The Dream Show with Jane Teresa Anderson

What does it mean to dream of rotting fish, or a rat jumping onto your shoulder, or a cougar breaking through the ice on a frozen pond? What does it mean to dream of a field of snakes, a talking dog, Wally from Where’s Wally? , or the panic of a dam about to burst and a frantic race through a prison mental asylum? What does it mean to dream of being comforted by a mother who died by suicide...

Why is it that we can experience things in our dreams that we haven’t experienced in our waking life? Like piloting a plane, levitating and flying without a plane, breathing underwater, feeling snakes slithering over our arms, or living as the opposite sex a few centuries back in time? How do these dreams relate to our life today? There’s an argument for simply enjoying the sensual adventure and w...

Karen is my guest with a scary dream about trying to stay in control of her car. She notices the fuel is low, but how low exactly? Has she got enough petrol to get home or is she close to running on empty? Her body is in the driver’s seat but suddenly her mind is floating above the car, and she can’t drive from up there. But she has to, somehow. Or does she? Every dream is unique, but if you’ve ev...

In this episode we dance with synchronicity, in both a light-hearted and deeply exploring way. Oh, and we relate it to dreams on many levels. When was the last time you experienced synchronicity? What happened? How did it make you feel? A synchronicity is a coincidence or series of coincidences that are not really coincidences at all. A coincidence is a chance thing, but a synchronicity feels far...

How do you respond when the winds of change sweep your way? Do you hold back in fear, look for an escape route, try to put off the inevitable, fight to stand your ground, defend and strengthen the status quo, take a giant leap of faith and let the winds of change carry you, or take baby steps as you sniff the wind and move instinctively moment by moment? Do you go with the general flow, seek guida...

“You don’t have enough nightmares on The Dream Show,” said Abigail, my guest in this episode, “so I’m bringing mine, a nightmare about three scorpions.” The dream is scary enough, as Abigail notices three scorpions in her bedroom, and zooms in, in the nightmare, to their shiny black stinging tails. One has her cornered. Should she move away fast, or move slowly? Will it deliver a fatal sting? Abig...

Gay is my guest with a dream about going into a dark cave to look for her grandmother’s bones, discovering, to her delight, American Indian cave drawings, following these deeper into the darkness, only to be led to a terrifying demon. At this point Gay tried to wake up from her dream, but she was unable to move, feeling trapped, weighed down, panicky. This frightening experience of feeling paralys...

Where do dreams and nightmares come from? The brain, the body, the mind, the soul, the universe, God, or the dream movie production unit at work, nightly, in the depths of our unconscious? Last week I saw the Pixar movie, Inside Out, (I give it five stars), which included a peek into the dream production studio where the main character’s dreams were being created, staged and screened. It reminded...

Do you remember your childhood dreams? What’s the earliest dream you can recall? How old were you? Was it a nightmare, or was it pleasant? Did you tell your parents about your dream? What did they say or do? Do you remember any of your teenage dreams? At the time, what did you think they meant? Did you take them literally? Did they upset or worry you? Where did you think your dreams came from? Did...

  Let’s get practical. There are two alchemy exercises for you to do in this episode. One will untangle one or more complexities you’re experiencing, leaving you feeling lighter and clearer about what to do. The other will tune you in to be more aware of some of the unseen forces that guide you, the good fairies and the bad fairies, or, to be more scientific than poetic, the positive and nega...

This episode marks the sixth anniversary of The Dream Show. Now, I’m not sure which is the most popular episode, but I do know which of my blog posts is the most popular, most viewed, most commented upon. Which do you think it is? What dream subject do you think might attract the most interest? Have a guess. I will reveal all at the end of this episode, and read it to you. On the way to the reveal...

  “It’s a really gross dream,” said Vashti, my guest in this episode, “and I was shocked by it. I’m curious, because how I was in the dream is not like me in waking life.” Some of the elements include a baby that someone keeps putting into a toilet on a nest of toilet paper floating on filthy, disgusting water, and a pagan ritual in a forest where things begin quite hopefully with a small, ha...

