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2003)
Feedback on 'Is There Meaning in Dreams? (2) - Shards
in the Web, or Dig and Delve'
[Read the essay]
Bill Wright (September 1999)
Sue Grigg (October 1999)
Eric Lindsay (October 1999)
Lucy Schmeidler (October 1999)
Karen Johnson (October 1999)
Lucy Schmeidler (February 2000)
David Charles Cummer (April 2000)
Lucy Schmeidler (April 2000)
Lucy Schmeidler (June 2000)
BILL WRIGHT writes (September 1999):
Exploration of your invaginated shadow mind
continues. Thanks for the synopsis. Dreams help us make sense of the world
around us, but interpreting dreams is quite a different exercise.
The contents of dreams are literals and symbols. The
validity of symbols is covered, but their power is almost ignored. Because
the human mind is preoccupied with symbols and, as Carl Jung says, "they
lead to ideas that lie beyond the grasp of reason," it follows that
those who control the symbols that command mass attention are very powerful
individuals indeed.
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SUE GRIGG writes (October 1999):
You write that in a dream a house might represent security, belonging,
shelter. I have also heard of a house as representing the dreamer and
what [happens] to or in the house being of import in relation to self.
What do you think of the idea of transportation reflecting how we move
through life?
I reply (February 2000):
G'day Sue.
"You write that in a dream a house might represent security, belonging,
shelter. I have also heard of a house as representing the dreamer and
what happen to or in the house being of import in relation to self."
[Megatheriums 21. A.191]
Well Sue we are going here from association to symbolism! The House in
dreams (when it isn't being used literally) often represents yourself,
your mental state, your intimate environment.
If it is fine and spacious house and you feel contented there - all is
well in your world. If it is beginning to fall apart, then their are some
very important issues you have to deal with. If it is besieged then you
are feeling under threat. If you go exploring and find a whole suite of
rooms you did not know were there - then there are new things to discover
about yourself.
(The House is a complex symbol - and to aid understanding must be broken
down into smaller parts - the door which cannot be closed with the cold
night howling outside; your childhood drawings pinned to the walls of
a forgotten room; your bed floating in water in darkness; a journey down
stairs into a deep dark cellar with a single small window on a far wall
showing a glimpse of paradise which can never be reached because of three
inches of solid glass; an underground tunnel with, seated on stone thrones,
the rotting bodies of your ancestors....)
"What do you think of transportation reflecting how we move through
life?" [ditto]
It seems very apt! I tend to think of it like this:
PUBLIC TRANSPORT (Buses, Trains, Trams)
No control over departure time or route. Limited choice of destinations.
You have limited control over where life is taking you. (Missing a train
may imply missing an opportunity.)
BICYCLE.
Succeeding through your own efforts! (You can choose your own path - but
your personal power feels limited.)
CAR.
This is, at least for me, a freedom symbol. You can go wherever you want
to go. (Though sometimes the road can get very frightening.)
But their exists for me an even more powerful symbol of freedom than
the car. In dreams of exhilaration I have the STARSHIP - effortless free
flight - as fast as an imagination can carry you....
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ERIC LINDSAY writes (October 1999):
Seemed like a good summary of dream ideas. If I could remember any
dreams I'd be more interested, but they are not accessible to me.
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LUCY SCHMEIDLER writes (October 1999):
nice cover pic
I am fascinated by your latest article on dreams, and would love to
try out some of your ideas, except it seems to be months since I've woken
with any memory of having dreamed. (Much more accurate than saying it's
months since I've dreamed.)
Love your expression, "a load of biological wastematter."
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KAREN JOHNSON writes (October 1999):
How come if you're actually dreaming and you're woken up, you
feel all logy and disgusting, but you can remember the dream clearly.
If on the other hand you're woken up and you're NOT currently dreaming,
you wake up much more quickly and easily, but you can't remember dreaming
at all? This morning was a case of the former, and here, for the entertainment
of the dream-interpreters among us, is the Dream (I can't forget it, so
might as well share it:-)
It was late at night and I was very tired so I hopped on a tram,
hoping it would take me home. Then I fell asleep (or mostly asleep.)
When I woke up, I looked out the window to see where I was, and saw
Santa and Christmas lights apparently outside. I did a double take because
it was July, and then realised that they were attached to the tram window
between the glass and the blind. The tram driver (a friendly, elderly
woman) heard my startled explanation, and explained that they normally
did this at Christmas time but the Government wasn't going to let them
any more so they were doing it now for the last time. She dropped me
off at the train station, and I went to get a train home. Some time
after I'd got on the train, I realised it was going in entirely the
wrong direction, and I was in the middle of nowhere. It was the last
train for the night too. I got off at the next station. I thought that
the City Youth Hostel must be somewhere nearby, so I went looking.
