Dreams, Fact or Fiction?

I must admit, I don't put a lot of credence in dreams, but occasionally; I have one that sticks with me and makes me wonder if there was more to it than a nighttime matinee.

Last week I had a curious dream that seemed very real. In it, I was hiking along with my 2 dogs (I only have one dog) when a medium sized brown dog attacked me. It came straight for me, with ears pulled back, teeth bared and the hair standing up on its back. It happened so fast, my 2 dogs did not respond.

I realized immediately it planned to viciously injure me, so reaching down, I grabbed a handful of the fluffy soil I was standing in and threw it straight into the eyes of the attacking dog. I remember doing it twice in rapid succession. This had a straightaway effect, by stopping the dog in its tracks.

I immediately felt satisfaction, having bested the dog using superior strategy and technique, but my victory was short-lived when I looked at the defeated dog and saw it in a helpless state.
Its ears were hanging down and its eyes and muzzle were packed with dirt. It was thoroughly defeated and humbled. My elation turned to guilt and sympathy as I recognized the poor dog was defeated and without my help, destined to fall prey and die.

The last thing I remember in this dream was looking around for a source of water to wash the dirt from the poor things eyes and taking it on as another friend.

What do you think of this dream and do you also have dreams that appear to be out of the ordinary?

I asked this pair of questions on a number of mailing lists and forums and a fellow Baytonian suggested the website www.dreammoods.com . On this site, I read: "To dream that you are being attacked by an animal is a warning to be careful with those around you. Take notice on who you know in your waking life that shares and exhibit the same qualities of the animal that attacked you in your dream."

Other interpretations, suggestions and comments from friends follow.

· I think it says a lot about you as a person. You do what you have to do in order to protect yourself. But, it doesn't mean you are proud of hurting others and still feel compassion for all life. One could draw a connection from this to Joe Horn. (Not that it's what it means to you).

· It sounds like a parable to me. The medium brown dog represents the immigrant element and you are torn between neutralizing the problem with a legal approach and the hurt it might cause those illegal aliens who are just trying to make a living and don't really understand the law of the US. I believe that Jesus uses parables because they reflect the parable nature of our dream life thereby communicating with both the conscious and the unconscious. Just a theory I came up with years ago when I noticed that dreams have a fable like symbolism. Perhaps it is representative of a conflict in your mind period. What it shows is that you are going to solve a problem and then deal with painful fallout later.

· Your two dogs are two people close to you. An outsider threatened your safety. Going into survival mode, you used something to neutralize the threat and attack their weakest area, but you are not sure if the threat is/was real. Now, in hopes of gaining another friend, you feel the need to mend a possible wrong doing on your part.

· Interesting dream, I often have dreams that come true. There have been many instances in my life where I have dreamed about certain events regarding family, or my life and they have come to pass. Some of them are warnings and some of them are good things about the future. I don't believe every dream I dream is a message but I have learned to distinguish the difference. Usually dreams that stick with you and you can't seem to shake it off are usually ones that are significant.

In summation, I have no idea what this dream has to do with reality, if anything, but it was interesting and not the run of the mill "bean" dream, so I thought I would pass it along.

Happy New Year to all in 2008! This year is almost history.