Help in interpreting dreams requested

[Sanity Claws]

I had many nights without any dream recall and then on Monday and Tuesday, I had a couple of dreams with interesting (to me) imagery. I haven't been able to figure out the meaning and would love some help.

In the first dream, I was winning a bicycle race and I stopped to bathe my feet. I remember changing socks. I was wearing two pairs, one was a thin nylon type that you wear with dress pants and over that, a pair of white athletic socks. I remember thinking or someone telling me that I'll fall behind in the race if I don't hurry up but I didn't seem concerned about it. After bathing my feet, I remember putting on running shoes that were white with pink stripes. They were pretty!
That's all I recall.

In another dream the same night, I was told that someone was my 52nd teacher in my life. (It could have been 51 -- just not sure.) I asked who were the earlier teachers? I saw an image of a friend who I have lost contact with. In the same dream, something about a root mat came up -- something you sit on and it helps you get grounded or rooted through the root chakra. (Maybe someone will tell me that this is a symptom of taking too many yoga classes!)

The next night, I was riding on an elevated train line and looking down on lots that were like Monopoly game board lots. I got off on a corner square for Yankee Stadium. (I'm a Yankee fan, originally from NY). I kept saying that this is in wrong location. Something was off about the map or plot. When I got off the train, I was at a baseball field, the kind you'd see in an highly urbanized environment. It had hurricane fencing and the lot was small with not much if any grass. Boys were playing and one kid hit a home run right over the fence. The ball landed out in the street. The next boy got up to bat. He swung and the bat broke in half as it met the ball. The ball then tipped the top of the fence but went over. I wondered how that was going to be scored. So I watched the kid run the bases and stop at second. He treated it as a ground rule double, even though no one said that. Under real baseball rules, that would have been a home run, because it went out of the field. In other words, the kid gave himself less credit than he had earned.
I hope this last dream wasn't too "baseball-y" for your likes.

Help! (I'd love to get the running shoes I saw in my dream. ;))

[cassiepriam]

1. questions

Very interesting dreams. The first and last dreams are symbolically the same dream. The second dream is different.

What was the purpose of the hurricane fencing around the base ball lot?
Why did you need to stop and bathe you feet? Do you recall?

Is there something going on in your life right now where you are working on a goal or project and you are getting side tracked and off course?
In some cases you are doing it to yourself, in others cases, factors beyond your control are interfering. And you are ending up not getting things done and or getting less credit than you deserve??

Also there is an element of things not feeling right or making sense. Things feeling wrong.

The double layer of socks is fascinating.A Seems to me like some sort of identity or role issue, a duality of some sort. Feminine vs masculine. Conflict between work and home life perhaps.

Also sports/games symbols. Bike race, monopoly game, baseball game. All highly completive.

[Sanity Claws]

2. Cassie

The first and third dreams did not feel the same to me although you may be right that they are related.
I have no idea why I stopped in the first dream to bathe my feet. I suppose it just felt like the right thing to do. In the dream, I really liked the new pink/white sneakers I put on. I looked down at them and wiggled my toes in them.

As for the fencing around the ballfield, I think of all ballfields as having fencing around them. I grew up in NYC and it may be different where you grew up. It was tall hurricane fencing, maybe a couple of stories high.

What's going on in my life? I am changing careers. I've been an attorney for 20 plus years. Last year I made the decision to close down my practice. (I had been terribly unhappy for a few years and probably in a clinical depression for two years. I felt a great need to make serious changes in my life.) As of February 1,I finally closed my office and am wrapping up two remaining things electronically. I have not applied for a new job but do have some ideas of what I want to do next. I am using my down time to fix my house up for sale and be ready to move for a new career. I am thinking of moving back to NYC.

I suppose those things help explain some of the imagery. I am bothered about the lots in the last dream not being right. It was like the map was wrong and I thought it should be more of a diagonal, not a straight line down to the corner. The kid not getting credit for a home run felt wrong. The broken bat was odd.
In contrast, the first dream felt fine. Remember, I really liked those new pink and white sneakers!

[cassiepriam]

3. OK....

Oh I think you mean a chain link fence. That is what we call it where
I live. The "hurricane fencing" in an urban ball park threw me.
I didn't know if that was normal or a symbolic dream metaphor to which I needed to pay attention. But yes chain link fences are common in a ball park.

