Cuppa Terrific

Ghost In The School Hallway

• Sheree • Season 1 • Episode 9

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The hallway is blinding, the lockers familiar, and the crowd loud enough to make you feel invisible because don't we all feel that way in high school? For one reason or another, we do feel that way. In this episode, we step into a powerful back-to-school dream where an adult self watches a younger self try to join a circle, get ignored, and smile through the sting. From that small moment, the story opens into something bigger: how early social pain can turn a talkative kid into a careful introvert, and how an unexpected glance from an old friend can still trigger jealousy, longing, and the urge to be seen.

We break down the dream’s core symbols—hallways as life corridors, lines as boundaries, school as a testing ground for identity—and trace how they map to real decisions about voice and belonging. The conversation gets honest about perfectionism, low self-esteem, and the paradox of how analyzing everything also causes one to hesitate to start (if they ever get started at all!). We talk through why naming emotions reduces their power, how joy differs from happiness, and why connection acts like a handrail when the corridor feels endless. There’s a revealing moment about a “smile that wasn’t his,” which becomes a cue to trade borrowed expressions for true ones. No fake people, please!

By the end, the walk matters more than the applause. Moving with ease signals steady progress, not performative success, and the adult self’s choice to keep walking reframes the past without denying it. Own it because it has brought you to where you are today.

If you’ve ever felt unseen in a crowded room, if you wrestle with envy or past experiences that make you question your worth, this conversation will gently nudge you to reframe those thoughts by offering practical language and grounded insights you can use today. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves dream analysis and personal growth, and leave a review containing a lesson from your younger self or school dream you'd like to share.

Show Notes:

This episode was originally recorded and released as "Back to School" in Feb 2022 with my brother, but I removed it, along with a few other episodes of the podcast for personal reasons. As I have restarted the podcast, I have released it again in Nov 2025. Hope you enjoy!

Episode: Ghost In The School Hallway
Podcast: Cuppa Terrific
Host & Narration: Sheree & Chris
Episode Concept & Dream Narrative: Sheree & Chris
Writing & Script Development: Sheree
Symbolic Analysis & Interpretation:

  • Dream symbolism traditions inspired by:

Production Tools:

  • Edited in: Audacity 
  • Hosted on: Buzzsprout

Contact & Links:

  • Website: cuppaterrific.buzzsprout.com
  • Email: cuppa.terrific@gmail.com
  • Instagram / Facebook / X: @CuppaTerrific

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Until next time, may all your cups overflow.

Sheree:

Okay. All right. I think I I'm in a good good spot with my mixer. You're peaking well.

Chris:

I'm always peaking.

Sheree:

So the good news is we made it. Another another session of Cuppa Terrific. And I am your host, your co-host, should I say, Sheree. And today I have my brother with me again, Chris.

Chris:

Hello, everyone.

Sheree:

And little does my little brother know that today we are going to go over one of his dreams he confessed to me about. Oh no. Yeah. So the one that I um I'm gonna be going over today is like the one you told me about where you went back to school in your dream. Yeah. And um I wrote uh a fun little narrative for you. Um so you get to hear. Just because it's like a dream about going back to school. Um and this podcast does make you very vulnerable and open to, you know, analysis and that sort of thing, which can get a little bit personal. Um, but um I've I did, you know, write you a decent story here based off of what you told me. I feel like I did a pretty good job, but I I did the analysis and I kind of just want to ping back and forth off of you to see how close I am and how far away I am, and maybe some feelings that I left out or didn't quite pick up on. Um so to be, it'll be fun this time around, I think. You can set you can set the record straight if I've completely gone off the rails, okay?

Chris:

All right. Sounds great.

Sheree:

Okay. So we'll start off like we normally do with hey, what what are you drinking tonight?

Chris:

Well, right now I'm drinking a uh um Lacay Coconut Bye Water.

Sheree:

What? Tell me. Tell me, what is this?

Chris:

Well, it's basically just a uh antioxidant uh concoction that is just flavored as uh coconut water.

Sheree:

And does coconut water taste or smell anything like coconut?

Chris:

Tastes exactly like coconut.

Sheree:

I would I would adore it because I love coconut so much. It sounds amazing. I'm just drinking a diet coat because I'm super boring tonight. I went very basic tonight. Well it's not good for me, I know, but it is it was low-hanging fruit tonight. You know how that goes sometimes.

Chris:

Yeah, I was just trying not to go for beer today.

Sheree:

Yeah, I I get that. I tried to drink a beer last night because I set up all of our camping stuff in the backyard for the boys, and we did hot dogs and s'mores. Yeah, it was great. The weather started to turn really nice. We had fun going out there and the boys stayed out until like 10 o'clock last night. Um, surprised they stayed out as late as they did, but they all kind of decided, you know, too spooky, so they had to come back in the house. Um but yeah, I I was out there just with them to give them comfort while they were like just chilling out there at first, and I tried to drink a beer and it just just wasn't like setting well for me. So I didn't I didn't finish it. It was just kind of a bummer. Well it happens, it happens. Sometimes it's just like you know, good bacteria, bad bacteria, and your gut doesn't really help you out, you know, and I'm just swear that wasn't setting well on my tummy. So but anyway, so yeah, tonight I'm probably not doing much better on my digestive system. I took my multivitamin today, but that's about as good as I've been.

