"Gross! I Pooped and Put it In the Fridge!" A Dream Interpretation.

Dear Satya:

Okay, this is kind of gross, but I'm really curious... in this dream I'm standing alone in a nice, big kitchen in a house that feels somewhat communal. I have to go to the bathroom, but I don't want to use one of the bathrooms because I want to avoid people knowing. The next thing I know, I've pooped in a plastic compost container and am placing the full container in the refrigerator! I know I intend to flush it all later. It's really full and gross. Later, I am in another room and there's a crew of people, in their 30s, happy, gathered and cooking in the kitchen. I have anxiety that the container will be discovered. When they leave, I go to the fridge and find that someone has dumped and cleaned the container and that it's now full of cooked white rice. What?!

Awesome! Yes, in a way this is a totally gross dream. Fine. But the symbols behind it are also pretty awesome. Here's the quick-and-dirty (so to speak) about poop dreams: they can very directly reflect what's going on in our "psychic digestive systems." The psychological processing of things is not unlike physical digestion in the way it works: we take things in, process them, integrate the nutrients, and release the waste. When life throws us things that are requiring more of our attention, poop dreams often show up. The dreams are pointing to the need to digest something, to fully take something in, or they can point out problems with the processing. With "psychic digestion," there are endless social norms that can keep us from properly integrating what we take in. Each day, the emotions, experiences, memories, relationships, stimuli, information, and conversations in our lives cannot all be fully digested because we don't have the time, or we get interrupted, or we're at work and on deadline. Too much of the external expectations and not enough of the internal awareness can leave us constipated, or sick. Symbolically and literally.

In this dream, you're scared to go to the bathroom because other people are around. This can suggest that you have needed to process something that's happening in your life away from others, or that you were unnecessarily concerned about the opinions of others in regards to what you're sorting through. I say this in the past tense because this dream has a full conclusion. To start, you do poop, reflecting that something that you were processing (a relationship struggle? a work difficulty?) has worked its way through your system (you've found some clarity with it), but before you let it go completely, you put it in the fridge! You "put it on ice." Something more was to be done.

The critical, wonderful twist to this dream comes when you discover that the poop is no longer in the bin and that there is cooked rice in its place! Wow. This kind of image reversal is known as alchemy, the act of turning stone into gold, or the psychic human equivalent, poop into food: the S*&t of life into personal growth. This is a pretty literal symbol when you look at it that way. (The compost bin, if you consider the concept of compost, is the other symbol that really points to this.)

This theme of transition is such a crucial one in dreams that I know we'll have to explore it more soon. For now, I would venture to say that this dream is reflecting that you have successfully processed through some things recently and have turned the experience into nutrients for a new beginning. Get to know those people in the house who helped you do that. They're your allies and support and good parts of you to know for the future.

Have you had a dream like this? Leave a comment and share!

Satya Doyle Byock is a Jungian psychotherapist, the Director of The Salome Institute, and the author of Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood (Random House, 2022).

"My Teeth are Falling Out!" A Dream Interpretation.

Dear Satya:

I've been having a recurring dream in which I discover that my teeth are falling out (I've heard this is a common one). In the dream, I am doing some mundane task when all of a sudden I reach into my mouth and pull out one of my teeth. Subsequently, I realize that numerous teeth are loose. Before I know it, I have a handful of teeth in my hand. I am consumed with a feeling of panic.

Yup, you're absolutely right, this is a very common dream (and so unpleasant!). I would even venture to say that this may be the most common dream that people share with other people after having it, it's just so weird! First, let's review that recurring dreams show up when things are sort of stuck when there's an issue or emotion that is working its way through our systems and can't quite get resolved. The easiest way to get recurring dreams to go away (should you want to be rid of one) is to write the dream down and talk it through with someone who can help you objectively explore it. What you're looking for is the emotion in the images, that is, it's not an entirely intellectual process. For instance, you know you feel panic in this dream, but what kind? What does it remind you of? What are the specific fears wrapped up in it? The emotion will have to find its way out of your system and be felt. Unfortunately, no impersonal dream interpretation can accomplish this task fully without your participation. The "aha!" moments are just too personal, too particular, and have to be experienced to be transformative.

But let's see if we can get a head-start on this process! Teeth. Teeth are the very beginning of the digestion process, they break down food before it enters our stomach so that the nutrients can be better integrated into our systems. Symbolically, they can point to the beginning of a similar process of psychic digestion, trying to process information and events that enter our awareness. If they're falling out, it may suggest that we're struggling to integrate something, perhaps as a result of being overwhelmed by it. Importantly, teeth also fall out naturally at only a couple of stages of life: early childhood when we are gaining our adult teeth, and in old age. We've got bare gums when we're babies and often when we're old. The shared experience between babies and the elderly is one of a lack of autonomy, a feeling of sort of being swept along by your own physical needs and the requirements of the outer world; for both stages in life, personal choice and personal desire are something of a luxury.

You say you're regularly doing some mundane task in this dream, which suggests to me a feeling of monotony and boredom in your life. I venture to say that for you, this dream is pointing to a feeling of persistent boredom and a loss of autonomy in your life, a feeling of being infantilized (by work or school?), and then panicked about how to reverse that experience and regain a sense of adulthood and control. My guess is that your panic in this dream involves an anticipatory feeling of having to face the world now. These teeth-falling-out dreams may be a version of the naked-in-public dreams: pure panic, terror, and a sense of desperation — "how am I going to get out of this situation and make this go away?"