The dreams are most likely about your major life changes right now. The feelings are quite different I agree, but the symbolic content is similar. First one is about not continuing with a job or task, a task not completed. You yourself interrupt the task or goal completion bit it feels OK. You are not worried about it, you are enjoying doing something totally different. Something less strenuous, something more artistic, fun or creative that you love. Out of the rat race, taking time to enjoy life and slow down. You did not care at all if you lost the race. That was no longer important to you as it was in the beginning of the race.

The last dream is an anxiety dream. About trying to complete a task but there is difficulty with it at every turn. Everything is off kilter. Like your life is right now. Facing the scary parts of your new life change. Any time we face major change we get anxious, even if it is good change.
And usually we feel good about making such a change at first, but then some reality hits and we get scared. All of this is normal. A roller coaster of feelings. The dreams feel different, but it is all part of the roller coaster ride you are on right now.

But there are some pieces of it to yet sort out:

What felt wrong about the lots?
What felt wrong about the directions?
What was not right about the bat breaking?
And why did it feel bad that the boy did not get credit?

[Sanity Claws]

4. Cassie

I think you have the first dream figured out. I envision my new career/life as a pair of pink/white running shoes that I enjoy and can wiggle my toes in. It is very hopeful.

Now to answer your question about the last dream. Yes, it's chain link fencing. Out here, I keep hearing the other term.
What felt wrong about the lots and the directions was the location, the geography. It was as though the map was wrong. The map of the train line was like the right hand side of a game board and the map showed Yankee Stadium in the lower right hand corner. I didn't think it was down at the right hand corner; it would be somewhere in what was the middle of the game board. I said to someone, no it's got to be over there, pointing on a diagonal to the lower third or middle of the board, in a nw direction.

As for the bat breaking, it was vivid. The prior batter hit a home run and I don't remember anything about his bat. But for the second batter, the bat was broken in two pieces and flew some distance. I don't think a feeling accompanied this -- it was just a vivid image.
I felt bad about the boy not getting credit -- he stopped himself. No one yelled ground rule double or raised the issue. Others were quite content to let him take second base when he should have gone home.
Am I keeping myself at second base because I don't think I'm worthy, don't give myself enough credit?
Am I keeping myself at second because I don't feel ready to go home (NYC) yet? Hmmmm

[cassiepriam]

6. Search: Dream 1

Yes the first dream was quite straightforward, the third dream is more complex. I have not even hit the second dream yet, that had more of a spiritual or metaphysical feel to me, so will tackle that one last.
BTW I do feel dreams are a combination of unconscious material related to our waking state as well as spiritual and prophetic messages.

BTW the double layer of socks in the first dream is important, can you tell me what that means for you?

And yes you are quite happy about the change of careers in your first dream. Looking forward to it. The change feels much better for you, fun and satisfying.

Oh, in your dream was your sense that you went back to the bike race? Did you win? Or did you drop out altogether to enjoy the shoes etc?

BTW dream interpretation is a process that takes a bit of interaction to sort out as you can see. Have to ask questions to get the real meaning for you.

[cassiepriam]

7. Dream 3

I am glad I asked about the fencing because at first I thought it was significant that you had the ball field needing to be protected from hurricanes! It would have been an important part of the dream. But a chain link fence is not an anomaly I need to pay attention to. This is why I have to ask about things....

You wrote: <<What felt wrong about the lots and the directions was the location, the geography. >>

Could this piece be about you trying to decide where you are going to live? You are happy and decided about the career change, but uncertain about the geographical move?

You wrote: It was as though the map was wrong.

The feeling I keep getting on this part is one of you being confused. You are looking at something in black and white that does not match your intuition and your sense of things. So it is creating some confusion. But you seem to trust your intuition more than the map?? This could be a conflict between rationality and intuition? Or is someone else trying to tell you to do something that your intuition is balking at?

You wrote: The map of the train line was like the right hand side of a game board and the map showed Yankee Stadium in the lower right hand corner. I didn't think it was down at the right hand corner; it would be somewhere in what was the middle of the game board. I said to someone, no it's got to be over there, pointing on a diagonal to the lower third or middle of the board, in a nw direction.>>

This to me feels like a person who has lost their bearings and can't quite figure out where they are.... things aren't making sense for the person and the direction is not clear. The map they have doesn't work anymore. Something is wrong and they are trying to figure it out. The external environment is not matching their inner reality somehow.

