Dream date: 6/29/2019
Hi family! This is your cousin Kirsten. Olivia invited me to contribute here. I would be super interested to hear your thoughts or comments on this dream since it was unusual for me and I am not sure what to do with it. Love to you all. 

Dream:
Sead and I had arrived in what I thought was Cancun. I've never been there in real life but the water was clear, bright blue, and warm. He wanted to go parasailing and I did not. I just wanted to stay floating on the water on my little boogie board. I was annoyed by the crowds of people all around and the limited space I had to enjoy the water. 

As he was getting ready to go I pointed out to him that a storm was coming as a group of swirling dark clouds was forming. Then we realized that the ocean below the clouds was bubbling and lava was boiling up from under the water. I looked around for a place of safety.  We were on a very small island, more like a rock with a house surrounded by docks where the crowds of people were on small rafts or playing in the water. I wanted to go to the other side of the island away from the lava, but now lava was coming up out of the ocean on every side and there would be no place to run or escape it. I made my way to the highest ground where lava was coming up from every side. Just when I had accepted that I would not escape and would probably die (although I didn't feel any of that nightmarish fear, it was just a logical situation), the lava flow stopped and began to cool and harden at a safe distance surrounding my little hilltop. I don't know what was going on with the crowd. I didn't feel they were in danger.

The dream went on to have a reset of the same situation, as if it were a game that was orchestrated for me, but the second time I had it figured out and I confronted the guy who was trying to set it up, which actually led to some complications and increased danger for myself and others. That part feels less meaningful to me but still interesting. 

My interpretation/comments:

If the water symbolizes emotions, then this makes sense because my emotional world right now is inviting, a place I want to enjoy and discover, similar to the water in a vacation spot. But the crowds of people in my space limit my ability to do that because I have to accommodate and pay attention to them. That would include my kids in real life that are home all day for summer vacation and the commitments I have to be getting some research/writing done at the same time. It also makes sense that Sead wants to be doing/accomplishing something while I am craving quiet reflection. 

I looked up the dream symbolism of lava. It can represent anger, passion, things suppressed that can no longer be suppressed. Possibly this fits with my changing religious beliefs and the fact that I have suppressed a lot of that. Although I have talked with a lot of people about it, I haven't made any changes to the structure of my life, and I feel the pressure of those forces wanting to come out and change the landscape. Sometimes I also wonder if the religious wounds my ancestors passed on to me are coming out in me, demanding attention and healing. I think those women had to suppress a part of themselves for the sake of their religion. Now that energy wants to reclaim its power. 

At the same time, the lava could represent my "righteous anger" and the drive I feel to move my life forward by going to to school again and preparing for a career. I do not feel forced to do this. It feels like my decision more than anything has in a long time. But I do feel sometimes like I have no other option (hence being driven to the top of the hill by the lava flow of my own energy?).