Chris:

That's why I got these uh uh by waters. Because I probably have vitamins.

Sheree:

Yeah, I was gonna say I I probably should try something like that that might help. Let me know how it does for you.

Chris:

Oh, it's already helping me out.

Sheree:

Good, good. Yeah, so um I'll go ahead and head into this reading and then we can talk about some of the elements and how crazy. You can tell me how crazy I was.

Chris:

Share it to me so I can see as well as we go through it.

Sheree:

Uh yeah, sure. Can you see?

Chris:

Yes, I can.

Sheree:

Alright. Here we go. What? Where am I? I thought as I came to terms with where I was. Blindingly shiny giant tiles on the floor. I'm standing in a long hallway with lockers along the sides. It doesn't make sense, but somehow I'm standing in the hall of my old middle school. I feel a little nervous. What if they notice me? I'm not supposed to be here, right? Looking down, I notice that I look like a shade version of myself. I push past a teacher and they don't seem to react at all. Good to know, no one can see me. I must be some kind of ghost. It must be between classes because there's a long line of kids along each wall. Then I hear a group of kids talking nearby. As I turn my attention their way, I see there some of my old classmates, round about sixth or seventh grade. They look so happy, enjoying their conversation together. I also saw a younger version of myself in this group, except he looked too young, a year or two younger. All opportunities he had to connect with the group were slim, and they batted away all his attempts at conversation by either not hearing or ignoring him while continuing to talk to each other. As the group dispersed, I watched the younger version of myself walk away with such a sad smile. The pain he felt was with me still, as was the sad smile. While watching myself walk away, I met eyes with someone else familiar. It was an old friend of mine, and they could see me. The actual adult version of me was clearly visible to them, and they recognized me. They had an astonished look and blinked repetitively. They knew I had somehow made it as an adult. I gave my friend a warm smile and continued on my walk down the endless hallway. End reading. Yeah?

Chris:

I would like yeah, I would like to add on like a couple things to this because it's just so, you know, resonates.

Sheree:

Okay, well, I'm gonna go in here and then wherever we need to add stuff, I'm gonna I'm gonna write in a different color. What is your favorite color? Blue.

Chris:

Yeah, let's just go with blue.

Sheree:

I was about to say I'm bad sister, I don't know your favorite color. I'll add blue in here so that wherever you want me to add something, I'll know that this is your voice.

Chris:

Okay, so one thing that really bothered me about the dream, and I it didn't really recognize it until I thought about it after I messaged you and I continued thinking about it was not only did my friend give me a smile, but it wasn't his smile. It was mine.

Sheree:

Oh, so you gave your friend a s a warm smile and he returned it with the same smile.

Chris:

No, it wasn't that. It was the best way to explain it is it wasn't his own smile. It was the way he quirked his mouth, it wasn't my smile. He was someone I was always jealous of because dad always preferred him as a friend.

Sheree:

Okay.

Chris:

Yeah.

Sheree:

Okay. So, okay. I get what you're saying. Like he he kind of wished you were more like him.

Chris:

Exactly.

Sheree:

Yeah. I get that. Hmm. Is there something else you want to add to any of this, or did I hit hit most of the notes, or you hit them all except for that one part? Okay. Well, that might change a little bit of the story, but I think it actually plays in really well to some of the analysis that I did.

Chris:

Oh, really?

Sheree:

Yeah, so let's go ahead and dive into it, and um, you can kind of set me straight on what you think is going on here. All right, so the first element that I picked up on was the past. Dreaming of a past situation implies possible repressed memories, feelings or emotions that need sorting out. This might be problems in the past that seem to be lingering still and is bothering you. If you're dreaming of past friends, depending on your relationship, it can go either way. You may crave the old bonds that you had, or if the relationship was bad, you may have repressed feelings that need sorting out. To dream of a past suggests that a current waking situation is paralleling that past situation. You need to learn from the past and not make the same mistake again. Alternatively, the dream may represent unresolved issues from the past, or that you need to stop living in the past and look towards the future. I think we have a lot of that going on, um, especially when we look into the next element that I picked up on. Which is which is hallway. To dream that you are in a hall represents your ability to share and get along with others. The hall is empty, then it symbolizes the unexplored and untapped aspects of your character. Consider the people that were there. So yeah, so I kind of put those two things together because the hallway can be a symbol of like where the dead come in and visit the living, but I don't really think that that so much plays into it as it's saying like to specifically dream about being at school, it brings you back to well, it cites like empty school hallway brings you back to forgotten memories and past experiences, but in this case, you're actually remembering specific things that happened at the school.

Chris:

Yeah. Yeah.

