 20 with the top line changing means that the Nuclear Hexagram isn't affected. Hx 20 and Hx 8 both have Hx 23 as the Nuclear Hx.

I think that you are close to a breakthrough in your understanding of yourself.

These are just my thoughts, but I hope that some of it is useful to you.

Very best wishes,

Mick

Hi Guys,
Thanks again for the fantastic responses.

Candid: I'll start to do some research on Jung's Shadow etc. Actually I'm quite amazed at what you've written because two years ago i walked out on a long term relationship because I was deeply unhappy. As a result I have a completely new social circle of friends and I am living life to the full as they say and quite happy now though still single. I think my irritation (not anger) stems from the fact that where I live, Canberra, Australia is a small city so there's no getting away from the ex. I will think deeply in light of this and try to come to some sort of understanding of what is happening. Thanks very much for your help.

Dobro: How I WISH I was in my 20s lol!!!! I'm 38 yrs of age, normal in the sense of the word, hold down a good job, physicaly active in sport and don't let the 'blues' get to me. I will look into just observing and contemplating these dreams as you've mentioned, thank you

Mick: I've been practising karate for the last 23 yrs and have been successful in National Competition in the last few years (even at this late age Unfortunately, competing at an elite level requires a degree of ruthlessness and single mindedness in terms of training. So I suppose this is where anger may be coming from. But now that I think more about it, I believe it stems more from my past relationship and perhaps guilt from leaving. Again, I will think more deeply about this. Thank you for your help.

Again, thanks very much for your responses, It's been fantastic. All the very best.
Peter

"Unfortunately, competing at an elite level requires a degree of ruthlessness and single mindedness in terms of training. So I suppose this is where anger may be coming from. But now that I think more about it, I believe it stems more from my past relationship and perhaps guilt from leaving."

Wow. Serious kick-ass competition! I'm impressed. (The reason I asked your age is cuz I had a patch of seriously bad dreams in my late twenties, and I think 20s/30s is a pretty typical time for people to become aware of the shadow in themselves.)

Anger as a feature of your personality might be what the dreams are alerting you to. I mean everybody's got anger, but some people have more it than others, and some people are less aware of it than others. But it's interesting how, in the dreams you presented here, you're the victim of the violence rather than being the doer of the violence. What I'm saying is that the issue of feeling victimized or threatened or preyed upon might be more of an issue here. Of course, if you dream of something, then that energy's *in you* it's not 'out there' - you're not the victim, you're still responsible for how you deal with your feelings etc.

So, here's a deft exponent of the martial art ('five fingers of death on every hand' lol), who's taking a beating in dreamland. It's crappy that the dreams are so unpleasant, but it's an interesting dreamscape for sure.

But again, whether you actually come to analyse your personality or not, whether you actually come to interpret the dreams or not, you will benefit from spending conscious time going over those dreams, re-playing them in your mind, writing them down, giving them your undivided attention.

By the way, if you start doing this now with the dreams you've already had, I would bet a lot of money that it will trigger more dream activity which will have important messages for you. Not necessarily scary-getting-attacked dreams either.

Peter,

I'm glad that some of what I wrote was helpful to you.

Just a thought.

Have you considered taking up a different martial art at this time in your life?

Perhaps an art that has to do with Yin energy?

Maybe this might give you a new perspective on how to move on, once and for all, from your previous relationship.

You say that you are, "quite happy now though still single."

Does this mean that you would like be in a new relationship? I think that the guilt that you are currently carrying could well be a massive factor in your life now, as you say.

Very best wishes,

Mick

P.S Canberra eh? You're not a cricket fan are you?

Porthose...

Are you punishing yourself in your dream? Whatever you're doing, your subconscious seems to really want to be heard.

20.6... It sounds to me like the Yi is telling you to look at your life without blame. I suspect you're "blaming" yourself for something you really shouldn't. There's really no reason to feel guilt.

