My Wife's Waking Dream About Her Broken Shoulder: Concluding Post

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My wife and I were walking after some stormy winter weather. She slipped on the ice, fell and broke her shoulder. She and I have treated the mishap as a waking dream, taking our time, and trying to understand the purpose of the experience on as deep a level as possible.

Yesterday, we restated the original waking dream in its metaphoric version. Today, we give her the chance to comment and reflect.

My wife’s thoughts regarding her waking dream

There are several of these metaphors that resonated with me. It never ceases to amaze me how specific dreams are in their descriptions.

I suppose the metaphor to begin with is “not shouldering the burden.” That really is the key to the whole message. It’s also timely. We all have extended families, and in mine, when I was growing up, I tended to be the one that everyone came to when there were problems. To use another metaphor, I was the “glue” that held us all together. You’d think by now, with all of us well into our advanced adulthoods, we’d be over this, but I guess those dynamics last a long time.

Recently, there was another flare-up of drama, and I’m so sick of it all. As usual, my phone started ringing off the hook, and I found myself falling back into an old pattern of being the rescuer. But this time I was conscious of it, and I thought if I acted with awareness, I could get away with it. That’s the whole first part of the dream about how this was “uncomfortable but invigorating.” And the part about how it was “authentic, not manufactured.” That’s exactly how I saw it. I was both sincere and conscious, so I thought I could pull it off, even if it was going to be difficult.

Then I crashed—literally—and the message was clear: I am absolutely NOT to “shoulder” this; there has been a “break.” A break with the pattern of the past.

Right after the accident, when I was struggling to regain my sense of center and balance, I kept asking myself the question: “Why did it have to be such a severe event? Couldn’t the powers-that-be have been a little bit gentler?” But then I realized that there was no time. I was on the verge of going back into my old pattern and my old role—something I have done all my life—and this time, the universe meant business; I was NOT supposed to do it. That role was over for me, and there would be no waffling.

The last part of the dream is actually funny. I mean, the big “they” up in the sky won’t even let me feel sorry for myself. I’m sitting here miffed at life because I have to sit around and do nothing for six weeks. I’m literally nursing my wound, and the end of the dream is all about how it could have been a lot worse. That’s funny! 

ANNOUNCEMENT

On March 11 & 12 I will be participating in the Body Mind Spirit Expo in the town of Hillsboro, just west of Portland, Oregon. I will be lecturing and helping with dream interpretations. Click on the Events page for details.