Sheree:

And I think that you're really picking up on feelings that you had.

Chris:

Oh, most definitely. There was a lot of emotion going on inside my head at the time.

Sheree:

Did you empathize with the younger version of yourself, or did you feel like you were the same person, or kind of reflect on that?

Chris:

No problem. It that's actually something that I've been having a lot of hard time uh come to terms with recently. Not even just recently, just over the past, well, eight years or so, is my friendships and all of my social interactions have led me to become a quiet, introverted person. I used to be outgoing, I used to try to talk to everyone, I used to try to be like the person everyone loved, but whenever all my friends used to push what I was saying out the window like it didn't matter, uh I started to feel that way, like whatever I had to say doesn't matter. So why should I even talk? Why should I even uh voice my opinion on situations?

Sheree:

Yeah, some of those actions became louder to you than even their voices. Um, and you started to pick up on okay, I don't really like the way that this is making me feel. My words mean more than just to be shot down. I think I'm going to save them for when they're really meaningful.

Chris:

Exactly.

Sheree:

Yeah, I I kind of picked up on that too. Um another element that I saw was a line. To see a line in your dream symbolizes duality, limits, boundaries, and rules. So you see lines of children on either side of the hallway. I think you're seeing like everybody has limits and boundaries. So that kind of goes into like what you're talking about. Like you used to want everyone to enjoy your company and you want to, you know, be really extroverted and outgoing and enjoy relationships with everyone, but you're starting to see how there's limits and boundaries everyone has and rules to life, and that includes relationships.

Chris:

That's interesting because like it's just kind of feels weird to say that it would be about the boundaries of social interactions or the rules of it.

Sheree:

Yeah, because you're seeing you're seeing kids on either side of the hallway, right? And some of them are like not even your friends, they're just like everyone.

Chris:

Exactly.

Sheree:

I think this like further enforces your idea there where you're saying like you started to realize that everybody has like has boundaries and stuff. Um, that's just part of living within a society, and it kind of has reshaped you from being a more extroverted person to now being more introverted and internally focused.

Chris:

Yeah. Yeah, that that makes sense. Definitely makes sense.

Sheree:

Okay, so the next symbol I picked up on was school. The symbolic nature of school and our dreams often brings the dreamer back to the past or old them to either find or retrieve something that's unknown. An image that brings us back to a time when failing a test was crucial to making it to the next stage in life. It is also uncommon, it is also common to dream of old school friends that relate to repressed memories, stages in our life, and a reminder of social bonding. Schools can be positive dreams of advancement or vivid nightmares. To dream of school days are quite symbolic that contain repressed memories and hidden gems for you to figure out. Another source says to dream that you're in school signifies feelings of inadequacy and childhood insecurities that have never been resolved and may relate to anxieties about your performance and abilities. Alternatively, a dream that takes place in school may be a metaphor for the lessons that you're learning in your waking life. You may be going through a spiritual learning experience. So because school dreams tend to have like so much um potential in the sense of like there being some kind of hidden gem, there's a further, like deeper analysis that you can go into about interpreting the dream. And there's a few different things that you should think about when you're when you're trying to pull more out of it.

Chris:

Uh oh, most definitely. I feel like the second reference that you pulled up is quite accurate with what was going on in the dream with the spiritual learning like and learning how to, in my case, simply walk away. Stop trying to be the outgoing person that people like. It's okay to leave them. It's okay to walk away.

Sheree:

Yeah. Okay, so some of the hints that I got from the source um really hit on some of the things that you talked about. So in the beginning, I said, Hey, can you enlighten me about some of the mo the emotions that you felt, which we can delve further into if you like as we're doing this analysis. But another one that was like blatantly staring me in the face even before you said more about him was like, if you notice old friends or classmates or ex-partners. So you definitely saw some of your old classmates, they had a profound impact on you as a young person. And then you specifically ran into an old friend. And that has like a, you know, hey, has a significance of itself. Um significance of a particular class. So in the events that happened, what kind of emotions were you feeling during the moment? Uh, you kind of like discussed a little bit of like emotions I didn't pick up on before, um, which kind of changes the significance of the the old friend. And then are aspects of you still stuck in the past? So maybe there's not so much of you stuck in the past as I kind of was thinking about, more of you moving forward, but just more on the idea of dreaming of old classmates and what they can represent. So um dreaming about old classmates can be symbols of the past reliving in the future or memories that you have stored in your unconscious. These people randomly appear to remind you of similarities mimicking the future. Your experience and relationship with them might remind you of someone or something in the present moment. You may need to examine their personality traits that you either admire or reject within yourself. Typically, if they were a class clown, attractive, or a daydreamer, that might imply that these traits would be unconscious to you and need to be integrated. So, what were your thoughts about that?

Chris:

My thoughts were a little bit off of what you with uh uh what you are putting here. Uh not necessarily. Uh I can't really say it's wrong, but it's just not exactly there. Yeah, maybe um it's I feel like the feelings of the situations that my younger self was going through at the time I was having feel constant feelings of being ignored and not being able to get out there. So I guess you could say it is mimicking the my current self and how I could actually perceive myself as not letting it bother me. I can just be myself.

