Water

What does it mean to dream about water, such as swimming in a pool or being near the ocean?

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.

See also:

Cold as ice…

Dream: In my dream, I saw a block of ice falling down from the sky like rain. When I went to pick it up, it turned to water.

DreamsMaster: Water in dreams often represents our emotional state. In this case, a block of ice could represent hardened emotions. The fact that it turned to water when you went to pick it up implies that these hardened emotions are softening.

Think about what was on your mind the night you had this dream. Have you been feeling “cold as ice” toward someone or something, but now those feelings are starting to warm? This dream could represent a sense of healing taking place inside of you, emotionally and/or spiritually.

The symbol in the dream has more the value of a parable: it does not conceal, it teaches.
– Carl Jung, as quoted in C.G. Jung: Psychological Reflections

See also:

Plumbing problem…

Dream: I dreamed that there was a small opening like a really small pipe coming from up under my carpet just running and I was panicking because I couldn’t stop it.

DreamsMaster: The first thing that comes to my mind is that you may be sensing a problem with your plumbing. This plumbing problem could be literal in regards to the home you live in, or it could be a metaphor for the plumbing in your body.

What was on your mind when you went to bed the night you had the dream? Did you notice any wet spots on the ceiling or floor, or a toilet running? If nothing literal comes to mind, how about your health? Have you been experiencing any discomfort anywhere in your body? When’s the last time you were checked out by a doctor?

Water in a dream may also represent one’s emotional state. Along these lines, is there something building up emotionally for you below the surface (symbolism of the carpet covering the floor), that you fear if you let it out it will continue to flow uncontrollably?

In the dream, you were “panicking” because you “couldn’t stop it.” What were you afraid would happen? Did you sense your life was in danger? Or just that you were going to have a really big mess to clean up?

If one of these angles touched a nerve for you, then that’s the one I suggest you create a course of action to address. The dream is no doubt sending you an urgent message, and I encourage you to follow your instincts about it and get whatever outside assistance you may need – a plumber, a doctor, or a friend to talk to.

He asks if I love him…

Dream: I’m in a house with an unknown person. He asks if I love him. I look out of the window and see a beautiful ocean.

DreamsMaster: I see three main parts to this dream: An unknown person, the question of love, and a beautiful ocean. Let’s take each piece separately and then pull them together.

1) An unknown person: How would you describe this person? For example, what color hair did he have? What was he wearing? Did you find him attractive? Why or why not? Come up with at least three words to describe his personality. Does this description remind you of anyone you know today, or perhaps of someone you would like to know? Taking this a step deeper into dream symbolism, could this description fit an innermost part of you that needs more love and reassurance?

2) Love: How do you feel when he asks if you love him? Are you annoyed by the question, or do you find it romantic? Do you ponder the question, and try to decide whether or not you do have loving feelings inside? Does an answer evolve?

3) Window to a beautiful ocean: Water in a dream often represents one’s emotional state. In this dream, you’re looking at a beautiful ocean. This says to me that you’ve got a wealth of emotion inside of you, just waiting to be tapped.

Ultimately, the key to the dream’s meaning lies within you. But if this were my dream, I’d pull the pieces together this way:

There’s a part of me that needs reassurance that I’m lovable. I look outside myself for this reassurance, but in reality I can only get it from within. Once I believe in myself as being lovable, I’ll be able to unleash the emotion inside of me and fully engage in a loving relationship.

Thin ice and mice…

Dream: For the past two nights I’ve dreamed of my deceased dad in bed. On both occasions he never spoke. One dream I was walking on ice that was about to break, but i jumped into the bed he was on and the ice stop breaking. The other bed dream there were mice infested in the room we were in.

DreamsMaster: A bed often represents a resting place, and since your deceased dad is in bed in both dreams, perhaps this is a way of you coming to terms with him “resting in peace”. The fact that both dreams are anxiety-provoking leads me to think that something unsettling is going on in your waking life, and perhaps you’re wishing you had your dad to turn to for help.

There’s a clear metaphor in the first dream: Where in your life do you feel you’re “walking on thin ice”, or in a precarious situation? You reached out for your father in the dream for protection. If your father were alive, what words of wisdom might he share with you to get you through this difficult time?

Water or ice in a dream may also represent one’s emotions. Viewed from this perspective, this dream scene could represent a fragile or vulnerable emotional state. If your father died relatively recently (“recently” is purely subjective), or if the dream occurred around the anniversary of his death or other event when you’re particularly aware of his absence, the dream could be connected with a wave of grief surfacing, breaking through the thin veneer of “holding it together”.

As for the second dream, mice may symbolize different things depending on your personal association with mice. From your description, mice infesting a room could symbolize certain situations or people in your life becoming overwhelming. A mouse may also represent timidity. In this case, the dream could be sending you a message to be more forthright – perhaps a trait your dad had, or would encourage you to have.