Climbing a sheer rock face in a dream reflects the fact that you are engaged in some arduous task in waking life. This task feels like a constant uphill struggle and you are only making progress through sheer effort. The people who are following you represent colleagues who you lead and inspire in your waking life. The crumbling rocks show that you feel anxious and insecure about what you are doing but you are courageous enough to keep pushing on.

Reaching the top indicates that you are succeeding in your plans and turning them into reality. You are keen to demonstrate your achievements to others so that they will be encouraged to follow your lead. The sky often symbolises the airy space of thoughts and ideas and the ground is a symbol of the hard facts or practicality.

You are just scraping through between them and this suggests that you are just managing to turn your ideas into reality and that you feel right on the limit of what is theoretically possible. Although you are crawling on your belly, this shows that you are using your gut feeling and the best way forward is by listening to your instincts.

Downstairs Visitor
Hi Ian
I am upstairs in my detached house, looking out to some distant hills. I can hear water running down the side of the house. Some one comes in to the house with a key but I pretend that I’m not there. They go about making lunch – I can smell food cooking I worry that they may come upstairs so I try to close the door to the room that I am in – but it is only a piece of fabric – no door.
Robert

Dreaming of being upstairs in a house shows that you are looking at your life from a rational and theoretical perspective. You are spending a lot of time thinking about ideas and concepts that will help you to make sense of your current situation. This lofty viewpoint helps you to distance yourself from other people and to remain emotionally detached.

The visitor with the key is someone who is making you aware of more emotional aspects of your character that you usually keep locked away and hidden from view. Cooking lunch often symbolises an opportunity for shared fulfilment and you are instinctively attracted towards this. However, the presence of this person is making you question your rational views of the world and that is making you quite anxious.

Even though you try to close yourself away from the influence of this person, you realise that you cannot avoid them even though you are trying to give the appearance of being unavailable. There is  no solid reason to ignore this person who has come into your life. You know deep inside that your best option is to stop hiding behind your intellect and begin coming to terms with your feelings for them.

Bedrooms and Bathrooms
Hello Ian
I was desperate to use the bathroom whilst wandering around an office block full of multi-bed rooms and large ablution facilities i.e. rows of sinks toilets showers etc. I am constantly meeting people and therefore never get to use the bathroom.
Thanks, Jim

Dreaming about different rooms usually indicates that you are thinking different aspects of your own character. Bathrooms are where you go to get rid of what is no longer healthy or sustaining for you and to clean up any situations that might be getting a bit messy. A bedroom is often where you are most relaxed and aware of who you really are and what you really need.

Wandering around the office block shows that you are desperate to express your own needs in your workplace but you are wondering how to do it. All the beds and the bathrooms suggest that you often have the opportunity to tell others what you need but you never actually manage to do this. This is because you are constantly meeting the needs of other people rather than looking after your own needs.

Although you hope that your own needs will be met if you look after the needs of your colleagues, they usually just end up dumping their problems on you. The best way to resolve this tension is to establish some personal boundaries by making sure that you put your own needs before the needs of others now and again.

Meaning
In your dream, hurrying to the factory indicates that there is some new situation happening in your workplace. The approaching bus suggests that you have the chance for promotion and this opportunity is being pursued by several other people. However, your rush to be promoted is causing some tension between you and your workmates. The Queen symbolises one of your colleagues who takes great pride in their work and has always been well respected by others.

Although she is the obvious candidate to succeed to the new post, she has become involved in an emotional issue at work and this has turned into quite a messy situation. A coat often symbolises how we behave in the workplace and her fur coat shows her to be powerful with a spotless character. Even though this lady has a great track record, her enviable reputation has become muddied.

You would really like to help your colleague because you know that her indiscretion will probably ruin her career, but you also realise that helping her will prejudice your own chances of promotion. The powerlessness you feel in the dream reflects your frustration at having to choose between forwarding your career or helping your friend.

All these questions and more were answered during a chat with the lovely Michelle McManus and the charming Stephen Jardine on STV’s The Hour. You can catch the whole interview here on the STV Player.

