Jerry!

The place looks amazing! I am loving this ocean feel really speaks of the depths and like that is what we are exploring here. I also love the brighter colour scheme. I think it's gorgeous great work! Also I see that a happy birthday is also in order for you. I hope your cats are thriving and all is well where you are.

Anyway I am a little bit lost at the moment. Not lost perhaps but in a bit of a swirl. I am back home in Ireland at my family home and I am having a bit of a polarised perception of my life. There is this come-down from travelling which is like a return to normality from the stream of magic and a remeeting with the normal world. On the flip side I am in the middle of all this creative work I am editing my book I am making my own notebooks and writing on blogs and experimenting with drawing and painting and clay and writing reams and reams of poetry. So I am exploring this creative world especially the poetry and seeing that this is the direction I am perhaps going with my life (I have been a writer and set on that for years but it was always philosophical writing that was my taste but there has been a big turn towards poetry for me recently it is so soothing and fulfilling for me). Anyway so that is kind of the background to my life since we last spoke. I had this dream a few nights ago and the animal symbolism really struck me since I don't normally have such non-human driven dreams it is odd to see the dynamics and I feel there is something profound in it. Anyway I would love your insights on it.

**The Natural Dynamic**
The dream starts with me going down this steep hill onto this sports field near my house. I am looking to record the dream I have just had (it was a lucid dream and I guess I have woken into this dream now).

So I come down onto this field but it's nothing like the real field. The lay of the land is like this lake we go to near my aunt's house in the south of France. There's this lovely grassy area around the lake that this field vaguely resembles or feels like. There is a bit of a climb down this steep hilly bit. Behind me comes down this big wild cow with horns and everything and runs by. Then when I am down from the hill a wild horse comes down behind me. I am walking along and getting sucked into the wet ground it's like a really wet mud and I am sinking into it and struggling to make much distance. I decide to stop here rather than continue. So I climb up this pile of rocks or sticks or whatever to my right hand side.

The horse stops a bit ahead of me and looks back with these compassionate eyes as if asking if I wanted help but when he sees that I am fine with this pile of rocks or whatever he keeps going. I see him continue by this pile of pine branches and there from under this pile as if from a den a wild hog emerges and comes out after him.

A kind of battle ensues at times the horse is attacking the boar at others the boar is after the horse. At others the cow is chasing them. It's this dynamic flow of chases. No injuries get inflicted but from a distance I watch these powerful creatures all wild in flow. The dream ends as I am observing all this.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Jimmy

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 24; Ireland, Male

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} google?

How Did You Find the Dream Forum? 6-Feb (Bike Chase With Billy)

Jimmy,
Yes, I turned 66 last week. I see it as a magical number, 6s and 9s representing the body and spirit becoming whole respectively. Thanks for the notice.

I have not given a lot of attention to designing web pages {I have several websites} and thought a redesign would be good for the Dream Forum. You hit it on the head about the depths represented by the color scheme. Water represents the unconscious with the deeper depths symbolizing the deep unconscious.

Caring for my cats. A continuous and never ending project. It is something that was cast upon me. In Campbell's concept the hero takes on a task either by decision to do so or because it was cast upon him/her. My experience in dream work and web design was a conscious decision {after realizing it was my true path} and caring for my cat family was cast upon me just by chance. Either way the right thing to do is to do the right thing.
I appreciate your contribution to my Kitty Fund. Thank you.

As for your dream. The title pretty much says it all {knowing of your journeys and life and your hero task}. You are following the 'natural' path of the hero journey {Campbell's Monomyth and the fundamental stages of that journey. The struggles of having to 'return' is a series of 'tests, tasks, and ordeals' you must undergo to continue your transformation. Chief among the series of tests is the influences of your environment, past and present. I see this dream focusing on these. The inner self seeking to fulfill its destiny but having to deal with the ground/foundations of early life as well as the forces of social duty you are experiencing after your return to the old norms from your distance travels. Because we all are products of childhood, those energies have to be dealt with {personality traits, attitudes, etc} and resolved {maternal aspects seem to be a topic in this dream}. Your new 'mind set' from your journeys abroad are now confronted by the old norms you grew up with and that still exist. This dream seems to be about the 'battle' to stay your path despite those forces {old standards} that persist in your life back from your journeys.

This is standard stuff of the hero journey/monomyth. 'Being lost at the moment'is not unusual, you will experience this at times as you go through life {and fulfill your true destiny}. Your past {foundations}, your being back in Ireland and returning to old routines {other people's ways/attitudes} is 'distant' from what you experienced in your journeys abroad. Incorporating what you learned in your journeys with the everyday life of the old norms is a major task and being in a bit of a 'swirl' is understandable. Keep your eyes focused on your goals and everything will fall into place. I can state from experience this is a truth since at every turn in my journey the 'helping hands of fate' have been there when needed. Of course in keeping with the laws of Karma/cause and effect {the 'natural' laws I live by} it is what you do in life that determine your fate. Following the hero path {and staying with that path no matter what} will 'guarantee' you will achieve what you are naturally meant to be. It will take time but it will come.

Here is my interpretation of the images/actions from your dream. The dream by paragraph is first and then my interpretation.

Dream Title
**The Natural Dynamic**
-natural way things are/should be {in the hero's journey}

The dream starts with me going down this steep hill onto this sports field near my house. I am looking to record the dream I have just had (it was a lucid dream and I guess I have woken into this dream now).

