DREAMS OF HOUSES OFTEN REFLECT THE DREAMER’S STATE OF MIND. The home is where s/he lives mentally or emotionally when it comes to a particular aspect of waking life. Today’s dreamer returns with some longing for her residence of many years to find a new perspective on her memories.

Dear Carolyn,

While I was on vacation I had two dreams set in my old house, the home I lived in for 38 years and moved from two years ago. I was so proud of that home — so many memories and so much personal growth! Transitions, change can be so hard. I have some nostalgia for our life before the move. Here is what I remember of the dreams:

I am showing the home to a couple, both of whom are former clients. He is a member of a spiritual group, Sufi; she is a lute musician. I was their massage therapist. So, we are outside the master bedroom which had a beautiful garden with azaleas and rhododendron. The bushes are small and rounded and I make some excuse that they need help and the new owners have given me permission to be here and I will do the maintenance. Then as we go into house and I am going to show them around, the wife gets a gleeful, playful look in her eyes and says, “First I’m going to use the bathroom!” End.

The other fragment of a dream took place in the guest bedroom that looked as it did right before we moved, empty. I did my yoga practice in this clean, empty room.

Signed, Home Sick

Dear Home Sick,

In your dream you return to the home you were most proud of with a spiritual and artistic couple, those parts of yourself that flourished there. By way of excusing the diminished state of the flowering plants there, you say that the new owners have given you permission to hang around and do the maintenance on those plants. The setting and your actions may indicate that you are working to maintain some of the past beauty and ambiance of that home in your current circumstance. It also suggests that all things were not so big and healthy as you thought they were. In retrospect, some things may seem empty, like the guest room where you worked before. The shock of this feeling sets the tone for your look back.

The sequence in which the new resident is going to the restroom before she looks around may speak to a need for you to “eliminate” some negative emotions or memories before maintaining the plants that seem stunted and need help. Regarding her apparent glee in your dream — her happy anticipation of going to the restroom before you begin your maintenance of the gardens — what a relief it can be to leave some “stuff” behind! In fact, Dear Dreamer, to truly cultivate the beautiful memories and ambiance of that residence, you must leave that stuff behind!

Sweet Dreams to you!

Carolyn Plath, M.Ed., is a Benicia resident and member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams. Reach her at sendmeyourdreams@yahoo.com.

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