DREAM:
There was a continuous striving to set
up some kind of retirement or severance pay for myself. Along side
this were events and activities at an upscale resort located by beautiful waters flowing right beside the facility. The river and beautiful surrounding offered a
beautiful lookout scene for many of the most desired rooms of the
resort. Several people , appearing to be in mid-life, who I knew were at the facility. Each of them
seems to be looking for more of the 'good life.' There was gourmet
food and expensive wines available to all. Four people seeking
the experience of the resort were : 1. A childhood family acquaintance who became a successful college coach . 2. A member of the Presbyterian church I
pastored for 20 years. 3. One of my brothers and 4. a mid-life female family member. One person was there seeking an extra marital encounter. Another was on a get-a-way due to his celebrity status. One was there
exploring un-lived parts of his religiously restricted life. One was
there seeking a physical environment that was fully out of range for him to
financially afford. (As in nearly all dreams these people are not, in any way, being personally presented as they actually are in real life or heart but are used as
familiar images to me to represent here a wide range of common needs and longings.) These are a good
representation from my family, hometown, culture and religious heritage. Some of these
people seemed very out of their usual element. They were searching for
something more, something was missing for them, a need for life to be more alive ,exciting or challenging than their routine appeared to afford. It
seemed in the dream that their search did not prove very successful
or fulfilling. Contentment was hardly the expression on their faces. The conversation was not one of depth but superficial. It was like they were searching in the wrong place.
REFLECTION: Setting up
'retirement or severance pay' and the expensive Resort are both images very
alive in our culture. They are often associated with 'The American
Dream.' This dream seems to be a commentary on some of the social
traps alive today for life seeking typical Americans. Neither the resort or
planning for retirement are inherently bad but when such things
become where we search for foundational happiness and contentment
they can become very empty and lonely in their actual result. Here is a dream that fits what is unfortunately often in harmony with so-called conservative and liberal success values or mis-values of morality, religion and politics. Conservative camps of religion and politics seem as bound to such elevated materialistic values as the ones considered more liberal or progressive. These represent the materialistic traps of our entire culture. The striving that has been set in motion by misguided notions of the American Dream of Success. None of these persons showed any sign, in the dream, of having a highly active inner life much less being able to focus there for their needed spiritual resources. Everything real and desired seems to be the them on the outside. Once again, a dream surprises me as something that my consciousness would not have selected to present, with so many perils to life, to give somber warning about. The Unconscious truly has an intent of its own that consistently surprises any ego consciousness willing to pay attention. By the way I Notice I am present with this crowd also and am one of them. Jim
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