Inner Conflict

Hello TOTJO, I had a dream recently and am curious to hear thoughts on it so I'll put it up for all to see.

The dream starts in a forest. I'm sitting there feeling trapped and alone. I know that I'm here because someone put me there, but I'm not sure of why. I stand and start to walk through the forest. Initially I walk in a sort of spiral pattern but then I find a stream with a small but strong flow. The water is so clear and cool so I stop and take a small drink. Then I hear a voice. Its a man shouting and a woman shouting back. They sound far away and I am drawn to the conflict. It seems familiar in some way I don't understand. I begin running through the forest toward these voices, noticing a sudden thick fog growing as I run. Suddenly I reach a clearing and before I enter I see a man and a woman standing across from each other laughing. Then I notice something strange, the woman is my girlfriend. I walk into the clearing to find out what is going on and the man turns around. To my amazement the man is me, or at least he looks like me. I sense the shift in his energy as a look of determination comes across his face. At this point I am very confused. Then a sword of a glowing bluish white nature materializes in his hand, the color spreading to the rest of his body quickly. I look down at my hand and a blood red sword comes into being right before my eyes, my body also glowing with the same faint aura. As we stand facing each other we seem to be draining the color from the world around us, and then he strikes. With a series of quick blows it is all i can do to parry. I chance a quick glance over at my girlfriend and she seems almost as confused as I am. I fight back against the onslaught of blows but don't seem to be making any headway. I then parry a blow of his then roll back and away. I tell him I don't want to fight. That I simply wish to understand. He says that I should leave, and he steps closer to me and raises his blade again. I turn to leave, heart heavy with sorrow and suddenly I hear the slice of cold metal through the air and then the pain. A long slice across my back. My girlfriend screams as I start to bleed heavily. I turn and raise my blade once more but I cannot bring myself to follow through. I know it wouldn't be right to strike back. I quickly flee back to my spot in the forest, because at least it is safe there. I am alone and confused and hurt, but at least I am safe.

Raikou, I too have experienced a similar dream of sorts...yet I do not quite know what it means...

This one has been reoccurring for for the past few months, and I am still trying to make sense of it...

I am falling towards something and am in a void. Around me, the world, the universe and the stars stare back at me as I follow a voice. This voice is impossible to make out, yet is comforting and warm. If I stop to view my surroundings, a sense of fear, loneliness and suffocation comes over me. If I attempt to rise in the direct opposite to the voice, I feel as though icy daggers are stabbing away at me, yet another voice is calling me. This time, it is that of some dark spectre that is neither male nor female, yet seems to be an embodiment of the darkness within me. It is somewhat visible upon the backdrop of the universe, yet it too is impossible to quantify just as the unknown voice beforehand was. If I stay stationary for too long, the Earth shatters, the pieces start to swirl and the stars begin to spin round and around like a whirlpool of sickening diamond polka dots on a field of black. The dream ends with my body also experiencing a stabbing pain yet also a sense of peace and freedom before the mess before my eyes is replaced with a snowy field that morphs into a sunset beach. I normally wake up feeling exhausted, anxious or confused...so, I understand your words when you say that you feel alone, confused and hurt, yet also safe.

As to what it all means, I am too confused to look at the symbolism and to actually deconstruct the dream at the present as I am stuck with studies for my finals, yet if I do have a spare little while expect a follow up response!

~Lorian~

Raikou: I believe the usual interpretation is anxiety. You have some anxiety about your girlfriend, or some inner conflict, etc. You feel trapped by something. You feel a loss of control.

Lorian: You have anxiety from being self-conscious. You fear the world will see your inner darkness.

Whyte Horse wrote: Lorian: You have anxiety from being self-conscious. You fear the world will see your inner darkness.

Indeed...that would make sense. Perhaps I should express some of the confusion and darkness within at some point?
Thank you for your words and view of such a dream, Whyte Horse

~Lorian~

Lorian wrote:

Whyte Horse wrote: Lorian: You have anxiety from being self-conscious. You fear the world will see your inner darkness.

Indeed...that would make sense. Perhaps I should express some of the confusion and darkness within at some point?
Thank you for your words and view of such a dream, Whyte Horse

~Lorian~

No problem, I studied dream analysis extensively and took advanced psychology courses at the University of Colorado. Not that I'm an expert but I do know a thing or two. That being said, I think you might want to explore the possibility that there is no dark side. You said "I should express some of the confusion and darkness within" but that's just some messed up thinking. Like maybe you're gay... but your family says it's bad... so you think it's the dark side... whatever. You get the meaning. YOUR dark side may not be dark at all and expressing it may actually be a GOOD thing. Does that make sense? Like you say your dark side is that you're gay(just as an example) but there's nothing dark at all about being gay, it's just the messed up people around you told you it's evil... something like that. I apologize in advance to all the gay people reading this, it's just one of those examples that is easy to use.

Lorian wrote: This one has been reoccurring for for the past few months, and I am still trying to make sense of it...

Have you tried switching 'consciousness' with the other version of yourself in the dream? I mean, becoming the other you looking at the original you, inside the dream!!! I've been having a bit of success in that sort of strange messing with the laws of reality in my dreams lately. Maybe view recurring dreams as an opportunity to exert some control over them, assuming its a healthy thing to do.

I have, since this post, had the dream where I am the other me. It is a radical personality shift but it ends the same way. The only difference between dreams is the perception of who strikes the first blow. I cannot control anything about these dreams even though they are recurring. In one dream I am longing to be free and to be with my girlfriend and in the other I feel the need to push the other back and not let him take my place that I deserve.

I tried this last night with mixed results. I was able to meet a version of myself in my dream but could not transfer across. He was not that nice and when I prodded him with a golf putter, it went straight through him and he eventually turned around and swung his own golf stick at me (which he just materialized!). I woke up at that point. This means he could see me the whole time but he seemed to ignore me and want to do his own thing until I started prodding him. I was able to create it by driving a bus and trying to beat another bus doing the same route. When I got home I waited for the other bus driver, who entered as another version of me. Bizarre experience, thanks for suggesting it. I will try again if I can.