The ever-changing grocery store

Can anyone help me out in figuring a dream I had last night?

I dreamed the husband and I went grocery shopping. I don't recall how the dream began, but I do remember being in a dimly lit store trying to get everything we needed. The shelves and products themselves were lit normally, everything was illuminated just fine. It's weird, there was no light source, they were just illuminated. The isles themselves were dim. It was an oddly relaxing atmosphere, rather than creepy.
I remember going to the freezer section and trying to get some veggie burger packs. One of our kids is semi-vegetarian IRL, this isn't an uncommon RL purchase. Anyway, I was trying to pick up the packages, and the package graphics and product name would change as soon as I blinked. I'd set it down in the cart, and notice the change, and get frustrated, thinking "This isn't one she likes. I know that, dammit." I'd put it back on the freezer shelf, and study them all to make sure I was getting the right one. Again, as soon as I blinked, the package would change entirely. I called for my husband, because it was starting to weird me out. I told him "Just watch. Now, pick one to get. Go to pick it up, and blink." And it would change for him, too. I'd see the package graphics morph at the same time he blinked. It was really eerie and very frustrating at that point.

We decided to not get the veggie burgers at this store, and went to get the rest of our items and leave. It started happening to other items. A jug of local brand orange juice would morph into some national brand, like Minute Maid. One cut of meat would turn into a totally different one, real cheese would morph into yellow plastic. We got very irritated, and started putting things back, because bleep this, we'll go somewhere else instead. Except the things we put back would begin reappearing back in the cart a little later. We essentially couldn't empty the cart & return things to the shelves because it would all end up right back in it. We left the cart in one isle, and made a freaked beeline for the door. As soon as we got close enough to activate the auto open, we were suddenly inside a little neighborhood fruit & veg store. Now, let me just say I'd die to have something like that IRL. Not like, say, The Fresh Market, but more like a very highly organized local farmer's market of only fruits and veggies. We went around the tables and gathering as much as we could off of our shopping list, and asked where the nearest dry goods store was, and the nearest butcher, so we could complete getting everything. When someone started giving us directions, one of our kids woke me up.

I'm not sure what to make of this dream. The nearest I can gather is that maybe it's my subconscious trying to tell me to finish cutting out the processed foods? Or to aim more local for groceries than we already do? Or that I'm looking at food the wrong way? IDK, ideas?

It might be telling you that it doesn't really matter what you buy in a grocery store--it's pretty much all bad for you in the long run.

You're putting the "good" stuff in the cart and it changes to the "bad" stuff in the blink of an eye? It's all the same.

The only way you can be 100% sure your food is safe and natural is to grow and/or raise it yourself (and even that's questionable if you don't know what you're doing). The labels they use ("organic", "free range", etc.) are meaningless--they'll put any sticker they want on it, if it'll get you to buy it. Of this we can be certain, if history is any guide.

I don't even know what "organic" means anymore. They'll call a bean sprout growing in a steaming pile of fresh dog s* "organic" if they want to. I guess it would technically qualify if they don't use GM seeds or pesticides... but it doesn't mean I'd eat the thing.

Bottom line is there's no way to be totally sure exactly what you're eating, and chances are we're all being duped somewhere along the line.

So why worry? All you can do is the best you can do.

a reply to: Nyiah

This is just my opinion but it sounds like something is not as it should be. You say that you often buy veggie burgers for your daughter, so it seems like your subconscious is using a real life, every day occurrence to get the message to you.
You think on the surface that things are 'right' but when you look at them closely, they are not as they should be. Subconsciously you realise that your husband thinks so too - he is your 'ally' in the dream.
You then tried a different approach (went to a different kind of shop) and things once again were as they should be.
Does that make sense? That's how I would interpret it if it happened to me, it might not be like that for you of course. Shopping for food for the family is a nurturing activity (although it never feels like it at the time, lol) so it maybe has something to do with looking after, or nurturing. Or maybe your metaphors are different.
Anyway, hope it helps.

B x

a reply to: Nyiah

I'm not one to believe dreams have any real significant meanings other then to distort our day-to-day RL routine into an abstract encounter that makes nearly no sense at all half the time. Maybe you're simply thinking too much about shopping? Take a vacation, relieve some stress, have a spa day

I don't have a clue as to what the dream could mean, but from what I understand the subconscious mind uses superb imagery to bring underlying problems or unresolved or suppressed issues to consciousness. I suppose it is because the subconsious mind is suppressed so much during waking hours that it presents itself through dreams. Freudian slips are in keeping with this idea as well, as they seem to be a subconsious thought brought to conscious attention, without conscious prompting.

So even when dreams seem totally "out there," really your brain is using masterful imagery, better than any artist, to represent certain ideas. Sometimes it seems however that the imagery is so vague that no real value is garnered from the dream, but I would always bet that there is something there, to every dream. Even dreams that seem like they are about one thing, could mean something totally different. I believe the brain is just using the imagery it has available, although what you consciously think that imagery might represent might not be correct for the subconscious mind, since it doesn't act like the conscious mind. If that makes sense.

I have found that the best way to get to the root of the dream, the meaning, is to evaluate your life and what is going on, and attempt to find anything you could be suppressing, or anything you are not dealing with. Sometimes people will have an inkling. Sometimes it can be very big things. Just as an example, and I am not offering this as an explanation for your case by any means, someone can be in a relationship that they think they want to be in, but they really don't. That is a pretty major conflict. Or I suppose it could also happen with one's sexual orientation as well, as some people do not wish to consciously admit that they might be homosexual. Granted, most issues are probably smaller in scope and not so seemingly life-changing, although identifying the smallest problems could still be life-changing in the long run.

So take your case, even though it seems like it is about a grocery store and the items within, it could in reality represent your job or something, just as an example, and the ever-changing items could represent some type of changes or people or something like that. The possibilities are numerous, and you are going to the best one to get to the bottom of it. Sometimes it just is not possible however, so I wouldn't take it too hard if you cannot figure it out. Often it is not easy. And if someone is repressing something, it is hard to consciously even consider an idea as potentially being the root cause or issue.

So good luck with attempting to figure it out, and although sometimes many people could use the same imagery to represent the same types of things, I do not think this is the best way to go. So although someone's explanation may sound good, it may be incorrect, and so you are really the only person who can truly offer the correct explanation.

Thanks for your opinions, everyone. I've thought about it over the past few days, and still am no closer to figuring out what it may have meant, or if it meant anything at all (I'm no stranger to utterly random weird dreams) The nurturing perspective Beansidhe mentioned seems plausible to me (I do worry about how what our kids eat will in turn impact their development over time, as a lot of parents do) It could be one of those things I'll never fully figure out, or I may have an "Aha!" moment some time down the road.

a reply to: Nyiah

I think that if I had had that dream, I would interpret it as a hint to buy more food locally when possible. Lots of places have farmer's markets these days.

Your dream interpretations are your own, though!