Sunday, September 22, 2002		Dream Theme

Dreaming of buildings
Vinaya Katoch Manhas

Never build after you are five and forty; have five years income in hand before you lay a brick and always calculate the expense at double the estimate — Kett

DREAMS of homes are fairly common, especially among middle-class people for whom building a house is a major responsibility. But all buildings in dreams need not necessarily be homes. These can be strange places, which one may not have even seen in reality.

As per Indian thought, should you enter that strange, unknown place it spells sudden changes in your fate, which can be to your advantage or against it. But if you do not enter that building or are forced to leave it then it spells some danger in the near future. To be in a place of worship is indicative of mental peace and freedom from doubts and worries. Such a dream is good as it foretells a peaceful and happy existence in the near future.

As per western thought, seeing large and magnificent buildings with green lawns stretching out before them, foretells a life of plenty, and travels and explorations to distant countries. Small and newly built houses denote happy homes and profitable undertakings, while old and filthy buildings foretell ill health and loss in love and business.

Psychoanalytically speaking, different buildings can mean different things in dreams as per their appearance and the purpose for which they are constructed. A hotel denotes insecurity about our living conditions. A castle or a fortress denotes defenses, thus symbolically, the mother. Places of worship represent places of sanctuary and refuge. A house denotes a particular aspect of the dreamer. To have strangers in the house denotes a perception of being threatened by some aspect of your own personality. If a building is under construction or some repair work is going on, then it denotes the necessity to work on your relationships. An igloo stands for sanctuary and completeness. To dream of a pyramid tells you to concentrate on your strengths. A tower represents your personality and the soul within.

A 41-year-old man would often dream of seeing a huge building under construction. He could see ant-like people moving far above him, on the top of the building, but somehow no matter how many times he saw the dream, the building would never be completed. The unfinished building under construction represents his dissatisfaction with his life. He was not satisfied with his job or with his family life and did not have any social life to speak of. In short, he felt that none of his dreams had come true. Thus his dream represented his attitude of dissatisfaction towards life.