Sheree:

Yeah. So specifically, classmates as a dream element says to see old classmates in your dream indicate that you need to draw on your old associations with your former classmates to gain insight on some current relationship. It represents a past lesson that you have learned and is applicable in some aspect of your waking life now. They show up to remind you of something important in your life. They are a part of you and who you used to be in the past. Maybe you admire who they were or what they became. However, classmates may even show up to teach you something that you forgot about in your past. So that's, I mean, that's hearkening to exactly what you're saying right now. They kind of were uh essential in you developing your character like developing into who you are now.

Chris:

Oh, most definitely. That that ouch, my chest, my heart.

Sheree:

Yeah.

Chris:

Ugh.

Sheree:

But I mean, that doesn't necessarily mean that all those feelings are like necessarily feel good to feel. But I subscribe to the realm of thought that feelings are just feelings. We have a tendency of labeling our feelings as negative or as positive. Um but I feel like when we think that way about our feelings, we miss out on a deeper meaning of what those feelings are trying to tell us. Uh, and we do have a tendency of pulling away from or completely denying the fact that we have negative feelings, and we make it very obvious in our culture that we don't want people to talk about when they have like quote-unquote negative feelings. So usually these negative feelings are things like sadness, regret, anger, jealousy, frustration, loneliness, um, resentment, rejection, things like that that happen to you and can create feelings um related to those things. Um all of those feelings, like it, you know, for the most part, a lot of them, you can actually like close your eyes and and just reaching inward to yourself, you can feel physically where at in your body you feel those feelings at. And naming those feelings, like realizing what you're feeling at the time, as terrifying as it sounds, naming those things does not give it power over you. It actually allows your mind to take power over those things because you name it.

Chris:

You you evoke your logical side of your brain to s to, I don't want to say like eliminate the feeling, but but you're able to uh uh uh access like the knowledge that you are you that set in motion so you can actually work yourself through it instead of just letting it control your mind.

Sheree:

Yeah, yeah or your heart. You can do that and also like you can you can find deeper meanings once you're past it. So once you're on the other side of the quote unquote feeling, once you're like, okay, yeah, this is this is what we're looking at here, um, jealousy. We're looking at jealousy, you can kind of see how that jealousy becomes applicable to your life. I relate to what you're saying or like sometimes big feelings that you have, you know, that it physically can make you feel ill. It can physically like make you feel like the center of your chest hurts. So when you say, like, oh, that gets me right in the chest, I know, I know exactly what you're talking about. But you know, my intuition and wisdom tells me to lean into those things to grow from it. And I think you've kind of done that with this dream. The next dream element I picked up on was yourself, because you, as your ghost self, you see a young version of yourself. So to see yourself in your dream is a reflection of how you act and behave in your waking life. Consider what you're doing and how you're feeling in the dream for additional significance. I mean, you've you've already really done you've already really like explained that really, really well. Um, you're saying like you kind of changed from being more extroverted to now an introverted person. And the reason why is because your classmates and your friends around you have kind of shaped you that direction. Those experiences were very uh fundamental to who you are.

Chris:

I would go for the uh word of traumatic.

Sheree:

Traumatic, okay. Yeah, traumatic usually it traumatic to me it means something different, I think, than like the actual definition of traumatic. Um I understand logically, traumatic usually has like a negative connotation, like something really awful happened to me, but I also because I've had so many terrible things happen to me that have been traumatic, I have learned to look at trauma as a double-edged sword. It's it's got positives as much as it has negatives. I also kind of look at them as place markers in my life. If I've had some kind of trauma, usually it was a a time in my life that I really struggled and I had a hard time and it it created a lot of terrible things in my life, but it also gave me a lot of pressure and pain to grow and to develop different parts of myself that I didn't necessarily know I I would ever be able to have.

Chris:

So when I that's just words to the whys right there, honestly.

Sheree:

Yeah. So the next element that I picked up on was ignore. To dream that you are ignoring someone or being ignored represents some aspect of yourself which you're not paying enough attention to. Perhaps you are overlooking something. Alternatively, it may reflect your real waking experiences of being ignored by that person. So I think that because so many people were ignoring you, I think that you realized, or at least you pick up on or perceive that others ignore you a lot. Or like you stated after the fact, you use the words what I said doesn't mean anything. So it's kind of changed your perspective to think that whatever you have to say doesn't mean anything. So you just are like auto set to think that way. But it it could also, you know, just the fact that you're seeing them ignore you so um obviously, it could ask you to reconsider that thought process of are you just perceiving it that way or is it actually that way? Maybe, maybe they were, but does that mean that it will always be that way is what I guess I'm really saying. I bet I'm hard. Yeah, I bet if you ran into those people again, they would be hanging on your every word to know like what are you doing with your life?

Chris:

One of them is. One of them is.

