I’m grateful for the narratives in the night.
Dreams are rarely explicit, however, and when they are, it’s easy to miss that every figure or symbol in your dreams is really another aspect of your self. If I dream about the state of Missouri, for example, the question is: what does Missouri mean to me? Why has my unconscious released this image to float up into my awareness? Think sideways, too, never head-on — because the important stuff always comes from where you aren’t looking. It helps to have a professional involved — a good Jungian, say — but even if you can’t do that, with a little experience and practice at taking these things seriously, you can still accomplish a lot.
I’ve been doing some work on my own, some exercises involving the first few years of my life. There’s a ton of emotion buried there, and discovering this lets other things happen. I see it (literally) when I sleep. Rollin’ and tumblin’, brothers and sisters. In my dreams of the last few nights, I seem to be getting ready to leave. (Leave what? Where??) Last night I was packing a bag after talking to a old bluesman, who asked me if I knew anyone in Chicago.
In the light of day, this makes sense to me, coming as it does (!) after being bludgeoned into comprehending why I’ve never felt completely free to do what I want, and considering in what high regard I hold old bluesmen. Bear with me here. No, I’m not going to Chicago. I’m not physically going anywhere, but I appear to be leaving things behind. Rollin’ and tumblin’, remember. For example, I’m not looking for approval like I used to, which means if I’m lucky, I might be more authentic and unflitered in the days to come. This little dream fragment couldn’t be more pointed in that regard: do I “know anyone in Chicago”?
Hell, yes, and so do you.
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