Dream
Hi Ian, I have been having this dream where I find a secret door in my house. The door leads to a hidden loft but I live in a flat so this technically impossible. I am quite scared about entering the loft because I think there might be a ghost living in it and it will chase me if it sees me. When I do pluck up enough courage to go into the room, I find that it’s full of all kinds of gorgeous clothes and dressmaking equipment. There is a full length mirror and when I stand in front of it I see a very beautifully dressed younger version of myself. Am I going barmy?

Meaning
When we dream about a secret door, we are often dreaming about a neglected talent that was once close to our hearts. You were probably very passionate about fashion design and dressmaking when you were younger, but decided to stop due to practical reasons. Since then, you have been trying to suppress your creative urges but they always seem to come back to haunt you.

Dreaming about a loft usually indicates that you are revisiting old memories and the thoughts and ideas that you had back then. You may have thought it was impossible to pursue your fashion design dreams when you were younger, but now you have the means and the resources to put these ideas into action. However, you are scared about bringing your design dreams back to life because you feel that your technique and skills may have faded away.

When you examine the design ideas that you had when you were younger, you realise that they are very beautiful and clearly reflect the power and beauty of your own creative talents. The message that your younger self is sending you is that you still have beautiful ideas and now you have the resourcefulness and practicality to make your dream designs into gorgeous clothes.

Dream
Hello Ian, I often dream that I am out in a dark scary forest walking a big black dog like a labrador or retriever. The dog is on a lead and I am not sure where we are going. I realise that the dog seems to be floating a few inches off the ground. Then it begins to wag its tail and it starts lifting higher and higher until it is flying along above me like a balloon, lifting my arm above my head. I can’t see where I am going in the forest but the dog seems to know where it is going. Then I find my own feet lifting off the ground and I end up floating across the tree tops being carried along by the black dog balloon.

Meaning
When we dream of a dog we are often thinking about our capacity for loyalty and trust in our waking lives. A black dog indicates that you probably find it difficult to trust your own self and this can sometimes make you feel depressed. Although  feeling a little bit down  may colour your thoughts and seem to influence the path that you take, you have it under control.

The dark forest represents the unknown areas in your life and shows that you are often unsure of your own abilities when doing something unfamiliar in waking life. However, as you continue deeper into an unknown area, you start to trust yourself more and your mood begins to lift. As your spirits rise you become happier and happier, and rather than being dogged by self doubt, you feel confident in your ability to progress doggedly on.

The deeper that you go into unfamiliar areas, the more you trust yourself and this can be really liberating for you as it enables you to rise above any dark moods and lingering self doubt. In waking life, don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Your dogged determination and loyalty to others will always heighten your experience and help you see the bigger picture.

Dream
Dear  Ian, I have this reoccurring nightmare that I go out for a few beers. I’m sitting there in the pub chatting away to my mates when I realise that I have lost my bottle of beer. I ask my friends to help me look for it but it’s like their faces have changed and I don’t know who they are. Then one of them starts pointing at my mouth and shouts ‘There it is! It’s in your mouth!’ I bite down and my mouth is full of broken glass and I can taste bubbling blood. Then I start spitting the glass out and it sticks in the faces of these people. I am not a heavy drinker so can you shed some light on this dream?

Meaning
When we dream about drinking alcohol, there is usually some situation that we are trying to escape from in our waking lives. This is probably a situation in your workplace where there is a chronic underlying tension between yourself and some other people. Although everything seems fine on the surface you know that it can all get out of control very quickly.

In waking life, you probably tend to lose control when your courage and authority is challenged by others and this makes you worry that you seem to be losing your bottle. Rather than waiting to hear what the others have to say, you immediately become defensive and attempt to reassert yourself. You try to defend your actions by spitting out sharp words and although you wouldn’t normally do this, you have lost control of the situation and your blood is boiling.

In these tense situations, the cutting remarks that you spit out can wound others and you always end up feeling a bit cut up about it yourself. To move on from this dream, try and be more flexible and accommodating with the people who you deal with in waking life. If you continue to present a tough hard exterior, you will just end up shattering your own fragile confidence.