Sheree:

Well, who's to say? You know, you don't know who you're necessarily gonna run into that you haven't seen in a long time, and it's just interesting to more or less catch up with people on where they've been with their life.

Chris:

Yeah.

Sheree:

I know it's true for me, even people that I didn't necessarily know very well. I'm I'm but I am I am a bit of a people watcher. I do enjoy um learning about people and watching what they do and why they do the things that they do. I know, I love it about you. Another one I picked up on was ignorance. So the fact that the teacher completely ignored you and that the other the other classmates of yours kind of ignored you could mean that they're ignor uh ignorant, uh they're overly critical of the things that you do well. And it can it can be over accentuating like your sense of self-value, your self-worth.

Chris:

Well, I am a perfectionist, so that counts.

Sheree:

Which how is that possible to have low self-esteem and be a perfectionist? But that sounds like those two things should not go together, right? You would think that somebody that has perfectionistic tendencies would be like picture would be like a picture perfect person. But uh but that's so not true. Usually people that suffer from perfectionism tend to be people that can't get shit together because you just you can't even get started because you get so overwhelmed with the idea of I'm never gonna get this right.

Chris:

Or you make one little mistake and it's instantly time to throw it away because you just can't bring yourself to make that mistake again.

Sheree:

Yeah, that old adage of like um throw the baby out with the bath water.

Chris:

Yep. Well, I I messed this one up. I don't know how I did this.

Sheree:

Yep, yep, we gotta start over. Gotta get another baby because this one's ruined. Like so sometimes just getting started, the hardest part when you're a perfectionist or anybody that just expects has a high level of expectation. But even like with this podcast, this is like teaching me that right now I am I'm doing the best that I know how to do. But in a year from now, when I look back on now, I'm going to have learned a lot of things and have developed um hopefully a lot. And I will think back on it and I will go, good, good, you're a better writer. Good, good. You are far more intuitive, you know, and and those kinds of things. Because if you don't just get started and you're always gonna look back and be like, Oh, I can't believe I did that. How do you even move forward? Like, I know that I'm not the best that I'm ever going to be. If I'd already reached that, how boring would life be? Right.

Chris:

That harkens back to my childhood.

Sheree:

Yeah.

Chris:

I was always like one of the best at everything, so I just didn't care.

Sheree:

Yeah, that's really hard.

Chris:

Now it's like I can't seem to work my way back up because I didn't learn how to.

Sheree:

Yeah, dude, you know what? It's like a long fall from the top. When you feel like you're on the top of your game, the best at everything that you're doing, you feel like, oh, I don't even have to try that hard. And then whenever you um are no longer at the top and you're trying so hard, it's just like, what the heck happened in my life? Holy shit, what the heck?

Chris:

Um how do I screw this up? I'm made at everything. Yes, yes, I know that's cocky, but like once you experience it, it's it's a different story.

Sheree:

But you you also kind of like beat yourself up a lot more because you look back to the past and you think, like, oh, that smug little shit. They didn't they took it all for granted. And then you look at yourself now and you're like, oh, you just you're worked to the bone. Like, and you can't even you can barely make the ends meet. How ridiculous is this? And then you look to the future and you're like, well, the past isn't so good looking back at it, and the present really isn't that great. What's the future hold? But that's the beauty of it, right? You have to remember, like, we look at everything through the lens of who we are right now.

Chris:

Mm-hmm.

Sheree:

You know, I look back at my past, and right now I think there's so many things that I can reflect upon with a um more graceful eye than if I looked back a year ago. A year ago, I was I had a lot of like depression problems going on in my life, and I wouldn't have seen things the same way as I am right now. Kind of like empowering yourself in the moment to realize like um where you are can really affect how you see everything. There's like the idea of like the rose-colored glasses, right?

Chris:

Where where can I get a pair of those?

Sheree:

Yeah, right. Uh I think that, you know, like we we all want to live a happy life, but happiness is not really an emotion. Happiness is a state of being. Joy is an emotion. Happiness is is a state of enjoying in enjoying things that you're doing with your life. So experiencing joy, it's in connecting with those around you, and it's in doing things that are meaningful for your life. Now, people need like varying levels of each of those things, but those those three elements are like the essential concoction, if you will, of making a good punch of life, happy life. If you're missing any one of those or all of them, you you can actually ruin the whole concoction, the whole potion.

Chris:

In regards to that, there's a quote in a book that I'm currently reading that actually really connects with it. There's uh an immortal vampire, and he's going through a bad crisis at the moment where he's just can't seem to find a stride anymore. And his friend comes up to him and just berates him like you're an you're a complete idiot. What are you doing with yourself? You're immortal. Everything to you is going to be everything to you is temporary. Why can't you just look at the now and enjoy yourself now?

Sheree:

Yeah.

Chris:

And that that like strikes me at everything around is temporary. Why why do why care so much?

