A Plumber's Dream About A Spider: Post #3

A plumber dreamed that he encountered an enormous spider in a crawl space. He was going to try to destroy it, but decided to reason with it. At that point it turned into a teddy bear.

You can scroll back to my last two posts to follow the work on this dream. On Wednesday, the dreamer and I discussed his metaphoric associations with each of the dream’s symbols. Now it’s time to reassemble the dream. In doing so, I will replace all of his original symbols with his metaphoric associations. The symbol “house” becomes “A place where someone lives,” and “water” is described as “the element that is necessary for survival.” Throughout the dream reconstruction, I also insert phrases to remind the dreamer that every symbol and aspect of the dream is a description of himself.

Reassembled dream

I’m doing what I do inside myself to make a living. It pays my internal bills and keeps me solvent. I’m in a place inside of me that is not really where I live, but underneath where parts of me live. This is an important place because most of the systems that make where I live work are routed through this area. But it’s often cramped, dirty and unpleasant. I’m making it so that the element that is necessary for survival, for cleaning, humidifying and growing my personal food can flow more efficiently. The old system was corroding. I am working for a part of myself that wants to pay me to make these improvements. I’m positioned in a way that is an uncomfortable for me to move. But it’s the only option. This space is too tight for even moderate motion. My field of vision is restricted because I am in such an awkward position. I’m trying to get a better view. I see a part of myself that I have a healthy respect for, because it can be dangerous. The main thing is to methodically deal with it. As long as I understand its habits, I can move it or avoid it. I try not to kill it. But I am shocked at its size—really thrown for a loop. And I make no bones about it, I am scared. I am beyond reason with fear. My first instinct is simply to move away and leave it alone, but I know I can’t. I think about trying to defeat it by force, but that won’t be successful. So I try to come to some logical agreement, to come to terms with it. Suddenly it turns into a completely harmless toy, warm and fuzzy; already used and loved.

Initial thoughts

My first reaction to this dream is to point out to the dreamer that he has already found the clue to resolving an issue that seems to loom large and forbidding in his consciousness: He reasons with his fear and it turns from a monster into a “harmless toy…already used and loved.” Tomorrow, we’ll ask him for his reactions to this.

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