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Post by Michael Hawkins on Dec 11, 2009 11:59:17 GMT -5
Hello friends,
Last night I had an ongoing dream in which my friend Craig featured prominently. There was some sort of get-together in the countryside. There seemed to be dozens of people milling around, with a sense that I knew everyone and that this was some sort of special reunion of friends I had not seen in a long while. Craig and I were in successive groupings of old friends and acquaintances, telling stories of past exploits. Orange tree groves surrounded us, and yet I knew that we were high on a mountain (which now seems strange since oranges don't grow at high altitude, needing to avoid frost at all cost).
Some time in the middle of the night (in the dream world "night"), everyone went their separate ways. I found myself alone in a car, following others along dark lanes with orange trees towering to the left and right. We finally came to a "T" in the road, and the car in front of me went to the right. For some reason this did not seem correct to me, so I called Craig on my cellphone.
He was not completely sure, but decided that my hunch sounded best, and he said that I should probably turn left. Just as I turned, however, he shouted, "Quick! Turn left again!"
I lurched onto a long dirt driveway, which I followed to a house that had a wrap-around porch, lots of windows and was well-lit. My wife Karen was inside making tea and baking bread. I asked her how to get back down to the bottom of the mountain. She confirmed that left was the correct direction, but warned that I would encounter a "ton" of switch-backs on my way, and that I needed to drive slowly.
I thanked her, gave her a kiss, climbed back into my car and drove off.
* * *
Any thoughts? I have a couple, but am curious to think what others have in mind....
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Post by emillay on Dec 11, 2009 14:01:13 GMT -5
Some type of decision is pending. Less about "right" or "left" than just a fork in the road and which way to go in a path or life choice. The fact that the wife is home baking bread and making tea -- this appears to be a domestic decision on the dreamer's part. Her input is valued and correct, but also has a warning. The friend Craig is involved but the wife over-rides and her recommendation is more valued. Listen to the wife, respect the friend, drive carefully -- life has switchbacks and turns and there are many options to be weighed before making a wrong decision.
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Post by Sharyn on Dec 11, 2009 14:54:21 GMT -5
If this were my dream,  I'd be looking at how my life direction might be moving away from the past identity of teacher/ community member. Night has fallen on that path. You are alone in your vehicle (your life). Old friends are taking the other direction, which you intuitively know is not yours - even the trusted friend tells you to follow your hunch to go the other way. The richly nourishing inner Feminine also confirms that you know the way - and warns you to go slowly. I wonder about the orange trees? I go to associations with the color orange - firey, masculine, fast moving? (Are the orange trees gone after the conversation with the wife)? Moving to the bottom of the mountain - from a realm of ideals to a more grounded, pragmatic place? What fun, thanks for asking! |
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Post by Michael Hawkins on Dec 11, 2009 16:46:50 GMT -5
Good insights, both Jane and Sharyn -- sort of along the lines of my thinking, actually. The fact that the dream was so insistent this morning -- I remembered it hours later, even without writing it down -- tells me that the Dream Body was not going to let me slide past this one. It does seem to be impressing upon me the importance of the crossroads confronting my journey through life, and it does involve (it seems to me) a "clean break" between the old and the new.
Contextualizing the dream on the heels of the Hawaii spiritual retreat (in which I did 14 Tarot readings in 5 days, led ecstatic meditation for the group, and basically made myself available for spiritual counseling and/or simple friendship to everyone on a moment's notice), followed by a week of working my same ol', same ol' desk job at a doctor's office, feeling the creative flow dissipate with each passing moment... shows that there is a profound disconnect between "right and left." It's important for me not to follow the crowd at this point (those who turned right at the "T"), but to choose something different.
The dream also seems to be saying that I am not alone in this thing, even though I'm the only one in the car. Craig (in real life) recently prodded me to get going with a local ecstatic meditation group. He's the only one of my Boulder friends from "back in the day," who I lived with for several years, worked with at an independent record store for years and years, and partied it up with third-childhood abandon at every opportunity -- he's the only one of that group who has subsequently engaged a conscious spiritual-unfoldment path, as my wife Karen and I have done. So, it makes sense that this dream would utilize Craig as a trusted adviser as to which direction I should take. That he agreed with me in choosing the less populated road feels significant.
And it's also interesting that Karen, who gave further instructions on how to follow the leftward direction (left being feminine, right being masculine), would be shown in such a domesticated role. She has recently been shifting into more of a Nourishing Mother expression, working with the archetypal principle of giving/receiving that which is required for to meet our needs in the moment, rather than martyring ourselves or otherwise losing ourselves in attempting to meet everyone else's needs. I was so relieved to receive her guidance in this dream, as I trust it so intimately and completely. As we often agree, she's petty much always correct in these things.