As I was walking along, the streets started turning dark, dangerous
and gloomy. I must have been wrong, and I didn't know where I was, or
where I was going. I started to cry, and then along came a very friendly
lady. She offered to take me back to her place to stay the night. When
we got there, there was a big sign on the outside of the building. I
should have known what it meant, but I didn't. I went upstairs with
the lady, and lay down on her couch while she clucked over me. It was
only later that I realised that something wasn't right, and remembered
that this place was a Loony Bin. I got up to go, but she wanted me to
stay with her forever, and I ended up running down the stairs with her
close behind. I ran and ran, and eventually ended up near the middle
of the city. It was still night-time (must have been a long night!)
As I was walking along, I ran into a girl I'd been to University with
(no name to attach here - short, blondish hair, and outwardly friendly.)
She was in the city for the night, and invited me to join her. We went
to a big cinema centre where they were showing a Preview of a new movie.
I didn't have a ticket, so I couldn't go in, but I was allowed to settle
down in the foyer to wait for her. I sat down and waited, and waited.
I could hear laughter from the auditorium, but couldn't see anything
because the doors were shut. After a while I got up and walked around,
then curled up on the couch to doze.
When I woke up, they'd just opened the cinema doors, and a horde
of young people were streaming out. I looked for my friend, but didn't
see her in the horde. Soon everyone had gone past, and I was left by
myself. There were two coats lying around, so maybe she hadn't come
out yet? I went over to the first, red, coat and picked it up, just
in time to hand it to the owner. I went over to the second, blue, coat
and started to look for a name. Just then, some people came racing up
the stairs from outside. I looked towards them, thinking one of them
might be my friend, but they weren't. I was holding out the coat, and
they took it, thanked me politely, handed me a tip, and were out of
there before I could say I didn't work for the Cinema. Then a real cinema
worker came past and I asked him whether my friend was still inside.
He didn't think so, but when I gave him the tip, he let me go in and
look. I looked up and down and in all the corners, but the only people
in the building were cinema workers trying to clean up. I was asked
to leave, and went outside onto the street.
For a moment I thought about walking up and down in search of my
former friend, but I decided it wasn't worth it, and went towards the
station. When I got there, I realised it was light already and going
to be a beautiful day, so I crossed the bridge and headed towards the
Botanical Gardens for a walk in the crisp morning air.
I walked and walked, but instead of the gardens I ended up on a
high hill, with a magnificent view of the river (or was it a bay?) There
were little tiny buildings clustered down on the edge of the water,
and I thought of going down there to look closer. I walked along some
more, and the hill got lower, I was actually very close to the buildings,
though there was still a cliff between the water and me. Then I saw
a big old-fashioned sailing ship in the water, moored at a dock. For
a moment I wondered whether I'd somehow gone back in time, but then
a modern-day family walked noisily across the gangplank, and I realised
I was looking at a historical recreation. The family was walking around
admiring things, and they didn't notice their little boy (about 4) was
climbing out onto the bowsprit. He was obviously going to try to play
'Titanic' on the bow, and it was incredibly dangerous because the wharf
was very close to the side of the ship and he would get crushed if he
fell, if he didn't drown that is. I yelled 'Look Out' as loudly as I
could, and the family turned towards me and saw their kid. I couldn't
hear what they were saying from this distance, but they reached towards
him, just as he overbalanced. Everyone held their breath, but his clothing
caught on the bowsprit, and he dangled for a moment before grabbing
on and pulling himself up again. Then he did it again, and I left the
scene not wishing to see him die messily.
I turned back towards the city, and as I walked along I saw a figure
running towards me. It turned out to be Greg. I told him about the boy,
and he said 'good'. We were at the highest point, and he vwanted to
go down to the water to investigate a small tree with a cairn placed
in front of it. I didn't want to go, so I watched him as he clambered
down the high bluff. It was obviously much too steep, and I was terrified
he was going to fall. Halfway he gave up (just before the steepest bit)
and scrambled back up towards me. We decided to find an entrance on
the town-side of the bluff instead.
When we got there, we saw a narrow cobbled lane leading to the buildings,
so we followed it. There wasn't anything exciting there that we could
see, just a lot of empty old buildings, so we turned around and went
back towards town. We crossed the bridge, and then decided to take a
shortcut to the station. We walked along the riverbank, then scrambled
up a narrow, overgrown path to get to the platform. It was short and
steep, and when Greg got to the top someone grabbed him! Then they yelled
at me, grabbing my arm. I pulled away and ran, with them chasing. I
was terrified and ran for my life, back across the river, across the
bluff etc. I didn't stop running until I was a mile away, by which stage
I was disheveled and panting for breath. My arm was bleeding where they
grabbed it, and I was generally a mess. While I was wondering what to
do, a friendly-seeming man came up to me. He told me I should go to
see a Doctor, or the police, and when I refused he pressed pills on
me that he said were vitamins, pain-killers and caffeine to help wake
me up. I trusted him, so I took one and put the container into my pocket,
and went on my way. I needed somewhere to hide and suddenly thought
of the Pioneer Village down by the River, with all those empty buildings.
I crept around the base of the cliff and came into it that way. No one
could see me coming, so I should be safe. Then I saw a small boat coming
in, so I hid in the shadows. There were men on the boat, and they went
into one of the empty buildings and came out carrying a large, obviously
heavy, crate. They were smuggling something, but what? I had to see,
so once I was sure that they had gone, I crept into the building they'd
come out of. First I looked in the window, but I couldn't see anything.