I started a thread on the "Inherent Bad Self" and the message I found in 20.6 about blame and guilt.
http://www.onlineclarity.co.uk/I_Ching_community/messages/48/1281.html


Love,

Val

Hi Again Everyone,

Thanks again to all for responses, they certainly have opened up for myself new channels and ways of looking at things in my life. I really appreciate that!

Mick, as for cricket, I don't mind the game and actually played it while at school. Its always good when Australia wins lol! I haven't thought of taking up a new martial form since karate is my life and love. However, just recently before I posted my first message, I was thinking of taking up Zen Calligraphy (japanese). How weird you picked up on that?! So thats a type of martial form with more Yin energy.

As for wanting to be in a new relationship, yes for me that would be good thing. I just have to wait for the right person to come along.

Val, your right, I think I am punishing myself for past mistakes and I feel ashamed about past actions as well. I'll look into the Yi's advice and move on from there. I'll check out that thread too.

Dobro, my dreams have become even more vivid now. Last night I had another dream but this time I was trying to destroy the monster by sticking needles into its eyes! Yikes! I actually felt ok on waking up.

Kind Regards to all, have a great day where ever you are in the world!
Peter

Gee. Poor old monster. I mean, even monsters need to see to get around. Couldn't you just drop kick him or something. Or run away? lol Or sit down and eyeball him and go: "Okay, you, now lookit! It's time to talk. Whatchoo got to say for yourself?"

Course, that last approach takes some doing...lol

Peter,

My name is Freeman Crouch and I wrote a book about the Zhouyi. These remarks may not entirely correlate with anything anyone else comes up with, but the line seemed so dead on I felt I had to share.

Roughly, 20 is about a formal situation, a ceremony, a sacrifice. (It is perhaps a funeral for a great king; the crucifixion in your dream seems uncanny in the light of this.)

In 20.6, there is a suggestion that the situation is soon to change from ceremonial sacrifices to more literal sacrifices on a battlefield.

I think the oracle is saying that your mind is somehow rehearsing for real trials and battles, and for you to apply your thoughts to the real battles that are ahead of you.

(It may be something very simple. Indeed it may only be the emotional intensity of competition. It is sport, but man! It's very warlike sport, yes?)

Is this relevant to your situation at all?

with very best wishes,
FC

I don't know much about interpreting dreams with the IC but from a purely psychological point of view there seems to be an aspect of yourself that you want to destroy. Perhaps the weak man, the helpless one, the one who has fear. In hypnotherapy, the therapist would take you back into the dream and have you identify the
person(s) that is/are trying to kill you and help you indentify what motivates this killer/enemy within your own self.

The biting of the skin is the attempt to penetrate beneath the surface and perhaps find the part of you that is vulnerable, the part of you that you simply don't want to acknowledge.

My son has similar dreams, nearly every night, and for him it is an intense ego-driven need to win at all costs, and he wants to kill the loser that he supresses deep within himself. I think that this is a big problem for men, because to acknowlege one's yin side is simply 'icky' to most guys. But that part of you is really an ally, and won't ever dominate unless you continue to ignore it and deny its existence. In this sense, 20 line 6, the ability to be totally objective would help you to integrate those 'shadow' parts of the self.

One thing I think is interesting about Jung's shadow is that its origin comes from one's need to belong to the group, clan etc. So not only are negative things suppressed, to fit in and therefore survive, but also one's genius and exceptional qualities that may cause one to stand out too much and not conform to the norm. So it is neccessary in the evolution of the self to gently embrace not only our inner nerd and inner idiot and inner pervert, but also our inner mastery, exceptional talents and so forth. In order to unveil your superior self, you must first reclaim your inferior self--not kill it.

"I think the oracle is saying that your mind is somehow rehearsing for real trials and battles, and for you to apply your thoughts to the real battles that are ahead of you. (It may be something very simple. Indeed it may only be the emotional intensity of competition. It is sport, but man! It's very warlike sport, yes?)"

Yeah. It's like the dreamer lives, moves and has his being in conflict down on the level of dreams - if something's not getting at him, then he's poking its eyes out with a needle lol. Very warlike.

