A Seal In A Parking Structure: Post #3

photo courtesy of antarctica.gov.au

This week we’re examining a dream set in a parking garage; the dreamer then comes across a seal. We have isolated the symbols and discussed their metaphoric associations. Now it’s time to reassemble the dream as a metaphor.

 

The metaphorically restated dream

There is a part of me that I use to get me around—to appointments, to do chores, to take me places. In this part of me, there is an extra presence, more than a fluke. This extra presence represents the unsung heroes in me, often maligned and underappreciated. They have to work harder in my world to get things done, and they often come more directly from their hearts. When I deal with these parts of me, there’s a hesitation on my part, and also a sense of being slightly wary. There is no closeness, and no secret sharing. But my relationship with this part of me is also not conflicted, without edginess. All these parts of me are together, going from one place to the other, but it’s not really goal-oriented as much as exploring. We’re exploring in a part of me where I temporarily leave the part of me I use to take me places. I leave that part of me there while I do other things. This place in me is big, and it holds a lot. I can get a bit disoriented in it. It’s a bit overwhelming. Parts of it get me to another level, but here they seem like a maze, or a confusing place where I'm likely to get lost, or tangled up, and maybe even panicked.

In this part of me, I’m searching for something specific: a way out or a way in. I’m looking for the reckoning that sets me free from my obligation to this place. But all I encounter is a confusing series of places that I don’t want to be. I’m upset, annoyed, a little bit alarmed. I’m trapped. But the whole time, these parts of me that are together are acting as if there is nothing wrong, pretending that it’s life as usual.

Then, we come to a place where I make a turn, and where I may not be able to see very far ahead. What I find there is a part of me that is a man-made, artificial, rigid structure. And on top of it is a part of me that is a big animal that lives in my source of endless inspiration. I always feel renewed and revitalized by the energy and presence of this part of me. This part of me has a beautiful source of vision. I am concerned that this inspirational part of me can’t survive where it is right now—in this place where I feel trapped and alarmed. But all the parts of me that are with me now assure me that, even though my inspiration seems out of its element, there is nothing to fear; it can survive here as well as anywhere else.

What a beautiful message! Even before we have a chance to discuss the reconstructed dream with the dreamer, the dream’s advice is clear:  It is a dream of reassurance.

Stay tuned!