Dear Dream Detective:
Last week I dreamed that I
was riding up a ski lift. I was half way to the top when I
noticed that instead of wearing protective rubber ski boots, I
had on a flimsy pair of thongs. My feet were totally exposed and
I realized that I wouldn't be able to go skiing. I felt very
disappointed.
Susan Morpheus
Ithaca, New York
Background Clues
Susan is presently working
towards a BA degree in nursing. Recently she visited her sister
who is married and living in Aruba. While Susan consciously
affirms that the right life is one spent in service to humanity,
she fantasizes about meeting a rich man in Aruba, and not having
to work at all.
The Solution to the
Mystery
Dear Susan:
Skiing symbolizes
"taking a free ride." It's an image of the easy life.
It's downhill all the way. But sliding is also experienced by
people as immoral. We say of a person without ethics that he or
she is slimy, greasy, oily, slick, slippery, etc. All of these
words suggest that the person is sliding past limits,
conditions, and responsibilities. Just as the negative
consequences of his actions are about to grab him, he slides
past them.
Living in Aruba is like
skiing. It would be the free and easy life, something for
nothing. Your temptation is symbolized by your starting up the
ski lift. But you realize that you can't; you would injure your
feet. The feet symbolize the soul/sole, our deepest feelings.
This is understandable if we consider that the feet are the
point at which we are open to direct contact with the earth. You
realize that if you were to go skiing (i.e. move to Aruba and
forsake nursing) that you would injure your soul. Your soul
would become cold and hard (frozen feet). You would, in essence,
become an unfeeling, selfish, immoral person.
Your dream doesn't resolve
the conflict for you, but in stating clearly the essence of the
conflict, in crystallizing the conflict, it brings your mind to
a level where the conflict can be seen, understood and
eventually transcended.
Mark "Sherlock"
Dillof
In each
issue of The Dream Detective, we shall analyze another dream.
E-mail your dreams to Mark. Please include relevant background
information. If your dream is chosen, it will appear in The Dream
Detective! Names will be changed to protect the guilty, and
letters will be re-written so they are more concise.
Pleasant dreams!