Big Room, Tiny Man
Hello Ian, I have this dream again and again where I am trapped in the living room of my house. My living room seems absolutely massive in the dream and although I think I am normal sized, it feels like I am really tiny. I really need to get to the bathroom to go to the toilet, but the doors just keep getting further and further away every time I try to reach a door to get out. I try to get to the window as well so I can shout for help but it just keeps getting smaller and smaller and I keep sinking deeper and deeper into the living room carpet and no one can hear me. Can you explain what is going on?

When we dream about our house, we are usually dreaming about our own self and our identity. The rooms in our house represent the different aspects of our character and the living room is where we often show our public face to others. In your dream, the aspects of your character that you are showing to others appear far larger than they actually are and so in waking life, your probably like to appear to others as a larger than life character.

Although you may enjoy the attention that you receive by appearing larger than life, it results in you feeling trapped as you cannot find a way to step out of this character that you have created. Trying to get to the bathroom shows that you are trying to state your needs in waking life but you feel that your public image would be diminished if you actually managed to express what you really need.

Attempting to get to the window indicates that you are trying to show other people who you really are deep down inside but the window of opportunity for doing this is becoming smaller and smaller. To move on from this dream, you need to start showing some of your vulnerabilities and weaknesses to others in waking life.

Dream
Hi Ian, I have been having this horrible recurring dream where my boyfriend makes me a big frothy cappuccino but when I try to drink it the milk foam seems to blow up all around my face so no-one can see me. I start choking on the foam and can’t say anything. I keep trying to get through the milky foam to the coffee but there doesn’t seem to be any coffee in there and the milk always tastes a bit sour. What does this mean?

Meaning
When we dream of milk we are often reflecting on where we are nurtured and shown kindness in our waking lives. In reality, your boyfriend probably treats you very kindly and considerately but you often feel completely smothered by his kindness. He spends so much time looking after you that you feel no one can see the real you underneath.

Although you want to tell him that he is smothering you with affection, you choke at the last moment and never actually tell him your true feelings. Dreaming of coffee usually indicates a need for stimulation in waking life and you are constantly hoping that your boyfriend will do something stimulating rather than just being affectionate. This constant smothering is leaving a sour taste in your mouth because you feel your relationship is all froth with no substance underneath.

Rather than allowing your relationship to go sour and just turn into yet another cheesy romance, you need to tell your boyfriend about your need for some excitement rather than constant pampering. You should be less passive in your relationship and arrange some new and exciting experience for you both. This will take him out of his comfort zone and give you the chance to look after him for a change.

Dream
Dear Ian, Last week I had this crazy dream that I was in bed, but my bedroom was in a midget submarine! I was in charge of the sub and steering it and my fiance was keeping a look out up the periscope. A huge white ocean liner was heading towards us, trying to ram us. It was captained by my future mother-in-law –  my fiance could see her through the periscope. I kept saying to my fiance that we should launch a torpedo to sink the liner and then head off and hide in a secluded lagoon until all the fuss dies down. Should I still be getting married?

Meaning
When we dream about being in bed we are thinking about a situation in waking life where we feel relaxed and self aware. Dreaming of water shows that you are reflecting on your feelings and emotions. Steering the submarine from your bed shows that you are relaxed and at home with your feelings and that you enjoy sharing intimate emotions with your fiance.

However, the submarine also indicates that you are trying to conceal your innermost emotions and feelings from others and that you have a need for a private space that is only for you and your fiance. The huge white ocean liner heading towards you is your wedding day and this is undoubtedly being organised and controlled by your future mother-in-law. You probably have no direct communication with her and rely on your fiance telling you what she is up to.

You feel that your wedding is more for the benefit of your future mother-in-law, rather than for you and your fiance, so that’s why you want to torpedo the proceedings so you can have some privacy and intimacy with your future husband. To ensure a happy wedding day and a healthy future relationship with your mother-in-law, you need to bring your concerns to the surface and voice them directly to her.

