Dreamy Stuff
through the viewfinder / WNC fall 2014
digital, slightly rendered
My dreams the last few weeks have been somewhat of a mosaic. It is like I am inside a space probe, skimming fast just above the surface of a planet (or some plane) as different images and features scroll across my ‘screen’. I have had several nights where this is my dream experience and when I wake I cannot put together any sort of narrative or theme – it’s just a rush of features like people with large heads, or colors, or a traffic jam, a mass of people going in different directions, or a close-up of someone’s cheek. The content changes, but usually not the perspective.
I move along quickly, watching and seeing but I do not stop nor do I see anything that is familiar on the personal level. It is a mass of symbols but I cannot grasp on to any one thing or theme. It is a landscape of sorts – the crowded surface of something inside me that is seemingly all crushed together and is on display. Like picking through a huge mound of trash (or treasure) looking at everything at once but not seeing a pattern emerge. No sound is present and I am most struck by the speed at which these images appear and disappear beneath my point of view. I am definitely ‘above’ this field of images; and I am travelling very quickly. But again, I don’t ascertain any story or prominent image. This is not unfamiliar – I have experienced this in dream state before. But it is a very curious sort of dream and I wonder what the unconscious is trying to communicate to me. Frankly, I love the sensation of ‘skimming above’ this multitude of images, but when I try to understand the narrative I get somewhat anxious as if I am missing something and cannot understand the conversation.
Just recently, I had two short dreams that were more singular in imagery. The first was a dream in which I was passing by a familiar place near my hometown where there used to be a small pond. In recent years the pond has been filled in and a small house has been built. In this dream, I pass by this area and think to myself, “This is where Vanderbrook’s Pond used to be.” I look in that direction and there is a huge pond there now – the edge of which is very close to the road - far bigger than the original pond. This new pond is full of water and is almost overflowing. The water is murky and swirling around (maybe burbling up from below?) and seems to be moving as if it is a river – but it is a pond. I am on the surface of the pond in some sort of vehicle (I cannot recall) and I am moving around on the pond. There is a shoreline and lots of water, but I do not seem afraid. I am watching the contours of the pond and am surprised at how large the old pond has become. It is a pleasant experience yet I am tentative since I do not especially like being on the water when it is this turbulent and strong.
At first I could not see the significance of or message contained within in these dream experiences, but after I wrote them down in sequence, and placed them in context of the work that has been unfolding recently (including the Tarot card reading), I think one aspect which is presenting itself is that of ‘seeing possibilities’. I think the dream of the swelling-to-almost-overflowing pond is of particular import since this seems like it is an image of latent possibilities just underneath the surface (of conscious awareness), waiting and clamoring to be made conscious. It is a somewhat dangerous image, too, since that kind of water makes me pause out of a sense of care and safety, but it is nonetheless a very potent image in regard to what may come next in my life. Although I know better than to think in terms of linear ‘progress’, I do sense some sort of pattern in regard to another level (or perspective) of awareness in all these dream experiences. Recently, I have been meditating for short periods of time during the week, just to ‘set the template’ in my physical body and in my everyday routine in order to establish a deeper and more regular practice. So I look forward to the rhythm of meditation and dream work in parallel…without expectation and without too much judgment or thinking.
through the viewfinder / WNC fall 2014
digital, slightly rendered
So it’s pattern recognition which seems important lately. I can only imagine how interesting it would be if we could see our behavior patterns captured in animation over time – we would likely laugh at the predictability and the repetitiveness of our lives. Not to say this makes our lives mundane or unimportant – it’s just the obviousness of it all which I think would make us laugh. But it’s also important, and meaningful, if we can get ourselves to the point where we can reflect, de-focus our sharp attention to what is all too readily apparent, and notice subtle patterns surrounding us. I think it’s a part of ‘waking up’ and that is good work for anyone. Can we ‘see’ the patterns we establish as we go about life’s challenges and choices? Can we interpret larger patterns into which we fit – sometimes awkwardly, sometimes effortlessly? Can we see the patterns of behavior in relationships and in certain environments? We have free will, yes, but as one of my teachers says, in so many words, “yes, free will - to the extent that a dog on a leash is free to roam the radius of the leash.” Personal patterns layered against larger patterns which are viewed against archetypal patterns can form ‘maps’ of the journey we find ourselves engaged with. And who wouldn’t want a ‘map of the journey’ by which to guide our choices? Spiritual teachers remind us not to “mistake the map for the territory” and this is an important thing to remember. But any sort of indication or reference point – however primitive or symbolic or seemingly incomplete – can be a true blessing for one’s life. I believe patterns to be dynamic, helpful devices our unconscious presents to us whose purpose is to help us traverse the way toward union with the unchanging One, the perfect pattern of the Higher Self.
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