Swimming with sea lions

[tinadene]

I dreamed I was swimming in the ocean, very far out but within sight of the shore. I was swimming toward the beach, not in a big hurry or anything, no sense of danger or fear of drowning, just enjoying the swim. It wasn't sunny out . In fact, the sky was filled with gray clouds as though a storm was coming. The water was very dark, also, and quite choppy with many small, foamy-capped waves and swells. As I swam closer to shore, a long stretch of rocky jetties appeared on my left-hand side. I started to see large creatures swimming around me and bobbing up out of the water. At first, I was afraid they were sharks. As I looked closer, though, I could see that they were actually sea lions, what looked like thousands of them. They didn't bother with me but I could see them popping their heads out of the water to look at me as I swam through them. I was really excited, thrilled to see them. I never made it to the shore. I woke up first. I do live near the beach, but there are definitely no packs of sea-lions in our area.

Just a cool dream, or is it telling me something?

[IrisRavenstar]

Hi Tina,

You might check <http://www.sayahda.com/cyc1.html>, which is a wonderful place using a lot of Ted Andrews work from his _Animals Speak_ book.

Sea Lions only come to shore during mating season, so it may be that you have some in the area, but don't happen to be there when they are around. I have a favorite hiking spot that opens onto a beach, and one year, I saw Puffins there! I'd never seen them before, and it's only twenty minutes from my house, and they were so darned interesting! So check around and see if maybe they have a secluded mating spot near you.

I also live near a Marinelife Aquarium, and always have to see the Sea Lion show when I go there. They're very interesting and intelligent creatures. The Navy uses trained ones to retrieve things from the ocean, and they always show a film about it as part of the show.

I think symbolically, they may be telling you that you are becoming increasingly at home in the Unconscious, the dream plane. Often, when we first start thinking about dreams as something important to pay attention to, we are frightened by what we might find there, but here, you don't find a shark, you realize they are really friendly sea lions, and you have nothing to fear. That's an important step, I think, in getting into your dreams.

All best!

[readthetides]

That is an awesome dream!

I have to agree with IrisRavenstar about feeling more comfortable in the unconscious realm, or at the very least just finding peace, safety, and joy in general. The ocean, and also the dark weather, are very strong Yin representations, so it may be that you're getting more in touch with those energies.

[Varzandeh]

Hi,
Swimming means working.Ocean means a big organization or the government.Foams on the waves mean benefits from the boss.Lion means a powerful enemy and sea lions mean powerful enemies at work.Working and looking surveilling you.

Good luck.

[tinadene]

Thanks everyone for your input. I really do appreciate it!