Sheree:

I think it's for the same reason why I'm doing this podcast. I believe that our dreams are kind of like gateways into our past and give us hope for a future, things to look forward to. I can tell you, whenever I have depression, like whenever I go through really depressed states in my life, the hardest thing for me to face is the feeling of I don't have anything to look forward to. I know that sounds really terrible to say out loud, but when I feel like there is nothing to get out of bed for and there's nothing to look forward to, it makes everything seem like it's pointless. And I get stuck in that mindset of there's nothing, there's nothing worth keeping going for.

Chris:

I know that feeling very well.

Sheree:

Yeah, I would think I think that a lot of people that are clinically depressed, uh not that I have any um psychological training whatsoever. Uh this is just based off of experience and intuition here and just wisdom I've gained throughout my few years of living on this earth. Yeah, people watching. Um is people that are depressed generally tend to delve into the realms of like what we're doing right now more than other people. It seems like the more you think about life and living and the purpose of life and you know, reflecting on what should I be doing, or like just just being a a thoughtful person, right, can tend to just make you more depressed. Like thinking in of itself, being a more thoughtful person is like being an analytical person is a recipe for disaster in the sense of like more often than not you're going to experience some degree of depression, right?

Chris:

But it's scientifically proven that the more highly intelligent people or introvert introverted or uh introspective, that's the word, people tend to uh develop psychological div disorders on a higher frequency than anyone else.

Sheree:

This is true, but I I truly believe that if that is true, the opposite therefore can and should make sense to be true. That if you suffer so much of your introspection of higher intelligence and introvertedness, you should also be keenly gifted or aware in some way, if you can learn to use it in a way to benefit yourself and others, which again, as I come back to saying, that is part of the recipe for happiness, right? You know, you do the things that you enjoy, you connect with others, you live a life of meaning, you do things that are meaningful, which you derive meaning from. And this is the recipe in which you defeat that depression. So I think the answer is not be apathetic. The answer is not I don't rely on my emotions, I tend to be an extremely logical person. The answer is, you know, you develop the gifts of your character and your person and embrace, you know, the times that you have in your life where you are on that mountain and try to pick up those gems from your past and look forward to where you're gonna take them in the future and make those connections with other people so that when you do go through that depressive state, that connection can help pull you back out of it. Because it's just a moment. You know, sometimes those moments are a day and sometimes those moments are a year. But that's why we have those around us that care about us that can kind of help us through those times in our life. That's that blessing, you know, in the connection.

Chris:

Most definitely. And sometimes those peoples will those peoples, those people will walk out of your life, but you never know when the next person that will walk back walk in.

Sheree:

That's so true. That is so true. That is so true. And it might just be not present for a time, but that doesn't mean that it will never return to you, you know.

Chris:

That is also true.

Sheree:

I think that I think that way a lot about people walking in and out of your life, and that has helped me to feel less bitterness towards people that are less um engaged in my life than I would like to be. I just remember that there's a time and a place in each of our lives, and sometimes our paths will conjoin and we can walk together for a while, and sometimes we're in completely different forests. But even when I'm in my forest, I think of you and I remember things about being with you, and it brings me happiness and joy. Um, and I just carry it with me. And, you know, one day, hopefully we can walk again the same time, same place, and enjoy each other's company. That's kind of it's it's given me a lot of peace that I can't I can't have those close relationships with everybody I love all the time. I can't experience that all at the same time, you know.

Chris:

No, no, definitely not. There's way too much.

Sheree:

But it isn't it great to think back on it and think like within my life I've had that with others, you know, and it it does help you feel special, I guess, that you know, someone else saw something in you that literally made them belly laugh. Well, anyways, we've kind of gone off the rails here. I've just got a few more elements I wanted to share with you that I I kind of picked up on.

Chris:

Sorry for that.

Sheree:

It's okay. So the next one is sadness. So to dream that you're sad suggests that you need to learn from your disappointments and just be happy. Try not to dwell on the negative. The dream may be a reflection of how you're feeling in your waking life. To dream that someone else is sad may be a projection of your own feelings. Perhaps you're sad about something that happened with this person. I kind of take this to like be connected to the other element a little bit. When I'm seeing like the sadness that you're you're having, I'm not so certain who is more sad, the child version of you or the ghost version of you.

Chris:

I don't know either. And that's weird.

Sheree:

But you're like, you're both kind of sad, but kind of like different reasons. Like he's completely unaware of future you. And he makes this decision that, like, okay, I've come to this realization I'm going to be this way. But you have all the future knowledge of all the challenges he's going to face because of the choices that he's making right now.

Chris:

Yeah.

Sheree:

But I think that you also see, like, it is sad that the opportunities that you had, you know, maybe you're reflecting upon them. Like, what if I had chosen a different direction with this? Would things be different?

Chris:

Oh, big time. I always wish I could have gone back and can't really say change how it turned out, but be able to better handle the situations instead of getting so upset.

Sheree:

Yeah. Yeah.

Chris:

Actually voicing my uh actually voicing my opinion instead of just ignoring it.

Sheree:

Yeah, instead of like shutting down how you feel.

Chris:

Um exactly.