"I don't know much about interpreting dreams with the IC but from a purely psychological point of view there seems to be an aspect of yourself that you want to destroy."

Yeah, I'd go along with that, but remember the destruction is cutting both ways - first the dreamer's feeling like something's out to destroy him. Then his first reaction is to destroy it. Destruction the coin of the realm here.

Pagan, I think you make a stunning point with regards to temperance and the male psyche. Especially a warrior male psyche. It's as though part of the training has embedded itself so deeply that it begs to be expressed, and what better way than through dreams? So those learned instincts come, and say "how does it feel?"

Many schools of marshal arts pay only token tribute to the balance of yin/yang, or teach only as it applies to proper fighting technique. That is what most students pay to learn, after all.

Peter, perhaps your unconscious has led you through these dreams and the I Ching, and possibly here to discuss these dreams, and to awaken the yin value that Pagan has spoken of? Do you feel there is a balance in your martial arts practice of yin/yang? And perhaps this is why you feel led to take up Zen Calligraphy? Sounds like a good plan to me.

I agree with Candid, Pagan, your post was wildly interesting. Don't know much about Jungian/shadow thought, and what you wrote about the shadow developing to fit in with the pack made me think about our families, and how some of us metaphorically kill/sacrifice ourselves to survive/save them. Perhaps sacrifice/save is the yin, survive/kill is the yang. For a woman to leave her family is high treason in some societies. Punishable by death.

Wow guys, there is a lot to think about and reflect that to me is almost overwhelming. Still, to answer your question Pagan, I think competition on the whole has been unhealthy for me, simply because of the aggressive nature of it. And I'm not an aggressive person. So how do you win against an opponent who is out to take your head off? You have to be aggressive yourself. I don't think anyone one a fight (in terms of competition mind you) by smiling The notion is absurd.

In terms of training at class and its quite physical both for the males and females, my coach emphasises meditation and breathing after training, slow stretching. We also laugh a lot and tell plenty of good and silly jokes. This is definitely a good thing. So we have balance there.

FC, The sport is VERY war like and I must admit when I win, its an exhilirating feeling. Its even almost an addiction. I think you hit the nail on the head when you mentioned about trials and battles going on ahead. I can feel them whelling up inside.

Thanks to all for your kind words. I think I now know what I need to do: Retire from comp, observe quietly whats going on around me, not say too much and accept people as they are, including myself! Continue training quietly and make a real effort in helping beginners in their training. Oh and take up that zen calligraphy I find so fascinating.
regards,
peter

Peter, please stay in touch and let us know how you're doing. I'm sure your knowledge and background can teach us too.

This is fascinating to me. I am new to this board (and know nothing of the IC), but have a similar tale to Porthose that may be of use.

+I suffered from very violent dreams most of my life. I was never entirely sure of their source, but tend to use a model that there may be different types of dreams, and that at least some are a message from my soul--more on that below.

+I became a martial artist in my 20s and later a lawyer; subseqently realizing I did both because I felt so vulnerable and this was my way to defend myself against the world. (And realizing this actually freed me from the need to be either of these, and start participating in (for me) more connected activities that don't feed off of my fear (as of late, social dancing) and instead focus on developing a less combative and defended part of myself.

+I have been in a theraputic men's group for nearly 12 years and found the change through this group nothing short of profound. I attribute my experience there, and in particular, our relentless pursuit of the shadow, for (general) abatement of my violent dreams.

+I just had my first violent dream in a long time last night. I couldn't make any immediate association with it, but I did give it attention and while writing down the details it became very clear it related to my telling a "small fib" at a party of dancers the night before about being brave in the face of danger.

+The danger I mention related to a muscular person I know who asked me to restrian him from hitting his wife. What I told everyone (at the party the night before)--and have told many people before--is that I declined to restrain him and told the potential assaulter that I would call the police if he did assault his wife. The latter part was not true. I never even mentioned the police, lest he turn his focus to me.

+Before I tell you the dream, I should mention that I have recently discerned a pattern where I tell stupid lies to make myself look like more than I am. I have also committed myself to truth-telling around this, whatever the cost, and that potential cost is sometimes very scary.