Dream
Hello Ian, I keep having this reocurring dream where people are trying to blow up a dam that’s holding back a big deep reservoir. Sometimes it’s me trying to blow it up, sometimes it’s this army of freedom fighters. Somewhere in the dam is a big powerhouse for generating electricity.  I know it needs to be switched on somehow but I can never seem to find the switch.

Meaning
When we dream about a dam, we are considering how we can control our emotions and hold back our feelings in our waking lives. You have deep and powerful emotions but are unsure how to express them successfully. Instead of of going through the correct channels, you often want to break down any barriers that are preventing you from freely expressing your true feelings.

However, instead of letting your feelings run freely, you consciously attempt to control your emotions by barricading them inside you. The pressure behind this self imposed barrier builds up and builds up and you are concerned that your real feelings will unexpectedly come flooding out in a huge emotional outburst. You want to avoid being seen in floods of tears or being emotionally drained by others, so you are desperately looking for a positive way to communicate your powerful feelings.

In waking life, the powerhouse  is usually situated at the bottom of the dam because this is where the water is deepest and the pressure is strongest. You need to reflect on the source of your deepest feelings and why you keep holding them back. If you can honestly express these feelings you will experience a surge of confidence that should be very illuminating for you.

Dream
Hi Ian, I keep having this really horrific dream. I dream that I am flying in a big new airliner. I’m not sure where I’m going but I know it is a scheduled flight to somewhere foreign. Just as we are approaching our destination and I am beginning to relax, the captain comes on the radio and says that there is some sort of problem with the landing gear. I decide to go up to the cockpit to help. When I get to the front I am shocked to discover that the plane is being piloted by two chimpanzees. I chase them from the cockpit and take control. The situation then gets worse because we appear to have run out of fuel. I steer the plane in for a rough crash landing. It’s messy but everyone survives and walks away intact.

Meaning
When we dream of an aeroplane we are usually thinking about some project or idea that we are working on in our waking lives. You probably work as part of a team that works on large projects involving the delivery of specific information to a tight and agreed schedule. Each of these projects is different and the requirements can initially seem quite foreign to you.

As each project nears completion and you are beginning to relax, there is often a last minute problem that may prevent the project being successfully completed. You decide to use your individual technical expertise to help land the project. However, you find that the problem is not a technical one but is being caused by the project leaders monkeying around.

You decide to take control of the project but then you find that there are insufficient resources available and that the original destination cannot be reached. However, by using your hands-on, down to earth approach you manage to guide the project to a practical conclusion. Although the outcome may appear messy, everyone involved is safe and secure. In future projects you need to voice your concerns sooner or else the projects will keep spiraling out of control.

Dream
Dear Ian, I keep having a dream where I am staying in a really magnificent ice hotel miles from anywhere. From the outside, it looks like a huge glittering palace with shining towers and spires. Although you would expect it to be frosty and cold, it feels really warm inside with water streaming down the walls. The palace has thousands of windows made from clear ice and although I can see out, no-one seems to be able to see in. Every now and again, there is a loud crack as some part of the hotel collapses. No one seems to notice though. What does this mean? Am I going bonkers?

Meaning
When we dream of a hotel, we are considering the aspects of our identity that we choose to show to others in our waking lives. The hotel in your dream symbolises a temporary identity that you are presenting to other people but this identity is not really your true self and feels quite distant from who you really are. Dreaming of water reflects feelings and emotions in waking life, so dreaming of ice indicates that you are appearing emotionally cold to others.

People in your waking life is probably experience you as someone who appears cool and distant. You may behave icily towards others and often give them  the cold shoulder or a frosty stare.  From the outside, you enjoy looking magnificent and imposing in your splendid isolation. Inside, you know that it is a different story where your feelings are running warmly and freely.

The loud cracks you hear are when you think your cool and imposing facade is crumbling. In waking life you are terrified of letting your defences down and that is why you assume this cold blooded exterior. However, to be your true self, you need to thaw your frosty relationships with others by revealing the warm and caring person behind all your defences.