Sheree:

And then like kind of trapping those feelings and rather than letting others like see your vulnerability of who you are. Because who knows, maybe you would have had closer friendships with people if you had been able to be more vulnerable with them.

Chris:

True. True. There would have definitely been more opportunities if I was willing to face rejection, face denial, face all these other things that we've been hitting on this entire time.

Sheree:

Yeah.

Chris:

Like if I would have been able to accept them instead of at that point in my life where I just I shut down because I didn't know how to handle it.

Sheree:

Sure.

Chris:

Yeah.

Sheree:

So I I relate to you, but in a different way. I had a lot of trouble with folks at different a couple different points in my you know childhood where I didn't get along with folks, and I really wish that I would have stood up for myself more. So now whenever I see other people struggling to stand up for themselves or being empowered, I always want to be that flame that empowers them because as a young person, I wish that I would have had the courage to stand up for myself, or I would have had an older sibling that would have had my back or would have listened to be like, you can handle this, you know, like hear those kinds of things.

Chris:

It's different to hear that from some from an older sibling than from since you're the oldest child from any of the younger ones.

Sheree:

Yeah, it is different. Like I I hear you saying it, and I'm like, wow, it's not exactly the same, obviously, because we live different lives, but I have I have similar sentiments of regret, kind of regret, as an adult. But if I would have watched myself as a young person, I would have been sad. I think I would have been angry too as a young person. Or or the feelings I would pick up on.

Chris:

Yeah.

Sheree:

Yeah. So the next element I picked up on kind of goes together with the the last element. The two I have are smiling and walking. So smiling, to dream that you or others are smiling means that you are pleased with your achievements and approve of the decisions you have made. You will be rewarded for the good things you have done for others. Alternatively, a smile indicates that you're in search of something or someone that will make you happy. Smiling in a dream is a positive omen that attracts good news and a newfound connection with this person. Smiling contains a hidden spiritual element that is connected to the afterlife. Smiling brings us good fortune and luck depending on who is smiling at us. Strangers, babies, fish, dogs, husbands, just to name a few. So you smile a few times in your dream. Generally, smiling is like a good thing, but you you in the first first time you're smiling, it's sad. So the the younger version of yourself is smiling, but I think you're smiling in the sad way because you come to this realization that others around you haven't yet, which is that um you're learning yourself more than other people around you are able to perceive, and you're choosing to become more of an introverted person. So you've made a decision about you who you are, and then you smile back in your ghost form to yourself, that same sort of sad smile, knowing that about yourself. And then you also smile at your friend who notices you. And this kind of takes on a different meaning for me. So I'm gonna read the last element. To dream that you're walking with ease signifies a slow but steady progress towards your goals. You're moving through life in a confident manner and consider your destination. Walking in dreams brings your attention to your life path and movement. How you walk will determine your progress, difficulty, or walking with ease reflects situations in your life and how you will advance forward. If you notice you're walking slow, it suggests the need to reflect on the areas you need to speed up the pace. It's quite common to walk alone, suggesting that the new path you take will remain alone on this venture. Walking in circles is metaphoric for the things in your life that are making you waste your time. Walking barefoot suggests you could be grounded or just need the bare essentials for progress. Walking in rain or water point at our emotions and the control we have over them. Walking in mud or tar represents slowing down on your path, as there might be some minor setbacks to walk in the city belongs to new ventures in your life that are unfolding that you're trying to understand. So where you're walking matters. So I come back up to you walk down the hall. Remember, to dream of a hall, it symbolizes socialize a place of interaction where multiple energies meet and gather. So I think you're thinking about your entire life. It could it symbolizes the unexplored and untapped aspects of your character. And I think that he sees you and he's just like shocked to the man that you are. Yeah. And I'm doing a pretty damn good job, bud.

Chris:

Give me a second.

Sheree:

Okay.

Chris:

I just want to uh add in because it's just, you know, one of those things. Mm-hmm. The effect of how he smiled at me. Mm-hmm. I just remember the feeling of as you were pointing at, or you know, leaning down the path of acceptance, of feeling that I have done something, and I walked down the endless hallway confidently putting everything else that happened behind me.

Sheree:

Yeah. You're bigger than that.

Chris:

Exactly.

Sheree:

Yeah. And I think that it's important to note that you have some jealousy in this person, this old friend. And the reason why I say that is like I talked about in my last episode, that jealousy can be a great indicator of the things that bring us enjoyment in life. So you are you're jealous of him because of his seemingly natural fit and approval with our dad. So I think that, you know, you you look at him and you think, oh, it's so great that you just naturally had all the things that my dad would really like about somebody, but you are such a fleeting person in his life compared to how important I am to my father.

Chris:

Yes.

Sheree:

Like you can you could wind up becoming a millionaire or being just who you are right now and growing no further in life. And in both ways, your dad is always going to love you. And that is kind of freeing in and of itself. And in the sense of like, you don't have to win his approval to deserve his love. Whereas your friend gets that natural chumminess with him just based off of his character. So you have a lot of room that you're able to grow with dad over time because we're just constantly growing and changing creatures. And you and I know that, but we also should realize that about other people too. As dad gets older, he's becoming a an actual old man.