That's the pre-frame....

+Last night I woke up screaming and with a racing pulse. This hasn't happened in a while, so I thought I should pay attention. I got up and shortly after calming down, wrote what I could remember. (In the past I have used a dictaphone by my bed so I could capture as many details as possible and also return to sleep as soon as possible!)

+The dream involved me and three friends showing up to a meeting at a restaurant, one of my friends reporting to four large men already sitting there we had sold two houses, and shortly after that, telling them we actually hadn't sold the houses. One of the men already sitting there immediately put a gun to my head.

My friends and I were instructed to put our hands on the table so that the person we lied to would stab our hand on the table to punish us. (In fact, they asked us to form our hands in a cup, that I now relate to a dancers hand position.)

One of my friends (persumably another part of me but not sure on that) dropping a gun next to me which I picked up and shot at the "boss" before he could kill me, though I missed him and awoke (I think) as he was about to shoot back.

+In writing it down, I got to a certain point and then had an "A-ha" moment. There was a real estate discussion the night before with a realtor friend, I had lied, and I feared the repurcussions of telling the truth.

+My interpretation is that I already believe its risky to tell the truth about having lied. It can mean the death of the relationship, that I will be excluded and....on some level, die myself. This dream seemed to manifest that inner fear about the path that I am on.

Some things of note....

+I didn't die in the dream, potentially leading me to believe that however messy (and possibly life threatening) I could tell the truth and not die.

+The dream was about an event very close in time, which I'm not sure I had experienced before--I kind of thought my dreams were about things deeper and older.

+While its always hard to tell, one of my experiences with dream interpretation is that once you hit on what it is, you can feel it in your body. That is, you just know its right. Many times the answer is not there, but I think there is something very powerful to writing it down and if its not immediately obvious, talking with someone about it--as often I have found it is still obvious, but it takes a friend or a therapist to make the connection.

Whatever its meaning, I used the opportunity to continue a path of rigorous truth telling, even if embarassing. In this case, emailing my friends and explaining that I had not in fact threatened to call the police.

So, there's my real-life example with violent dreams. I hope this is helpful (and would love other thoughts on this, if I have explained it clearly enough---I am really on a mission to explore the meaning of my violent dreams as well, so wanted to bring a specific example in).

FWIW, I am 45, recently divorced (she cheated--me ANGRY) so that I am having violent dreams again in the face of being so angry isn't unexpected. (A side comment on that though....my experience with anger is that its more of a superficial emotion, that masks a deeper fear of my perceived unlovability (or incompetence or something). I give my anger some play, because energetically sometimes I just need to let it out, but I also don't always vent it in safe ways, more often turning it inward and sometimes outward. I am usually better facing the deeper truth around it and finding new ways to believe I am worthy and lovable.

Hmmmm, sorry for writing so much!! Best wishes to you all....

Hi Dancingbear...

<blockquote><hr size=0><!-quote-!><font size=1>quote:</font>

A side comment on that though....my experience with anger is that its more of a superficial emotion, that masks a deeper fear of my perceived unlovability...<!-/quote-!><hr size=0></blockquote>

Absolutely. And lying would be about a perceived unlovability as well. I too have had the benefit of therapy with mental health professionals. I was taught why I didn't love myself and how to. It ain't easy. Once I mastered the art of loving my self (selves), then my wounded child selves opened up to me and released all those feelings of fear and pain the anger was trying to mask.

Did you learn any exercises designed to nurture self-love? And have you ever thought about approaching your wounded selves rather than Jung's shadow selves*). I feel it's an important semantic difference personally because I find loving and nurturing the wounded so much easier than loving and nurturing dark and dangerous shadows; and, as I suspect you know, having spent some time in therapy, it's all about love.

Love,

Val

Hello! This is my first post too, and I've just discovered this website. Thanks!

I would also like to post a question on violent dreams, which I have been having every night recently. I have read about the shadow, but the shadow is the same sex as the dreamer, however I am female and in my dreams the murderer is always male.

