I have always been fascinated with dreams and their meaning, so much so that my very first memories are memories of dreams, some of which scary, some of which ecstatic, some of which very puzzling. If you are a prolific dreamer like me or if you ever had some dreams that really left you wondering the next day, then you too had a sense that there was something more to them than just dreaming. In this article I am going to tell you one of my most recent dreams and how I got to the bottom of its meaning. I chose this one because it was a transformative dream, therefore quite personal while at the same time easy to generalise.

First of all, there was something quite symbolic about this dream: water. Dreaming of water is deeply connected with the subconscious and with our emotions. Water represents the very early stages of creation, a dangerous and chaotic place as well as the source of life. Water is the place from which some creatures emerged to continue the journey of evolution, while others got stuck and never made it out. Deep dark waters are dangerous and in the collective imagination contain mystery, monsters, dangers. These waters are full of perils also because one cannot see much past their nose and it takes special equipment and special skills to navigate or explore them in real life. We could say the same about the waters of the unconscious, where one could get lost, drown, or be attacked by ancestral “monsters”.

Dreaming of water is deeply connected with the subconscious and with our emotions

Water as an element is symbol of transformation and renewal and the ocean is the place where this transformation takes place: all the waters from the rivers and the mountains gather in the ocean, they are transformed into steam by the sun to form clouds and then fall down again as rain; the cycle repeats to sustain life on earth. In the same way the emotional energy within us which is the power behind our subconscious can serve the same function of renewal and nourishment.

The ocean holds within itself the creative transformational and generative power but can be a place of illusion, confusion and danger if spoilt or rough. Everything flows to the ocean and everything is measured from the ocean. Everything that drops in the ocean creates ripples which will have repercussions on the shores, afar.

I have been dreaming water for the last couple of months now, craving to go the warm and dive in. I thought that it was due to missing my annual holiday in sunny Italy and my only chance to go to a warm beach and swim in clear blue waters. But I got a different understanding when a couple of weeks ago I had a dream that left me with a sense of pace, calm, release. My life in the last few years, especially my internal life, is being completely transformed. I have been pushed, as it happens by an external and threatening event, to review what I am doing, why am doing it and I have been forced in to reinvent myself in the process. It is all culminating in these last few months and especially the last few weeks, as by hook or by crook I am moving forward and my life will be changed by the beautiful blessing of my first child. In addition to all this, it is coronavirus times, all our lives are being transformed and we are all going through a collective adjustment. I do not know if you got there yet, but the old ways of living, working, relation with each other and with our environment are not working anymore. More and more people around the world are being awakened by this shock.

Not surprisingly, this is a period in which I am having a lot of dreams which are helping me to let go of the past, understand, forgive, love. I did not realise how deeply rooted in my unconscious certain experiences were and that I had not truly let go. I think this dream is along the same lines, letting go of the past and of certain expectations, beliefs, ways of doing things as this is the only way I can truly experience freedom.

I was dreaming that I was on a long journey with some old classmates; I had not been in touch with them for a very long time, 20 years to be specific. We were in Bali (although where a I was resembled more of Oahu), in a very high building from which we had a lovely view of the beach and the ocean; it was a privileged view and the beach was only minutes’ walk from there. All I wanted to do in my dream was to swim in the ocean, feel the water, play with the fish, ride the waves. The water was crystal clear and I could see all sea creatures in there: I was itching to dive in. The sea was mainly calm and flat in this little bay but a bit further out the wave could get high. I was so excited as I could see through the waves and I remembered how easy it was as a child to go under water and swim through the waves.

As I was preparing to go, my old friends and some other people were asking me to do things, mainly to help or to briefly go with them somewhere else. When I finally thought I was free and made everyone else happy, I realised it was too late as we had another flight to Malaysia. I so much wanted to reschedule the flight for the next day, it was expensive, but I could afford it and I was quite cross with my friends for wasting my time. Then one of them asked me why didn’t I go earlier instead of doing other things? What a good question to ask. I thought I had to do these other things and help people out and for the first time it crossed my mind that I could prioritise my own needs. I decided to take the flight with them as due to the current pandemic there was the risk of being stuck in Bali for months or years (which now that I am awake it does not sound like a terrible prospect). But I told myself that the first thing I would do as I land is to go swim in the ocean. We arrive, our hotel is right on the beach, I live my suitcase with my friends who are now very keen to help me. I drop my clothes on the beach and bikini-ready I walk into the calm, warm, crystal clear water: I can see everything through it. It is beautiful, it is blissful, it is releasing of any weight I felt in my body and mind. Right there, swimming underwater and playing with sea creatures is where I always wanted to be, nothing else mattered. Actually, one thing did matter: I was taking videos for my husband as I swam with a sea turtle and a manta-like fish – he loves sea turtles!

True freedom is a life without fear

I woke up in that blissful state, so grateful and feeling that something in my awareness had changed. I queried what this state was and how to get there when some words I said to my husband last night echoed in my mind: “True freedom is a life without fear”. True freedom is a life where we do not fear judgement and we do not try to meet everyone else’s expectations about us. We strip naked to embrace our true Self, the calm and beauty of our being. We also drop any heavy items, beliefs, fears, thoughts, habits. True freedom is a life in which our needs, our way of doing things, our words are as important as those of others: but we choose ours, because it our my life, our journey, our lessons to learn, our mistakes to make.

Then I asked about my friends, why those ones, as for me they are…well they are very good and respectable people, but the first suggestion coming through my subconscious was “obsolete”. I understood that the answer was right there: “they are obsolete”, They represented all those things that I am still doing, all those people I am trying to please, all those situations which are obsolete and do not serve me anymore. The view of the beach and the ocean, on my right in my dream, is the vision of my aspirations, of my future of what is meaningful and accomplishing for me. It is the place I can only go if I prioritise myself and let go of all these other things. The crystal-clear water represents clarity, seeing clearly, without the lenses of fear or other conditionings. It is a state of bliss and freedom, the state in which I want to be.

What are your dreams trying to tell you?

This is how I made, or I should say renewed a promise to myself, from a deeper layer of my psyche: to always live from a genuine state of being, without fear but with appreciation and joy.

Now, what about you?

What are your dreams trying to tell you?

Where are they guiding you to?

Let me know in the comments what your relationship with dreams is and if there is any particular theme (character, emotion, situation) repeating for you. I will be happy to answer your questions and why not, respond with a blog article.

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