Hi Jerry,

I had another interesting dream, and am hoping that you can help me make some sense of it.

In the dream, my husband, daughter, and I go on a family trip up to the mountains. We go to the summit of the mountain, though I don't remember how we get there, or whether the dream just began at the summit or not. The mountain top is covered in snow, and there are many other tourists around us. Suddenly, the weather takes a turn for the worse, and these big clouds come rolling in from the sky, and when they pass over us, more like through us, it is like being hit by an avalanche, they are made up entirely of snow. We are all buried over our heads. I dig myself out, and immediately dig out my baby girl, and husband. Everyone sets to work digging out whoever they can find. A sense of group survival sets in. There is a Christian monastery at the summit. We try to take cover inside, but, I believe that we are turned away. I can't quite remember why we don't stay, but I remember climbing the stone staircase inside. I find a woman who has an rv, and am trying to call my husband to bring my daughter so that we can get down off the mountain, when another wave of clouds rolls in. We are separated, and I go down a rung on the mountain with the woman in the rv. The storms keep rolling in, but down here they are easier to handle. The woman and I leave the rv, for fear of being rolled off the mountain during a storm, and we take cover in between these rocks that jut out of the earth like tombstones and form the shape of an almond. We use some scrap metal to form a roof over our heads, and when the next set of clouds rolls through, we aren't buried. Someone drives down from the summit with 4 toddlers on the bed of a tractor trailer. I see that my daughter is one of them, and go over to retrieve her. Her jacket is lying next to her on the trailer. I put it on her, and return to the "grave". We wait out another storm. People are being swept off the summit during the storms. I am concerned about my husband. During the next calm, I meet a man who has just made it down from the mountaintop. I ask him if he has seen my husband, and if he is alive. He says that, yes, he is alive, but "He is languishing." I turn to the woman and begin to cry. I say, "I must ask you to do me the most important favor. Will you take care of my baby girl? I have to go get my husband off the mountaintop."

My daughter then woke me up, wanting to nurse.

When I fell back asleep, I returned to the mountain, though this time I was hovering under a blanket with my sisters Patrice and Elysia to protect us from the storms. I was still on a mission to save my husband. I hiked to the top of the mountain, and there I found a battle going on in the sky. The survivors were now flying around in metal bird flying devices, fighting each other. I strapped into a metal bird, and flew up into the sky to find my husband, but in the sky, you couldn't tell one person from another, we were all just flying around each other. My husband and I flew at each other, and intuitively knew each other. We descended and began to talk. He said, "It is a good thing that you recognized me and did not shoot, because once you take a shot, your body is fused to the bird, and you can never detach." His body was fused to the machine. I was too late.

I am not sure for what portion of the dream it lasted, but while dreaming, a chorus was playing over and over again in my mind. The words were, "Never turn your back on Mother Earth."

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 28, Fresno, CA

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Mellinda,
I will give full attention to your dream in the morning.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 61 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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Mellinda,
This dream seems to be a continuation of your previous dream Husband Knifed. The cold clouds are gathering from the 'suffocation' you feel. Has there been a recent experience where things seemed to/did get worse? The responsibilities, the demanding daughter, a lack of an outlet may have caused an 'avalanche' of emotions. The attitude for the whole family may be 'cold' {snow}.

The Christian monastery may be saying something about spiritual aspects that have been rejected or may not have been of assistance in your emotional conflicts. You are wanting to 'climb down' from this emotional state of mind but recent experiences {involving your daughter?} may be preventing this. Have you recently had an experience where you were able to relax {perhaps going to church} that temporarily helped? Going with the woman may be a desire to 'relax' the emotional attitude that is causing the turmoil in your life. Again church or spiritual aspects may be involved.

The baby girl could be a new aspect in your life that needs taken care of. That could be associated with teh spiritual. It could also be looking back at early life experiences with your daughter when life seemed to hold promising positives. But there is a lot of emotional conflict within you and it is affecting the whole family.

With the inclusion of your sisters in the extension of your dream there may also be elements of your own childhood that are being addressing. Were there 'storms' involving your parents? Your emotional attitude may be 'partially' due to your childhood and the experiences/influences from those early years. Dreams often address underlying causations of personality traits and early life experiences do have a great influence {often unconscious} on how you feel and act as an adult.

The part involving your husband may be saying something about 'trying to work things out'. With all the emotional turmoil in your life the two of you may have an intuitive bond that helps hold things together. But even that does not help with the emotional conflict you feel within.

The last part of the dream is interesting, "Never turn your back on Mother Earth". This could have to do with spiritual aspects. And/or it could have to do with you being a mother and/or your own mother {returning to the influences of early life experiences that affect adult life attitudes}.