Also I don't know if the specific directionality of the map is important or not. The map was showing the stadium more south and east than was correct. The true direction was more north and west. Does this have any meaning for you?

You wrote: As for the bat breaking, it was vivid. The prior batter hit a home run and I don't remember anything about his bat.

The first person in the dream is successful, gets full credit for his success and has no mishaps.

You wrote: But for the second batter, the bat was broken in two pieces and flew some distance. I don't think a feeling accompanied this -- it was just a vivid image.

The second boy has a major mishap, something external to himself caused a problem.

I confess I do not know enough about baseball to sort out the next piece. What is the rule conflict here? Is it a legal homerun? Why did the boy think it was not? Because it hit the fence as it went over?

The boy is successful despite external problems, but in a way that is unclear and confusing. And no one helps him or supports him, he is totally on his own. And he underestimates his performance. He choses the option that is less than what he deserves. So he keeps himself on second base instead of the home run he deserves.

Why does the boy do this? What was the feeling in your dream?

I think you are getting at the meaning of this part, but you need to keep going with it, we have not sorted it all out yet.

[Sanity Claws]

8. Cassie, the dream goddess

Cassie,

I think you really asked the right questions to get at what the dreams were about. I've had sometime to mull it over and you are right. The first and third dreams are related. The difference is that in the first one I'm hopeful that I'm on the right track and in the third one, I'm allowing my anxieties over the future to creep in.

Let me answer some of your questions. I am learning to trust my gut/instinct more. I ignored this source of valuable information far too long. As for pointing NW, I don't know whether this is the explanation but I now live in the Pacific Northwest and it is NW from NYC. Maybe it's just confusion whether I belong in Seattle or NYC.
As for the baseball tidbit, there is something called a ground rule double; it's usually where something happens to the ball and it can't be played anymore. For example, let's say someone hit the ball to the outfield and a spectator bent over and touched the ball. That would be called a ground rule double. Or, let's say the ball dropped into the outfield and then bounced into the bleachers. That's also a ground rule double. In the dream, the ball skimmed the top of the fence but still went over. That should be considered a home run. The kid considered it a ground rule double. In the dream, I didn't pick up anything about how the kid felt or why he thought it was a ground rule double. Instead, I remember my thought process -- I was watching the kid and wondering how they were going to score the play. I saw him stop at second and understood they were scoring it as a ground rule double. I didn't think that was the rule but I was just an observer. After I woke up and reviewed my dream, I knew that this was wrong -- it was a home run.

I really appreciated how you helped me sort through this imagery.

[cassiepriam]

14. You are welcome.

Yes I agree, I thought that the directionality was most likely about NW vs NYC....
the conflict about the geographical move. You are struggling with that piece of things.

But again I want to make sure I do not project my interpretation onto you!
So that is why I have to ask you what you mean. It is your dream.

I think that the ground rule double metaphor is important for you to think about.
Like the double socks. :) (I love dreams, they are so rich in information!)

The boy underestimated or downplayed his hit. Assumed it was less valuable than it really was.
And he just assumed that other people saw it that way too.

Also the fence is in the way, the bat breaks. This is a little boy who is not supported by the people or things in his environment. And who does not have an accurate view of his value.

[wickfordbard]

5. More to think about

the first dream about the race: the race to succeed? Name your race and you know the context of the dream. First you're bicycling - bicycles require balance - usually between sefl and other, but it can be between profession and the rest of your life. So, how are your relationships? Bathing your feet is refreshing your standpoint - cleansing it. After, you are running - you're going forward in life from this new standpoint. Not taking other's viewpoint into consideration??? White and pink - colors of the new feminine spirit arising in the world.

2nd dream: You've had lots of teachers? Is 52 meaningful to you? I feel as if it is the balance of life experience you've had (5-experience, 2 balance) How is this friend? What did (s)he mean to you? Is this person a shadow figure teacher for you? perhaps you now need to root your personal expience - sort of like making it the center pole of your life.

These two dreams are about you making the decision to renew your life. There's lots more in this but you'll have to supply it.

