Thursday, November 13, 2008

Dream of a painter

In my dream I return to my 20 year rental home. A large older man lives there now. He is a painter. Lots of canvases around. He paints "in the style of" paintings. He imitates famous painters. He has a book he follows. He talks to me in a foreign language and I don't understand a word.

Outside, I see that the septic system is leaking. It is raining. I get in my car to drive off. The man hands me some old postcards and letters from the old country through the car window. His son stands nearby to make sure he doesn't give away anything valuable. The man gets in my car, I back out of the driveway, but I stop across the street.

Earlier, I see that my neighbor has removed his little house and is building a new house on the footprint. There is a big hole in the ground with no construction started yet except a poured concrete floor.

Interpretation: Houses are often the containers of our souls. I tend to interpret the male figure in dreams in a Jungian manner. He is the masculine part of myself. The Animus. The assertive part of me. So is this older man the painter in me that needs to be assertive. But why does he speak a foreign language? The septic leakage might mean that there is something I need to tend to, within myself, that is (psychicly) leaking. The new house might mean I am building a new me. The older man's son may be the masculine part of me from the past, who was not as mature and had some fears about giving. But since the older man gets in the car with me I think this means he is the one I am now "going with." The fearless painter, the giving person. The assertive companion on my journey. Feel free to throw in your thoughts.

Photos: butterflies from earlier this fall.

15 comments:

A Wild Thing said...

It's fun to interpret dreams...it gives you the freedom and the reason to indulge in change and to follow through with who you really are and why. I wish I could remember more of my dreams, but I'm so anxious to get up and start a new day, they fall by the wayside.

Love your Mother's hearts...

Anonymous said...

I think you did a good job finding a the meaning of your dream. Sounds like a good one :-).

Cris, Artist in Oregon said...

wow you have interesting dreams. I never remember mine. so I could never interpret them. I have no clue to yours.

Natalya Khorover Aikens said...

i like your interpretation of your dream, now I may have to re-think how i interpret my dreams...

Andrea and Kim said...

Suki, I think you have done a tremendous job interpreting your dream. You approach it in a very analytical way which seems to work out wonderfully. At one point you ask why the man spoke in a language you don't understand. I wonder if it means there are things you don't understand but have to trust. Would that make any sense? I feel really honored you decided to share your dream here.

The photographs are truly lovely. I always look forward to what your camera eye has to share.

You have a great weekend, too!

Hugs!

Teri said...

Wow, you sure have some interesting dreams! I don't even remember mine but maybe I am missing some fun :)

soulbrush said...

gosh i wouldn't know where to start, all sounds reasonable to me, just don't like the 'septic' part....evidently dreams play a huge part in your life, whereas with me, i only dream if i have really bad indigestion and then i hardly ever remember them.

Tess Kincaid said...

I love to interpret dreams. It's very therapeutic. I think you've done an excellent job with this one. I agree, I think the old man is part of you. Maybe a version of Father Time? The older version of yourself? (not that you're that old...teehee)

Blue Sky Dreaming said...

Suki, Your dream is a rich gift to yourself...I like how you've connected all the meanings. I could only ask...what was your mood during the dream? However deep you take your analysis, there is bound to be a painting at the end. Maybe not in exact imagery but in color, mood and shapes! You're on a dream journey for sure.

Katiejane said...

Wow, this is DEEP. And here I just dream about being overwhelmed at work. I like all this analogy. If I send you my journal, will you analize me? Just kidding.

Echo said...

"Houses are containers of our souls."

No wonder my heart is so disorganized, my house is a disaster.

I love this thought, I don't know why. Actually it should be distressing but it is really conforting.

I never remember my dreams anymore, feel like I have lost something.

patti said...

You are probably the best person to interpret your dreams & you seem to have connected the dots quite well.

I had a terrible nightmare the other night & for some reason it felt like a past life dream. I journalled this dream & i knew precisely what it meant in terms of my life now. We know so much more than we think we know, if you know what i mean!

I love hearing about your dreams Suki.

marianne said...

Wow I think yu did good by yourself interpreting your dream.
I wouldn't know what to trow in what could add something.
Interesting to read Suki. I dream a lot about houses too and moving...... (and swimming pools, have no idea what that stand for....)
Next time I will remember this when I dream of houses and see if it makes sense to me.
In 15 minutes I will go for a massage with Reiki! I look forward to that, it has been a long time sinnce I had a massage. (I know you love that too)


take care Suki

love >M<

sukipoet said...

Well I guess I was in lala land y'day and I thought i responded to commetns but obviously didnt!!

Sweet repose, welcome. Love the picture of the house. I used to work with my dreams quite a bit, recording them etc. Noting repeated symbols. Now I just interpret them on occasion. Thanks for stopping by.

Annie, thanks. It was a strong dream in that i remembered it so clearly.

Cris, there are ways to train yourself to remember. Such as telling yourself, as you fall asleep, that you will. Also keeping a journal or pad of paper beside the bed waiting for some dream notations, which invites the dream mind to speak up and be remembered.

Natalya, as a one time reader of many bks on dreams, I have noted that there are various ways to interpret them, all good. It is best to just use whatever mode feels natural to you I think.

Kim that's an interesting thought. About the foreign language and the idea that there are things I cant understand but have to trust. That well could be a way to look at it. sometimes such things have several resonances too.

Teri, it depends on how you define fun. Some of my dreams are quite frightening and seem so real at the time.

Soulbrush, I have to chuckle at your saying you only dream when you have bad indigestion. Hmm. I didnt like the septic part of the dream either really. The attention I pay to dreams is cyclical. Sometimes I do pay attention and other times I dont notice or remember my dreams.

Willow, after I awoke I tried to remember how old I was in the dream (approximately) and I couldnt be sure. It is possible the man was the same age as I am in real life, which is mid-sixties. In the dream I may have been a bit younger as in real life, inside me, I feel about 35.

thanks for your question and lovely words Blue Sky Dreaming. I forget sometimes to assess the mood in the dream and upon awakening. I would say except for the septic thing this was a good dream, a hopeful dream. Esp re seeing the new house being built. And all the canvases being painted. And the gifts the older man gave me. I felt happy after I awoke. I hope it does result in creative activity picking up. Or something.

sukipoet said...

Echo, I guess when I said that i mean in dreams. Not sure if that carries over into our real lives. But I do think the state of our real life houses reflects something about us. Thanks for stopping by, Echo.

Patti, I like to share a dream every now and then as it is part of who I am just in general and I also think part of who I am creatively. Journaling a dream can reveal many layers not noticed before and also speaking out a dream to someone, I think. Happy dreaming...Suki

Hi Marianne. I hope your Reiki massage was good. Here, Reiki people don't actually touch the body, but move their hands around in the air in energy patterns. I took level one Reiki training. I liked either Swedish/deep tissue massage or shiatsu massage (where they move your legs and arms around and press on the acupuncture points) the best. I'd love to hear how the massage went.

I dream about moving and packing to move a lot too. Take care, suki