Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Dream Interpretation: Voice Surgery

THE DREAM
The dream mainly takes place in my hometown. Many people had gotten voice surgery to give them a beautiful singing voice. There was news around town that the surgeries turned out not to be safe, doctor who performed them was being investigated.  Later, I am leaving a performance at Carnegie Hall (not in my hometown), and after seeing the performances, I realized with horror that I had gotten the voice surgery too, and I was worried.



THE INTERPRETATION
Here, a beautiful singing voice represents the ability to communicate your inner voice clearly and beautifully. That is, to communicate in such a way that you reveal the truth that's inside you to others. I'm not talking about "good communication" in the superficial way of Cosmo or the Oprah show when they repeat some cliche about "communication being the key to a good relationship, blah, blah, blah". A beautiful singing voice represents communicating in a real, intrinsic, instinctual way that may not even need words. It occurs to me that many people may never have experienced this since it is pretty rare- if not, may you one day, and if so, you know what I'm talking about! I believe, though, that you have at least tasted this and you want more!


Now then, you desire to communicate on this level, and so you, along with many others in your hometown (people who you know- consider your hometown to represent your friends, acquaintances, and people you encounter in your daily life). So, you try to achieve this through a quick method- getting surgery. This could represent trying to find an easy and quick way of relating to others on a deeper level rather than the more time-consuming methods of practicing.

Are you perhaps pushing yourself or others a bit too hard to get to this deeper level? If so, you are probably consciously unaware of your current "voice surgery" method, since you were surprised to learn of it in the dream . Perhaps you realize where you are falling short by realizing that someone who is well known or who you admire (I think Carnegie Hall would represent a big performance, from someone famous perhaps), is "singing" with a false voice.

Consider your current methods for achieving your beautiful "singing voice". Meditation or similar might help in this regard...

Thanks so much for sharing! I absolutely loved this dream!

Friday, September 11, 2009

Dream Interpretation: Dog in Traffic

THE DREAM
The other night I had a dream that I was standing on my street, when my dog got loose from her leash and ran out into the street. She proceeded to take a dump in the center of the busy Brooklyn street. Cars flew by, and were straddling her between their wheels (she's very small). I felt tremendous anxiety as this was happening.


This reminded me of a second dream I had a month or two ago. I was standing on a subway platform with my dog. I boarded a train, and as soon as the doors closed realized that she hadn't gotten on with me. I looked out the window of the subway car and saw her looking desperately back at me as it pulled away, shaking from fear.


 

THE INTERPRETATION
Who or what your dog represents is the key to understanding these dreams. If she is similar to you, perhaps in appearance or demeanor, she could represent you. My thought is that she is different from you, so she could represent something that you care about, or an aspect of yourself such as your feelings. I think that she actually represents both of these - the former in the first dream, and the latter in the second.

The first dream may mean that you were, or are thinking about leaving behind something that is important to you - this could be something "real" such as a job, or a relationship, or something more abstract like a state of mind. It could also mean that you are afraid of forgetting about or losing track of something that is important to you - such as a long-term goal or desire.

I think that in the second dream, the dog represents an aspect of yourself - your feelings. The soft, vulnerable, hidden, feminine aspect that men have within. If this is so, the dream may suggest a particular event (past, present, or future) or a fear or urge - you lose control of your feelings (your dog), and then say or do something wrong or inappropriate (er, take a dump). It seems that this happens during a turbulent circumstance (traffic). The whole experience leaves you shaken.

If the dream is of a past or present event, it may be a recap or remembrance of what happened. If it is of a  serves as a warning, with insight into the situation. Namely - be aware that an emotional or unreasonable outburst may cause trouble, so try to keep your feelings in check or find a safe outlet for them.

Thanks so much for sending this dream! Also, thank you to the lady of this dream, who wrote me such a touching reply to the interpretation! You are awesome!