-going down steep hill onto sports field near my house-not going the way you wish/need to go because of the competitive nature.
-record dream I just had-emotionally becoming aware of your true feelings

So I come down onto this field but it's nothing like the real field. The lay of the land is like this lake we go to near my aunt's house in the south of France. There's this lovely grassy area around the lake that this field vaguely resembles or feels like. There is a bit of a climb down this steep hilly bit. Behind me comes down this big wild cow with horns and everything and runs by. Then when I am down from the hill a wild horse comes down behind me. I am walking along and getting sucked into the wet ground it's like a really wet mud and I am sinking into it and struggling to make much distance. I decide to stop here rather than continue. So I climb up this pile of rocks or sticks or whatever to my right hand side.

-nothing like real field-not your true natural self
-lay of land like lake/aunt's house-your grounding is related to emotional family values
-grassy area around lake field vaguely resembles-aspects of personal growth associated with grounding
-bit of climb down steep hilly bit-having to adjust attitudes because of early life grounding
-behind comes wild cow with horns/runs by-unconscious associations to being passive/maternal influences/repetitive nature
-when down hill wild horse comes down behind me-strong emotional energies/influences within unconscious
-walking along getting sucked into wet ground/mud-your path and being weighed down by early life influences
-sinking into it/struggling to make much distance-sinking back into old ways/struggling to distance yourself from it
-decide to stop here rather than continue-staying in place/not continuing to follow old patterns
-climb pile of rocks/sticks right hand side-climbing out of the permanence of old patterns

The horse stops a bit ahead of me and looks back with these compassionate eyes as if asking if I wanted help but when he sees that I am fine with this pile of rocks or whatever he keeps going. I see him continue by this pile of pine branches and there from under this pile as if from a den a wild hog emerges and comes out after him.

-horse stops ahead and looks back with compassionate eyes-animal nature is to take experiences and make positive progress/staying your true path/self
-continue by pile/wild hog emerges/comes out after him-old standards continue to present themselves

A kind of battle ensues at times the horse is attacking the boar at others the boar is after the horse. At others the cow is chasing them. It's this dynamic flow of chases. No injuries get inflicted but from a distance I watch these powerful creatures all wild in flow. The dream ends as I am observing all this.

-battle ensues/at times horse attacking the boar-inner conflicts/animal nature vs inner self
-boar after horse-inner self vs outer environment {society}
-cow chasing them-old patterns influences
-watching from a distance/powerful creatures wild in flow-taking a passive attitude as your life journey plays out

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 66 Cocoa/Soace Coast, Fla

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Built the Site/Forum

Jerry

Thank you so much for your response and interpretation. I really am finding this return part of the journey to be a different animal to the journey which was so tough in such different ways. That was like having the boundaries of my world stretched and this stretching revealed so many parts of my authentic Self. I learned so much about who I am but it is a struggle coming back I guess there is this old world this deep foundational world as you say that I seem to be swirling in a haze of past present and future. There are some tensions with my family as I change the way I act with them and see things in a different light to before and I guess I am struggling to negotiate between being who I am and accepting other people the way they are without trying to change them. It's a tough kind of thing and I find myself taking different perspectives to try and figure out the best way of being for all of us where I don't compromise who I am and have become in order to keep peace but also without straining relationships by asserting my new growths. I guess I am learning to pick my battles in a battlefield of greys. At any rate I appreciate and am grateful for your reply and interpretation for the wisdom and inspiration from the hero's journey once again. I feel I am doing all I can and should be doing and so I must trust in the process.
I can see these dynamics in my life. I am thinking that the dream is about how I deal with conflicts at home which I take to be the boar (sometimes my mother sometimes my brother with my dad I don't seem to have such issues we don't trample on toes so much) but yes so I have these instinctual reactions from behind me I guess unconscious approaches. I see the horse as being the strong powerful expressions of anger a more assertive type of approach I take where I get angry at people which I never used to do before. The cow definitely is my other reaction it is the passive approach it's the one I've always taken to conflicts at home but that's changed while I've been away and experienced the importance of emotional intelligence and expression. Anyway so when I go through these conflicts again I am still trying to figure out the best approach but unable to decide I am stuck consciously perhaps and so overlook these unconscious dynamics play out and see which works best. The horse is a new development but is still a bit wild. I see he could help me. Hmm. This is how I am interpreting this dream now. Does this seem valid?

Thanks, Jimmy

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 24; Ireland

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How Did You Find the Dream Forum? 6-Feb (Bike Chase with Billy)

Jimmy,
As noted time and again in my analysis of dreams I can not pen exact personal experiences that are derived from the images/actions in a dream. I can only outline the energies that define and relate to the personal experiences and which are a product of personality foundations and emotional stimulus. The first part of your response fits with this general outline. The experiences you named related to your family and the dynamics you are realizing would seem to fit the personal aspects. The ability to fit the universal experiences {monomyth} with the personal will help as a guide for the future since having recognized both you will have a general map of what is to come and you can expect for the future. Instead of making a wrong turn and having to retrace your footsteps and start over, knowing what lies ahead will allow you to reach the pinnacle of success you seek in your creative and spiritual life {these two aspects defining who you are}. Staying the course is key for that success. The road of trials is a life long encounter/test but when you learn to follow the hero path instinctively you will find open doors at every turn. The laws of Karma rule and when you live a spiritual life {forget religion,think of good deeds} you naturally have the helping hands of fate on your side. Meaning and purpose will be realized and striving to fulfill your meaning/your purpose will come about because you are controlling your own fate using a formula that is embedded within nature {and not man's laws which are controlled by ego}. This dream is as it should be considering where you are in life and your own hero journey.

Note. To get a good understanding of Karma {one that fits with my concept} go to this site Good Karma, Bad Karma &
The Law of Cause and Effect.

Jerry

Age & Gender & Location {Required}: 66 Cocoa/Soace Coast, Fla

Have You Posted Before? Date of Last Post {Use Search and Your Post Name to Help Find Last Post} Built the Site/Forum