Bogart or Redford: The Expedition

Continued from yesterday:
Dream Scene 2: The pub sits on top of a mountain.  The proprietor of the pub and I and one other woman go outside; we’re now at the base of the mountain standing on a small wooden bridge that straddles a shallow gully. I am lecturing the other women on the difficulties of wallpapering: the need to match the pattern, etc. They are bored. I feel they don’t comprehend the difficulty of the job and that’s partially the reason they do shoddy work.

The bridge inclines upward. As I follow its tilt I decide to take off and fly, surprised that I’m capable of it. After a short distance I decide I will continue to fly up the mountainside back to the pub. I encourage the others to do the same. One resists, saying she can’t, but in time she gets over her reservations, and both women fly up the mountain behind me.

Interpretation: The mountaintop suggests the dream is dealing with something big. Many myths speak of gaining wisdom on top of a mountain; I can expect to gain new insight (a higher level of awareness).  Just as suddenly as I realize the pub is on top of a mountain I find myself at its bottom. Several symbols tell me that this is not the spot where I should be: the bridge of wood hints at unexpressed emotion (a wooden expression); the waterless gully lacks what makes life possible. The saving grace is the upward inclining bridge which I can use to cross over into something new. The surprising decision to fly tells me that I am willing to move to a higher—that is more conscious—level. Up the mountain I go, encouraging my somewhat reluctant parts to come along.