Overall the dream does seem to be addressing the same frustrations we discussed in your previous dream. This dream seems to indicate things have not greatly improved if not gotten worse. The spiritual aspect seems also to be interjected into the scenario. Has that been a topic of discussion or thought or an actual experience in recent days? Perhaps such spiritual matters have been a thought on your part in response to the 'machine' of emotional conflicts associated with responsibilities and expectations {what I call the social dragon where you are obligated to the demands of society}. Since we do all have a 'spiritual aspect' as a natural part of the human psyche this may be an alternative way for you to 'relax' under the strain of the emotional demands of family life. Does this fit in some aspect of your life?

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 61 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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Jerry,

This dream occurred after my husband returned home from a trip to San Francisco for training. He was gone for 4 days, and during that time I was the only caregiver, and my daughter had 8 teeth coming in, and so, was very cranky and needy. When he returned I expected him to feel renewed from the time he had to himself while away. Though his days were spent in training, his evenings were his own, as well as the train ride there and back. Instead he came home very tired and stressed about work, and I did not get the mommy break I really needed. He left for San Francisco right after my in-laws had visited for a week. I love his family, but they are very intense, and their visit was exhausting for me.

The spiritual aspect is indeed significant in my life right now. I am analyzing my natal chart, and this has led to increased recognition of certain aspects of my personality. I am embracing aspects of myself that I was not as aware of before, but this has also been confusing, as I am surprising myself all of the time.

I have also become friends with another mother who has a son who is 1 month younger than my daughter. The two children couldn't be more different. Jenn is a spiritual woman, committed to her own spiritual path, and battling with the challenges of being a single mother. She is from Fresno, while my family and I just moved here. She is connected with the spiritual community here, and attends meditations, practices yoga, and is a massage therapist. I long to be part of the community, as I am a very communal person, and have been feeling isolated. While my husband was away, we spent a lot of time together. Perhaps she is the woman who takes me down off of the summit.

I think that my sisters might enter the picture in the second dream sequence, because we have always leaned on one another and gotten through life's challenges together. It is very difficult being so far away from them. Especially when one of us is in need. My sister Patrice was assaulted at work, two weeks ago, when a man entered, told her he had a gun, robbed the register, and broke down the door to the bathroom where she had tried to take refuge to assault her. I found out about it while my in-laws were here. It had a profound effect on me, and the intensity of emotions I felt left me feeling physically exhausted. I want us all to be together right now, so that she can be comforted.

"The part involving your husband may be saying something about 'trying to work things out'. With all the emotional turmoil in your life the two of you may have an intuitive bond that helps hold things together. But even that does not help with the emotional conflict you feel within." - I do love my husband very much, and want to work things out, but the frustrations I feel makes me wonder at times if we are going to make it.

I just remembered today, that during this last segment of the dream the storm turned into an electrical storm, and I witnessed a woman being shot across the sky by a lightning bolt. Her body erupted into flames and then blackened as she was shot across the sky like a meteor.

I feel that this dream is also connected with my emotions concerning the state of the World in general, not just on a personal level. I am deeply concerned with the lack of wisdom I see in the system that we,as humans, have constructed. And, I recently identified the defining principle under which I wish to live. I wish to live a life of non-violence. For me the term violence is multi-faceted. It includes violence to the Earth, to other people and animals, and to the Collective Intelligence as well. Reading Dr. Jung, I reconnected with the beauty of calling the Earth our mother. It gives her symbolic meaning, not just scientific.

Your dream analysis has been very rewarding for me. These dreams, which at first seem so cryptic, reveal themselves to me so clearly, once you nudge me in the right direction.

You are a good man!

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 28, Fresno, CA

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Mellinda,
The experience with your husband is likely the recent event that came through in your dream 'where things got worse'. Add the 'tense' visit from the in-laws, not getting the 'mommy time' you were expecting, and the continued stress with your daughter, you have a whole basket of stress related experiences for your dreams to work on/through. A primary function of dreams, the therapeutic aspect of dreams, is to help resolve those emotional problems in your life at the time of the dream. The emotional problems may be recent and new, and/or that may be accumulated or built up emotional conflicts that are unresolved.

The 'Christian monastery at the summit' fits with your spiritual endeavors. You have been introduced to a new, and what many like myself consider a 'higher' aspect in spiritual concepts, and that may be the 'summit' in your dreams. Yoga is a meditation and monks in a monastery constantly meditate. And the natal charts is something that has focused your attention on the 'inner self' {the true being within and according to Jungian psyche that being a spiritual being} which is what yoga does. I would definitely follow up on learning more about this community since it does seem to fit with your inner world. The best way to not think about those 'responsibilities' that stress you out is to change your thinking as often as you can. There are few better things to think about than spiritual matters.