Among other dreams of the same kind: I have been stabbed by a blood covered serial murderer,died and came to life and terrified to breath in case the murderer would notice, because I could not bear the experience of being murdered again. directly killed by a giant missile, been just about to be brutally raped and murdered but saved by the murder of another girl causing distraction, smashed into as a little girl by a huge truck and later buried in snow, but I came to life and climbed out of my snowy grave, whereon a little boy who was also buried in snow came running to me; he had the paw print of a wolf on his t-shirt, the wolf had stood on his chest all night as if torturing him, delaying his attack, but didn't kill him in the end and just walked away. In my latest dream it was a male figure who died, who had been poisoned by a red apple, and the effect of the poison was that his skin could no longer hold his blood in, and was slowly seeping out and thereby killing him. All of these dreams are very upsetting. Why on earth am I having them? In my waking life I have never felt as genuinely happy, relaxed and confident! As an aside I've also had one of the most breathtakingly beautiful dreams of my life in this recent period.

Hello! This is my first post too, and I've just discovered this website. Thanks!

I would also like to post a question on violent dreams, which I have been having every night recently. I have read about the shadow, but the shadow is the same sex as the dreamer, however I am female and in my dreams the murderer is always male.

Among other dreams of the same kind: I have been stabbed by a blood covered serial murderer,died and came to life and terrified to breath in case the murderer would notice, because I could not bear the experience of being murdered again. directly killed by a giant missile, been just about to be brutally raped and murdered but saved by the murder of another girl causing distraction, smashed into as a little girl by a huge truck and later buried in snow, but I came to life and climbed out of my snowy grave, whereon a little boy who was also buried in snow came running to me; he had the paw print of a wolf on his t-shirt, the wolf had stood on his chest all night as if torturing him, delaying his attack, but didn't kill him in the end and just walked away. In my latest dream it was a male figure who died, who had been poisoned by a red apple, and the effect of the poison was that his skin could no longer hold his blood in, and was slowly seeping out and thereby killing him. All of these dreams are very upsetting. Why on earth am I having them? In my waking life I have never felt as genuinely happy, relaxed and confident! As an aside I've also had one of the most breathtakingly beautiful dreams of my life in this recent period. Any ideas?

HI Choo-Choo,
Your dreams sound horrifying, but it is hard to get a handle on someone else's dreams without any knowledge of current life events..or people who may be threatening to you in some way, even as your life feels happy and solid on other counts.

I am glad you had the breathtakingly beautiful dreams, too!

I dont know how you feel about the idea of "past lives"....I am not even sure how I feel about it! BUt I know at times in my life, I have dreamed of being a prisoner, playing dead, rolling into the ocean to escape detection, soldiers coming to murder me, and also being saved by the murder of other people causing distraction!

NOthing in my life seemed to match these images, indirectly or otherwise, and my childhood was not violent or overtly terrifying in any way.........so I have wondered at times about the possibility of past lives.....but it is pure speculation.

I dream vividly all the time, but I rarely feel I have the knack for getting to the bottom of them. Mostly, I have learned to trust that maybe the refuse of my psyche is being released, and that my spirit can transform the raw material into energy . If it needs my help or more active attention, I think it has ways of being insistent. YOu can try asking for clarification of troubling images before you go to sleep!
MIcheline

Hi Choochoo. Interesting dreams.

If I follow you, the male figure in the dreams went from dark and malevolent, to a little boy, to being helplessly ill. The emergence of the little boy from the snow seems to be a turning point of some kind. Might the poisoned apple have a root in the Snow White myth?

Micheline points out that these images do not necessarily reflect childhood or any past real time occurrence. So I would look elsewhere, like in a mythical context. She also points out that these types of dreams are not unique. I can also vouch for that. So there may be some relief for you there.

These sound like significant dreams, bringing you opportunities to peel away layers to your truest self. I?d say acknowledge them as such. No one in your dreams who was threatened died. This shadowy figure, in whatever morph-form, can only threaten and frighten. They might even assist you on your journey if you face them.

