A Waking Dream About A Workplace Conflict: Post #3

I’ve been analyzing a waking dream that the “dreamer” has been experiencing in her work environment. Here’s what she said:

A waking dream about a job conflict

At work, my boss has quietly let me know that I am up for a promotion. It will involve more responsibility with our company’s strategic planning. The decision isn’t official yet, but already there are hints being given that my fellow workers can consult me for planning decisions. Some employees come to me, ask for my opinion and accept what I tell them. Others willingly ask for my feedback, but then put up resistance, letting me know that I have no authority to advise them. Still others come to me, get my input, but then don’t know what to do with it. They tell me that, even though they like what I say, they’re going to go to my boss anyway. All of this is driving me bats! No one seems to know what my role is. I go home from work feeling really maligned and unsettled.

Reassembling the interpreted dream

In my last post the dreamer and I interpreted the symbols of this dream and arrived at the following restatement:

There is a part of me engaged in helping me pay my inner expenses, and I find this interesting and absorbing. The part of me in charge has let it be known that I am to be given more authority and more inner pay. I’ll be taking more responsibility in helping to decide which way I should go and what choices to make. But the parts of me that are the workers who do the various tasks inside of me to make all this function have a variety of reactions to this. Some accept it, but others put up resistance. Still others don’t know what to make of it and question my authority. This is making me upset and uneasy.

What is to be made of this?

These dream restatements tend to sound strange to everyone except the dreamer. Almost invariably, the dreamer strongly identifies with various themes. Look closely at the main ones being presented. There is something about taking more responsibility for inner directions that she is being urged to go in. At the same time, she is feeling ambivalence and her own resistance to these changes.

The obvious question is: What is this inner change that she is trying to make, but is resisting? The dreamer did not hesitate in her reply: Since childhood she has struggled with issues of personal authority. The job promotion has brought all of these issues to light once more. She is delighted with her boss’s confidence in her. But she is also terrified of the responsibility. She is having to overcome her fear.

All of this is being played out in a waking dream at work, with her fellow employees acting out the parts of herself that are inwardly expressing ambivalence. How will this be resolved? We’ll find out tomorrow. Stay tuned!

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