Art: Pause by jkldesign Brown Line by ariyamastudio; Waiting for the Ferry by ds brennan; Even at the End of the Day by obsoleteworld

Friday, August 14, 2009

La Boheme Moderne

Just saw the sneak-preview photos of this shoot for Viva la Moda magazine:


The gray blouse in the top photo, and gray bloomers in the bottom photo are made by me for Dreams + Outfits - yea! The styling of the right-side outfit in the top photo seems so right that I can't imagine anything else for that blouse after seeing this.



The inspiration was sculptural, graphic, and modern. The execution seems sort of modern flapper-bohemian, what with the cream-colored hat and the piled-on necklaces, which I think are fantastic + inspiring. I also really like the idea of a long strand of pearls and a little bow necklace like the one in the photos.

There are more photos at paperflowergirl and Red Nails.

(And, more dream interpretations coming soon, soon, soon, as I recover from a sickness that knocked me out for the last week or so. Yes!)

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Fashion Inspiration: Au Revoir Simone

I love the little vintage frocks that Au Revior Simone, a trio from Brooklyn, wears in their videos. Light, airy, and a nice blend of lacey little-lady vintage and bohemian chic that's so perfect for the last days of summer. This is a still from their video Fallen Snow. Here are a few goodies from Etsy that they'd love:

from: santokivintage, DarkStar, DJVV, jessjamesjake


Vintage Ballerina esque Lace Mini Dress from santokivintageCream Victorian Vintage Mini Dress from DJVVFrida Kahlo MEXICAN LAYER CAKE Dress from DarkStarThe Ruched Dress in Peach from jessjamesjake

Also, thank you to the following blogs for featuring dreamsandoutfits: fazedgirl, The Scarlet Peacock, Object Lesson, Jen Ray, Fashion Me Fabulous

Saturday, July 25, 2009

Dream Interpretation: My kitchen is a Mother's Love, and through it is the Garden


THE DREAM

My mom died when I was young. My dad, my siblings and I moved in with my paternal grandparents. We lived in a very large two-story house and I had a very happy childhood considering the loss of my mom.

This dream began about a year after my mom passed away, so I was around 10. In my dream, I am in a very large house but it is nothing like the home where I grew up. The house in my dream is an L-shape and has a living room with a large window. I sit and look out this window and I can look into the kitchen. The kitchen is very long and at the end of it there is a greenhouse. There is no entrance to the kitchen through the house (yet it is attached) and the living room window doesn't open.

As I try to find an entrance to the kitchen, I open a door and it leads to another living room that is almost identical to the one I just left. Usually when I wake up, the last part of the dream I recall is sitting in the newly found living room. I have dreamed of this same house, to the exact detail, at least 100 times over the years. My mom didn't like to cook at all (so my dad said) nor did she care for gardening.

The other thing that remains consistent in this dream is that I am always alone in the house, there is never anyone in the kitchen, but the lights are always on. The outside of this house is never in my dreams, and I am very content, never frightened, but I do want to get to the kitchen. (I have no desire to cook or bake... trust me on that :)

Oh I didn't mean this to be so lengthy, but this dream is rather bizarre and because it is so reoccurring, I've always wondered the meaning. If I have other dreams, I don't remember them. I would be excited to hear your interpretation. Nothing would spook me or anything like that. I wonder too, do you have any thoughts why I never see the outside of this house?

THE INTERPRETATION

What a beautiful dream! This dream made me cry as I read...it states quite poetically some deep and simple emotional truths.

the key keeper by thelindentreeThe house represents you- your interior life of thoughts, feelings, and emotions. The living room, I think, is your present, emotional living state. You feel comfortable, and at ease here, which is good! Since this dream is about your interior life, the outside of the house may not be relevant.

The kitchen is where food is stored and prepared (you probably would have associated kitchens with cooking, even if Mom didn't do it much, or at all), and where family meals are eaten. Food and cooking here represent comfort, love, a sense of emotional safety and satiety. The kitchen is the source of this...and given that your mom had died recently, probably represents a mother's love. Your mother's love is of course, a real thing, but is also a shorthand phrase for the type of deep-rooted, unconditional, pure love that, while more rare, can exist with another person, or so they say, with the whole world, I hear, if you're a zen master.
Someday by yellena
Further- you can see into the kitchen, and want to get in, but can't. Therefore, you know that it's there, but feel you can't "get there" or experience it. Trying to get there through the door doesn't work. This is what made me cry when I read the dream...thinking about you as a little girl, wanting to be in this source of love and being unable to.