ChooChoo,

Welcome to Clarity.

I've done a lot of dream interpretation, some of it on this forum.

Do you mind if I quote myself and ask you the same questions that I asked Peter in reply to his post that started this thread?

- - -

"You say that you have recurring violent dreams.

In my experience, a recurring dream means that you are not fully taking on the message that you're being sent by your creative mind.

The more you disregard your dreams, the more graphic the dreams will become. Are you feeling angry with something or someone in your life at the moment?

Generally, how do you tend to express your anger?

In my experience, if you try to suppress angry feelings, they will surface one way or another. Especially in your dreams."

- - -

Perhaps the beautiful dreams are asking you to take note of what's being offered to you by your loving, caring creative mind in your dreams.

There seems to be tremendous potential for you right now, as Bruce says.

But please look after yourself emotionally.

Do you have someone you trust, who you can talk to face-to-face and who can give you solid emotional support?

Micheline,

You say, "I dream vividly all the time, but I rarely feel I have the knack for getting to the bottom of them."

Do you keep a dream diary or notebook? I think that's the first step in trying to get to understand your dreams. Only you can know the true meaning of your dreams.

Best wishes,

Mick

Hello everyone, thank-you very much for your responses. Firstly I have considered past lives, know nothing about where to begin with that, but nonetheless see the emotions as being part of my present, to be dealt with now I suppose, as you say Micheline a raw energy I may be able to transform. As a starting point I do feel that at least remembering the dreams must help, even if its uncomfortable, so i do keep a dream diary.. I know the dreams are telling me something, but I can't seem to understand, that's what's frustrating me! I've just passed through a 3year period of turning my life around, following my dreams, and going to counselling. Having alot of anger from a difficult childhood and experiences of abuse and not being able to express it was part of this. At this point in my life I've just finished studies, and I suppose the main question is do I follow a creative path, which I find terrifying but exciting and rewarding, or find a steady job, can not really survive without one. I don't know if this could have something to do with it. Also choosing to stop counselling is a big step, but I don't want to go forever, and I've literally transformed in the past 3 years..

Regarding the beautiful dream, it was of a huge shining white square through which I could see a landscape that was a mixture of day and night, with stars in a deep blue sky and huge white clouds and a mixture of golds and pinks in a daylight part of the sky, a beautifully austere land of ice and land and water, with deep blue water lapping up to where I stood in the middle of the square, and then to top it off a firework exploded in the sky scattering thousands of tiny sparks on the water in front of me. It was incredibly beautiful and I was so in awe, and in the dream thought.. 'I must have this feeling in my life.. i need to have this feeling'.

Last night I dreamt I was on top of a really tall building, scared of heights as I am, then I went down in the lift, to find a naked man covered in blood running around the floor I stopped on.This time he was more crazed than directing his anger at me.

Thank-you everyone for taking the time to reply to me..

Sounds like your Yang is doing a lot of suffering. Do you feel as though your creativity or will is being damaged or suppressed? Have you recently lost a job or something similar?

Choochoo,

You wrote,

"At this point in my life I've just finished studies, and I suppose the main question is do I follow a creative path, which I find terrifying but exciting and rewarding, or find a steady job, can not really survive without one. I don't know if this could have something to do with it."

I think so.

As for so many of us, surviving and paying the bills means taking a steady job and putting our creativity second.

And this is infuriating isn't it?

Certainly makes me angry at times to think how much time I've had to spend at work.

Does this strike a chord for you? Remember, only you can know the true meaning of your dreams.

You then wrote,

"Also choosing to stop counselling is a big step, but I don't want to go forever, and I've literally transformed in the past 3 years.."

Stopping counselling is a massive thing to do and shouldn't be under-estimated. Three years is a long time and you've obviously worked on yourself and achieved a lot in that time.

Perhaps your dreams also connect with the mixture of feelings you must have about finishing?

- - -

These are just my ideas but I really hope that some of this is useful to you.

I love your beautiful dream and I hope that feeling will be there in your life. I know it can be.

