Dream Dictionary

One theory of the mind separates it into three aspects: consciousness, the subconscious and the unconscious. When you are a child, your mind has free reign to explore all sides of who you are becoming, but as you grow older, a type of subconscious barrier develops. As you come to understand ‘the idea of who you should be,’ those elements that are ‘unacceptable’ or denied can remain within an area that is called the unconscious. As these feelings and ideas seek expression, the subconscious net blocks them in daily life. While you sleep, this barrier dissolves and information rises freely into the mind for exploration. Often the symbol representing what is happening or emerging from the unconscious will be the sea or bodies of water. Also see Sea Life, Water, Defense Mechanisms, Dream Basics and Dream Processing.