It’s a Free Country

One technique that I find useful—and perhaps you will, too—is what I call a “write around.” When I don’t have a clue about what a dream means, I take it image by image and write whatever comes into my mind. By the time I’ve worked my way through the dream I understand its message.

The Dream: A young man with short, curly blond hair is lying in the front garden, more or less collapsed. I feel he’s trespassing when I see him from the living room window, sunk into the grass. I go out to confront him: why has he taken up this position on my front lawn? I notice he appears to be a homeless derelict who cannot communicate with me; perhaps he is on drugs. I am frightened and leave him where he is.

The Write Around: A young man with short, curly blond hair is lying in the front garden, more or less collapsed. This dream deals with a part of me that’s the opposite of my waking self: a young man instead of an old woman. When did I have short, curly blond hair? Perhaps when I was seven. He has put himself in a place where I can’t ignore him: in the front garden, but he is in bad shape—collapsed. So—a weak part of me, one that relates to my distant past, is coming into my awareness.


What do I remember from when I was age seven? I remember that I was often criticized for being “sassy” and talking too much in class. When a teacher threatened me with imprisonment in the classroom during recess for this offense I, a passionate advocate of 1st Amendment rights, informed her that it is a free country. She was not pleased to receive this information.

I feel he’s trespassing when I see him from the living room window, sunk into the grass.This old part of me—naïve, fearless, outspoken—is trespassing on where I live now. His close relationship to the grass tells me that he is in some way connected with my growth. I go out to confront him: why has he taken up this position on my front lawn? Why has this ancient self come into my consciousness at this time?

I notice he appears to be a homeless derelict who cannot communicate with me; perhaps he is on drugs. I’ve been out of touch with this spunky self for so long it seems to be homeless (no longer a part of me). We can no longer communicate, and I suspect drugs, which indicates this part has been dulled into numbness.

I am frightened and leave him where he is. I am not ready to re-integrate this essential part. When I reject him he becomes what Jung would call my shadow.

Interpretation: As the result of having uncovered the identity of this originally mysterious creature I now feel loving and protective toward him instead of fearful. I can see that my dream reaction to him was mired in what I had internalized from the adult authorities of my youth. When I was eight (after my first two oppressive years of school) I made the conscious decision to “reform” and became a model student. This adaptation to society was no doubt necessary, but now I can welcome back that banished sassy seven year old. After all, it’s a free country.