Theresa Cheung - The Dream Dictionary from A to Z [Revised edition]

BARIn dreams, bars, pubs, and taverns are places in which you can overcome your inhibitions. What is the atmosphere like? If it is friendly, your dreaming mind may be urging you to overcome your isolation. If the atmosphere is pleasant and upbeat, this suggests you are feeling optimistic about your future, but if drunkenness or a brawl occurs, are you about to boil over with uncontrolled anger, or is a situation in your waking life getting out of control?

BARBED WIREHurtful remarks are preventing you from moving forward and reaching your potential.

BARBEQUE

See COOKING.

BARBER

See HAIRDRESSER, WORK .

BARK

See TREES.

BASEBALL

See TEAM GAMES.

BASEMENTEven though basements are becoming less common in newly built houses, they are still common in dreams. To dream that you are in a basement symbolizes being deep down in your unconscious mind, in the psychological ‘storage space’ where you sort through things you are finding hard to understand. A basement is the place where you’ve shelved aspects of yourself that aren’t matching your ambitions in waking life. A basement can also indicate the power that is available to you provided you are willing to make use of it, or the way in which your current attitudes are derived from past assumptions and family legends.

To dream that the basement is in disarray and messy signifies some confusion which you need to sort out. It may also represent your perceived faults and shortcomings. Wine is traditionally kept in the cellar and the contents of your unconscious can similarly harbor special treats that you can bring out on special occasions. Try to decide if your dreaming mind took you into the cellar to confront an issue in your life or to make good use of talents you have been suppressing.

See also HOUSE.

BASKETBALL

See TEAM GAMES.

BAT

See ANIMALS .

BATH/BATHING

See CLEANING.

BATHROOMTo dream that you are in the bathroom relates to your instinctual urges. You may be experiencing some sort of burdensome feelings and need to ‘relieve yourself’. Alternatively, it may symbolize purification and self-renewal; you need to cleanse yourself, both emotionally and psychologically. To dream that you cannot find the bathroom signifies that you are having difficulties in releasing and expressing your emotions. You may also have overcommitted yourself and are neglecting your own needs.

According to Freud, bathroom dreams are associated with what he called the anal phase of a child’s psychological development. In Freud’s opinion, if parents didn’t handle their children’s potty training well it might mean that these children feel shame about these natural functions and become ‘anally retentive’ in their adult life. The act of excretion in a dream can therefore suggest expression and creativity that might have previously been repressed before; to dream of constipation may stand for frustration and pent-up rage. Jungians regard bathroom dreams on the one hand as indicating a need for self-expression, on the other as anxiety about our public image. Going to the bathroom in a dream may simply show your desire to rid yourself of something that contributes nothing to your well-being in waking life. To see an overflowing toilet bowl in your dream denotes your desire to express your emotions fully. Dreams featuring problems with the bathroom – such as being too dirty or having a broken toilet seat – can indicate that you want to eliminate waste material but are frustrated in some way. Such dreams may be urging you to clean yourself up emotionally. If, however, your dream bathroom is a pleasure to use, this may represent healthy self-expression and the symbolic release of outdated aspects of your life. Bear in mind, too, that your dreaming mind may simply be calling your attention to your actual physical need to go to the bathroom while you sleep. Your unconscious dream recognizes your need and uses your dream to wake you up. On the other hand, if you are happily or defiantly going to the bathroom in front of a large audience, this may suggest anger at your lack of popularity or approval from others.

Plumbing problems in your dream bathroom may reflect trouble in processing your feelings. Do you feel swamped right now? Flooding in the bathroom suggests emotions that are both out of control and out of character.

See also EXCREMENT, HOUSE.

BATTERYThis suggests the energy or resources available to you and problems with the battery may depict poor health or even heart problems. If the battery is dead motivation is low or resources are run down.

BATTLE/BATTLEFIELD

See WAR.

BEACHA dream in which you are lying sunning yourself on an idyllic beach with rolling sand, gentle waves and warm tropical sunshine may represent simple wish-fulfillment and a longing to escape the daily grind of your routine and responsibilities. Another interpretation, the Freudian one, suggests that events on dream beaches can highlight your anxieties. For example, dreams of burying any authority figure in the sand may be symbolic of the Oedipal murder of the father figure, while castration may be represented by tall sand castles being washed away by the incoming tide of the feminine or maternal sea. If you dreamed of taking a dip in the sea, pay attention to how you felt.

Beaches are places where water meets the earth, or, in symbolic terms, where the unconscious meets the rational mind. If you dream of emerging from the water, for example, this may signal an end of a period of emotional conflict in your waking life. Do you feel emotionally stronger or emotionally battered by the experience? If you stayed on the shore, do you prefer to remain on the firmness of land and reason, rather than venturing into the perilous depths of the sea or the unconscious mind? Bathing while on vacation lends itself to a Freudian interpretation as a dream symbol of birth or of the desire to return to the mother’s womb. If the sea washed away your footprints in the sand in your dream, is there something in your past from which you wish to move away so you can make a fresh start? If the sand in your dream starts to shift so you lose your footing, could this mirror a concern that the foundations of your life are about to give way?

Vacation dreams can often contain romantic scenes in an arbor or other sheltered retreat such as a cave. Such dreams can suggest a longing for romance but they can also suggest frustration with aspects of your current relationship or love life, as well as a need for adventure and freedom of responsibility from daily chores. If you dream of a vacation from hell in which you are given poor accommodation, are double-booked or experience terrible weather or food, such a dream can warn against over idealism. It also suggests that negative thinking and pessimism will destroy the quality of your life if you allow them to continue. In dreams, desert islands may be symbols of loss or a general sense of emotional insecurity. Alternatively, they may also express a yearning for solitude, clarity, simplicity, and time alone to reflect and work out your priorities.

See also SEASIDE.

BEAR

See ANIMALS .

BEARDIf a beard appears in your dream, this suggests feelings about masculine qualities within yourself. If the beard is cut off, it suggests uncertainty or lack of assertiveness while a long, thick beard suggests the opposite. Hairs can the chest or other parts of the body can also indicate male characteristics or expressions of sexuality.