Common Dreams: Tests and Exams
These types of dreams link commonly with the way in which we feel tested by life or pushed to our limits by daily routines. They can be symbolic for tests of endurance, a test on skills and patience, or spiritually defined and seen as a measure of how far you have come on a spiritual path. Test and exam dreams symbolise any given situation which tests the depth and strength of your character.
Your ability to manage these tests in the dream gives a clue to how well you are coping in your waking life. When a dream test is hard it portrays a situation where you don’t feel in control, you feel as though life is always hard for you and situations out-side of your control dictate the path you are on. The reality is that you arein control of your life and can make changes wherever and whenever you want to, allowing other people to create obstacles for you is sometimes easier than removing the power from the person and disallowing them control over you. It’s good to mention that it’s not always a person who is has control over you, it can be anything from addiction to money.
Any educational institution symbolises our need to learn lessons and gain knowledge about ourselves or other people. They say life is a school of learning and in dreams schools can represent how we are doing on an enlightened level. Life's lessons can be hard to take at times, but it is how we come through and get over the obstacles it presents us with that count towards the overall experience.
Tests and exam dreams happen at a time when you have reached a plateau in your life and are getting ready for the next stage; you are looking back and judging yourself, although it may seem in the dream that you are being judged by others, ultimately you shouldn’t allow judgment from anyone.
Quite often exam and test dreams link with an obstacle dream because in these types of dreams we hardly ever finish the test or exam, this symbolises the unknown aspects of the future and when we are uncertain about how things will turn out, this is why being successful or failing the tests isn’t usually revealed in the dream.
When attempting to read or write we either can’t see the words or can’t write, we don’t have a pen or pencil or the one we do have is broken, time runs out or there is a problem with the paper. These types of obstacles can help explain how you don’t feel equipped with all the attributes needed to make progress in some area. You feel that you can’t move forward because you don’t have all the things you need. talents are probably fine as they are, but this dream is helping you understand that you do not feel good enough, this means you are starting out with the wrong attitude.
Another obstacle dream that uses the test or exam approach is when we cannot think what to write, this links with the ability to be able to translate thoughts into actions, you may well have thoughts about doing things but lack the energy and drive to see them through to completion.
Overall test and exam dreams happen to bring the dreamers attention to their own ‘life learning’ and about personal insecurities, capabilities or talents so that adjustments can be made.