Dream Decoding: Riding with Dad (Redux)
Hello, and welcome to the latest installment of my Dream Decoding series! I love working with dreams, as they are designed to tell us about situations in our lives, the challenges within those situations, and the best ways to resolve those challenges.
I’m “unpacking” a dream submitted which is similar to a theme that presented in a previous column, with the same name for its title. And while the theme might be similar, as the saying goes, “The devil’s in the details.” Here is the dream:
Dream Title: Riding with Dad (Redux)
(The word “redux” is my addition)
I am in a car with my Dad. He is driving; I am in the passenger seat. My son, who is 10 months old, is in the back seat of the car. My younger brother is also in the back seat. My Dad is yelling at me, about how I am taking care of my son. My son is crying.
Riding with Dad (Redux): the Interpretation
The subject matter of this dream is the dreamer’s relationship with her Dad, just as in the dream that shares the same title.
As in that dream, this dream is saying that Dad is a controlling force in the relationship (this Dad is also driving the car). Dad attempts to control and direct the dreamer’s life. The dream is saying the dreamer has tolerated this (being in the passenger seat), possibly not having said or done anything about Dad’s controlling behavior.
All of this is similar between the two dreams. And that is also where the similarities end.
In this particular dream, the issue is about parental responsibility (why the Dad is yelling at the dreamer; it has to do with how she is taking care of her son).
What the dream is really telling the dreamer is that she actually has this issue with her Dad. The dreamer thinks her Dad has, in some way, neglected his parental responsibilities.
The dream is saying the kids (the dreamer and her younger brother) took a “back seat” (the back seat can also be about the past, as “it happened back then”) to other things in Dad’s life (possibly his job, for the car can symbolize career, and being driven by ambition to get ahead; another could be he liked to be out of the house, “on the road,” so to speak).
This has affected the dreamer, symbolized by the crying baby. Crying indicates a need for emotional release, so the dreamer is being asked to release this emotional pain from the past (back seat).
Dad is yelling at the dreamer in the dream. Yelling in a dream indicates a need to be heard in waking life. It would suggest that the dreamer has not had a conversation with her father about this issue she has with him, and it makes sense, in light of the idea of having had to take a “back seat” to other things in his life.
If the dreamer feels that she and her brother were not given any attention (back seat), she would feel that her father would not listen to her about that now. She could also fear the conversation would turn into an argument (Dad yelling at the dreamer).
The dream is suggesting she find a way to resolve this, as it could be something that keeps her from moving forward in life (in the passenger seat of the car), and could actually have an effect on how the dreamer raises her own child.
I would like to thank the dreamer for submitting such a great dream. If you would like to have a dream featured and interpreted in this space, you can submit the dream to me at james@jameshimm.com, with “Dream Decoding” and the title of the dream in the subject line.
As always, I want to thank each and every one of you who reads and follows the blog regularly. I appreciate the investment of your time, and your support; it means so much.
Until next time…sweet dreams!
Your Dream Decoder,
James
If you are interested in sharing with your dream with me so we can work with it one-on-one, please check out the information on my Dream Decoder Coaching page.