On the other side of the kitchen, there's a greenhouse. We can call this paradise, heaven, the Garden of Eden, the fundamental state of nature- they all mean the same thing. People instinctively feel a connection with nature, as it's been ingrained in us by millions of years of evolution (and can't be erased by hundreds of years of city-dwelling). This physical manifestation of nature, the greenhouse, is a symbol for our natural emotional state- a sense of oneness, belonging, peace. Alas! It can't be described, but can only be felt! This is our emotional home, where we belong.

The greenhouse is on the other side of the kitchen so in order to get to heaven, you will go through love. This is parallel to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, which is imagined as a pyramid- shaped diagram to explain that humans have certain needs, and that one can't "achieve" one without all the needs below it. This dream goes beyond Maslow and shows, in symbolic simplicity, that the previous need is a gateway to discovering the next.

My sense is that your interior state is well-adjusted, calm, and happy. This is how you feel in your living room, where you are now. Yet, like the archetype of the heroine or hero in a myth, you know there is more, and you want to seek. The start of a journey is knowing that there is a journey.

The dream indicates that you are trying to get to the kitchen, but keep finding yourself in essentially the same place (a bit changed, because all of life's experiences add more information to your psyche). Maybe you have been trying the same way of getting to the symbolic kitchen, but are finding that it leaves you in the same place as before? Ponder this, as the answer may not be apparent, and could be any number of things (ways of relating to others, to yourself, or with "things" in the environment like food, school, work, etc.).

So, how do you get into the kitchen, and then the greenhouse? This is rhetorical and is something for you (and all people) to discover. Maybe it's the meaning or purpose of life to figure this out, or at least a theme for your life, since this is The Dream, for you.

I predict great things by akihagoI see a parallel here between the physics of the dreamworld and the emotional interior world. What happens in both is determined by feelings, beliefs, knowledge, and assumptions. So, I can see three possible ways to get to the kitchen, implied by the dream:

1. The door: it seems that this hasn't lead to the kitchen. Maybe this door simply doesn't go to the kitchen. If there's a certain pattern in your life that seems like a search for the metaphorical kitchen, maybe that thing doesn't work, and it is time to find a new way. Or, perhaps this door could lead to the kitchen, but you believe it will not, and so find yourself in the living room again.

2. The window: There's a window that allows you to see the kitchen. In dreamland, it is possible to travel through windows, especially if you keep your attention focused on the destination (otherwise, you may get confused, and end up somewhere else). Similarly, perhaps you can go outside and go through into the kitchen through experiences outside of yourself - with another person or people, or the world. Just keep focused on that kitchen so you don't forget the goal and start wandering around outside!

3. Teleportation: In dreams, it is possible to move simply by being in the new location, knowing that you are there. Essentially, transcending the assumed reality. You can do this in dreams by learning how to dream lucidly - knowing that you are dreaming while you're asleep. This is freeing - since you realize it's a dream, you also realize that you can do whatever you want! One way to transcend in your interior space (thoughts, feelings, consciousness, etc.) is to learn how to meditate (become awake), and do it.

Pendant que la fenetre etait ouvertNow, you might say - okay, that's very interesting (ha, I hope!), but a ten-year-old child wouldn't know what Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is, or have some deep thoughts about the Garden of Eden or some-such. No, indeed! And that's why symbols are so powerful - they communicate instinctively-known truths that are beyond, and complicated by, words...

I hope this is helpful in your interpretation of the dream! As with any dream interpretation, I can just provide hints and clues...only you know what it really means!

Art: heart the hearth, by loveallaround, Jar of Golden Sprouts, by Golly Bard, The Key Keeper by thelindentree, Pyramid Houses by janicej, I predict great things by akihago, Pendant que la fenetre etait ouvert by irisschwarz