Weird and Eerie Dreams

Have you ever had weird dreams that stick with you for days, clouding your consciousness and leaving you wondering what was real, and what was part of the dream?

Over the past six months I've had a few. They were so powerful they stayed with me for days, and brought an incredible feeling of anticipation that I can't shake. Even months later it hits me like a ton of bricks any time I think of the dream scenario.

In one dream I was slowly making my way through the brush near my home, recognizeable because it was comprised of young white aspens, speckled with the odd birch tree. It was early winter and spots of snow covered a thick layer of dried leaves. The leaves crunched under our feet as we walked. Much like most of these dreams I am always in a small group of people I know well, although they are never recognizeable. Sitting in the branches of a tree is a cougar-like white cat, and we are all looking up at her in adoration. She is beautiful, but also friendly. She seems to be smiling upon us and offering her wisdom. I feel an incredible sense of connection and peace with this beautiful, mysterious and wondrous animal. I woke up in awe and couldn't shake a feeling that I had some sort of 'special' encounter. I felt I'd been graced with the presence of this beautiful animal.

To no avail I tried to find an explanation for this encounter. I searched a number of resources trying to find a symbolic connection for my cat. While there were many god-like cats in history, none seemed to be white, or cougar-like. The closest connection I could find referred to 'powerful leadership abilities available when the need arises'. Hmmm....

A few nights ago I had another strange dream. This time my dream image took a human form. I ran into Sean Penn. Funny because he isn't an actor I've felt any particular admiration for, he wasn't someone I'd seen in a movie recently, I haven't even seen Mystic River yet, but there he was. Somehow, although impossible in reality, he grew up with me in my home town and he'd come back to rest and recuperate from a challenging year. He brought Jack Nicholson with him. I sat with Sean for a long time and he was sharing some very important life lessons with me. We were sitting on a grassy hill on a cool day. I was intrigued and excited by what he was telling me, but I can't remember anything he said. What was striking was how meaningful his message was to me and how much kinship I felt with him, and towards our joint interest. My interactions with Jack Nicholson were different. He was light-hearted and fun, but Sean displayed some contempt towards Jack's lighthearted approach to life.

A quick search on Sean Penn brought up some synchronicities that became even more puzzling. Unknown to me prior to my dream, I became aware that Sean Penn named his child after Jack Nicholson, and he also drove a Buick Grand National -- just like my hubby owned when we met. The only 'message' Sean has stood behind with great enthusiasm in the past years, has been a call for peace, and a stance against the current American war. I am puzzled how this is meaningful to me.

There have been more, but all just as confusing. A striking situation included a dream I had where I could see a young boy who appeared to be drowned. His arms were outstretched and his head was submersed in water. He was in something that appeared to be like a well, but the water was blue like that in a swimming pool, and I could see him through a glass window. I was in some kind of restaurant -- seemed like a McDonalds, and I was frantically trying to reach someone by phone to tell them about the boy -- to no avail.

A few weeks later I was in Mexico by the pool and the boy from my dreams, about 4 years old, was playing in the water in front of me. Needless to say I watched him like a hawk. He noticed me watching him and retreated to sit by his mom and dad -- to my relief. Nothing was like my dream except the boy, but I couldn't mistake that I'd seen him before. Too weird.

None of this is meaningful to me, but the dreams came with such clarity, and left such a lasting impression I've struggled to just accept they were random.

My dreams have proved to be affirming in the past, sometimes even predictive to the point where I encounter deja vous-like situations, but these always occur when I am impacted by a major life event, have made a major decision, or around important personal relationships.

The likelihood of these situations being 'predictive' is slim to none, so why is my unconscious clouding my psychic airwaves with these crazy and confounding messages? Isn't life confusing enough, why does the dreamworld need to add a new dimension of craziness? If only I could call and complain -- but who would I tell?