“In my dream, I’m swimming in  Macaroni & Cheese.  The bowl is gigantic, and I’m just swimming around in it.”

Dreams of Childhood

When I asked this dreamer about his association with Macaroni & Cheese, he replied, “I used to eat it a lot when I was a kid.”  He particularly emphasized the fact that the bowl of Macaroni and Cheese was giant, it wasn’t that he was miniature.

This imagery brings to mind how children feel.  A child doesn’t necessarily feel small, per se, but a child tends to feel that his surroundings are very large.  Whether it be his childhood home or a bowl of Mac N’ Cheese within his dreams, his world is daunting.

When an adult either dreams of being a child, or of being engulfed in an environment that’s larger than he is, my first questions are:

Is the imagery delightful or terrifying?

Is he currently swimming in a sea of childhood emotions?

Does he feel overwhelmed … in unchartered territory, such as a child feels?

Are there circumstances in his current life that are taking him back to the same feelings that he had as a child?

Swimming in Childhood Emotions

These are important questions, as childhood memories can control our lives.

Certain emotions, while perfectly normal to an adult, can feel so powerful to a child.  Unfamiliar ground can be jarring, to the point of overwhelming the senses and capabilities.

When exploring childhood emotions, keep in mind that what appears inconsequential to you as an adult was once massive and new.  Don’t discard the childhood images that appear in your dreams, or in your waking life.  They are telling you something important.

Often it is only in going back to these feelings and re-experiencing them that we can rid ourselves of our childhood fears.  Exploring your dream images can help you to do just that.  Journal your dreams, along with your thoughts and emotions.  Writing them out will take you far.

Devour the Mac-N-Cheese

Remember that now you are an adult.  Now you have knowledge, and skills that you did not possess as a child.  What was once very difficult is now easy.

Now you can swim with muscle and know-how that you didn’t possess before.

Maybe you feel in over your head, maybe you feel inconsequential, or maybe it’s time to face something from your past in order to become a more functional adult.  Whatever it may be, you can overcome it.

So remember to open your mouth and taste the cheese, because now you have power!