3rd dream: Elevated train (collective track) looking down at the game of life. You get off the track laid down for you at the place where you find yourself through fun - Yankee stadium. Baseball is about hitting a home run. It's a diamond. It has to do with finding the SELF - the inner Soul. But it's now something that goes back to boyhood. One part of you hit a homerun by beoming a lawyer. What other part of you was left behind when the bat broke - the bat is a phallic, wand, fire, creativity symbol. You need that stick to get the ball into the air and achieve the run. A broken bat - broken energy????? Was there something technical that stopped you from pursuing your dream - some rules or attributes you didn't possess. That you give yourself less credit for than you should because someone told you you weren't good enough?

Hope this is helpful. Keep walking around the images and connect them to what you've been thinking and feeling about this change. Dreams tells us what we DON'T know. they give us a new perspective. So what new perspective does this bring up for you?

BARD - BE A REAL DREAMER

[Sanity Claws]

9. Wickford, another dream goddess

I think you and Cassie are right about the first dream. It's about changing my life and going forward from a new standpoint. You threw in "not taking other's viewpoint into consideration?" Why did you ask this? I wasn't soliciting other views, true. But I was also not disregarding anyone or hurting anyone.

As for the second dream, 52 has no meaning to me, other than it's double my birthdate, the 26th. I do not consider this friend a teacher in anyway in my life. I like her and think well of her but we are on different paths. She had no empathy for me when I told her how unhappy I was in my career. She thought I was being self-indulgent. That's one of the reasons I no longer keep in touch with her.
The root mat I consider just a reminder that I need to ground myself.

Third dream -- broken bat as broken energy? Maybe that's it. I used to throw all my energy into my work. There may be a relationship there. I need to mull that over.

[Why Syzygy]

10. This is a fascinating thread.

So, the friend/'teacher' flashed on the scene, the dream character made a home run, clean, then another player broke the bat and was penalized. Is there anything about that person that left a residue of criticism or guilt?

[Sanity Claws]

13. I think she left the same residue that many others have in my life.

The two images were in different dreams but on consecutive nights. I'm not sure there's a connection between them. Nevertheless you are right about that person leaving a residue of criticism that I think about. She meant well but it wasn't what I needed. It was kind of a game of who had it harder in life, saying, you don't know what pain/suffering means and then goes on about how her life was so much harder. My parents were that way. I don't want to do that. It's meaningless. How do you compare pain? Why should you compare pain? Why can't one offer compassion regardless of how their present pain compares to your past pain?

[wickfordbard]

11. I was so busy that i threw out some suggestions without

being clear perhaps. The balancing act of bicycle riding is often associated with being in relationship. I meant that perhaps you've listened to what you 'should' do rather than what you've wanted to do. Maybe you have to stop taking other people's view into consideration in finding this new life. It's the difference between going to someone for advise (like a reader) or going to someone like a life coach who will question you until you find out what it is you want to do. As a therapist and coach, there is value in both kinds of work. But now you want to find your own standpoint. The double socks could indicate that you have two standpoints - a sporty one and a more professional one. I wonder if you'll combine them in the future.

Regardless if you think this friend is your teacher or not - the dream connects her with your teachers - she'd be what we Jungians call a shadow teacher - someone who shows us our shadow. You might not like what she said, but what's wrong with being self-indulgent. She represents some part of you or else you wouldn't be so angry with her that she isn't your friend anymore. Sorry, psychological truth! :)

The broken bat might not be so much about your work as about something else you might have wanted to do with your life early on, which you might not have felt qualified to do. Re-read what I wrote about the game of life. You have a new perspective on things. Not the same as before. so where do you go next, in those cute pink and white shoes?

[Sanity Claws]

12. Thanks for clearing things up

I agree with your statement that I feel a need to stop taking other's views into consideration in finding my new life. I didn't understand your earlier statement.

The friend whose image appeared as a teacher is very much a shadow teacher. I was unfamiliar with that term. I was actually aware that I had this stern sider to me, where I thought I had to fulfill certain duties. This particular friend has those qualities to the nth degree. While I respect her and wish her all the best, I don't want to be her. I want to leave those qualities behind and find a place where I can wiggle my toes in pretty white and pink sneakers.

I like your reading of the broken bat. I had accomplished something, perhaps in a different way from others, but still accomplished it and didn't give myself the credit for it.

I'll have to reread what you wrote about the game of life. I don't think I got it. BTW, did you know that there's a book by that name, written by Florence Shinn? A cyber pal told me about me and gave me a link to it. I downloaded it and started reading it last night.