My guest, Domonique, asks about a dream that begins with a trip in a car that looks like a spaceship and ends with her firm refusal to be a witness for the Court Marshalls against her friend, Jules. “I’m older than I look,” she states, richly, and melodiously, standing her ground. There are two hidden keys featured in the dream, and Domonique knows where they are and how to lay her hands on them....

Is there one area in your life where you feel stuck, or one problem that you can’t fix no matter how many different solutions you try? In this episode, we go back to basics to see how your dreams can help you to move the apparently immoveable, to solve the apparently unsolvable. Enjoy this mix of the light-hearted, the deeply serious, and practical tips on working with your dreams to move past stu...

My guest, Alexandra, dreamed she had died. She stood on the path outside the church, and calmly watched the priests emerge from the funeral service into the courtyard, dressed in celebration regalia emblazoned with a glowing fleur-de-lys pattern. They walked in her direction, carrying trays of silver containers, as if bringing her – in her soul form – an offering. Alexandra’s dream was short, but...

Patti, my guest, was keen talk about her dream because she’s at a pivotal point in her life. She’s taking time out, making major decisions, and wanting to gather as much insight as she can to assist her in creating the shape of her future. Patti has worked with me before on a dream and found the dream alchemy profoundly life-changing, so when she noticed signs in this new dream of dilemmas and not...

Meet Lisa, my guest, who dreamed of a derelict house with a mix of funky and antique furniture, and great views from the steeply sloping garden. Should they buy the house? There were pros and cons, and because this was a dream, some of the cons were pretty outrageous: beds floating in an elevator shaft, a sinkhole in the garden, but, then again, it had some good things going for it too, and they w...

My guest, Scott, taught himself how to lucid dream when he was a young boy, and has been experimenting in his lucid dreams for the past three decades. Scott shares his experiences, including his lucid dreams of meeting friends who have died. We talk about the pros and cons of controlling dreams, and we look at some recurring dream themes Scott has encountered during this time. A few weeks ago, Sco...

My guest, Liza, dreamed she was violated by a plumber at her grandmother’s house, and yet, as the dream progressed, the positive energy lifted. There was the welcoming of an Aboriginal ghost couple into her current home, and someone commented that there was a beautiful vine growing outside her house and a lovely spiritual vibe inside. Vibe, and vine – do we have some word play going on here? “Look...

What do you think of this image? The guys at ponderabout.com came across one of my prose poems, and created this image to share on their inspirational site. It surprised me when they asked for my permission to publish one of my prose poems because I didn’t know that I had written any. I thought they must have got me mixed up with someone else, but when I looked at the image, I recognised my words,...

I’ve prepared this mix of the light-hearted, the deeply fascinating, and the ‘how to’ practicalities for you this episode, all on the theme of dream alchemy. Dream alchemy is a way of communicating with your unconscious mind to transform beliefs that are not serving you well. It works by speaking the same language as your unique unconscious mind, using one or more symbols from a uniquely personal...

Tim, my guest, dreamed of setting off on a journey, feeling sad at leaving behind animals that she had rescued, including a long-tailed monkey. She journeyed to the French mountains where she met a waiter who was mixing two fluids to create the perfect cola. There’s a lot of waiting in this dream from this point, so much so that by the end of the dream Tim feels that to wait any longer would be un...

My guest, Domonique, has been dreaming about work for the last four months, and wonders why, especially since she’s been on sick leave for the last three months. In some dreams she finds herself at work and then thinks, “But I’m on sick leave, what am I doing here?” In others dreams she’s in a car, on the way to work, but lost, thinking, “What am I doing here in the middle of nowhere?” In one of t...

Carmen, my guest this episode, dreamed of a white carthorse decorated in rainbow paint, dragging a cart without wheels, and carrying the heavy wheel axle in its mouth as a cruel punishment. But punishment for what? Meanwhile there’s a jeep that needs to be fixed, but the chances are that the guy who owns it will just continue on as before, rattly seats and all. Carmen is angry, something needs to...

My guest, Caroline, dreamed she was given a cheque made out to ‘Radiant Light Being’, or, on looking at it again, did it say ‘Radiant Glowing Jellyfish’? Either way, she felt she shouldn’t be paid because she had only been helping a secretary clean up a professor’s office. “Must be because I’m angelic,” she quipped to the secretary, and they both cracked up laughing. Later in the dream the profess...