According to the archetypal/alchemical perspective I encountered through Charles and Nin Bebeau back in the early 90's, mountains often give a clear indication of whether or not we or on the ascent or descent portion of a given cycle. It seems in this dream that the reunion with old friends, as well as the consultation with Karen, took place near the top of the mountain -- which is to say, I have reached the apex of some sort of process, and am preparing for the descent. As there are both male and female figures in this dream, it shows that this may be a "deep soul" transformative cycle, as opposed to strictly same-sex dreams, which usually show a more ego/body level of processing. Thus, this dream covers something karmic, something truly important in terms of my reason for incarnating.
To honor this dream, then, I feel I am being prompted to continue along with this movement toward Right Livelihood -- to keep writing articles, keep doing readings, keep participating as a retreat/workshop leader... and to Be The Teacher, as Nin has always encouraged me to do. The dream is also insisting that the descent is not a negative movement, but (as Sharyn suggested) a "grounding" or manifestation of the ideals being synthesized in the heights. It is time, in other words, to let these things take form in my everyday life.
This is how it feels to me, anyway....
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Post by Ajahn Thanasanti on Dec 11, 2009 21:15:32 GMT -5
What a creative way to engage in a profound process through input on a blog....
the only things I can think to add is that the orange is juicy fruit that takes sun and is eaten only when it is ripe. To be on a mountain, the place of connection with nature out of obvious strucutres and with a good trusted friend who you have been through thick and thin surrounded by the juicy fruit of your actions, intentions and results. and then be in in a vehicle, a path, with you driving alone trusting the inner feminine to the way off the high into the common ground of the human is more than a comment about the intensity of what you have just come from. It seems to me to be a direction finder for a way of being that is new, juicy and full of vitality. Be well. thanks for sharing.
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Post by Sister Tinh Quang on Dec 11, 2009 21:30:10 GMT -5
Hello friends, Last night I had an ongoing dream in which my friend Craig featured prominently. There was some sort of get-together in the countryside. There seemed to be dozens of people milling around, with a sense that I knew everyone and that this was some sort of special reunion of friends I had not seen in a long while. Craig and I were in successive groupings of old friends and acquaintances, telling stories of past exploits. Orange tree groves surrounded us, and yet I knew that we were high on a mountain (which now seems strange since oranges don't grow at high altitude, needing to avoid frost at all cost). Some time in the middle of the night (in the dream world "night"), everyone went their separate ways. I found myself alone in a car, following others along dark lanes with orange trees towering to the left and right. We finally came to a "T" in the road, and the car in front of me went to the right. For some reason this did not seem correct to me, so I called Craig on my cellphone. He was not completely sure, but decided that my hunch sounded best, and he said that I should probably turn left. Just as I turned, however, he shouted, "Quick! Turn left again!" I lurched onto a long dirt driveway, which I followed to a house that had a wrap-around porch, lots of windows and was well-lit. My wife Karen was inside making tea and baking bread. I asked her how to get back down to the bottom of the mountain. She confirmed that left was the correct direction, but warned that I would encounter a "ton" of switch-backs on my way, and that I needed to drive slowly. I thanked her, gave her a kiss, climbed back into my car and drove off. * * * Any thoughts? I have a couple, but am curious to think what others have in mind.... |
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Post by Sister Tinh Quang on Dec 11, 2009 21:43:15 GMT -5
The subconscious mind cannot think outside of itself, so it uses all of the person's conditioning to proffer symbols to represent something that is going on in our lives.
Nobody can decipher your dream, but yourself, as all of your conditioning is not the same as anybody else's. For example, as I am not afraid of snakes, I won't be afraid of them in my dream, but somebody else may be.
Take a long sheet of paper and write down all of the details of the dream on the left side ie. car, orange trees, mountain, your wife, house, roads, left, right, etc. ... as much detail as you can put down, including colours, smells, etc.
Then, on the right side, opposite each detail, write down what the meaning is for you.
After doing this, take the time to read each detail in the right-hand column and out loud, then immediately say how this is like your life right now. Take a moment to absorb how you feel just after you've said it. You will instinctively know if it is the truth for you, or not.
A pattern will emerge which should decipher your dream for you.
I hope this helps; it is a technique I have used in workshops and groups for many years.
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Post by Michael Hawkins on Dec 11, 2009 22:00:19 GMT -5
Cool technique, Sister -- thanks for sharing!
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Post by Michael Hawkins on Dec 11, 2009 22:03:01 GMT -5
Ajahn Thanasanti: It is WONDERFUL to have you here in this (and other, hopfully!) conversation. I can't wait to meet you in person!
Your insights, by the way, do resonate -- and, while I agree with Sister Tinh Quang that the dreamer is the ultimate interpreter... I also have found that engaging others around a particular dream often gives information from the collective unconscious that would otherwise be missed. So, it's like we're getting the best of all worlds here!
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Post by jhananda on Dec 11, 2009 23:36:45 GMT -5
Interesting dream, Michael, the dream has the character of an immaterial domain, or the collective unconscious as it is also known. The orange trees are symbolic of the sweat bliss, joy and ecstasy that you have acquired from ascending to the heights (mountain) of the contemplative life, as you have done. And, I would agree, it is about you finding your Right Livelihood in the form of writing articles, giving readings, leading retreats and workshops and teaching. However, to connect to the people, there are many temptations, which are those many switchbacks. Yes, one may descend the mountain to teach, but one can always re-ascend every morning and evening before and after the day, as long one does not fall to temptation. Here the metaphor of Jacob’s ladder might be more useful than a mountain. A mountain can take many days to hike up, but a ladder is something one keeps at hand under the eve of the house and one can ascend it at will.
