The Car Crash "Waking Dream:" Post #3

The “Waking Dream” About a Car Crash

I have been writing about a woman who was experiencing conflict at work. She then had a car accident. She hit black ice, her car slid off the road, down a shallow embankment, hit a tree on the passenger side, and got wedged between two trees. She couldn’t drive the car. The passenger side was badly dented, but there was no damage to the driver side, so she opened her car door and stepped out. She was shaken and upset, but she was uninjured.

The Waking Dream Restated

Even though this was an experience that happened during the day while this “dreamer” was awake, I have chosen to analyze it as if it were a dream she might have during sleep. What follows is the dream restated in its analyzed form. (Look at my last post to see how she and I came up with this.)

There is a part of me that I use to get around from one place inside myself to another. I used to love the work I was doing on myself, but it’s turned into a kind of nightmare. There is a danger in me that I didn’t see which could be deadly for me. I’m out of control and it’s really scary! I’ve damaged the part of me that gets me around inside myself. I can’t use it anymore and it’s a really shocking experience. I’m stuck and can’t move. But I’m kind of surprised to see that I can just get out and walk away.

Does This Experience Have Relevance as a Dream?

If this were a traditional dream that the woman had during sleep, I would ask her if there were issues or conflicts that she was currently struggling with. Sometimes these are issues of personal growth that are uncomfortable. Other times there is overt discord with other people or simply within the dreamer’s own priorities. And occasionally, a dream comments and offers advice on a long-term issue that is still upsetting.

Even though this was a daytime experience, I asked these questions of the dreamer. After some discussion, she was surprised to discover that this “waking dream” was relevant to just about every category listed in the last paragraph above.

At the most obvious level—the one I’ll address today—the waking dream was commenting on her conflicted work experience, and it was actually offering advice in how to deal with the discord. The phrase in the analyzed dream that struck the dreamer the most was the last one: I am “surprised that I can just get out and walk away.” Her work “vehicle” was damaged and “stuck.” There was no way to use it constructively. The waking dream pointed this out and presented the best solution: Walk away; there is nothing constructive for you there.

A multifaceted dream

What I have discussed here is only the most basic level on which this dream has communicated. There is more to come, so stay tuned!  

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