Tree Dreams   Robert Leverett
  Mar 29, 2006 11:54 PST 

Ed, Monica, Elizabeth, Pamela, Carl, et al:

   Okay, we've covered some heady tree topics, but so far we have not
broached the subject of tree dreams. So, I guess I'll start.

   I widh I could state otherwise, but my tree dreams are embarrassingly
unimaginative. Sometimes I'm chasing the elusive 200-footer, usually
without confirming it. The quarry will often be a conifer in a city park
or along a boundary between properties. On occasion, I'll pursue the
ellusive 200-foot tuliptree and it will usually be in a small grove in a
semi-surburban setting. However, more often than not, the tree in my
dream simply affords me with an escape from the snapping jaws of a
grizzly bear or African lion. Always an African lion. Never a tiger,
jaguar, or leopard (I wonder if Roman dreams of large centipedes
dropping on him from above?). These tree-based escapes have the
frustrating habit of shrinking on me just as I think that I'm out of
harm's way. The pursuing animal always seems to know that I've made a
really dumb choice of a tree and has a knowing look in its eyes as I
flounder around furiously trying to get farther out on a limb that bends
down toward the waiting jaws of my nemesis.

   Once, in a dream I did lounge in the foliage of a large hardwood,
using the tree as a cover so as not to be noticed by bandits on the
ground below. The place had a European feel to it. In the dream, after
feeling secure from the bandits, I commenced to explore the symmetry of
the limbs and bask in the feeling of safety provided by the many layers
of branches. I would reach a point, peep through and see the confused
bandits still searching.     

   On occasion, I'll revisit a stand of trees in a dream and recognize
it as a place that I have been before. Usually the stand is in an
old-growth forest dominated by medium-sized hardwoods and on the side of
a small mountain. I seldom clearly identify the species in the OG. The
mountain is recognized as a place I've visited before.

   Big cavity trees play an important part in tree lore, but seldom
enter my dreams. There have been a few exceptions, but caves have played
a much larger role than tree cavities.

   Well, this is a start. Okay, intrepid Ents, anyone care to step
forward and share a tree dream. What kinds of tree dreams do we Ents
have?

Bob


Robert T. Leverett
Cofounder, Eastern Native Tree Society
Re: Tree Dreams   Edward Frank
  Mar 29, 2006 18:24 PST 
Bob,

I can't recall any tree dreams that I have had. I looked on the internet
and found this site:

An Online Guide to Dream Interpretation
http://www.dreammoods.com/

Trees
http://www.dreammoods.com/dreamdictionary/t3.htm

To see lush green trees in your dream, symbolizes new hopes, growth and
desires. It also implies strength and stability. You are concentrating on
your own self-development and individuation.

To dream that you are climbing a tree, signifies that you will achieve your
career goals and reach those high places in society. The degree of
difficulty to which you climb the tree will measure the speed of your
achievement of these goals

To dream that you cut down a tree, signifies that you are wasting your
energy, time, and money on foolish pursuits.

To see a falling tree in your dream, indicates that you are off balance and
out of sync. You are off track and headed in the wrong direction.

**See The Meaning In Action: "Scissors In The Forest"

There are many references to chase dreams. The concept of the site seems
rather silly, but it is interesting to check out.

Ed
RE: Tree Dreams   Robert Leverett
  Mar 30, 2006 05:27 PST 

Ed,

   Thanks for doing the research. The creators of the dream
interpretation site probably can't imagine how some of us might be so
preoccupied with measuring trees that we have tree dreams that are
actually about measuring trees. Then there are those dreams of trees
that start out substantial and suddenly become skimpy just as that
freakin big bear or lion gets ready to chomp down on one's foot or
hindquarters. Maybe the explanation is that I'm having a forestry-based
dream that sends the message that skimpy young trees cannot fulfill the
functions and purposes of larger, mature trees. I wonder how many who
analyze dreams would propose that as an explanation? All fun stuff for
us.

Bob