The 'sisters' inclusion probably has associations to your real sisters. "I was hovering under a blanket with my sisters Patrice and Elysia to protect us from the storms" and the fact the three of you are close fit. The assault on your sister would definitely be a emotional jolt. The mountain in its language has associations in the dream with both your husband and sisters. Are there early life experiences where emotional conflicts may have associations with your emotional life in the present day? The need to save your husband seems to be a 'direct comment' about some aspect of that relationship. Perhaps one aspect related to this is the desire is to help him spiritually. A desire for him to share in your discovery {which hopefully now includes dreams}.

This is a positive turn of events even though the stress from all your responsibilities as a mother, wife and homemaker is still very forceful. The new people and community is a real positive. By focusing on spiritual aspects of your life you may learn to better cope with those more stressful aspects. Spirituality is as much about being whole and 'living with nature' as it is a religious endeavor. By going inward, which is where yoga will take you if you get into the psychological aspects, is the place you discover wholeness but it is a long and hard journey. Finding the right path to that leads you to a more harmonious life is sometimes by coincidence. Staying that path is the difficult task.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 61

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Jerry,

I feel good about your analysis of this dream. Viewing my natal chart, coupled with finding this site has helped me tremendously. Being able to look closely at the meaning of just 2 of my recent dreams has greatly improved my waking life. I feel that I am on the path toward finding balance.

I plan to try to break into the spiritual community here in Fresno. I think that it is exactly what I need. And, you are right, I do want to share my experiences with my husband! He can be quite a pessimist, but hates the idea that that is a bad thing. He prefers to think of himself as a realist. I, on the other hand, am optimistic by nature, and his dark moods bring me down with him sometimes. He carries around a lot of stress that I don't think he should let bother him so much. I know that if he would spend more time focusing on his inner strength and spirituality, the outside world wouldn't cut him so deeply. I want to help him grow in that way, but the spiritual realm is an area that I don't think he has ever ventured into.

I am currently smitten with my newfound spiritual path, and I do plan on staying the course. I have always been a very spiritual person, though my husband's influence has led me down a more intellectual path over the past few years. I now feel that I my intellectual and spiritual sides are joining hands, and that the outcome will be very rewarding!

Thank you for your help on this journey!

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 28, Fresno, CA

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Mellinda,
Finding a like minded spiritual community can be a life changer. When I began my journey some 18 years ago I began a new search for a spiritual place. My old Christian faith system no longer provided spiritual nourishment so I started anew. The first and perhaps most lasting and impressive community was the Unitarian/Universalist church. But internal conflicts between ministers reminded me too much of my 'christian' experiences and I left. I eventually became a part of the Unity church in Nashville, until church 'politics' again raised its ugly head {a few disgruntled members caused the minister, the first African American person to become minster of a predominant white church, and who happened to be a Jungian, to leave} and I abandoned church going altogether. It has been more than 7 years since then. I am now in a place where such yearnings for spiritual nourishment can be satisfied by retreating within to my creative Self, or by merely traveling short distances to a local 'wilderness' park or one of the several beautiful waterfalls in the Middle Tn. area. But that is me.

Oh what a great happening it would be if you could get your husband to share your spiritual endeavors. Especially the non traditional communities you have already chosen. These places can be a great way to find outlets for stress and fatigue from life's demands. It may be more than you could hope for but if you could get him to join you, well, not only would your marriage benefit but personal growth for both of you would increase dramatically. Personal growth is a great part of self discovery and the spiritual aspect is vital to such growth. It is great you have become so involved with your new found spiritual community. Please keep us informed of your progress.

If you should have a dream where 'mythological' images are involved be sure to post the dream for interpretation. Such dreams often come about when you reach certain plateaus in your spiritual life. They often provide new insights to life and psyche and illustrate your elevation to higher understanding of yourself and the world at large. I tend to think of these dreams as communicators of 'new knowledge', spiritual gnosis, inner wisdom that have been lost to the general population. Although many think f these wisdoms as mysteries I tend to think of them as aspects of nature, great wisdom that are stored in the collective unconscious of the human psyche and are a part of the natural world. A good example of such spiritual concepts would be the scene in Star Wars where Luke Skywalker is in his fighter warship and the 'inner voice' instructs him to 'let go Luke, use the Force'. Of course being able to tap into those 'mysteries' and abilities requires one to consciously and actively engage in the spiritual hero journey journey to wholeness. You have taken that first big step in discovering the many 'secrets' to be found on your journey. Stay the course and you will soon understand what I mean.

