the dream decoder

I found myself crouching down in a thicket in a field in the countryside. Nearby, completely ignorant of my presence, there were people walking to and fro along bridle-paths. If I had wanted to, I could have surprised any of them. However, in the distance, some movement caught my eye.

Almost like a cat stalking its prey, I saw a fox advancing towards something in the distance; as it went, it took cover behind several oak trees. Then, as if looking through a zoom lens, I could see that it was stalking a lion, which seemed totally unaware of the fox. I didn't want to warn the lion, but was enthralled as to the outcome. Then I woke up feeling disappointed that I didn't witness the upshot.

The interpretation

The first clue comes when we consider the setting of the dream and Duncan's place within it. The field in the countryside and the people represent life going on around Duncan. However, these people are walking along bridle-paths (''bridle'' which sounds exactly like bridal symbolises new beginnings and opportunities, and ''paths'' represent various options to follow in life to achieve one's goals). Next, we see that Duncan is hidden in a thicket, aware that he could surprise the passers-by. This suggests that he is either hiding something and/or lying in ambush! If we now bear in mind Duncan's remarks about his ambition and determination to rise to the top of this profession, we begin to see a clear picture emerging. The next part of the dream galvanises the interpretation. There are similarities between Duncan's stance and that of the fox - in effect, there is no different in their behaviour.

It is this point that demonstrates that the fox is a representation of Duncan himself - a primitive, animal side, which encompasses cunning and preying on others.

Finally, the interpretation is underpinned by the appearance of the lion, and demonstrates that symbolism within dreams is far from being universal. In this instance, if we look for the obvious, the meaning becomes transparent - the lion has long since been regarded as the king of the jungle, and it's as simple as that! In other words, industry and life itself are often regarded as a ''jungle''. The king or lion points to the leader or head of, in this case, the sales industry.

Pulling it all together, then, we can see that Duncan could be behaving in a less than honourable way in order to achieve his ambitions. However, as already stated, it seems likely that he is unaware of this and perhaps finds justification for his conduct - we all possess this tendency. Nevertheless, Duncan's unconscious - which is ever vigilant and on duty 24 hours a day - knows better, else it wouldn't have presented him with this dream in a way that spurred him awake (the trigger effect).

The message is clear: Duncan should take an honest look at himself and address these issues. There is nothing wrong with ambition, as long as it is not pursued to the detriment of everything else!

l If you would like David Melbourne to analyse one of your dreams for this page send an SAE to The Herald magazine (Dreams), 195 Albion Street Glasgow G1 1QP. He is unable to respond to private requests.