Decoding the Strange Language of Dreams
When we take time to decode our dreams, they can often help us in waking life.
Updated April 24, 2026 | Reviewed by Margaret Foley
My client, Sylvia, recounted to me a distressing dream in which she reacted with shock and extreme annoyance when a guest covered her walls in glue. Through our discussion of the dream, she realized that the gluer was communicating to her a solution to a problem she was having with one of her own clients, essentially demonstrating that she should have "stuck to" her own business principles in dealing with the client.
By bringing the odd substance of the dream into the light of day, Sylvia was able to consider what she should have said and to rethink a decision that troubled her.
Sylvia started by explaining her dream. “There was an event at our house, but not one that I had organized. A group of people had chosen my house to host a party for charity, so it felt very busy and chaotic with the comings and goings of the guests and the stuff they were bringing.
“After the party, everyone was busy cleaning and packing up. I went downstairs (this was a big old house with long corridors and stone walls), and as I arrived downstairs, I saw that one of the guests had applied glue to the walls. I was shocked and wondered how I was going to clean all that up. I kept saying: ‘Who does that? Who covers walls in glue?’ For some reason, I think the man who had applied the glue had done it to help clean up.”
Sylvia continued: “While I was trying to clean the glue up, I started smelling smoke, so we went outside to see where the smell was coming from and realized it was from a tornado. We started running back to the house. I almost got swept up, but we made it back inside to the basement, safe within the old stone walls.”
I started by saying, "Let's begin in the middle. You said, 'I was shocked and wondered how I was going to clean all that up.' And you kept repeating, 'Who does that? Who covers walls in glue?'
"At that moment in the dream, would you say you were shocked and angry? Do I have your feelings correct?"
Sylvia confirmed, "Maybe anger , yes. Extreme annoyance, for sure.
"My feelings in this dream make me think of something,” she added. “A few days ago, I went to train a new client. Her house is big and old, and she had the place set up for a party.
"She asked me to lower my fee. Part of me felt extreme annoyance. As I was leaving, I noticed a For Sale sign in front of her house, so I checked the listing. I was shocked to see the house listed at almost $3 million! Here are those two emotions—extreme annoyance and shock!"
I wondered, "Did you agree when the client asked you to lower your fee?"
Sylvia explained, "She requested that we work together three times per week. I told her that my schedule could not accommodate that right now, but that when it could, I would consider it.
"Immediately, I regretted saying that. The price of gas is so high right now that I'm considering raising my fee, not lowering it."
I offered, "I think I hear you saying you want to 'stick' to your fee. Let's stay with this thought and focus a bit on the man with the glue. You somewhat excuse him, giving him the grace to imagine he was actually trying to help."
Hearing my interpretation, Sylvia jumped in. "Yes! This is me giving myself a break for telling the woman I would consider lowering my fee.
"I was trying to help, just like the man was, but it’s not the kind of help this woman needs. It's better for me to help myself, especially after discovering that she's wealthy."
Wanting to explore the dream's end, I asked, "You say that while you were trying to clean up the glue, you smelled smoke that turned out to be from a tornado. You describe yourself almost getting swept up, but you got back inside to the basement, safe within the old stone walls."
Sylvia confirmed, "I got swept up offering her the possibility of lowering my fee.
"And the whole dream revolving around a charity event? That's so funny because it reminds me of a conversation with my mom, just a few days ago. I found out that we both commit to at least one gesture of kindness per day.
"I have another client who just lost her job unexpectedly, and I decided to continue training her for free because I don’t want her to lose momentum. I consider this a gesture of kindness, not lowering my fee for someone who doesn't need it. This dream feels like my response, comparing these two events.”
Immediately after sharing that insight, Sylvia raised another concern. "I do have a question about the level of drama in this dream,” she said. “All the action in the dream was exhausting, but in real life, it wasn't such a big deal. Why so much drama in my dream?"
I offered, "It was because you under-reacted to the woman when she asked you to lower your fee. Your own response bothered you, but you were pushing it out of your mind. In your sleep, it rose to the surface with enough force to seize your attention . Your dream caused you to notice—to think—and then rethink how to respond."
This dream illustrates how we often replay at night an issue that concerns us during the day.
Sylvia's dream dwells on the question of helping, seen both in the charity event and in the man "trying to help" by putting glue on the walls. The repetition forces Sylvia to consider how to balance helping her clients with helping herself.
The "sticky" words within the dream help reveal the dreamer's internal debate around her professional fee. In stating that the man who placed glue on the walls was "only trying to help," the dreamer was able to uncover her conflicting emotions around sticking to her fee.
Both actions and words from our dreams, when analyzed, can help us make decisions with greater self-awareness. We can even rethink previous decisions and possibly choose a different path.
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Layne Dalfen, author of the Have a Great Dream books, established and runs The Dream Interpretation Center, founded in 1997, lectures at Concordia University in Montreal, and appears frequently on radio and television.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.