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Post by sylvie calvet on Dec 12, 2009 4:59:40 GMT -5
I read once that in Norway , or such Northern Country they experienced
growing oranges high up in the mountain and succeed !
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Post by Ajahn Thanasanti on Dec 12, 2009 11:19:05 GMT -5
Michael,
I too have been interested to meet up and see what else resonates. I have enjoyed many of your wall posts and curious to know you better. Currently I am going to be in Boulder Jan 10, for a Board meeting. Not sure if I will stay on or come before.
Commenting on Sister Tinh Quang, I have done a lot of dream work. And while it is true that only you can know for sure, someone else can help with framing things in a way that is really helpful. Depending of course on who the person is and thier access to thier own unconcscous, ease with symbols and resonnnance with the collective.
Opening something deep and profound like dreams to public comment and interpretation is fascinating to me. The Jungipedia dream analysis. Whomever does this would have to be dealing with stuff that they were pretty grounded with already or not to deep. I suspect for many people this kind of open invitation/exposure to deep things wouldn't be helpful.
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Post by Michael Hawkins on Dec 12, 2009 11:27:15 GMT -5
Hi Sylvie,
I will have to look for that information on growing oranges in Norwegian mountains. Interestingly, my Norwegian grandfather was a Sunkist orange grower in California for over 50 years, and I used to spend every Holiday season with him, helping to keep the orchard alive during freezing temperatures. We stayed up all night checking temperature readings in each corner of the orchard, and if it got too cold, we would turn on wind machines. If it still got colder, we would turn on a sprinkler system. And if it got colder than that. we would fire up smudge pots, which were like giant portable heaters that burned diesel fuel. If it got colder still... that meant that he lost the entire crop that year, and would have to try again the next year.
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Post by Michael Hawkins on Dec 12, 2009 11:37:13 GMT -5
Hi again Ajhan Thanasanti,
My dreamwork experience is rooted in Jungian Archetypal Psychotherapy, having done a two-year certification process with Charles and Nin Bebeau in the early 90's. This approach is (as you mentioned) very symbol-oriented, tying the dream process to astrological cycles, physical manifestations as well as one's everyday life drama. I've found that anyone who remembers their dreams and takes the time to write them down, regardless of whether or not they do any sort of interpretive work, is "hooking up" to the deep unconscious and establishing/honoring whatever wisdom that wants to emerge from the unconscious. Someone who puts energy into remembering and recording dreams is typically curious as to what it all means... and if she or he feels safe enough to expose this material to others (either individually or in a group), I can't remember a single time when harm was caused.
On the other hand, I believe that it's possible that someone with deep wounding may be "triggered" into some sort of crisis process, and that a quasi-public dreamwork support system like this would be inadequate to meet that person's immediate needs -- she or he would need to get to a therapist, pronto.
My purpose here is not to do deep dream analysis such as what would happen in a dedicated, long-term therapeutic relationship... but, rather, to give folks a chance to brainstorm around dream imagery, wherever it comes from, hopefully learning how to listen to intuitive prompts while becoming familiar with the tone and texture of dream symbolism. Again, engaging in such a "sacred" work is healing in and of itself... or at least that's been my observation over the years.
Please do keep me informed on your travel plans involving Boulder!
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Post by Michael Hawkins on Dec 12, 2009 11:43:31 GMT -5
Hello dear friend Jeffrey,
Thanks so much for offering your take on this dream. I like your insight around the oranges possibly representing "bliss, joy and ecstasy" as with meditative absorption -- a very comforting thought to me, as (like I mentioned in my response to Sylvie above) my grandfather was an orange grower and I spend a lot of time helping to keep his orchards from freezing every Christmas season.
The "danger" posed by the switchbacks also makes sense, in that, as I come down from the mountain (high ideals, the realm of meaning withing the context of my karmic reason for incarnating, etc.), there are bound to be a lot of "tricky" moments within the process of establishing these higher principles in a mundane life of some sort. Thus the need to go slowly, not get ahead of myself, taking the required time to "do things right." Good advice, and I hope I'm up to the task of following it!
Warmly,
Michael
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I'd be looking at how my life direction might be moving away from the past identity of teacher/ community member. Night has fallen on that path. You are alone in your vehicle (your life). Old friends are taking the other direction, which you intuitively know is not yours - even the trusted friend tells you to follow your hunch to go the other way. The richly nourishing inner Feminine also confirms that you know the way - and warns you to go slowly. I wonder about the orange trees? I go to associations with the color orange - firey, masculine, fast moving? (Are the orange trees gone after the conversation with the wife)? Moving to the bottom of the mountain - from a realm of ideals to a more grounded, pragmatic place? What fun, thanks for asking!