Chris:

He really is.

Sheree:

He really is. So he's kind of like changing a lot and like the things that he appreciates and is an in admiration of.

Chris:

Yeah. He's realizing the not, I can't really say realizing, but putting more stress onto personal growth versus his own wants and desires kind of thing. He's seeing growth as a bigger part of things.

Sheree:

Yeah. And I think that he's valuing things that he didn't he couldn't see before as he is as he's maturing.

Chris:

Most definitely. I agree with that.

Sheree:

We both are still holding on to our youth, and we get that from our dad. He's still very much in touch with a young, fun version of himself, and he likes that about us.

Chris:

Yeah. Yeah, he does.

Sheree:

So yeah, so how do you think my analysis came about, Chris?

Chris:

Ooh. Ooh. Well, not gonna lie, I was tearing up a little bit.

Sheree:

Oh, really? Oh.

Chris:

Yeah, that's why I needed a moment because I just need to like collect my thoughts and my emotions because this dream. I don't dream often. Well, I can't say that. I people dream every night, but like I don't actually have dreams where like this very often, unless you know, something happens. Uh-huh. And what I think what triggered this is you showing me those pictures of my graduation and me thinking about the past.

Sheree:

Uh, yes. Yes.

Chris:

And it just uh really resonated with me, and it's brought back a lot of memories, a lot of regrets, a lot of, you know, unsubconscious emotions that I've been repressing all these years.

Sheree:

And would you say that doing the dream analysis has helped you? Have you learned anything about yourself? Or do you think that this is it's good to have analyzed the dream in any way?

Chris:

Being a people watcher and being an analytical person myself, I analyze most of this myself. But actually talking with someone about it, actually going through all of these feelings and a lot a lot of the someone else actually noticing them too helps me realize it's like validation, maybe? Kind of, but for me, it's more along the lines of if it's so obvious to someone else, why have I been hiding it so much? Why have I not been working on these feelings? If this one dream, this one dream can say so many obvious things, and well, I feel a lot of personal growth from it because it helps me realize, you know, my own inadequacies as a person.

Sheree:

I can't really say inadequacies, maybe say weird things that make you tick. I found some real hopeful bits in there about reflecting on your your decisions to grow into the person that you are now and you embracing that, being seen for who you are now, being okay with not being just like everybody else and you confidently walking down the hallway of life to make your path. I saw a lot of strong character traits, not so much inadequacies. I think that whenever I do the analysis for myself, I I see a lot of my insecurities. If I'm honest with myself, I see a lot of insecurities, you know, that other people might hear it and they think, oh my gosh, that's just crazy. I don't have no idea how I would handle that. Um and they're they get you know impassioned by it, like, oh my gosh, that is please tell me more, you know. But to me, I'm just feel like squeamish. I'm like, oh, this is just like laying bare all of my like all of my secrets about myself.

Chris:

I've never been the kind of person that tries to keep things away from people. So it's not really like one of those laying bare. It's one of the for me, it's more along the lines of Wow, coming to accept it and actually acknowledge it and better myself from it, but I can't really say better myself. Take the steps. That's the better way to put it is taking the steps and doing it half, halfway. I think you know the term I want to use because dad uses it all the time.

Sheree:

Half ass.

Chris:

Yep.

Sheree:

Yeah, I gotcha. I don't even know what that means. Is that like you're halfway in the seat to take control over things? I never I've never known what that actually means. It doesn't mean like I sat halfway into the driver's seat and I'm driving the car halfway. Like it's either you're either in the seat or you're not. I don't understand that.

Chris:

I think it would come from uh uh saying like uh you are I don't know, I don't know.

Sheree:

Yeah, I that's what I'm saying. Like I've always thought that whenever someone said that to me, I'm like, oh God, where does it come from? We live in the south and we speak in so many metaphors that you could just get lost on like the history of where that terminology even came from. That is an example of one we heard all the time as a kid, and every time I would hear it from an adult, I would just be like, Where in the hell did these people get this idea? And I'm trying so hard to pay attention and not laugh my ass off at them. But yeah, I'm glad that you know this this was good for you and that you appreciated connecting to someone else over it, and I really appreciate that you were willing to be candid about the way that you feel about things, and I think that that self-reflection and sharing who we are as as individuals helps other people cope with things that they have going on in their lives. But again, thanks for joining me on another episode of Cuppa Terrific. And did you have any parting thoughts for the masses?

Chris:

So I can see it being half-assed.

Sheree:

Perfect, awesome. Well, thank you for, like I said, joining me again. And everybody, thanks for joining us. I really enjoyed, you know, talking to my brother and sharing some of our insights with you. And as always, may your cuppa overflow.

Chris:

Hope you all have a great rest of y'all's night.

Head Shot

Sheree

Host
Contributor

Chris

Guest