So here is a strange one:

When I was in college, I had a recurring dream that I was killed by a car hitting me as I was walking. Don't ask me how I knew, but I knew I was 22 years old in my dream, and I had this strange feeling that I was going to die sometime before my 23rd birthday.

Thank goodness I survived!

Then this weekend, while at the lake I had a crazy dream. I don't dream often (at least, I don't remember my dreams often) so this was particularly noteworthy. Here is how it went:

I was at the beach. Nate was there and some of our friends were there. I was wading in the water and everything was calm and beautiful. This was the majority of the dream, then all of a sudden I felt a strong undertow that pulled the water away from my feet. I turned around to see a humongous wave looming that shadowed my body. I'm talking a tsunami wave. It was instantly clear to me that I was going to die and my only reaction was to think to myself, "Thank you God, for everything," and then I went to inhale deeply (what would have been a lung-full of water) before I woke up.

It was weird because I remember being so calm...strange. Anyway, I decided I had to do a little Google research to see if I could decipher what this all meant. Here is what I found:

First, I thought I'd tackle the whole "death" thing, since that theme seems to haunt the few dreams I have. According to the online source, A Dummies Guide to Dreams, a dream about death, "...often symbolizes changes in life. Changing jobs, getting a divorce, moving to another city, all represent the death of old habits and way of life [the death and resurrection motif]. With every death there is a new birth; the new job, new home, new relationships. Treat death in a dream as getting rid of negative emotions and replacing them with positive ones." Whew! What a relief. Although the page briefly mentioned that dreams could potentially predict the future, it is highly unlikely that a big group of us will ever take a group vacation to an ocean capable of creating such a wave. It did, however, touch on a few of my life's, "current events," that made a lot of sense. I am going through a lot of changes in my life that have changed a lot of negatives to positives.

Second, the water played another critical role in the dream. On this subject, another online source, Self Healing Expressions, note that, " The size of the body of water denotes the amount of emotion that may be surfacing within you...an ocean may indicate your deepest feelings, serenity and emotional strength and force." For what it's worth, part of me feels more "at peace" than I have ever felt before. In my personal life, I feel both secure and incredibly happy. I don't question motives or second guess actions. Serene is a great word to describe it. On the other hand, the change in employment (or lack thereof) is incredibly discouraging. Still, a big change on that front may be in order as soon as the end of this week. All of my emotions are on some extreme end of the spectrum right now. Also, the beautiful, clean ocean was also symbolic: "Bodies of clear water imply that your emotions, intentions and purpose are aligned and clear. It also suggests spiritual purity and understanding." I think this is affirmed by my feeling of calm and acceptance of my impending death. All very interesting.

What did I get out of this research process? First, it satisfied my academic itch :-) I still love research and am a hopeless nerd. Second, it is interesting that my findings were so accurate with what is happening in my life. Hopefully my newfound clarity will continue to lead me into the right direction...and if this all this dream deciphering is a load of crap? Oh well. I still feel good about being right here, right now.