Recurring Dreams
Education Dreams
Schools Universities and Work
I had a dream, the main theme has been recuring over the last few years, let me just say firstly, that I used to work in education but as I got older I grew complacent and tired of being in school for what seemed like my whole life. I used to joke I would leave and do something completely irrelevant and with no pressure or responsibilities.
Later, I had decided to move to the coast along with family and so at this time I also made the change and left education and worked part time doing a seemingly mundane and boring role which paid the bills.
I havent really ever regretted leaving my career in education but did feel sad that I was no longer helping young people with their mental health issues and mentoring them to achieve their goals regardless of the obstacles in their lives. This being my only regret, my dreams of going back to work all the time might perhaps be related to this one sadness and regret.
In my recuring dreams of being at work/school I am always skipping classes and missing days at work. I am totally aware in the dream that I don't want to go to school anymore and have failed my exams anyway. This being another feature that recurs. I know in my dreams that I have failed the course because I have not given in the work needed to pass. Now, when I say work it seems that in my dreams I am a student even though I am also a teacher at the school, so I take this to refer to the fact that in life we are always learning and are always both the student and the teacher.
The feelings of failure represented by failing exams and courses in my recuring dreams probably comes from not completing my career in education and the feeling that I let the young people down somehow. I was good at helping them cope with life but I wasn't so good at dealing with the way educational institutions care more about how the kids are dressed and behave than about teaching them the stuff they need to grow and learn. At face value it would be easy to assume that these dreams refer to my career but I have learned otherwise, and now understand that the dream creators often use our own earthly roles to help explain our life/educational journey too.
The many dreams I've had regards the educational journey have been numerous and like I said I am always aware in the dreams that I miss lots of time at school, I go home without telling anyone at work, skip lessons and can't or won't compete the work I am set to do. I fail the tests and exams. I wander out of lessons to go have a break and don't go back. Honestly, I am the worse student you could meet. When I'm the teacher in my dream school I literally cant find the class and wander around till break time. I am also aware in these dreams that I have had lots of time off work and I avoid the head teacher so he can't tell me off.
So lets assume the dream scenarios are hinting rather loudly that I am lazy, hate work, I don't know if I am the teacher or the student. I procrastinate and cannot seem to finish what I start. I fear failure and my effort score is zero. I'll also avoid the boss because I know ill be in trouble for being all these things
Actually in my work life I am not like this at all, I work hard, never have a day off and won't leave till I have finished the job at hand. So what's going on here?
My most recent dream, the one which has prompted me to write this, might help to explain how our dreams reflect our unconscious feelings about living and learning. None of us find it easy here, earth is hard work, its boring, painful, ugly, I could go on and on. I am also totally aware that the opposite of all those things are true. Life is also beautiful, loving and should be cherished. All of us share the same life journey and the obstacles and pains are hopefully scattered evenly between us.
I hope you can find some comparison with your own learning dreams and understand that none of us know the answers to the tests we face, we can only negotiate whatever we come up against and do our best to work through it.
The dream began on a coach (the shared journey) we were going on a school trip, a visit to a large university. (lets call this place life/Earth) We get there, there are lots and lots of us, and we go into this huge auditorium, we are waiting for someone to give a speech and a tour of the place. We wait and wait but no one comes, so we get bored and go explore ourselves. Some people still wait to be told what to do, and some of us are so bored we decide to explore on our own.
We walk to what seems to be an exhibition and we sit on benches to watch. There are many students doing different things, some are painting, some are acting out scenes, some are singing and dancing. Other students are sitting studying, other are doing really difficult calculations.
As I watch the scenes play out I become aware that what I'm watching are people participating in life. I think about the fact that they are all 'creating' they are very artistic and their main goal is to create something out of the skills they have. Like I said their skills and talents were numerous.
About this time I also realized that earth is a place for people/souls who wish to create anything, happiness, sadness, good feelings bad feelings, art, sciences, math etc. The main aim was not really about learning it was about experiencing and creating experiences. Earth was an artists paradise, it was created for us to be able to see what we can make out of our own imagination.
In my dream I understood that I had got it wrong, it didn't matter what I learned or didn't learn. It didn't matter if I failed or succeeded at something, it didn't really matter if I finished what I started. The actual journey itself was creative, regardless of what happened during the journey. Participating still mattered more than the outcome. I had always believed I needed to succeed, to win or improve myself. Be a better person, be kinder, be helpful, stick to the path, look after everyone else around me. Always failing in my dream school
I decided I wanted to leave this university of life and I started upon my journey home, always hard in a dream to find your way home. I tried to find the train station with no shoes on my feet. (Typical symbolism for the feeling of vulnerability being naked or bare) The station itself represents the connection between phases or the beginning/ending of a stage of life. I was trying to get home so I guess I wanted to return to the safety of what I know best.
Maybe its the souls yearning to get back to our real home, earth being a long way from there.
The station in my dream provided the usual obstacles for me to get through, the turnstile was stuck, the attendant wanted a ticket I didn't have. The person in front of me was stalling, not wanting to go through it. I told him we never want to go through stuff and the best thing to do is just go. I pushed him through. I told him its harder thinking about it than just doing it.
When I did get through the turnstile it led to a shear drop. I just jumped knowing it was the only way home. The train was somewhere and I knew I had to catch it.
Then started the process of going through tight spaces and squeezing myself into small holes just to get on the train.
The obstacles in life always present like this in our dreams, to start a new journey you have to first negotiate a way through all the crap on the current one.
When I actually got on the train I realized it wasn't going where I wanted to go. Well of course it wasn't the next part of my journey is unknow as yet.
To sum up I would say these dreams refer to my own attitude to life, Just get through it the best you can. I'm at that stage in life when I don't want to participate in the tests trials and tribulations that come my way. Being unable to escape them I just get them done as quick as possible. Perhaps I am supposed to understand that they are not tests to endure but are just experiences to experience.
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