I am with some friends at a sports shop whose back door is right next to and above a River. The water was muddy and the banks were worn and industrialized. I thought how ugly this river was compared to the water I grew up on off the TN. River in North AL. (I try to not negatively compare the water around here to that which I loved in AL). The sports place was closed and so was legitimate access to the river behind it. But someone suggested I fish in the river. So I put a line in the water that I thought was not likely to have a fish, or one that I would catch by just dropping a hook with maybe a worm or minnow on it. But sure enough a large fish bit and it nearly pulled me in the water. I managed to pull it out. We guessed to be a 20 lb. Catfish. Now, what to do with it? We thought we would be in trouble with the sports store people. They arrived and we explained what we had done. They did not act pleased but surprisingly agreed to let us keep it and said they would even fillet it for us. So we expected to have some good fish steaks out of the event. The dream was very real and matter of fact.
REFLECTION: The image of fishing is ancient and deep in the Collective Unconscious. I'm sure there is good evidence that it symbolizes the dangerous process of retrieving something of value from the Unconscious, thus bringing some important material to consciousness. This dream is applicable to me . My reaction in the dream is nearly identical to that of Naaman in the OT. He complained of how ugly the Jordan River was and asked why he could not dip in the pretty water of his home land. But in spiritual matters the greatest treasures generally come from the least respectable environments. I grew up around my Dad's Sports Store where fishing was a big part of the sales. People also brought big fish in to be weighed for a contest for the largest fish of the month. Daddy had to cut into the stomach to assure no lead weights had been dropped into the fish. What an ugly job to do in your regular street clothes. I was never much interested as a kid but the images remain strong in my mind. I got the idea that fishermen were out there trying to win the big prize. Maybe then I unconsciously decided I would go for the 'big fish' prize myself, only on a much grander scale. So far, no luck but I'm still fishing. I'm recording silly dreams this moment retrieved from the depths of the Unconscious. In this sense I am indeed a fisher person. Much of the writing I've done in recent years is my
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| Fishing Is An Ancient Activity With Symbolic Meaning. |
effort to take what came to me from the Unconscious more than two decades ago and give some practical meaning and purpose to it. I feel I've sort of done that from a personal standpoint. I feel blessed by the gifts that have surfaced to my conscious awareness and have been integrated into my life. What remains to be seen is will it become any significant benefit to any groups or cultures of my fellow humans, especially to my own culture including family, religion and nation. Only when something brought to consciousness from such a deep level becomes part of something useful to many others can one say that the benefactors of the 'fishing expedition' can expect to eat fillets. That I am still wondering about and waiting for. That's what comes to mind from this 'fishing dream.'
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