*Although some people are big fans of the pre-bedtime lettuce sandwich, its effectiveness  still remains to be fully tested under laboratory conditions. For further insight on snacks and sleep, there is some more information in the Dream Dairy diary entry.

Meaning
Ships often symbolise how we navigate the uncharted waters of our feelings and emotions. A huge white ocean liner suggests that you are currently thinking a lot about getting married and the enormous emotional commitments that it appears to involve. Dreaming of looking for something in the shops indicates that you feel that something is missing from your life and this probably your desire to be in a happy and committed marriage.

When you dream about not being able to pay for a purchase, this suggests that you have concerns about your self worth and how much other people really value you in your waking life. This is  because you do not value yourself enough, and you often give your time and your talents too freely to other people with no recognition of your true value.
The iceberg represents particular traditions that seem quite simple and straightforward on the surface. However, these customs usually also involve hidden agendas that can be quite damaging and cause unnecessary suffering. You are worried that you will end up in an unhappy marriage before you have had the chance to find a man who will really love you and also value and respect you.

Meaning
The purchase of the farm in your dream suggests that you have recently invested in a business that will provide the opportunity for you to cultivate a great deal of personal wealth. As you explore your new business in greater detail, you are surprised at the unfamiliar processes and procedures that are needed to make the business a going concern.

Your two young daughters symbolise a couple of business ideas that are very close to your heart but are still at an early stage in their commercial development. You are keen to incorporate these ideas in your new business venture but are worried that they will be compromised by the machinery of corporate reality. You are also anxious that these two ideas might end up being of little commercial value and you will have to keep throwing money at them.

Although you try and keep calm in your business discussions, you are concerned that your own ideas might just disappear into a financial black hole. You understand that you have to act quickly to avert a commercial disaster and ensure their future viability. By protecting your ideas, you realise they have the potential to make you a lot of bread.

The purchase of the farm in your dream suggests that you have recently invested in a business that will provide the opportunity for you to cultivate a great deal of personal wealth. As you explore your new business in greater detail, you are surprised at the unfamiliar processes and procedures that are needed to make the business a going concern.

Your two young daughters symbolise a couple of business ideas that are very close to your heart but are still at an early stage in their commercial development. You are keen to incorporate these ideas in your new business venture but are worried that they will be compromised by the machinery of corporate reality. You are also anxious that these two ideas might end up being of little commercial value and you will have to keep throwing money at them.

Although you try and keep calm in your business discussions, you are concerned that your own ideas might just disappear into a financial black hole. You understand that you have to act quickly to avert a commercial disaster and ensure their future viability. By protecting your ideas, you realise they have the potential to make you a lot of bread.

Ship Shop
Hi Ian
I keep dreaming of a huge white ship- an ocean liner that is enormous. In its middle is a whole floor dedicated to shops and it looks like a mall with open-fronted stores. There is something that I am looking for in the shops but I don’t know what it is. I am worried that I will not have enough money to pay for this purchase when I eventually find it. I am also worried that we might hit an iceberg before I find the right thing.
Thanks
Naziyah

Ships often symbolise how we navigate the uncharted waters of our feelings and emotions. A huge white ocean liner suggests that you are currently thinking a lot about getting married and the enormous emotional commitments that it appears to involve. Dreaming of looking for something in the shops indicates that you feel that something is missing from your life and this probably your desire to be in a happy and committed marriage.

When you dream about not being able to pay for a purchase, this suggests that you have concerns about your self worth and how much other people really value you in your waking life. This is  because you do not value yourself enough, and you often give your time and your talents too freely to other people with no recognition of your true value.
The iceberg represents particular traditions that seem quite simple and straightforward on the surface. However, these customs usually also involve hidden agendas that can be quite damaging and cause unnecessary suffering. You are worried that you will end up in an unhappy marriage before you have had the chance to find a man who will really love you and also value and respect you.

