Angry Parents
Hi Ian,
Both my parents died when they were relatively young (47 & 56).I was 14 when my father died and am now 55.  I had an excellent relationship with both of them but whenever I have dreamt about them they are angry with me which is very upsetting.  Also in the dreams they are always suffering from their final illnesses.
Thanks
Mary

When we dream that other people are angry with us, we are usually feeling angry with our own behaviour but  are finding it difficult or inappropriate to express this anger in waking life.  The frustrated feelings of anger that you are experiencing are probably a result of the sad loss of your parents at a relatively young age. Even though your parents could not help it, you still feel annoyed that they left you on your own.

The anger in your dream is a direct and honest expression of how you feel as you attempt to come to terms with your feelings of abandonment and the premature loss of their parental love and guidance.  Losing your parents at a young age means that you had to grow up quickly and some of your anger is caused by the loss of your own teenage years.

Dreaming of their final illnesses shows that even after all this time, you are still ill at ease with your own feelings of being abandoned. Although you had an excellent relationship with both your parents, you still need to acknowledge your own angry feelings so that you can finally begin to accept your loss and move on.

Telephone Box Toilet
Hello Ian,
I have this bizarre recurring dream where I am looking for a public toilet but the only one I can find is a lavatory pan in public telephone box. The door is often missing and the sides are glass so people can see in. Although I am desperate for the toilet, I know I need to phone someone first. Even though I have my mobile on me but I am scared I will drop it down the pan, so I have to use the public phone but I either can’t see the buttons or they are in no regular order or I keep hitting the wrong ones. I get very anxious and frustrated. But I can never get through.
Dianne

Dreaming of trying to find a toilet usually indicates that we are trying to find a way of openly expressing our needs and getting rid of behaviours that are no longer healthy for us. Looking for a public toilet shows that you need to tell other people what your needs actually are rather than keeping them privately to yourself.

Although you are desperate to honestly express your needs to others, you are finding it difficult to get your message across. Your requirement to use the public phone shows that is probably a work situation rather than a personal one. You are aware that you can privately communicate your needs but  you are concerned that if you do this in public it might adversely affect your career and send your reputation down the pan.

You know the message that you want to get across but you don’t know how to push the right buttons to make this happen. You also feel that you will be wrongly judged if you do not communicate in the regular manner. Instead of trying to go through the official channels, just try asking for help and be open to all the offers that you will receive.

Raw Meat Plague
Dear Ian
I dreamed last night that there was an awful plague in the world which had been caused by raw meat. I was looking after some people in a hospital who had not been infected as they had not come in contact with the meat but I was forced by some people in authority to go around and wipe all these poor people with some infected meat so they would all have the disease. It was very distressing as there was complete anarchy with looting and rape because everyone knew they were going to die. The streets appeared full of people selling raw meat and people were buying it as they had no hope of getting well and may as well consume the meat.
Yours, Gary

Dreaming of raw meat usually suggests that certain circumstances in waking life are compelling us to act immediately. Rather than thinking the situation through and cooking up a plan, you feel the need to make a move straight away. However, the plague indicates that your actions will be driven by festering anger and resentment about a particular issue in your life.

Although this issue has been plaguing you for some time, you feel that you might cause a lot of unnecessary suffering and pain if you act without any further thought. The people who you are looking after in the hospital indicate that you would prefer to take this action in a clean and clinical manner, but you are being forced to act immediately by events that appear to be beyond your control.

You are anxious that you will not be able to control your anger and that this will cause a number of other people to become very angry as well. You feel that this will result in the complete breakdown of some close relationships with no opportunity for reconciliation. Instead of letting your resentment spread out of control, focus your anger on a single issue to ensure a healthy outcome.