So, I'm terribly curious about the nuances of your emotions when you discover that you're losing teeth. I wonder about that panic. Perhaps the notions of not being in control of your day-to-day existence, of having to face the world before you're calm and collected (a bit naked), resonates. What more is in there? These images may point to themes that others experience too, but the nuances are yours alone. What are the very specific fears and contemplations about the future, unique only to you, that arise when you look in your hand and see a handful of teeth? What do those feelings remind you of from your waking life?

Have you had a dream like this? Leave a comment and share!

Satya Doyle Byock is a Jungian psychotherapist, the Director of The Salome Institute, and the author of Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood (Random House, 2022).

"I'm With a Lion on a Beach..." A Dream Interpretation.

Dear Satya:

In this dream, I am on a beach with others. I know it was just nighttime, but now it feels sort of in-between times. We are walking on the edge of the water but then I walk up the beach. Then, after a short while, I turn around and see a full-grown lion standing halfway in the water, looking right at me! The lion is not threatening, but it is very real and I am struck by its size, strength, and presence as it stares at me. It was an incredible dream!

Fabulous. What you've got here is a dream clearly marking a major life transition. Do you see some of the indications? It's "in-between times," as you put it, and you're walking on the edge of the water, between water and land. There's a pattern there. It may sound cryptic initially, but the imagery suggests that you yourself are somewhat in between worlds, bringing something that was not conscious (of the night and the watery ocean) into the daytime and onto land, where we humans are more comfortable. You're transitioning from one attitude or way of life into another. It's a liminal time, a transitional time.

The incredible imagery of the lion appearing to you is a visceral experience, right? It's those moments that stop you in your tracks and make you go "Whoa!" And for good reason. That lion is a presence, almost a messenger, staring straight at you, and acknowledging you. These kinds of dreams tend to give the dreamer a feeling of meaning, versus many other dreams that can be more easily tossed aside as "day residue." It's got an archetypal feel; you just know that lion is not in your dream because of any nonsense from the day before.

Lion's are not just any old animal, they are the kings of the animal world. When a lion appears in a dream, coming up from the depths of who-knows-where to pay you a visit, it's a good idea to pay attention. Your attitude towards the lion in the dream is important. You do not rush up excitedly to hug him, nor do you run in the other direction in fear. Your attitude suggests a kind of reverence and gratitude, a good sign, suggesting that you are open to this transition in your life instead of fighting it. If, instead, you had misunderstood the lion's power to hurt you in the dream (jumping on its back or getting too close), I would not feel as optimistic about your "prognosis" for the transition. You get it. You get that this lion has power, and you get that it's sort of an honor to have him there, staring right at you. I know this is a big time in your life, because kings don't pay visits for just any old reason.

Have you had a dream like this? Share in the comments!

Satya Doyle Byock is a Jungian psychotherapist, the Director of The Salome Institute, and the author of Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood (Random House, 2022).

"Feral cats! In My House and Everywhere!" A Dream Interpretation.

Dear Satya:

I am in my house and look outside and see a swarm of feral cats invading my yard. I am extremely frustrated and anxious. I go around to the kitchen and open the door to scare them away, but the cats start coming into my house! There are other people in my house, and everyone wants me to get rid of the cats! I pick up one of the cats but it starts scratching my arm so I drop it. I try to start shoving them out, but they're all dodging my efforts. Then a big, Native American blanket is somehow thrown over a cat and it transforms into a giant, stuffed, toy pony that falls to the ground. The whole scene changes. The cats are gone and everything is now outside.

Like a proper story, this dream provides the setting, the problem, the climax, and then the unlikely solution. You're in your house looking into your yard. Feral cats are swarming outside and, in your desire to be rid of them, you inadvertently let them in! Your attempts to get rid of them by force fail, but then, out of nowhere, an unlikely shift: with the help of something more ancient and unfamiliar, the cat is transformed into a cuddly, inert, soft, pony. And just as you desired, the cats are all gone.I know from conversations with you that this is a recurring dream; these feral cats have been haunting you for a long time. As a recurring dream, you are being presented with a challenge of some kind, a personal difficulty, that persists because (almost like an injury) it requires your attention. So what do these cats represent for you and why are you determined to keep them out?

Cats are companions for many people and bring comfort; they live in our homes, sit on our laps, sleep in our beds, and cuddle up with us. They are also dependent on us for food and shelter. I won't go into the varied mythological symbolism of cats here, because I think the primary question is why these cats are so regularly in your dreams, seeking your help, and why you are so determined to keep them out.

In the dream, are you at all concerned that these cats are homeless and seeking shelter in your home? You and I have spoken about this dream, so I'll share with our readers that when I asked you this question if you were worried about them, you replied that you were just annoyed with them, and that, perhaps, you wanted them gone quickly so that you didn't have to worry about them. Out of sight out of mind.

That's it, though. The more we try to avoid things, the more they bother us. A small part of you, I think, is actually concerned about these cats but avoiding thinking about it. So what does that mean? Every character that arises in a dream is a part of us. These cats, whatever they represent, are a part of you, a part that may be rather soft and even somewhat dependent on others, that you may prefer were not part of you at all. All this work you are doing to protect your home (another important symbol) suggests that you are working hard to keep your defenses up, fortifying walls in order to keep from admitting that something a little gentler, maybe emotional, is being neglected and left out.

All of your tools to keep the cats out of your house are not working. They never will. In order to get rid of these cats once and for all, you may just have to let them in and engage them. The incredible solution at the end of your dream, the Native American blanket and the toy pony, will need to wait for explanation for another time. But I promise you, if you learn to pay attention to this cat part of you and what it needs, this recurring dream will either change dramatically or will never come back again.

Have you had a dream like this? Leave a note in the comments below!

Satya Doyle Byock is a Jungian psychotherapist, the Director of The Salome Institute, and the author of Quarterlife: The Search for Self in Early Adulthood (Random House, 2022).