Dr. Dream: October 7, 2021
Your dreams, on the couch. Falling and landing into the origin. A knife phobia. And ringing telephones.
“The basis from which dreams originate seems to be, let’s call it with a vague expression, Nature—Nature itself. It’s a natural phenomenon. A dream comes from the same source as a tree, or a wild pig.” –Marie-Louise von Franz
Dear Dr. Dream
I was at a bridge looking down at the water far below. The next thing I knew I had either tripped and fallen over or somehow someway I was falling falling falling plunging towards the water. But as I got closer and closer I felt a calmness in me like ‘it will be ok, I’ll hit the water, plunge down and then bounce back up, it will be ok’. But instead, right before the water, my speed slowed way down, as if an invisible parachute was slowing me. And then I landed, not on the water, but on the road right beside. Right on my feet. No injury, no trauma. Just landed on my feet, I was peaceful, and kept walking. I’ve been happy all day from this.
Anonymous
Dear Anonymous
Marie-Louise von Franz, Jungian dream expert supreme said often of falling in dreams that the dreamer was somehow ‘too high up in life’. Perhaps he has a ‘too high opinion’ of himself or is living life in fantasy or an overly romanticized set of expectations. The dreamer is distanced from a grounded sense of reality. My experience with clients has proven this theory correct—although as I’ve mentioned before there are no standard ways of interpreting dreams. And von Franz herself has said books, like dream dictionaries and guides, are useless. Books of that sort dumb down the dream’s symbols and make a very personal experience into a static generality.
That said, and backing up a bit, your dream begins on a bridge. That’s a very direct symbol in a dream and I won’t elaborate on its possibilities. Not being aware of how your fall commenced—you tripped or lost your balance—reveals a blind spot or blank page in the narrative. This is an important consideration. And, like the bridge’s connecting function, you’d need to do some soul searching to determine what area of your life is occluded—not comprehended clearly. Whatever the cause, it initiates the fall in the dream. But this is a return to water. Not down to the ground.
Water is often considered a stand-in for the unconscious or the imagination—and yes, those might be a fit—but more basic is the symbol of water as life. As origin. All life has supposedly emerged from the water.
But then the dream reiterates its beginning. The fall landed you safely—perhaps on the other side of the bridge. Roads, regardless of their location, are a route that might deliver us to a location different from our present orientation. This is where you might benefit by employing some active imagination to envision where the road is leading you. As water seemed to be the initial destination, there are perhaps sources of inspiration locked away in your own origin story—perhaps the road is leading you there.
Dear Dr. Dream
So in my dream, I’m sitting in a large room with only a desk and a chair and a telephone placed on an empty desk. I’m confused because I seem to be in an office and I guess I’m supposed to be doing work, but of what sort? In a flash, the walls in the room turn from beige to bright yellow. The phone begins to ring. I’m hesitant to answer because I still don’t understand why I am in the office. Curiosity gets the best of me and I pick up the phone. Just as I put the receiver to my ear I wake up. Damn it! What was that phone call about do you think?
Marsha P.
Dear Marsha
I think we can both agree that the key element to your dream is the telephone, while the most energetic or emotional part of the dream would be the phenomenon of the wall changing colors: From a drab beige to a bright yellow.
Often a silent phone implies loneliness. No one’s calling. Your dream reinforces the solitude theme as well. You are in an empty room, sitting alone, without a sense of purpose. But then the dream turns. This might indicate that you’re ready for an abrupt change of scene in life.
The color yellow is associated with positivity, optimism, and energy. Too, we think of sunshine as yellow. So just as your dream takes on these energized qualities the phone rings. Telephones can symbolize many different possibilities, but within the context of your dream, the phone seems to represent a social engagement.
The dream did not provide any specific message when you answered the call. This tells me that the ringing of the phone was enough. What was said (or not) isn’t important. But the engagement is. This is a preparatory dream, alerting you to step out of your solitude, into the sunshine of life. To answer the call for friendship and comradery.
Dear Dr. Dream
Can you say something about knives? I keep dreaming about close-ups of knives that are cutting and slicing and dicing things. And the funny thing is that I hate knives. And razors, too. If any character is shaving in a movie, I can’t watch the scene, it’s worse than a horror movie. Anybody who uses a knife in a scene makes me highly anxious and I turn away from the screen. Like even if the character is just walking across a kitchen holding a knife, it agitates me. One of the worst moments in my life was when my brother wanted to show me his Swiss Army knife. I didn’t care if it had a stupid pair of tiny scissors built into it, I wasn’t interested. Please help.
Connie K.
Dear Connie
Thank you for the spin on my moniker! 😂
So, intense repulsion in a dream can often indicate a secret attraction towards the catalyst. Meaning, if a dream works hard to elicit a strong reaction it’s important to pay attention, and explore, what—symbolically—is being reacted against. Knives, razors, spears, swords—all of those tools (or weapons) share a common function, they create division. A knife comes out and suddenly one hunk of meat becomes two, three or four separate pieces.
So this might be the central message of your dream. Either there is a fear of an existing condition being altered irreparably, or there is a desire to bring clarity to an existing muddle. (The sharpness of knives can symbolize lucidity and focus).
A knife generally represents the exact moment that proceeds a significant shift in one’s life. So the question for you would be: Am I afraid of what will follow a transformation? Or, am I longing for an existing condition to be addressed and altered irrevocably? Do you see my, uhm, point?
Love,
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This preview is a courtesy post for the curious and uninitiated. For more detailed information about Dr. Dream and dreams in general see this post.
