Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Guest Dreamer: Trying to Turn a Corner


Today's guest dreamer, Wild Rice, is having some trouble turning a corner. I'll interpret her dream as if it were my own. Only she knows the personal associations that play a part in her dream, but I hope to give her some ideas about its universal symbols.

The Dream: I was with an older man. He had caramel colored hair. The hair reminds me a little of the sleazy attorney from the TV series “Breaking Bad.” This man wanted me to hypnotize him (I am a Hypnotherapist IRL.)

He had status in the community. He was a high ranking business man. He had a lot of interest in receiving my help. He took my hand in his. Part of the time, he held his arm out, in a chivalrous fashion, for me to take, I took it.

We kept walking along, as we moved from the indoors, down an easy set of wide stairs, and were then suddenly outside. I was very worried what others would think, as this felt very improper to be with him this way. It was a feeling of an illicit affair, or something very wrong.

We had a destination in mind. We were headed toward a place where I could perform the hypnosis for him. I saw others around us, making a similar journey, walking near us. He also had a woman on his left arm. I was on his right. We were moving around a curve then, in this roadway, which had only foot traffic. It was almost like a wide track. It was as if my body were a vehicle that I had to steer. It was difficult to move my body around this curve. I could feel a lot of force pressing against me as I attempted to steer myself to move with him smoothly. It took every ounce of my strength, almost super human strength. I really had to focus. He seemed to do this easily.

*I have had a similar dream on many occasions, where I am on a road, and instead of a car, I only have my body, maybe it’s got a set of wheels on a bare frame under it. I have to move it with my body. It feels so difficult to make the journey home, or to my place of residence. I keep trying to get there, despite the difficult circumstances. Sometimes I have a bike, but no proper car. I am usually on a highway, and the last time I dreamed this, I was at a shady place of town, under the bridge, near the freeway exit. There is usually hardly any traffic in these dreams.

Carla's commentary: An older man who lives in my psyche both attracts and repels me. Who he might be based on in waking life only Wild Rice can say. His caramel hair suggests something appealing--warmth and sweetness--but at the same time alludes to something unsavory (the sleazy attorney). As the dream ego I want to forget about him: his request that I hypnotize him is my own desire to move him into my unconscious (put him to sleep). It's difficult for me to do this for several reasons. For one thing, he is important to me (he has status in the community). Perhaps he is associated with the part of me that is successful in the world (he is a high-ranking businessman) or maybe I am intimidated by his status. And there's another aspect to “businessman:” what do they wear? Suits. Is he my suitor? That he needs my help, takes my hand, and offers his arm tells me that what he represents is a part of me, or of my life, that I need to integrate rather than push away from my conscious awareness. When I take the arm he offers I am taking the first step.

Once I've taken the step toward acknowledging this uncomfortable part of my inner life and I walk outside, into the “open” with it, I have immediate misgivings. It feels wrong and improper. My feelings about the impropriety are centered on what others will think more than on what I think, yet they might be telling me that there's something I need to look at that is socially or culturally unacceptable.

We are headed for a destination, but at this point in the dream I've circled back to my original goal of “hypnotizing,” or “putting to sleep” this uncomfortable psychic element. Suddenly another woman is with us. In my dream, this 2nd woman is my mother, and the thing I want to put to sleep is my oedipal desire to monopolize my father. My body has become mechanical—a vehicle I must steer (control) in spite of the fact that I find it very difficult. I've lost touch with my body in order to deaden feelings I find inappropriate. This conundrum has thrown me a curve (the curved track), and I'm having a difficult time negotiating my path. I need to resolve this particular issue so that I can find my way home, that is, to the place where my authentic self can reside comfortably.

5 comments:


  1. I've been thinking about his dream as I find it fascinating that the dreamer is a hypnotist and the dream seems encompasses that on a few different levels. But first, in my dream, the business man is my positive animus - the one who moves easily the world and the one who wants my services as an hypnotist. He has status in the community (the collective) and had high ranking. He validates my profession by his wanting it.

