Why dream of Jeannie?

Another night, another waking from a dream, another... curious thought: Why did that particular person appear in my dream?

Dismiss one obvious area of speculation: This person is not the Jeannie of long-ago teenage boy psycho-sexual wish fulfilment :-) Despite the subject line of this post, this "Jeannie" is a man.

Why do some people appear in my dreams and not others?

My wife, for example: More that forty years of marriage, yet Deb has seldom appeared in my dreams. Familiarity? Boredom? Nooo... Right from the start of our marriage I have noticed, Deb is not a central character in my *dreams*.

Well, okay, perhaps there have been half-a-dozen dreams where Deb has appeared in a nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say-no-more sort of role. Though not as often as, "unnamed blonde bimbo, about 40". (Sigh. I've seen far less of her, as time and age progresses.) I think that Deb -- and other people whom I know quite well -- are already there in real life. And in conscious thought. There is no need to meet them again in dreams. No need for the subconscious to work through issues with people whom I meet -- or think about at a conscious level -- on a regular basis.

Except as a stand-in for another person... Or a metaphor for an unrelated issue. Sorry, Deb, it's you again :-) (Not that Deb reads this. So to my actual reader: No need to shake your head sadly and wonder, How has Deb put up with this bloke. So well. For so long... Poor, brave woman... Sigh... :-)

Twice... maybe three times... spread over many years... I have taken home worries which have lead to a specific nightmare. (No, this is not in the last couple of months. Hmmm... does that mean that it should not be part of this blog? I justify this dream analysis on the claimed link to the actual dream which is the subject of this post!) The real-life worry is of potential loss. The nightmare is of loss: Deb & I have agreed to meet -- and I cannot find Deb :-( And that is a nightmare which deserves far worse than the simple :-( In that dream, Deb is a powerful stand-in -- or perhaps a metaphor -- for whatever it was that I was worried about losing.

There's an extra possibility, though I don't believe that it was actually applicable to those specific dreams: I could have been using loss of Deb as a means to put my conscious worries in perspective. Lose a job? No worries, it could be worse, I could lose Deb! Noooo... I don't need to be dreaming to use that "comforting" thought. Lose my life? No worries, it could be worse, I could lose Deb!

And so, back to... No, wait, yet another brief dream analysis:

A week or more ago, a quick flash of dream: Front & centre, me. In the background, a group of family & friends. Not a formal family portrait. More a blurry group shot of... it may as well be... The Brady Bunch. I just "know" that it is family & friends. I'm saying, But what if something... changes... :-( There's a feeling, an impression, of smiling, a group response, Of course we'll continue to help... To which I now consciously reply, Thank you! Everyone :-)

Now, back to "Jeannie".

He's a bloke I worked with, years ago. I've never met him outside work. This morning -- in the dream -- he was riding his bike in a suburb which I have not visited for years... We stopped, to say hello. Nothing more, nothing less. Why him?!

He's a bloke with a different attitude to work. Different to my attitude, that is. In the very few areas where our work overlapped, we disagreed on tactics and on strategies. And, once or twice, on actions. Yet we always accepted that what was done, was done. And whichever of us had the responsibility would listen to advice but then "do" according to their own best decision.

I learnt a lot from "Jeannie". I learnt that there are alternatives... not all is simple black & white. I learnt to be more aware of alternative offerings, I even -- though very seldom :-)  -- used a less-comfortable-to-me alternative. All of which, I much appreciate! And "Jeannie" pops up in my dreams -- perhaps -- when I want to remind myself that there are alternatives.

This morning, though, it was a result of talking to someone... who knows someone... who knows... and "Jeannie" may have been mentioned. No alternatives are being considered. Just: Hello! I wonder how "Jeannie" is, these days? Hello "Jeannie", nice to see you, you're looking well! And I hope you are just as well in real life :-)

A lot of words from very brief dreams. But my mind is now swept clear.

Time for breakfast. Later this morning, an MRI scan. Then a relaxing weekend of... weather watching?! The forecast is for rain, storms, gloom... My brother and his adult children will be camping. I enjoy a bit of camping but... Should be a great weekend, for each of us... in our own alternative and preferred ways :-)

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Dr Nick Lethbridge / Consulting Dexitroboper
Agamedes Consulting / Problems ? Solved
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​"No matter where you go, there you are." ... Confucius ?

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Now much more than a clever name for a holiday journal:

 https://notdotdeaddotyet.blogspot.com.au/  :-)