QUITE A LOT OF MY DREAMS involve
boats, almost as many as involve beer and/or dancing girls. And so it was the
other night when I dreamed I was an interested spectator at a small boatyard.
They had a marine railway for hauling
boats out of the water for bottom-painting and repairs, and they were just re-launching
a full-keel sailboat of about 25 feet.
She slid slowly down the rails,
held upright by a wooden cradle, until she reached the water. Two workmen were aboard to release her from
the cradle when she floated free, one in the cockpit and one on the foredeck.
But she didn’t float free. Still tied to
the cradle, she started to disappear as the railway extended into deeper water.
The workmen on board started
shouting to the man at the head of the slipway, who sat in a small shed with
his hands on levers. But it seemed he
couldn’t hear them, or didn’t want to obey their requests to haul the boat back
up the inclined railway.
The men on board jumped into the
water and swam ashore as the boat finally disappeared under water, blowing huge
bubbles of air from the closed companionway hatch and the Dorade box up
forward.
Next thing, two scuba divers
appeared and swam out to the mast, which was the only thing still sticking out
of the water. They dived and obviously cut the boat free from the launching
cradle to which she had been tied.
She suddenly popped up to the
surface at high speed and flew into the air some 20 or 30 feet, or so it seemed
in my dream, and came down stern first. The cockpit filled with water, which
rushed below and filled the cabin. This time, she sank like a brick.
The man in the shed said: “Sorry
about that. I was texting. Let’s start over and try again.” But he got down and
started to run when the scuba divers came out of the water with their knives
drawn.
My dream ended there, so I don’t
know what happened to the men or the boat, but I can’t help wondering if there
is a message here, or possibly a warning.
My wife says I’d better have my tea leaves read, just in case. But I’m
not keen on that. I’ll see if I can find someone who reads beer suds. That
might make more sense.
Today’s Thought
Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and
safely insane every night of our lives.
— Dr. William C. Dement, Newsweek, 30 Nov 59
Tailpiece
After
years of toil and research, Eli Whitney emerged from his workshop one night
with great news.
“I’ve
just invented a cotton gin,” he declared proudly.
“Big
deal,” snorted his wife. “So who needs a fluffy martini?”
3 comments:
This is a very interesting dream. The Jungian point of view is that life is a process of 'Individuation' - a growth to wholeness over our lifespan. Dreams are seen as messages from the subconscious that wisely and timely listened to can lead to greater maturity and growth.
Two symbols of this dream stand out for me - "Still tied to the cradle" is interesting and the act of sinking into deep water (Water is a symbol of the unconscious). It may be that this dream is a call to greater growth, that perhaps the dreamer is still tied to the cradle of the values and expectations of the inherited family and cultural upbringing - Perhaps in the future there is more of a personal and original shape that could be drawn on the dreamers life.
........ but in dream analysis it is fundamental that only the dreamer can say what the dream means, what 'Clicks' with him / her is the most useful.
Robert A. Johnson is one of the most influential interpreters of Jungian psychology of our time and I have personally found his writings very useful. He is a prolific writer. Two of his books come to mind in regard to your post:
'Inner Work' - Using Dreams and Active Imagination for Personal Growth. And:
- 'Living Your Unlived Life' - Coping with Unrealized Dreams and Fulfilling Your Purpose in the Second Half of Life.
Seeking self understanding withing the context of Jungian Psychology is not buying snake oil or staring at chicken entrails - it's all pretty mainstream stuff and some find it useful.
Oh my goodness, Alden . . . and all this time I thought it was the cheese and pickled onion I had for supper.
John V.
LOL, it could well have been the cheese and pickled onion LOL - BUT, you are still left with the contents of the dream, which significantly you felt compelled to do a blog post on : > )
Jung did a lot of work on typology - this is where our terms 'extrovert' and 'introvert' originate. This work on typology was expanded by Isabel Briggs Myers into the 'Myers-Briggs Type Indicator' which has been used by the American recruitment industry for decades - Typology and other psychological profiling is used by NASA for its astronaut programmes - The body of Jungs work which includes Dream Interpretation is based on more than some sort of New Age crystal waving.
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