I had to go inside. I opened the door and went in. The building was
empty, but not the shell that some of the others were. There were rooms
in here, and scuffmarks on the floor. There were a few drops of blood
on the floor and something else. I bent down to see what it was - a
large, glimmering red scale. It seemed unreal, and I realised I was
feeling very tired and woozy, so I took another of the 'caffeine pills'.
I went around the corner and saw three doors with labels on them - 'red',
'near-red', and 'gold.' 'So Dragons are real!" I exclaimed. Then
I heard a sound behind me,and turned around to see a tall woman standing
over me with her arm raised to clobber me. 'Yes, and they're Ours.'
This was the last thing I saw before everything faded to black because
of the pills I'd taken, which weren't what the friendly man had said...
Alas, this was when Heather came and woke me up, so I don't know how
it was going to end, or what became of the Dragon-smuggling racket.
I reply (February 2000):
Such a L-o-o-o-n-g dream in ANZAPANs Only #8 (A191)! Where to begin?
I haven't had the chance to quiz you about your life or your associations
- this is swinging cats in the dark:
-
Public transport taking you where you do not expect or want to go.
(Not being in total control of your life & being presented with experiences
which were not those you would have preferred).
-
Being betrayed by several people you thought initially you could
trust - including your friend who abandoned you in the cinema.
-
The cinema itself - having to miss out on one of life's great experiences.
-
The new morning & the hill. Seeing the historic village. (New possibilities.
Gaining a higher vantage point which gives you a better overview -
including a reassessment of your past.)
-
The dragon smuggling operation! (Something magical going on hidden
in the background - being misused by 'bad people.' Now you have discovered
it - you can do something about it!)
Like Demtel there's more - and the dream is not without its ironies and
humour. Above all you are a survivor & able to extricate yourself from
difficult situations. Your dreamself also shows compassion & thoughtfulness
towards others. Send me another dream so I can get a more accurate fix.
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LUCY SCHMEIDLER writes (February 2000):
I rarely remember my dreams upon awaking, and I haven't noted
any dreams since I've been in ANZAPA. However, I used to have a recurring
dream, which an experience with Alan Stewart seemed to cure me of in 1995.
In the dream I was sitting in a parked car -- waiting for someone? --
when the car began to roll forward. And I had to grab the wheel and try
to steer, without ever having taken driving lessons! (The cure came about
when Alan was driving me to the airport and his car broke down, so he
asked me to steer it to the edge of the road while he pushed.) The dream
was always frightening and very realistic, but I have no idea what triggered
it.
I reply (April 2000):
"In the dream I was sitting in a parked car -- waiting for someone?
-- when the car began to roll forward. And I had to grab the wheel and
try to steer, without ever having taken driving lessons. (The cure came
about when Alan was driving me to the airport and his car broke down,
so he asked me to steer it to the edge of the road while he pushed.)"
My intuition is that this is a dream indicating anxiety about being in
a situation which you feel you can't cope with - lack essential knowledge,
etc. The cure came about because you were put in an analogous situation
in real life - and you found you were able to cope very well - thank-you
very much!
[Please see further down]
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DAVID CHARLES CUMMER writes (April 2000):
"...a house might represent security, belonging, shelter. I have
also [heard] of a house as representing the dreamer..." When I worked
in the Child Psych Ward we often would give kids "The Draw a Tree,
House, Person, Yourself" test. What I recall was that the standard
rule of thumb was the attic of the house represented the mind.
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LUCY SCHMEIDLER writes (April 2000):
On the subject of dreams, I had a morning dream one recent Shabbat,
which I didn't write down immediately because of the day, but I did try
to remember it. Because [it] occurred shortly before I woke it was very
vivid in my mind but also felt unfinished, as if the story was interrupted
before the end.
I dreamed that I was at a resort somewhere and I met a young woman
(mid-30s?) who was from a non-Anglophone background and spoke a mixture
of languages, so that I could sometimes catch her gist without knowing
which words I had recognized or from where. Wandering around the place
I ran into my daughter Sara engaged in some kind of group exercise. I
joined her in order to be able to chat, and then she went off for some
reason and the other young woman showed up and took Sara's place in the
line, at the same time as a bunch of tourists showed up and stood around
watching us. My best interpretation is that it was about my anticipation
of meeting two young Canadian women writers at Eeriecon, March 31 - April
2, one pro and one a Critters member.
I reply (June 2000):
(Your new dream is more cryptic than it appears. There is not time to
explore all the resonances, but it may have something to do with the half-familiar
(intuitive) taking the place of the consciously known and recognised.
It is an alien quality to a familiar world - though the fact that you
get the 'gist' means that you can relate to some degree with the alien.)
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LUCY SCHMEIDLER writes (June 2000):
[See previous]
(And by the way, thanks for explaining my dream and its cure, both
perfectly obvious after your explanation.)
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