This is how to interpret a dream. Look for a big feeling which may have caused a dream. This dreamer was a writer who had been thinking about this the night before. Notice that the dream features books and writing so we may guess that the dream is about that issue. Dreams will connect randomly in this way to the issue which has triggered them.

THE DREAM Last night I dreamt I was in line for a jail cell. I had a bloody gauze bandage on the lower right side of my body . I had a crumpled piece of paper in my hands and when I got to the table, the woman guard checking paperwork was a woman I used to work with. (she's a high school secretary for the counselling office. When I worked with this woman I was in my early twenties and she was in her forties. She was intimidating. she's blonde with red skin and aged b/c she smokes. She was also really into hockey b/c her son played. She always listened to an alternative rock station at her desk. She reminds me of my Mom when I was younger - tough and bitchy) So, when I get to the table I ask her if I can leave. It feels like she likes me and she wants to help me, but she doesn't. She says I'd only be in jail for one night, that's not a big deal. I beg her to let me leave. I noticed that she let others leave. I stand there with my paper feeling embarrassed and unsure of what to do. In the cell, I am with a cousin,"Steve". (Steve has his own law firm and is quite successful. He is in his mid-late thirties. B/c of family squabbles, I have not seen him in five years. He's about six years older than I am. He has always intimidated me. My dad used to say that he was like a genius.) In the dream, I'm not afraid of him. He has a pile of books in front of him. All the books are about fictional women or by women authors. I know we talked, but I don't remember what was said. The next scene is both of us in front of the woman guard at that table. She is signing my paper so that I can leave. she's irritated. She says "your cousin's connections got you out of here." I am so happy. My cousin seems so cool and not worried about the situation. I tell her we should hang out sometime. [S Ramierez]

THE REALITY The day before the dream the dreamer was very hard on herself. She felt as if she had really wasted a day. She had been taking writing classes for a year and finally was beginning to know what she wanted to pursue in life. Yet the day had been wasted and she accomplished nothing in the way of writing.

THE INTERPRETATION If something was on your mind on the day before then its very likely that the dream was about that one issue. The bigger the issue in your mind then the more likely there is a link. In this case the dreamer was disappointed with herself. So its always best to work through the symbols and look for links to that one issue.

The character Steve in the dream is someone whom has achieved in life. This shows how aspirational the dreamer is feeling. She wants to tap into the genius inside her by exploiting her own writing skills.

The dream does seem to use several symbols which link to writing. The crumpled up piece of paper represents her own failed writing attempts. The women�s fictional books represent books which she really would like to write herself.

The second person in the dream also seems to be of major symbolic importance. Why did the dreamer choose this character? Maybe she chose someone tough and bitchy to represent her own need to be tough on herself. The woman also reminds her of her mother and so would represent someone who really has her own best interests at heart.

The prison is not an easy symbol to understand. It could represent the dreamers own feelings that she has wasted her life - in the same way prisoners waste their lives. It could represent the dreamer punishing herself. It could link to specific feelings of feeling trapped. Writers often use the term writers block and prisons a good symbol to express this state of mind.

If a dream contains strong emotions and feelings its best to look for instances where these simply mirror real life. The dreamer begs and really does want to leave the prison cell. This captures the dreamers own strength of feeling and wish to really change her life.

Symbolic Meanings
BEG : "Showing the dreamers own strength of feelings. Her real wish to change"
BLONDE : "A woman who reminds her of her mother. Her mind chooses someone who is caring (like her mother) yet will intimidate her and so push her into achieving "
CRUMPLED PIECE OF PAPER : "Fairly literal symbol - representing failed attempts at writing"
FICTIONAL : ""
ONE NIGHT IN JAIL - NOT A BIG DEAL : "The dreamer is aware that she is being hard on herself. One wasted day is not that big a deal. "
PRISON : "The dreamer feels as if she is wasting her life away."
PRISON : "The dreamer is punishing herself."
PRISON : "The dreamer feels trapped,restricted and unable to achieve."
FICTIONAL WOMENS BOOKS: "A wish to write books"
STEVE THE GENIUS : "The dreamer is trying to access the genius inside her. She is trying to tap into her own writing skills."

DREAM MEANING The dream captures the following feeling within the dreamer - "I really want to show my talents as a writer yet again I wasted a whole day sleeping and accomplishing very little. I am being very hard on myself but its something that I do really want".

See how the Symbolic meanings weave together to form a key insight