I love working with dreams, as they are designed to tell us about situations in our lives, the challenges within those situations, and the best ways to resolve those challenges.

This is the message behind the dream featured in today’s post. It is beautiful in its simplicity. The dream was submitted by a reader, Mary Ann.

Mary Ann’s Dream: Back Flips at Work

I am at work (I work as a florist in a grocery store). I suddenly begin doing back flips, going down the produce aisle. At the end of the aisle stands my store manager. He asks me what I am doing. I tell him I am doing back flips, to make work more fun.

Back Flips at Work: James’ Interpretation

The subject matter of this dream is Mary Ann’s job, since the location in the dream is her workplace. Also significant is the word “produce,” as here it is a pun for “production;” it is speaking of work productivity.

In the dream, Mary Ann is doing back flips. This relates to her work performance. The dream is saying that Mary Ann feels she has to do “back flips” to get her job done. This action can also imply that Mary Ann is “working” hard to make an impression, to get her work noticed.

At the end of the aisle stands her store manager. He symbolizes authority, and possibly the source of her feeling this need to do “back flips.” In waking life, she may be trying to impress him the most. In the dream, he is watching her, which can symbolize observing and evaluating her (work) performance. He asks what she is doing, which suggests she feels that he doesn’t see all the work she does (a lack of recognition for her efforts). Even more important, the dream is telling Mary Ann that recognition is an important need she has when it comes to working, generally speaking. The dream focuses on the store manager, but this is a personal, general need she needs to have met. Also, the dream is letting Mary Ann know that she is also seeking some form of validation. It shows up with the unconscious question, “Can’t you (the store manager) see how hard I work?” When we seek outside validation, it can be a signal that we are insecure about what we are doing. If Mary Ann is really secure about her ability to produce and work hard, it would not matter (so much) what this particular person thinks. Mary Ann may be taking personally a character trait that is a part of who the store manager is (meaning he may be incapable of giving recognition, and may be like this with all employees, not just her).

The ending comment about “making work more fun” says that in waking life Mary Ann finds nothing fun about her job. Again, this is similar to the recognition component. In a general sense, Mary Ann needs to have more fun in her working life, no matter what the job is.

What I like about dreams, and this one in particular, is that, while on the surface, it can be about her working relationship with her manager, the dream is also telling Mary Ann what she brings to her own situation. The fact that it takes place at work reflects the work she has to do to make this situation a better experience for her, and not leave it in the hands of others.

I would like to thank Mary Ann for submitting such a great dream. If you would like to have a dream featured and interpreted in this space, you can submit the dream to me at james@life-plan-coach.com, with “Dream Decoding” and the title of the dream in the subject line.

For more about my one-on-one dream decoding and coaching services, check out my Dream Decoder Coaching page.

I want to thank each and every one of you who reads and follows the blog regularly. I appreciate the investment of your time, and your support; it means so much.

Until next time…sweet dreams!

Your Dream Decoder,

James