Look after yourself and be patient with yourself. Sometimes it takes a while before the meaning of dream-images becomes clearer.

Best wishes,

Mick

Yesterday evening as I was walking toward my home, just arriving from work, I had a sudden and very strong stranger feeling. The strongest I've felt in many years. My first impulse was that someone nearby had just seen me for the first time in a long time, and I looked around to see if there was anyone I recognized in a nearby car.

When I arrived home, I consulted the Yi about the feeling. They confirmed it was a stranger feeling... that it was a feeling someone else was feeling toward me... with hexagram 45 (connecting, gathering on a spiritual level), but they wouldn't tell me who it was connecting with me. I let it go and went on with my evening chores and then went to bed. I had my own would-be-violent dream last night that didn't end in violence after all.

I dreamt I lived in a beautiful big house. It was very warm and cozy and had many levels and windows everywhere. There was a lot of wood... the window frames and floors were wood... a warm colored wood. And every room had a view of everything. The furniture was beautiful and cushy. Wandering from room to room was a delightful experience.

I had just wandered into a room that was a cozy lounge kind of area and looked out to see a swarm of vampires descending upon my home... modern day kind of vampires dressed in jeans and button down shirts. They were descending into the living room... which was very big with several seating areas. I went down to greet them. I felt no fear whatsoever because I was capable of holding my own with them. When I got there I was a man. They came in and the first one I encountered was the leader. The others passed us and seated themselves around a table where they sat and talked leaving us alone. He and I were very attracted to each other, and we slowly approached other... getting closer and closer. He could see the attraction in my eyes, and I could see the attraction in his. Finally, we were moving into an embrace, and he opened his mouth and showed his teeth and descended toward my neck. Just as he started his move, I grabbed him by the throat and squeezed. He pleaded with me to let go saying I was choking him and he couldn't breath. Holding on to his throat, I pulled his face close to mine and, looking into his eyes all the while, very quietly and calmly said, "I want this (to be intimate with you), but I don't want this (you to suck my blood), and if you try again, you'll get this (I squeezed his throat just a tad tighter). He said okay, and I let go.

The next moment in the dream was the morning. We were motionless on the couch... asleep... fully dressed in what we were wearing the night before. He was lying on top of me and we were facing each other. The other vampires came to collect him to leave. He got up and then I got up, and they left. And I woke... still the middle of the night.

On waking, my first conscious thought was "Why didn't you drive a stake through his heart while you had the chance." But I knew what the dream was telling me. It was telling me who my stranger feeling earlier in the evening was coming from, and it was telling me how to deal with the obstacles between us if we ever see each other again and probably that we WILL see each other again. It seems the previous dreams about him that I was unhappy about weren't the crystal merchant talking after all. Seems that my conscious mind is acutally the cyrstal merchant talking. hmmmm.... well... time will tell.

Love,

Val

An updated observation on my dreams:

My vivid dreaming re-started a month ago, and that prompted my internet searching about violent dreams, which led me here.

I hadn't put this together at the time of my first post, but this new dreaming sequence correlates exactly with my commencing a daily meditation practice based on syncing the left and right brain hemispheres (if interested, info is at www.centerpointe.com).

The wild thing for me is I am finding an immediate correlation to events in my life. More specifically, the dreams are coming as answers to questions I have asked....and the hard part has been figuring out the question.

That is, some of the time I wasn't even aware I was asking these questions (or stated differently, didn't want to accept that I was asking these questions, because the questions themselves were potentially life changing).

I am not sure if I am explaining this well, but at least for the dreams that wake me up in a sweat, as I write down as much as I can remember about them, somewhere in the writing process something is triggered and I know exactly what it was about.

That these dreams bear such an profound connection to my immediate life, makes them all the more intrigueing.

That this dream sequence seems to correlate to my completely new meditation practice, and new found intensity around "conscious intention", all seem to be reinforcing and constructive.

Just wanted to share this in case it helps anyone else.

Glad you did, Dancingbear. I've noticed the same type of thing: local/universal.. when the light goes off in our head, they are seen as one and the same, one affirming the other.