Dream Interpretation: Spy on the Run

THE DREAM

i almost exclusively have escape dreams. people are trying to kill me or at least are chasing me. usually i'm a spy, really, and its really really like an action movie. oh man.

THE INTERPRETATION

Since this is your regular dream, it seems like this is the setting in which your thoughts and emotions about some stressful events in your life play out, and any variations in the dream may hint at what's going on at a particular moment.

Actually, you probably have many other dreams, but don't remember them. Most people do not remember many of their dreams, and since these dreams are probably scary (high emotion), or may cause you to wake up, you're more likely to remember them, alas!

The people chasing or trying to kill you may represent a specific problem in your life at a given time - either a situation, or person.

Since you are being chased in the dream, it may be that you are running from, or avoiding, what's bothering you. This could be taken literally (as in leaving or avoiding a troubling situation), or more abstractly (mentally "running" from a problem to avoid dealing with it).

If the people seem to be gaining on you, it may be that you feel the problem will catch up with you. If you're getting away, it might be that, well, you feel you'll get out of it!

Ok, now, in the dreams, you're often a spy! This could mean a variety of things (such as you are trying to figure something out), but since this is a regular symbol, I think it most likely means that you are trying to keep something secret, or more likely, feel that you're involved in a situation that you shouldn't be involved in. By this, I mean not that the situation isn't your business, per se, but rather, you may feel "in over your head".

Is it possible that you feel that life's problems, in general, are not in your control? It may be very likely, though, that you may feel this way about *some* problems, or some aspects of these problems (the ones symbolized in the dreams).

The situations symbolized in the dreams may represent either short-term or longer-term things. Try to think about anything that is a source of stress at the time you have the dream, especially anything that's occupying your mind during waking hours. Would it be beneficial to try to confront and deal with the source of the issue? While we may not have total control over everything that happens in life, sometimes just addressing a problem, brainstorming some steps to solve it, and then doing them will either a. fix the problem, or b. alleviate some stress because you'll feel more in control of the situation.

Chase is an illustration by Jon Carling, an artist whose work evokes surreal scenes, often of nature and animals (both real and imaginary). His work is copyrighted and is shown here with his permission; please contact him for permission to use his work, or to purchase it.