Four Experts Try to Get Inside Readers' Heads

I've experienced variations on this from time to time, but it always includes getting from one place to another, going through deepening water on stones. It's not unpleasant, but it is puzzling, maybe unnerving.

-- Andrea Cooper, Ashburn

Jenkins: Describe the dream from the other Andrea's perspective, as though she was watching you. She will have clear advice for you.

Shanor: Children younger than 7 years generally observe themselves in their dreams because they are still developing a sense of "self." Could you be developing your identity of who you are at a certain stage -- "stepping" from shallow to deep as you get older and have more experiences? What parts of yourself are you connecting and making more "whole" as you walk toward yourself?

Welt: I would guess almost everyone will see this dream the same way, following Jung: Water represents the possibility of rebirth through immersion in the material of the unconscious mind. As one progresses deeper, things may seem less clear, as at dusk, and perspectives shift; it is harder to hold on to the stance of the objective observer. But it is very good to know that there is still a solid stone path under one's feet. In this case, I'd ask what is like the stone path in your life.

Trapped at Work

I have been a printer in the Washington area for most of my 39-year career. At least once a week I will dream I am in a very large manufacturing or warehouse facility trying to find my way out the door. Sometimes I am either working or climbing very large machines. This environment is usually quite dirty, and I can never make my way out. The funny part is that I will be with many of the guys I worked with 25 years ago. One time I was even in Hawaii! Nothing bad ever happens, but it always seems very frustrating and complicated. Where the heck am I going?

-- Dave Dixon, Columbia

Shanor: Are your trying to decide what you want to do in your next stage of life? Do you want to get out of printing but don't know how or what to do next -- and don't want to lose the camaraderie you've enjoyed at work over the years? Do you want to get out and travel? Any fears about doing so?

Welt: I think everyone who's had a job has a dream that draws on their work setting. A factory or mechanical environment in particular represents the body for many dreamers. What is being made in this factory? What keeps you from getting out?

Whale of a Tale

A series of dreams involving Shamu the killer whale:

1) I am at a Sea World-type water park and we are looking over the edge of the tank. Suddenly, Shamu hoists himself up on cricketlike legs and lunges out of the tank toward me. I am terrified because he will suck the fluid out of my kneecaps if he reaches me.

2) I am sitting on a dock on a lake behind my old middle school with my parents. Shamu is swimming in the lake, and we are all terrified. My mother turns to me and says, "You better run, because if he catches you, he will suck the fluid from your kneecaps."