Fur Coat Factory
Hi Ian
I dreamt that I was hurrying across the road to a factory where I used to work when young. The bus was coming  and several other people were going for the same bus. For some reason I looked over my shoulder  I saw the Queen fall backwards into a muddy puddle.  I needed to catch the bus  but I felt that I should go to help her.  Her beautiful ermine coat was covered in mud.  I felt really upset  because I knew that it was ruined. There was really nothing that I could do  no one spoke. When I awoke  I felt as though I ought to have done something to help  but felt powerless to assist.  What could this mean?
Laura

In your dream, hurrying to the factory indicates that there is some new situation happening in your workplace. The approaching bus suggests that you have the chance for promotion and this opportunity is being pursued by several other people. However, your rush to be promoted is causing some tension between you and your workmates. The Queen symbolises one of your colleagues who takes great pride in their work and has always been well respected by others.

Although she is the obvious candidate to succeed to the new post, she has become involved in an emotional issue at work and this has turned into quite a messy situation. A coat often symbolises how we behave in the workplace and her fur coat shows her to be powerful with a spotless character. Even though this lady has a great track record, her enviable reputation has become muddied.

You would really like to help your colleague because you know that her indiscretion will probably ruin her career, but you also realise that helping her will prejudice your own chances of promotion. The powerlessness you feel in the dream reflects your frustration at having to choose between forwarding your career or helping your friend.

However, the dream that Gary shared sounds exactly like the sort of dream that Paul Whitehouse might have. According to Johnny Depp, Paul is the best character actor in the world and I imagine that the boundaries can become very blurred between his real self and the characters that he so skilfully plays. Here is the dream…

‘I was in my bed and the wardrobe fell on me and completely covered me with all its contents.’

…and that suggests that the dreamer habitually hides his true self behind an array of assumed identities. The dreamer does this to please others and be accepted socially but he can find it quite overwhelming. Sometimes it can be a great release to shrug off old habits and just be his real self.

Meaning
Dreaming of travelling in a tube train indicates that you feel that your life is following a tightly defined path where you do what is expected of you. It also suggests that you think that your efforts at work are often not fully recognised by your colleagues. This is frustrating for you because trying to get to school shows that you are keen to have your individual talents recognised and validated by other people.

However, to really have your talents properly recognised by other people, you may have to change direction in your career. This can seem scary and dangerous for you because you are unsure of where you really want your career to take you. The feeling of being late for a test reflects that you have very high standards and you feel that you should be further on in your professional life that you actually are.

Although you do make it to school, the fact that you spend your time looking for school dinners points to your real goal in life. Food usually symbolises a sense of fulfillment, so you should pursue a career path that is personally fulfilling, rather than just doing what is expected of you.

Meaning
When we dream of being actor, it often reflects a need to play out a particular role in waking life. You are probably in a romantic relationship with someone where you feel that you need to appear as tough, streetwise, bad boy character. The reason that you assume this role and behaviour is to make you appear more attractive to your partner.

However, playing this part is sometimes like having words put in your mouth. You often find yourself saying what you think that your partner wants to hear rather than expressing how you really feel. Even though you are just acting out your role when you speak these words, you are not sure if they will be received as harmless sarcasm or a stinging rebuke.

This results in a situation where you don’t know if you are bringing a buzz to your relationship or just being really hurtful. Feeling that you have to behave in this way with your partner is driving you crazy and you want to take some kind of action. Running water often symbolises a free flow of feelings and emotions, so you take the sting out of your words by saying what you genuinely feel.

Meaning
Dreaming of mice often indicates small problems and anxieties that individually appear to be quite unremarkable and inconsequential. However, these little worries can  mount up into bigger problems that are far more disturbing and destructive. The mice in your dream probably represent some seemingly minor issues and concerns that you have about certain situations in your workplace.

Although you are trying to ignore what is happening, all these little anxieties are accumulating into major worries for you and this is really gnawing away at your self confidence. Toilet seats often symbolise a place where we go to express our needs and relieve our inner tensions. Even though you are managing to deal with these apparently trivial problems one by one, it seems that you are not getting to the bottom of what is causing all your concerns.

You would like to express your concerns about particular workplace issues as soon as they arise but you feel that you will be seen as a mischief maker. You are also concerned that it might be a painful experience for you, but you need to decide if you are a man or a mouse and just say what is on your mind.