This is the first time I’ve had a dream of being stuck inside an elevator. So much symbolism here.

I was outside walking and came across a male runner who was struggling to breathe. I reached out and touched him on the shoulder. He flinched and moved down away from my touch but not without wincing from some unknown pain. I asked him what was wrong. I don’t recall his response only that he eventually seemed to accept my help. A passerby joined me and we helped him hobble towards a building as he gasped for air. He reminded me of my ex in the dream, because he is a long-distance runner. The man’s build and energy also seemed to match but I can’t recall his face so IDK.

When we got to the it turned out to be a hotel. I went directly to the elevator, my destination the 5th floor. I don’t recall the runner man being with me at this time. A lady with children ran to the elevator as the doors were closing. I pushed the button that keeps the door open and reassured her she could come inside. The door tried to close on her and she withdrew. 

The doors closed but the elevator didn’t move. The people inside with me were confused as was I. I worried there was a malfunction. Would the elevator fall downward and kill us all? Were we trapped inside without a way out?

After a short while, someone pushed a button and the elevator lurched and began to travel up very fast but then backtracked and went down to the what I believe was the first floor. Then it lurched upward and stopped at what I thought was level 5. A woman and her friend were relieved when the doors opened and they rushed out. It was level 7, not 5. There was a map of the levels on the elevator wall and level 7 shouldn’t have even been accessible from the elevator. Level 5 was the top on its route. 

The elevator doors closed with the rest of us inside. I stayed because I thought, “Maybe it is working now?” It continued and took us down. I think it stopped on the ground floor. I opted to exit because the elevator shut down and needed repair.

When we got out, the group dispersed. I went to get a cup of coffee. My ex was at the buffet where the coffee and juice machines were. I remember distinctly how hotel-like it all was. I selected a small paper cup for my coffee but it was full of used coffee filters and trash. I pulled out the trashed cup and the rest were the same. I held it up to my ex and commented, “All the cups are dirty, I wonder if they have more.” As I looked around for an employee to assist, my ex sat a large cup of steaming hot coffee on the counter in front of me. It was at least five times the size of the cup I was seeking, way more coffee than I wanted. I turned my back on the large cup and my ex. The feeling I got was that I didn’t want what he had offered. I felt insulted. 

Considerations/Symbolism

Elevators represent consciousness with awareness going up as the elevator goes up and awareness going down as the elevator goes down. I think of the levels as the chakras in this case since the top floor was level 7 and there are 7 chakras. I wanted to go to the 5th level, throat chakra and communication. The elevator being stuck and its unpredictable behavior reflects the state of the people inside. The elevator went to 7 but I didn’t get off. Perhaps I am not seeking that kind of awareness right now? I end up getting off at the root chakra level, which is all about survival, feeling safe and stable in life. It is the foundation chakra. I get off on the 1st floor reluctantly, uncertain where the elevator will go if I do not and not wanting to end up stuck inside. 

The man running, if he is symbolic of my ex, is in distress. He can’t breathe. Is he feeling suffocated or is his struggling in some way I do not have knowledge of? Or perhaps this is his future and I am being shown he will need my help, though he will at first be unwilling to accept it because it causes him pain? This second seems more likely but it could be both. 

Later, my ex gives me coffee. Coffee is awareness. I am seeking it, just not in the amounts he gives me. I think his awareness gift is too much for me so in the dream I reject it. It may also be that I do not want to see his side of things as I am too caught up in my own struggles. What I want is full of trash and debris, indicating things that are distracting me from even a little awareness of the situation.

The symbolism of the hotel and elevator both represent transition, change and the temporary nature of certain life situations. Dreaming about hotels could be connected to feelings of uncertainty, impermanence, or being in a transitional phase life. It might also reflect experiences and feelings about temporary yet constantly changing environments.

Vision

I saw a large pot filled with gravely dirt. In the left corner, barely noticeable, was a tiny Venus flytrap. With it came the message, “Life is fragile.” 

I’ve never seen a Venus flytrap in a vision or dream so I had to look it up. 

• Feeling trapped in a toxic relationship or job
• Struggling to set boundaries with others
• Dealing with a controlling or manipulative person
• Suppressing your own desires or needs

The vision itself could be showing me that I need to take control and set boundaries or it may simply be showing me my anxieties. IF the vision is about me, anyway. I woke up thinking about my ex’s new relationship so it could be about him but maybe that is just what I want it to be.

Also, my first inclination was to focus on the Venus part. Venus is the planet of love and romantic relationships. The flytrap part is about enticement of prey in search of sustenance. Thus, I thought of my ex and tendency to obsess over whoever he has his romantic sights on. He is needy and hungry for “love” and will do whatever it takes to possess the individual he has his sights on. This can lead to the person his focus is on having their very life sucked out of them (energetically).

The message, “Life is fragile” seemed connected to just how small the plant was in comparison to the pot it was in. It has an ominous ring to it, or that is how I perceived the message.