You Will Never View Violence In Dreams The Same Way

Yes, anything we “take in” during waking life can make an appearance in our dreams. However, the way our dreaming minds use those images will always depend on the dreamer. Sometimes, when unhealthy habits or behaviors need to get transformed in waking life, imagery from a violent movie can actually be helpful in a dream. For example, in the early 2000s I hadn’t watched a violent movie in a long time. Because Russell Crowe was the star, I watched Gladiator (3). That night, I had a gladiator-filled nightmare that “killed off” all the negative energy in my life where I had been feeling stuck. When we don’t identify as violent people in waking life, our dreaming minds often use gladiators or others we recognize as killers, to do the dirty work and help us “clean house” in dreams.