I am going through physical therapy. I have a bone disorder/disease so I go twice a week. My favorite exercise/therapy is on the stationary bike. I have always loved walking long distances and running. However, I have not been able to do so recently because my bones are very frail.

Last night I dreamed I was at physical therapy and I was on the stationary bike. I was doing really well, and I had already met a new time and speed. My knee was barely hurting.

I fell off the bike. They called the paramedics and I was taken to the hospital. I had cut my head in a couple places and I needed stiches.

When they came in to shave the spots that needed stiches, they told me that I had maggots coming out of the cuts. Then they told me I had maggots all over my scalp.

I know that maggots can represent fear of death, or unresolved issues in my life (which I do have). When I woke up, and all day today I have just thought about the maggots coming out of my head.

So nasty.

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Cheryl,
The maggots in your dream may be about 'decay' more so than death even though decay and death fit with something that is declining, coming to an end. In mythology {the related symbols found in myth and dreams} where there is death {metaphorically speaking, and seldom representing a real death in the waking life} there is new always a new birth. When something decays, as expressed by the maggots, it feeds the soil/soul and new growth occurs {a flower or a tree, or a scrub bush}.

Frail bones could be part of what is decaying. The dream may be addressing concerns about this ailment, a common thing for dreams to do. That is the physical aspect.
In the context of the dream it also indicates something positive has turned negative, doing well on the bike but then you fall off. Bicycles require balance and dreams are all about psychological balance. Although dreams will address physical injuries, there is the distress of not being able to walk, they primarily focus on emotional 'injuries'{cut head in
a couple of places}. The unresolved issues you mentioned may be what is in some way decaying {a declining of some aspect in your life}, and eating away at you emotionally.

Has some aspect of your life experienced a 'decaying', a decline, or is near death {coming to an end}? There could be certain people or circumstances that are considered as 'maggots' and adding to your problems. Stress in general, and emotional issues that are unresolved in particular, could be the primary focus of the dream with the physical condition adding to your stress. There are emotional injuries that need healing {hospital. Perhaps t is more of a psychological thing {maggots coming out of your head} than a physical one.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 59 Murfreesboro, Tn

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Jerry, this is interesting. I was talking to my sister this weekend about some things that are going on in my personal life. As a matter of fact my words to her was that my life stinks, and that I hate my life.

I am in a relationship that over the years has caused the old me to die. This relationship is dead, or close to being dead.

I have talked to a counselor, a christian counselor.... which I will never do again. Basically I was adviced to go home and be a good little wife, and wait for him to work through what ever he is going through. Even when I tell them I have been waiting for 20 years.

So I need to make my mind up to either stand up for me, and go against what my religious beliefs tell me. Or do as my religious beliefs tell me and live a living hell for the rest of my life.

Again my mind works over time in my sleep.

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Cheryl.
Thanks for the response. And your comments about your 'christian counseling' experience. Perhaps my mayor complaint of Western religions is their insistence that women obey their men no matter the circumstances. The dutiful wife is the only good wife. All too often patriarchy overrules all good sense. There are those times in life where circumstances are so unbearable and unrepairable the only resolution is to make a clean break and start over again. As I mentioned in my response using the mythological references, with every death there comes new life. I don't believe God would wish for anyone to have to endure unbearable suffering. If that were true we would not possess a mind that lets us think freely. Instead of purely emotional influences there has to be an objective/rational look at the situation to make determinations that will lead to a better life. How can a person offer themselves to God's requests if the life is so limited by emotional conflicts they can not be that true spiritual being?

As for the decay in your marriage and the maggots in your dream. The symbolic language of dreams has an unlimited list of images it can use to depict what is occurring in the dreamer's life. Why the use of maggots to describe the 'decay' of your marriage is most likely due to personal preferences and/or experiences but the intent of what the dream wishes to convey is unmistakable when compared to actual conscious life experiences {the decay in your marriage as represented by the images of the maggots in your dream}. The dream is trying to help you work through the unresolved conflicts by offering up the true emotions affected by those things that are not in balance. Although dreams seldom offer up concrete solutions to a particular problem they do help clarify the true extent of life's conflicts. And the ture emotions. Jung has provided a rule of thumb structural outline of a dream {see 'How Are Dreams Structured?' at my page A Simple Guide to Dreams} and the conclusion of a dream often provides direct insights to the mental state of being of the dreamer. In your case that would be your total being, represented by the infestation of maggots all over your scalp, which would be an indication you are at the 'dead end' to the enduring conflicts in your marriage. To ignore how things really are and live a life that has no promise will only lead to further decay, not only of the marriage but also your life.

You mentioned in your post your love for running. Physical fitness has been a part of my 'lifestyle' for more than 30 years and when there are those times of personal conflict it has been 'physical therapy' that has helped me possess a clear mind. Humans are ruled by the emotions and although it is imperative to have a emotional aspect it is also important to be able to think clearly when situations get too emotional. Perhaps the running would be of great help in clearing the mind and in helping you make rational judgements. The body is a chemical laboratory and when you are running the release of endorphins provide a boost to clear thinking. There is a rush of clarity that is often void when the emotions are in over drive. Plus the health benefits, the body as the temple, are important as well.

As for your religious beliefs and the advice to stay with the marriage. I may not be the best source to offer remedies to your religion's demands since I long ago abandoned by Christian faith because of its limitations. I have lived through 3 failed marriages {to 3 wonderful women} and although faith can offer great strength in times of personal conflicts it could do little to alleviate the unconscious stimuli that was at the root of my inability to stay married. Only after researching, and searching, my entire life {through Jung's Individuation Process} was I able to repair those impulses that kept me from being that good husband. Not only have I found a firm ground to live by when it comes to personal relationships, I also have found a deep, personal spiritual relationship that let's me live WWJD. My belief system no longer relies on the faith I live by but by the deeds I do. I use Jesus as the example to live my life and by doing so the laws of nature provide nourishment for the soul and always enough material supplies to survive the social world of blind obedience. What goes around comes around. Jesus, and a lot of good common sense is the medicine that let's me be the best person I can be. And because of my personal search for wholeness in a world that is so full of strife and conflicts, I have found that all religions can provide insights to a more spiritual life. That is if you are able to move past the limitations of religious belief and make WWJD or, even WWBD {what would the Buddha do} the prime source in living life. After all is said and done, every human life is a psychological journey from birth to death. It is what you do in-between that makes life worth living and a life of great worth.

A final thought. In his studies of the psyche {Jung is becoming the prime source of psychological inquiry replacing the old Freudian thinking} he discovered the many different aspects that make up the psyche, in all humans {countering Freud's insistence that the libido is the sole source of all psychological ailments}. We all possess masculine/feminine qualities, what Jung termed the anima/animus aspects. And although to live a truly balanced life we must have a balance of both qualities Jung found that those who live from the feminine are more capable of achieving that balance. When you examine who Jesus was you discover he lived from that feminine aspect; love, compassion, caring, giving, etc. It demonstrates how powerful the 'feminine' is, and why it is so threatening to the patriarchal foundations of the church. Women should be silent. But would Jesus have been the icon he is if he had let his feminine side be silent?

Jerry

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