River dream

I dreamt last night that I saw the map of a landscape and river close to the sea from above, like seeing the earth from very high up in the air. I clearly remember the deep blue of the river and the sea and the vibrant green of the land.

The water of the river was flowing inland from the sea (not the other way around, i.e. the river didn't flow into the sea but out from it into the interior of the land). It had a strong and vigorous flow. But there was also a canal or a dead arm of the river, also flowing inwards from the sea, and in between the two a river island. The river island seemed particularly magical to me. Someone was saying to me that they were worried about the strength of the flow of the river. I said in return something about the calm of the canal.

Then I am swimming in the sea close to shore. I want to reach the calm water of the canal before I drift out into the open sea. I reach it and swim in it, away from the shore inland. It's is a wonderful feeling. The canal water is very blue and calm, almost stagnant. The canal is shallow and I can see grass or other kinds of plants moving just under the surface. I swim easily and it is a delight. Part of me worries that the stagnant water might not be healthy but I dismiss that thought quickly. I feel I can go on swimming for a long time and will reach my goal easily.

All that water is obviously about emotions. I've been feeling quite stressed recently. So maybe the dream was just a way to relax. I'm curious about the unnatural or unusual flow of the water, not into the sea but away from it, if anyone has any thoughts (or on anything else).

About the reverse flow, it may indicate that some of your most abundant,deepest, irrational emotions (the sea) are permeating your every day reality (the land). The unconscious reaches the surface. You may experience dramatic emotional swings as well as a feeling of "losing your mind". Also, it could mean that unconscious activity may interfere with your decisions in practical situations, more than you would like to, or maybe without you being aware of it.
Your experience with the element is the most crucial ingredient in interpreting the dream. Was this reverse flowing of water something intrusive, did you felt is something dangerous? Was it a sourse of life and nourishing or was it a possible flood?
Just some thoughts.
I belive your dream has some antistress function but is defenately also sending tge message "something's coming out from the depths".

Strangely, I didn't notice the reverse flow in the dream. It only occurred to me when I wrote it down. In the dream the flow of the water seemed natural to me. I felt comfortable in the element as I said in my initial post.

Hi BrightEye,

At first, the phrase that came to mind was "swimming against the current", but i realized that is not actually what was happening. You were swimming with the current; it just happened to be going in the opposite direction than it normally would.

In your dream, you focused more on the canal than the river, so I'm thinking the dream could possibly mean two things:

1. You admit there has recently been a lot of emotion and stress in your life. Maybe your dream simply indicates your need to swim away from that overwhelming "sea" of emotion to find a calm, quiet oasis and nurture yourself for a bit.

2. The current is flowing in a different direction than it normally would, and you are swimming along with it. Maybe this is a suggestion for you to handle your stress in a different way than usual. Do you tend to meet your stress head on and try to tackle everything at once? Maybe your dream is an indication to back off for awhile, take a deep breath, and take some time for yourself.

Just a few thoughts

RiverRunsDeep said:

Hi BrightEye,

At first, the phrase that came to mind was "swimming against the current", but i realized that is not actually what was happening. You were swimming with the current; it just happened to be going in the opposite direction than it normally would.

In your dream, you focused more on the canal than the river, so I'm thinking the dream could possibly mean two things:

1. You admit there has recently been a lot of emotion and stress in your life. Maybe your dream simply indicates your need to swim away from that overwhelming "sea" of emotion to find a calm, quiet oasis and nurture yourself for a bit.

2. The current is flowing in a different direction than it normally would, and you are swimming along with it. Maybe this is a suggestion for you to handle your stress in a different way than usual. Do you tend to meet your stress head on and try to tackle everything at once? Maybe your dream is an indication to back off for awhile, take a deep breath, and take some time for yourself.

Just a few thoughts

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Look at your screen name. Isn't that sererndipitous?

Yes, I do tackle my stress head on most of the time. But I have found that I had to put some things on the back burner this week and just simply can't deal with them. So you're probably right!

it's a obvious dream symbol about how the water is and linking that to emotions, calm water, more difficult to swim in and faster water. But the reversed river is an interesting symbol and more tricky.

I have been thinking about ideas about the river, it could represent....

- emotions
- energy
- effort / motivation

you didn't notice the river running the other way, it seemed perfectly normal to you and is not an obvious problem and so pehaps you are just a little different. You might feel differently about something or someone to everyone else but you know that is okay There is something about being different to the "normal" there and that is cool (well in my eyes anyway!). doing something the other way round or feeling different about something to everyone is fine until somehow it becomes a problem (perhaps a problem with others who might judge it hmmm). It's important that you were not swimming against the tide or the flow of the river, it was reversed. I am not sure what that means but perhaps you are going along with societies expectations or hierarchy but it seems wrong to you.

