I’m, at a zoo, talking with a man in a ground-floor office. He suggests that I go downstairs for more information (about what, I'm not sure) and leads me to a 'lift' which is a square in the floor that descends, leaving a hole in the ground. He goes down first and I wait for the 'lift' to return. As I'm about to step on it, it starts to descend and I hover above the ‘lift’ floor, never quite putting my feet on it. The 'lift' drops quickly and is out of control, at some point then moving in a horizontal direction. It finally comes to a controlled stop in front of two unmarked doors. I look at them both, wondering which one to go through, then carefully approach one and enter a spacious room. Men are inside, working at a long table cutting up meat for some lions. It's a light, sunny room, glass patio doors are open, and the animals are strolling around outside. The men suggest I don't stay, in case the lions come into the room.
I don't know what happens next as I either woke up or just became aware of my dream. I do know that I was restless and found it very difficult to go back to sleep. I wasn't worried, just unsettled. The idea of a lift going down and then moving horizontally had been a recurring dream from long ago, at that time the lift was in a block of flats, and seems ridiculous. It surprised me to have a similar dream now and was impossible for me to find the reason for it; although a dream interpreter may have some ideas.
Looking on the internet, there are obviously countless references to dreams and what they mean. None of the interpretations, however, are proven and so are merely opinions, suggestions and simple guesses. It's quite feasible that there's no answer and it's just our make-believe world given free-rein as we sleep.
The brain is a fascinating part of the body and can explore avenues that appear bizarre to us. During the day, it's active and makes countless decisions at lightning speed. When we're asleep and the body is recharging, the mind goes into a different world. If I told the above story as the thoughts of a wide-awake person, people would assume I were insane. As a dream, there's no barrier - we start with a blank canvas and there are absolutely no rules controlling how to cover it.
I hope to sleep soundly tonight, without a troublesome dream to interrupt me. Nevertheless, if you have any ideas about, or comments on, my experience, I'd love to receive them; and if you think I'm mad you can tell me, I certainly won't lose sleep over that!