Being Crushed By A Front End Loader: Post #2

photo courtesy of commonswikimedia.org

A dreamer had a dream that seemed to be prophetic—and ominous--about the USA national election. I advised her to wait until we looked at the dream metaphorically before reaching any conclusions about the dream's meaning. In an unusual twist, her dream had two endings, both of which were presented to her in the dream state.

As she and I worked our way through the symbols, and as she provided metaphoric meanings to each of them, I simply inserted both potential endings into the dream’s revised version. Often, what seems contradictory in objective life becomes no more than part of the dialogue when it is converted to metaphor.

To reveal her metaphoric associations, I would ask her a simple question such as, “Tell me about ‘walking along.’” I would then record her answer.

Tell me about…

* Walking along:  Leisurely going from one spot to the next.

* Enjoying:  Appreciating in a pleasant way.

* Scenery:  My surroundings, but they’re natural. And beautiful. They help relax me and they bring me peace.

* Trees swaying:  Pleasant motion that brings calmness.

* Beautiful flowers:  Like little gems of beauty.

* Soft breezes:  Like the breathe of nature or God.

* Place under construction:  Something new is being built.

* Ground torn up:  Disruption, temporarily unsightly and potential for danger.

* Big machines:  They are gentle giants helping with the building.

* Moving the earth around:  Making changes.

* Changing the landscape:  Things will never look the same again.

* Curious:  Inquisitive, wanting to know more.

* Danger:  The possibility of harm being done to me.

* Detour:  Go around a different route, not as direct, but safer.

* Make big mistake:  An error in judgement that will have consequences.

* Bulldozers and front-end loaders:  Big giants that do constructive things, but because of their size, they may be unaware of anything as small as me. They would never try to harm me, but there could be an accident.

* Construction debris on the ground:  Waste products that are being discarded temporarily, until they can be properly disposed of.

* Trip and fall:  Lose my balance and end up in a prone position of defenselessness.

* Driver:  The one operating the machine; the one in charge.

* Doesn’t see me:  Oblivious of any potential harm.

* Being crushed:  The life is being squashed out of me. I am no more.

* See catastrophe approaching:  I see the possibility of ruin coming at me.

Some initial observations

If you read the list above, you are aware of a beautiful, possibly idyllic scene suddenly changing to catastrophe. But is it about national politics, or is it about the dreamer herself? And is it really so bad? It's a spiritual law that with every death there is a rebirth. Is it possible that something old is being "squeezed out" in order to accommodate something new and better? 

We'll learn more on Friday.