ABOUT TRYING TO ESCAPE

Analise from San Diego sent me this dream:

I was trying to escape and hide from someone.  At first I had my son, Luke, with me.  He’s a teenager now but in the dream he was about 4.  Wherever I was, there was water.  I think we were at a public place, and I told Luke to jump in with me.  I floated on my back and floated with him on top of me, on his back also.  He took a little bit of water in his mouth and to keep him calm, I reassured him that we would be okay.

Trying to escape in a dream is your psyche mirroring your wish to escape something in real life.  Maybe you’re trying to escape an abusive situation.  Your job?  A relationship?  A friend?  Family?  Our culture traditionally expects the men in a woman’s life (fathers, husbands and sons) to protect her when necessary.

While in this dream your son may actually symbolize your real son, it’s more probable that he symbolizes your “inner son”… the self-protective aspect all people eventually nurture in themselves.  The fact that he is so young in this dream suggests this aspect of you is, at this time, not fully mature.  Perhaps circumstances haven’t required you to nurture this self-protective mechanism that much.

Water is a symbol of emotions.  Our eyes produce water when we are sad or hurt.  Your immersing yourself in water, with your protective mechanism on “top” of you, suggests that your situation is an emotional one.  You are steeped in an emotional quandry.  Something or someone you care about is the cause of your need for protection, and because you care about the person (or situation) which is causing your quandry, you reassure your son (your defenses) that there’s no need to be scared.  When your inner defenses are in fear mode, they trigger your need to strike back.

The dream changes to us hiding in our old neighbor’s house (who has since moved, so the house was not familiar).  They had a downstairs area that felt like a good hideout place, but this time I think I had my daughter.  There was a helicopter looking for us, and a police officer who was broadly built and somehow keeping the helicopter from seeing us.  I woke up several times and was really scared, but I fell back asleep and went back into the dream each time.

In our culture, daughters are to be cherished and protected.  Seeking refuge in a neighbor’s house suggests you don’t feel your own house is refuge enough.  The downstairs area (basement) symbolizes you are pushing your feelings of wanting to escape to your subconscious level.  Helicopters provide an “overview” of the situation… a way of looking at the scene below with a rational and unemotional attitude.  Policemen, who protect society and take measures against crimes represent your inner policemen… your conscience.

Your dream is suggesting to me that you are being spiritually, psychologically and emotionally abused by something or someone in your life situation.  Many times, the people we love (parents, spouses, children, etc.) are the ones abusing us, whether intentionally or unintentionally.  The fact that you are “scared,” suggests there might even be physical abuse involved.

However, you are feeling there’s no escape from this situation because you care about the person who is “abusing” you.  Even when you are rational and can “view” the situation on a rational level, the sturdiness of your own conscience is preventing you from taking action. 

This is quite a dilemma.  It sounds like you have been enduring this situation for some time.  As you know, being in a constant state of “fear” is not healthy.  I urge you to seek guidance from a  professional, not necessarily from the “police” but perhaps a therapist who might offer more realistic solutions for you.

Thank you for sharing your dream.  This interpretation might guide and help others in similar situations.  Sending all my readers a wish for similar dream guidance from their inner selves.