Active / passive Dream Meanings

Example: I was in a house that I lived in many years ago. How I got there I do not know, but I saw myself sitting in an ordinary chair just behind the closed front street door. It was very quiet, and I was afraid, but I did not make any effon to move’ (Mrs J).

When we are an inactive observer in our dream, are all the time on the receiving end of dream action, or as in the exam­ple make no effon to move from discomfort, we are in a passive role.

If this occurs frequently in our dreams, we are probably passive in our waking life. This can gradually be changed by such techniques as active imagination.

It is our own emotions, fears and sexuality we are meeting in our dreams, so it is wise to take charge of our being rather than be a victim.

The following dream illustrates an active dreamer: ‘As I walked toward a house a number of demons or devils came at me menacingly, trying to stop me getting near the house. Although they made all the ghostly noises, I wasn’t at all afraid of them. I felt they were a damned nuisance, and to show them I meant business I grabbed one and with my right hand I gripped its flesh and squeezed. It started to squeak in pain and I squeezed harder’ (Clive J).