I have a new slogan will share with you I think best describes how to live life at that 'higher level of being'. I borrowed it from Jean Raffa's website. It is simple and to the point, and in my mind best describes the whole process of life and enlightenment.
THINK PSYCHOLOGICALLY, LIVE SPIRITUALLY

An objective approach to everything but with an open mind to the mysteries.

Jerry

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Jerry,

"Think Psychologically, Live Spiritually"

A bell just rang in the center of my being.

I have just discovered my true purpose in life, which is, like you, to help others understand themselves better. Discovering where your bliss can be found is like being wrapped in a warm blanket.

I have been dreaming a lot lately, but nothing that has felt truly significant.

However, last night something did happen. My oldest friend just came to visit this week. She is a gentle soul, with radiant inner strength. Her husband is equally so. He is in recovery from chemotherapy for prostate cancer, and is 27 years old. Last night I awoke with the thought in my head, "Sam should eat avocados!" I have no idea where this came from, but at 3:00am I did a Google search, and, lo and behold, their is research which states that avocados are a potent food in fighting prostate cancer! I quickly emailed my friend.

I think that this experience shows that I am getting more in touch with my unconscious self, and with the collective unconscious. I have read a great deal about nutrition, and perhaps this information was buried deep in my memory. Or, perhaps it was a message, so that I can help this amazing man defeat this cancer.

My journey has begun. We all have many guides who assist us on our journey. You have joined the ranks of my own.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 28, Fresno, CA

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Mellinda,
Such knowledge is often hard to pin point as to its origins {the avocados}. Was it something you had learned previously and stored in the back of your mind or was it from the deeper psyche were the body and the psyche retain knowledge that is inherent in nature? The bigger question may be why was it a part of your dream?

Perhaps that question can be answered by Jung's theory of synchronicity, the chance occurrence of like minded souls finding themselves sharing important moments in time. Whether or not you had previous knowledge of avocados and its beneficial qualities with some types of cancer, the fact you dreamed about it, did the research and will most definitely past the info on to Sam may not have been just a co-incidence. In my mind there may be more than just co-incidence involved because you have begun that conscious journey to discovering your true spiritual Self. Such an adventurous undertaking {I consider life as an adventure for the soul} opens up the deeper psyche to greater possibilities. Knowledge that is universal and stored within the human psyche but almost forgotten {early man relied on the deeper senses to survive-we today survive by means of technology}. Intuitiveness is one of those psyche events. When you begin to explore the greater possibilities to answers of the universe you open yourself up to those 'greater' secrets, answers that are known within the deep psyche but not known because the mind is not tuned to that aspect of being. My comments in my previous post about spiritual gnosis would govern such knowledge. Buddhism, as well as Gnosticism spoke of such knowledge. One of my favorite parables from the Gospel of Thomas, a Gnostic Gospel is as follows;

Jesus said, "Whoever drinks from my mouth will become like me; I myself shall become that person, and the hidden things will be revealed to him."
{Compare this to John 10:30- Jesus said, "I and the Father are one".

The message is that one needs to look 'within' to find their spiritual identity and when you do so, live the WWJD, you are the same as Jesus, a spiritual being. But the last part of the parable is even more defining. 'Those things hidden will be revealed'. The primary 'hidden thing' is one must go inward to find spirituality. But I believe, and have experienced, the deeper knowledge from living this spiritual life. Having at best a 'normal' brain I have discovered an 'intuitive' nature that is fully 'Jungian' {I think of myself as an intuitive Jungian as opposed to an educated/academic Jungian}. I went from a classic couch potato/sports freak, someone who used all his mental powers on benign matters, to someone who has developed a keen ability to understand Jungian psyche and dreams. By accessing those deeper interests, which were my true interests all along {I have been interested in psychology since my teens but did not follow up on that bliss until I was 42} I have tapped into something beyond the normal capacities I would have known if not for my chance encounter with Joseph Campbell some 18 years ago. Not unlike Luke Skywalker whose chance encounter with his mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, by chance my life was completely changed. I am now well on that path of bliss and just as with Luke, by staying the course through mental/physical discipline and spiritual intent, I am confident I will realize that blissful moment {in early retirement where I can put all my efforts into my dreamwork and helping others who are on that spiritual journey}.

