THE DREAM - I was wanting to go for a swim. There was Louise from the community centre there. Then there was something about having to pay 50 pence. I then started heading down the river. The river split into two at some point. I wanted to go on my own but I also thought that I might want to get back at some point. I noticed some buildings. I did not want to swim near these buildings. I realised that there would be sewerage from these buildings spewing out into the water - like in Thailand. There was also oil on the water. Then I felt the presence of my father. It was a positive sense.

THE REALITY The previous day the dreamer had been down his local community centre. He paid his usual 50 pence to use the internet. Recently the atmosphere had been bad down here. He had been accused of not paying the correct fees to use the computers. He felt that the attitude of some of the staff was stupid and petty. The community centre was struggling financially and they had become obsessive in their enforcement of rules. They were not treating people respectfully. He felt seriously that he should stand up and tell these people exactly how he thought. He was especially annoyed since the previous day someone had been breaking the rules and the people in charge had ignored this. Yet whenever the dreamer broke the rules he was very quickly put in his place.

DREAM INTERPRETATION Dreams often link to recent thoughts. In this case there are clear links to recent events which were really getting to the dreamer. Was getting to breaking point and was thinking about telling people exactly how he thought. There was a very clear link by association to the community centre which was in real life causing him to feel resentful. The 50 pence charge was the exact amount that people have to pay there to use the computers connected to the internet. Recently there had been very strict and petty enforcement of these rules. The dream would definitely seem to link to a growing resentment towards this.

It is often best to interpret a dream in reverse. You look for issues which are causing concern in real life and then try to see how the dream links to reality. In this dream there are several indicators of how this dream links to reality. It had as well been a key issue with the dreamer.

The pollution in the dream would seem to be a strong symbol. It probably expresses the dreamers feeling that the community centre had a bad atmosphere and was full of nasty spiteful people. He really was not getting on with several people down there. This had been amplified the day before by a sense of unfairness. Another person had been blatantly breaking the rules yet no one mentioned anything. Yet if he had dared to break a rule he would have immediately been stamped down upon.

His father probably linked to his current mood. Fathers can link to issues where we want to stamp our authority on things. In this case he wanted to stand up for himself and wanted to tell people exactly how he felt. The dream also clearly indicates this - he wanted to go off on his own - perhaps showing that he was willing to leave because things were happening which were wrong. Yet the dream also hints at a need to show restraint - he realizes that he might want to come back soon. Dreams use such easy to recognize symbols. They express the direction of our thoughts. So its likely that his current urge to express his views openly needs to be kept in check. He realizes that if you make your feelings too clear then it may in fact mean that he is forced to leave. Although right now he recognizes that the place is full of bad feelings that he must not push his luck.

Often people appear in dreams because they personify certain types of behavior. This person was central to this dreamers growing sense of resentment. She was guilty of behaving in the most petty of ways.

Symbolic Meanings
50 PENCE : "a very strong association. The dreamer paid 50 pence to use the internet at his local community centre. Recently there had been petty enforcement of the rules here."
FATHER : "Standing up for yourself and wanting respect"
LOUISE : "In real life this person personifies everything that was wrong. She was capable of being very petty and treating people disrespectfully."
POLUTTED : "The community centre was clearly polluted with a bad atmosphere"
RIVER : "Your own energies and efforts. "

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I am fed up with that community centre. I always pay my 50 pence to use the internet. Yet they are still accusing me of trying to get away without paying. That place has really got a bad atmosphere right now. And yesterday Gemma was clearly breaking the rules and got away with it. If that had me then I would have been pulled up immediately."

See how the Symbolic meanings weave together capture the dreamers resentments