A Seal In A Parking Structure: Post #2

 photo courtesy of nbcphiladelphia.com

This week we’re examining a dream that has a scene where the dreamer sees a seal sitting on a concrete slab in the middle of a parking structure.

First, the dreamer related the dream. Then she and I isolated the symbols. Now I’ve gently prompted her to describe each one. I simply asked her to “tell me about” every symbol we chose to examine.

In two instances below, her answer contains what I consider another, important symbol: eyes and ocean. In those cases, I have asked her to tell me about them, too.

Tell me about…

* Car:  It’s what I use to get me around—to appointments, to do chores, to take me places.

* Two:  Extra presence, more than a fluke.

* Women:  The unsung heroes, often maligned and underappreciated. They have to work harder in the world to get things done, and they often come more directly from their hearts.

* Not sure who they are:  There’s a hesitation on my part, and also a sense of being slightly wary.

* Not real intimacy:  No closeness, and no secret sharing.

* No tension:  Not conflicted, without edginess.

* Driving around: It’s not really goal oriented as much as exploring.

* Parking garage:  It’s where you temporarily leave your car while you do other things.

* Multiple floors:  It’s big, and it holds a lot. You can get a bit disoriented in it.

* Seem endless:  It’s a bit overwhelming.

* Up and down ramps:  They get you to another level, but here they seem like a maze.

* Maze:  A confusing place where you’re likely to get lost, or tangled up, and maybe even panicked.

* Looking for:  Searching for something specific.

* Exit:  A way out.

* Entrance:  A way in.

* A booth where you pay:  It’s the reckoning that sets you free from your obligation to this place.

* Floor to floor:  Confusing series of places that I don’t want to be.

* Frustrated:  Upset, annoyed, a little bit alarmed.

* Can’t find a way out:  I’m trapped.

* Chatting:  We’re acting as if there is nothing wrong, pretending that it’s life as usual.

* A corner:  Where you make a turn, and where you may not be able to see very far ahead.

* Slab of concrete:  It’s a man-made, artificial, rigid structure.

* Seal:  It’s a big animal that lives in the ocean, and it has beautiful eyes.

* Eyes:  It’s your source of vision.

* Its own habitat: The ocean.

* Ocean:  It’s my endless source of inspiration. I always feel renewed and revitalized by its energy and presence.

* Don’t worry about it. It will be just fine:  Even though it seems out of its element, there is nothing to fear; it can survive here as well as anywhere else.

Some thoughts

On Monday, I wondered what direction the dreamer might go in her understanding of the words “seal” and “concrete.” While her answers were not particularly extreme, each one did offer an interesting insight. She said the seal in her dream had “beautiful eyes” which was an answer that might be out of the ordinary. She also commented that the slab of concrete was an “artificial, rigid structure.” It will be interesting to see what associations she makes with these descriptions when we reassemble the dream on Friday.