"I think that this experience shows that I am getting more in touch with my unconscious self, and with the collective unconscious".
Some would say that your comment is sci fi, that there is such a thing as the collective unconscious {it wasn't until the early part of teh 20th century that psychology was given its due}. But in my thinking, in a personal moment where I can speak of truths, such attitudes are for those of 'lesser minds'. It is not a measurement of intellect, of IQ, but of opening up to the greater possibilities within ones own psyche. You and I have done that and by doing so what opens up is a connection to the deeper possibilities, the deeper truths, the collective mind that is a part of the natural world, the collective universe.
Stay the path, seek the greater Self as you are learning to do and the world will open doors you never knew existed.

""If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don't be afraid, and doors will open where you didn't know they were going to be"...Joseph Campbell

This is one experience I know to be true, from experience.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 61 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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Jerry,

Have you thought about adding a donate button to your site? I know that this is not about money, but I believe that many of us would feel good about helping to bring you closer to your retirement, even if we can't contribute much.

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 28, Fresno, CA

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Mellinda,
You bring up a subject I have given a lot of thought to of recent because of my pending retirement. Early retirement will greatly reduce my SS benefits and since that money will be my primary income I will need to look at other possibilities to supplement that. This is a conscious decision, electing to live with less so to engage my true self which is predicated on achieving my bliss. I do not have any plans for any monetary 'charges' for my interpretations at the Dream Forum but I am looking at the possibility of providing personal services at the local level once I relocate {I am 99% certain I will be in the central Florida area -my son lives in Orlando but I want to get closer to the ocean}. Even with that I do not look to charge for services but rather ask for donations. As you state, this is not about money, it is about fulfilling and living my bliss.

My bliss is interpreting dreams, exploring the deeper psyche, the physical/psychological reconciliation of the opposites of my two 'selves' {better known as Individuation} and the design and maintaining of my Myths-Dreams-Symbols website for which I am the webmaster/site designer}. Compare this to the person I once was, some 18 years prior. A couch potato, driven by libido, focused on the body and living with little direction in life.

I have wanted for some time now to offer classes on dreams and Jungian psyche. And do the same with the interpretation of dreams, not on line and the Internet but also at the local level. I have not done this up to now because I have not had the time required to put it all together due to the demands of my 'social obligations' {the social dragon called work}. And there is the focus it will require to 'transform' myself from 'socially engaged' to the 'blissful participant' I see myself as when I do retire. And because I know I will soon change residences {I currently live in Middle Tennessee, Nashville being the place of my birth} I don't wish to establish any type of obligations here since I will be leaving. When I make my move I want to be that person I have been working to 'bring out', that creative person, my evolved other self, thinking psychologically, living spiritually, and seeking to discover even greater 'secrets' beyond what I have discovered over the past 18 years in my journey to wholeness. I see it as the final transition from old to new, from socially obligated to totally creatively/spiritually engaged. If all goes as planned it will be the final phase of my transition.

Water World
Why Florida? First, I do not care for cold weather {the weather in Middle Tennessee has changed drastically toward being warmer since my early childhood years but it still gets cold during the winter months}. I spent the winter of 1994 in central Florida and there was a definite change of psyche while I was here. I liked that, it fit with my true disposition.

Florida also has the Atlantic and Gulf coasts which of course involves large bodies of water. I have a 'unalterable' attraction to large bodies of water. It probably has to do with my zeal to explore the deeper psyche, both requiring a 'dive' into the depths of being to discover the true origins of nature/human nature {we evolved from water creatures and the human body is up to 78% per cent water}. In dreams large bodies of water usually symbolize the deeper layers of the unconscious if not the collective unconscious. I see it as a natural evolution of my psyche, water on the brain you might say.

And of course having family near by is a good reason to move to the area. In later life family becomes so important. My two youngest grandchildren are in Orlando {my oldest grandson who lives in Middle Tennessee turns 17 this Thursday and I am trying to intice him to move to Florida to go to college}. I look forward to being a grand dad to them.

It is all a part of the 'grand scheme' of things in my life and things do seem to be falling into place. There are the 'helping hands' to assist me along my path but the success depends on me. And the great desire within my soul to reach that state of bliss I have longed for.

---

Perhaps it is time to focus on the future. If I am going to be able to 'serve' others with my abilities of interpreting dreams {I have a good natural intuitive sense but it has developed over time from experience and knowledge} I will need to look at alternative means of income. I have in the past had a 'Donate' button but the need hasn't always been at the forefront of why I do what I do. I will add it to my page, as much to determine what comes from it as much as it is for compensation. A few dollars here and there may one day be important. As much as anything the importance is to be free of obligations to debt, letting me concentrate on my bliss. If fortunate enough to reach that final destination who knows what lies ahead. Preparation for all possibilities seems to be the logical thing to do. At least for someone like myself who thinks psychologically and tries to his best ability to live spiritually.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 61 Murfreesboro, Tn.

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