Student # 7: Dream Analysis Sand tray Therapy Experience

by Sandtray Student # 7
(Stockbridge, Ga)

This is a sand tray therapy dream analysis sand tray I did on myself. I recalled a dream I had a few weeks ago where I was standing in a hospital room with one of my brothers because my mother had just given birth to a baby. In the dream, the baby was adorable, and I was enjoying holding him while talking to my brother. Suddenly, the baby began mocking words that I was saying. I was completely freaked out by this and told my mother what was going on; at first, she didn’t feel that it was a big deal, but at that moment, the baby actually said a full sentence which was really scary especially since I was holding an infant.
While that is the only part of the dream I can actually remember, I shared it with a few classmates during our dream analysis session last week. Dr. Stangline suggested that maybe I felt as if someone was either copying me or that I felt as if someone younger was stealing my mother’s attention from me. At the time, I could not identify with that interpretation, but as the week went on, a situation in my extended family, which had nothing to do with me, involved an older brother feeling as if his younger brother, who is the baby of the family, had stolen his ideas and also was essentially copying something he had started and was being successful in the process. In addition, he also expressed anger that his mother was in full support of his younger brother and did not see anything wrong with what he was doing.
Immediately, I thought about this dream, and for me it makes sense. I do not believe that all dreams will apply to us specifically, but can apply to the lives of people who are close to us, and that is what I believe for now with this dream. I could be wrong, but it is just insight that I received after not being able to identify with the interpretation personally. Of course, the dream could have other meanings, or it may not have any significance at all.
For my sand tray interpretation, I am represented by the gingerbread man. If you notice, the gingerbread man does not have a face; it is almost as if it doesn’t really have an identity-it’s just there. Also, I am being guarded by two army men who are facing piglet, a snake, and the giant parrot.
I have an ambulance in the background because in the dream I felt helpless and wanted to be rescued. The cotton ball figure in the middle represents my mother; she is just standing there somewhat clueless and not really understanding my feelings at first. The baby is represented by piglet; when I think of piglet, I think of innocence. A newborn baby is pure and innocent; however, there is a snake beside piglet which is a symbol of deception. Piglet seems innocent on the surface, but underneath, she is very deceptive and has ill-intentions. Lastly, there is a huge parrot standing behind piglet. Parrots mock what people say, and this represents what the baby was doing in my dream. The fact that the baby was actually speaking was the most important part of the dream and overshadowed everything else.
Overall, I enjoyed working on this sand tray; it gave me the opportunity to really reflect on the dream and display it in a creative way with the sand tray.