Second take on it is that you might be chasing something or putting your energy into something which is not worth it, you are swimming the wrong way! or not putting enough effort into something. You might have to cut lose a project or goal, it's not the right direction for you in life now.

Third take on it is unrequited love in some way. I think you are happy with your partner but perhaps someone in your life doesn't give something back. Again it's not flowing back to you, not flowing right.

A canal is a man made volume of water to travel in (historically). It's artificial as a vessel to take a natural element. It's also made so it's safe for the boats, it's shallow with defined edges. You want to swim in the "safe place", artificially created safe. My last thought about this is that there is a difference in the dream where you swim, not deep waters, only shallow sea, only safe places. Is this water safe to swim in and clean? anxiety? This is tightly controlled! I think you might need to dive into the unpredictable deep water somehow in life! just my jumbled up thoughts as always

danieljuk said:

A canal is a man made volume of water to travel in (historically).

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Not that sort of canal. If rivers are left to meander naturally, they sometimes seek different beds for themselves. The old course the river took previously remains, but the water doesn't flow in it anymore, or not as strongly as it did before. Does that make sense?

Feedback for Daniel

I'm going with the unconventional aspect you saw there. That said, I do tend to go along with convention most of the time for various reasons. Doesn't mean I'm always happy with that though.

There may also be an element of unrequited love, but not really from my end. Instead I feel I don't give enough love and that really bothers me at the moment. It's not that I don't feel it, but perhaps I don't show it in the way that the relevant person needs to see it.

I also feel I'm putting a lot of energy into aspects of my life that I feel are often wasted. Or the energy might be better invested elsewhere.

BrightEye said:

Someone was saying to me that they were worried about the strength of the flow of the river. I said in return something about the calm of the canal.

Then I am swimming in the sea close to shore. I want to reach the calm water of the canal before I drift out into the open sea. I reach it and swim in it, away from the shore inland. It's is a wonderful feeling. The canal water is very blue and calm, almost stagnant. The canal is shallow and I can see grass or other kinds of plants moving just under the surface. I swim easily and it is a delight. Part of me worries that the stagnant water might not be healthy but I dismiss that thought quickly. I feel I can go on swimming for a long time and will reach my goal easily.

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What spoke to me most here was the contrast between the vigorously flowing water and the near-stagnance of the canal - yet the stagnancy is desirable, which stands out, doesn't it? It seems the whole setup of river and sea just underscores that canal's stillness, and highlights that it's both unusual and alluring.

You say you've been stressed lately, and worried about where you're putting your energy. The imagery to me seems to speak of a danger of being swept away - either out to sea (unmoored, lost altogether, lacking in direction - although I love water, I find the open ocean frightening, do you?) or into the strong river (in the direction your life and your energies are currently pointed). You have to do a bit of work to break away from that flow and get to the canal, but once you're there everything feels calm and wonderful, and you'll "reach your goal quickly."

It sounds like a dream about not just needing to relax, but breaking away from a current trajectory.

BrightEye said:

Not that sort of canal. If rivers are left to meander naturally, they sometimes seek different beds for themselves. The old course the river took previously remains, but the water doesn't flow in it anymore, or not as strongly as it did before. Does that make sense?

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Sounds like that could be significant. Also, the part where you question whether the still water is healthy, and immediately decide that it is fine. Are there any old "stagnant" projects on your back-burner that might be secretly tugging at your heart? Was there a path that you once abandoned or temporarily set aside that might be worth returning to? Is there something you're avoiding pursuing because it doesn't seem like the usual or acceptable thing to do, but it's really where your interest or passion lies? It sounds like you're unhappy on your current course, and it might be worth checking your past for fresh ideas on a new direction. It may take a bit of work to figure out what the next step is and to break away from your current trajectory, but once you're there it will be "the path of least resistance" and feel much better.

I don't know if any of that will resonate with you - just some thoughts.

There's something magical about estuaries - where rivers meet the sea and where marshlands sprawl. There's a theme of mixing elements and integration there. What looks stagnant to some supports a unique, fertile, and thriving ecosystem. Interesting imagery!

EvMaeve

That is so interesting about the ecosystem!

There is something I want to pursue but am avoiding outing energy into for various reasons. This 'project' has been in my mind a lot lately, worrying me. I believe the dream is a direct response to that. My fear in waking like is that my pursuing this will create upheaval I can't handle. But as you say, the dream suggests the opposite.