    The journey we are taking is a sort of pilgrimage to me, as "others are making the journey". We are also on a "track", so my question is "What journey or track am I on right now or have been thinking of taking?". For in my dream, my animus is leading me in that direction. He is leading me out into the open, the outer world. Perhaps I have been thinking of bringing another talent into the world, and I am lacking conviction to do. \


    The caramel color hair is hard for me to visualize. I've never hear the word "caramel" describe a hair color before, so I looked it up in Wiki:
    "Caramel coloring, a dark, bitter-tasting liquid, is the highly concentrated product of near total caramelization, bottled for commercial use." However, caramel itself is a sweet candy, and one of my favorites btw. So perhaps there is "bittersweet" in all of this - were I to bring something to consciousness it may be sweet for me but bitter for others.

    Meanwhile, I am experiencing a great deal of resistance! In Jane Teresa Anderson's Book "Dream Alchemy" she states (on "slo-mo dreams")
    "Unless you blast that unconscious resistance out of existence you'll continue to get nowhere fast.". As this track only has foot traffic, the next question that arises is "What is the foot work I need to do?". This is my action item: to overcome my unconscious resistance. As in so many prior dreams, this is a common dream theme, foot traffic only.

    And isn't this what hypnosis is all about? In a way, I have to hypnotize others in order for them to do what I need to tell them to do, or whatever the ultimate function of hypnosis is. I, in waking life, may easily have a way through hypnosis for to get in touch with their unconscious, but I am resisting to getting in touch with my own. Perhaps I need a hypnotist! Do we not give others what we (unconsciously) need?

    The last dream of this I had I was at the "freeway". Freeway, wide track, highway gives me a sense of open-mindedness and freedom. It's a place where I am on my feet, connected to the earth, my grounding. The example in my personal life a dream like this is pointing to is my shift in religious understandings. I am able to give myself permission now to have thoughts/beliefs other than what my religion dictated I have (or what I thought it dictated). Fear kept me from fully realizing that my own thoughts and beliefs are ok and enough.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Emily, for your feedback on this dream.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Dear Carla,
    Thanks for analyzing and illustrating my turning the corner dream! Here are a few things that stood out to me; In real life, I am having a very hard time getting out there and performing my work; my hypnosis. I think there is a demand for it, but I have been busy worrying about romantic “suitors.” (Good eye, you caught that play on words, I had missed that! ) There is an element to being in the online world of dating which is indeed, a bit unsavory. I am basically on display for others to see me, others I don’t know. Perhaps this is why I didn’t want to be seen as “improper” in my dream! Also, I have been feeling like I don’t want to date another business man. My prior husband was a businessman, and was always stressed!

    Also though, I feel my own business abilities are weak. I am great at my work, but not at promoting myself to the “outer” world. Perhaps that’s why I needed to hold his hand, and arm? I need to merge with the business side of myself? It is time to get out in the open, but I am having a hard time turning that corner, and feel it is super hard to “push” myself to do that! Yet I know if I did, I would be more successful. Interesting you used the word authentic, when you said I was trying to find my way home. I often use that word, and I strive to always be authentic in all I do. So you are right on about that!

    Emily, thanks for your comments! I resonated with some things you said as well! Especially the word resistance. I am often very resistant to promoting myself, and organizing my business. I have a hard time staying “on track! “ Perfect word pun! WHen you said perhaps the hypnotist needs a hypnotist, that is very true! I have been feeling a strong need to do some inner work on myself to overcome my resistance!

    As far as what the foot work needs to be, this is very applicable. I have slacked on my hypnosis career goals! I still think the part of the businessman with the caramel hair may have to do with the world of dating, now that I am divorced. I am finding some “unsavory “ characters out there, who at first seem very “sweet.” (Caramel is my all time favorite, btw!)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you, Wild Rice, for filling in some waking life information--and demonstrating how important it is to correlate what's going on in waking life to one's dream.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for your feedback, Wild Rice. I'm glad certain projections resonated with you. That is the beauty of projective dream work. And, I am again reminded that "Only the dreamer knows what the dream means". It's great that you can take this into your waking life. As Jane Teresa Anderson says, sometimes just a small action in our waking life can have a big impact on our unconscious. So, good luck as you move forward!

    ReplyDelete