Police

What does it mean to dream about police?

Being pursued and didn’t know why…

Dream: I was in this town on the edge of the woods, very beautiful, but I was being pursued and didn’t know why. I came to the edge of this creek and took my boots off to cross, when this beautiful girl asks me what on earth I was doing. I told her I was trying to get away, although I wasn’t really scared or nervous. I crossed the creek and proceeded to a house, which I knew was an elderly couple’s who had recently passed away. The house was unlocked and I thought I could hide out there. It was a massive two story house overlooking town with a hallway upstairs with windows. I looked out the window and noticed a cop (very traditional 1920’s uniform on). He saw me and began to alert other officers. I quickly bolted down the stairs and out the back door. Before me was this large open field with a slight hill and woods approximately half mile away. I began to run across this field from the cops. I noticed when I was running I wasn’t nervous or scared of capture, as if it was a game. As I was running I felt as if my boots were heavier then normal. When I reached the woods I heard the sound of dogs so I knew that they had got dogs to track me. So I thought I could lose them in the smokey forest ahead (a large forest with smoke and fog so thick I couldn’t see but a foot in front of me). As I was heading to the smoky woods the girl appeared again and this time wanted to go with me. We ran into the smoke and ran for what felt like a long time. I knew we lost the authorities because I couldn’t hear the dogs anymore. We came to this cliff and jumped into this giant well of water, not knowing for sure there was water due to the fog and mist (as if it was a leap of faith). We survived, and after exiting the water we were in a familiar place on a dirt road. We saw a motel so we ran to it. It was run by an older couple and they agreed to give us a room. We stayed in the room together for what felt like a couple days. I got this feeling that we were gonna be caught. Sure enough, I opened the door to the room and I could hear a private detective asking the couple about us. We then decided it was time to give ourselves up. I had this odd feeling that I was going to be able to get the private detective to let us go. I was somewhat disappointed that we didn’t finish whatever journey we were on, and I was sad to be separated from this girl. Then I woke up.

DreamsMaster: What an involved dream! What particularly strikes me is the amount of confidence and faith you exude throughout the adventure. Despite all of the obstacles and challenges, the whole thing feels like a game to you, not to be taken too seriously. I don’t know you personally or what current life challenges you face, but the message that comes through to me from this dream is that you are fully capable of handling whatever is thrown in your path. And even if you don’t succeed in crossing the desired finish line of this particular leg of life’s journey, you will be all the more enriched for trying.

That said, let’s get down to more detailed dream interpretation. There’s so much to this dream, I’ll just go with the symbols that feel the strongest to me. As I put my ideas forward (my own projections), look internally for more pieces of the puzzle to reveal themselves to you.

These symbols appear multiple times:

Boots (taking them off to cross the creek; feeling heavy while running): A form of protection; sense of groundedness
Water (creek, giant well): Emotional/spiritual state
Trees (woods, smokey forest): Obscure one’s direction or path
Elderly couples (in both instances, the owner of dwellings): Could represent wisdom that comes with age and experience
Shelter (house, motel): Often represent one’s ego or self – the house is massive, multi-dimensional, with windows to a full view; the motel is a temporary dwelling, a place to hide out
The Law (old-fashioned cop, private detective): one’s conscience or superego
The Edge (of the woods, of the creek, of a cliff): a metaphor for living on the edge?
Beautiful girl (in both cases appears just ahead of immersing in water): The yin to your yang; inner harmony and balance

And this thread throughout:

Being pursued
Trying to get away
Hiding out
Running
And finally, peaceful surrender

As I run through this exercise and project my own meanings onto your dream, I arrive at this message, phrased as if it were my dream:

I have a desire to make certain life choices that may not be completely acceptable to others or to myself. A wise part of myself is in support of these riskier choices, and feels safe to take a leap of faith. Another part of myself is trying to stop me from veering away from the more conventional or righteous path. Both of these sides are equally compelling and I will be fine with whichever direction I take, but I may be somewhat disappointed and experience a sense of loss if I surrender to the more righteous path.

Three strikes…

Dream: I was at my father-in-law’s house. I went to use the bathroom and realized I had split my pants, so I leave and the house is full of people that I recognize – my ex’s mother, grandmother, and others. I walk over to say hello to his mother and grandmother. I lean over to give his grandmother a hug and kiss on the cheek and when I attempt to release she says to me “no give me more” but I push away and go to lean down and acknowledge his mother and in the process accidentally punch his grandmother in the mouth. Automatically I start apologizing but she gets up and runs out of the house. I look at his mother and tell her how sorry I am and that I will make it right and I run out after his grandmother. As I come out the front door his grandmother is running towards a park across the street surrounded by fence and she runs directly into the fence with her face. Out of nowhere the police show up and she starts fighting them and then they shoot her and a battered cop looks up at me and says, “Three strikes – she hit me 3 times – I shoot on the 3rd strike.” And that’s when I woke up.

DreamsMaster: I get the sense from this dream that you struggle to assert yourself when it comes to setting boundaries and standing up for yourself. If this rings true, it’s likely this personal challenge was particularly keen in regards to your prior relationship with your ex and in-laws. However, unless they were on your mind the night of the dream, there’s something else in your current life that has triggered this same response, and the dream may be sending a message that it’s time to address it. Here are the specific themes in the dream that point me to this interpretation…

– The setting of the dream is your father-in-law’s house: This could represent your sense of self in regards to that period of time in your life, which appears to have been rather oppressive (based on additional personal information shared).

– You went inside to use the bathroom and realized you split your pants: Needing to go to the bathroom in a dream often represents a need to release unpleasant or pressing feelings. Splitting your pants is similar to dreams about being naked, representing a sense of feeling exposed or vulnerable. The way you describe this scene, it appears the split pants inhibited you from actually relieving yourself. Put it all together, this dream scene could represent an inability to fully express yourself for fear of being exposed and vulnerable.

– The drama with the grandmother essentially unfolds when you try to assert yourself and set a boundary with her. Your polite overture of an obligatory hug and kiss was met with her demanding more from you: you tried to pull away and she insisted on pulling you back. You resisted but then paid the penalty with a negative consequence of your actions. At that point you immediately flipped into an apologetic mode needing to “make it right”. Does this describe a pattern in your waking world, where you negotiate away your own needs in an effort to please or meet the needs of others?

– The police could represent your own inner sense of justice. The battered cop explained a “three strikes you’re out” strategy. Perhaps this is the core message of the dream: establish your personal boundaries and honor them by having the courage to stand up for yourself. Remember, you can’t expect others to respect you if you don’t demonstrate respect for yourself.

Boyfriend killed…

Dream: In my dream my boyfriend was shot and killed. It’s the third time dreaming it. It was on the street but I don’t know where we are, and I see cop cars everywhere. I see him dead.

DreamsMaster: Your dreaming mind is definitely trying to get your attention, based on the fact that you’ve had the dream three times and it’s making a strong emotional impact.

The first thing you want to look at is the literal context. Do you sense your boyfriend is involved in some type of dangerous activity that could result in violent action toward him? If so, the dream may be a warning, and I strongly encourage you to talk to him about it to see if he can change course.

If the literal angle doesn’t fit, then look for symbolism. For example, seeing him dead could mean that your image of him has died, that he’s no longer the person you initially thought he was. The cops or police in the dream could represent your conscience, the part of you that knows right from wrong.

Think back to what was on your mind the night(s) you had this dream. If you can’t recall, then the next time you have the dream, write it down along with what happened or what was on your mind the day or night before. Soon a trend will become clear, and you’ll know what the message is and what action you need to take.

Read more about Recurring Dreams…