Dreams of the Internal Landscape
Do you have dreams that help you understand your internal landscape? My dreams come in bursts. I'll have a great many for a while and then they just stop.
This one started off as some quite scary R-rated dream. It was based around my needing to safeguard the contents of my computer. OK, this now tells you I am a computer nerd! I was at some factory and got stuck there and, supposedly, that was what they did. I was with someone but don't know who. A little girl I think. But the factory was weird and scary and there were people trying to get in who were like zombies. This was very real and scary.
From there I was transported to some other PG-rated world. I was in a big house. I think it was my Nana's house. I was specifically charged with taking care of a special princess. That was my only job and failure was not an option. Just like the Navy SEALS motto, I think. There was a whole army of enemy soldiers trying to get us. There was a teenage soldier on my side, and he was supposed to help me. But he ended up getting caught by the enemy. They were marching around the house, about to come in.
I quickly took the princess up through the attic walkup. My father was there minding the entrance, but he was not paying attention and was acting dumb or like he didn't hear me. I couldn't understand that. I asked him to get me some long nails from the box of he had in front of him, so I could nail the walkup shut. That was his only job, but he didn't do it well. I ended up getting the nails myself. I nailed it shut.
In the attic with me were a bunch of other children. But I noticed, quite by surprise, that there was a window and door in the attic with a fire escape. I saw that some other children, who were supposed to hide out with me, were coming back in. I quickly told them to lock the door and be quiet. Everyone was so loud and I was trying to tell them they had to be quiet because we were going to be caught. They were all dressed poorly and their hair and clothes needed to be washed. I cannot remember what their faces looked like.
Just then I saw the young prince of the enemy. He was from India. He came up those back stairs. He saw us all. We made eye contact. Everyone went silent. He knew I was just trying to protect everyone. He nodded and left. And that's when I woke up.
I felt proud of myself for this dream.
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Hi Paul,
I don't think that I do dream about our system. If I do, I don't know that is what I am doing or I dont' remember the dreams.
I do know that at times my daydreams are not daydreams, they are really just another inner interacting with me and they often find it safer to be with me in a pretend scenario.
I think that your dream is huge. And says a lot about your healing progress. Thank you for sharing it here. That is very brave of you.
Kate
This sounds to me like a very positive dream.
I don't dream about my internal landscape much, but I do write about it. I've gotten a lot of clues about how my system interacts by rereading my own fiction, much of which is written in a dissociated state.
It's really interesting what you say, Kate, about "daydreaming" and inner communication. I am aware more and more that this is happening with me. I also find that I am in a stretch now where I cannot remember my dreams and nightmares. I wonder why sometimes I can remember all the details and other times almost nothing. I should read a dream book!
This reminds me of many of my dreams where there's a room full of children. I dream that they're in an upper room or a side room, something not easily accessed by the person we're hiding from. Usually the kids are around the same age and poorly dressed. It's like an orphanage or something in there. Disturbing.
I know upper rooms to be symbolic for the unconscious mind. They're also common in dreams of persons with a dissociative disorder. A small entry way to the open room is also indicative of dissociative dreams.
In the many dream entries I've read over the years I see a common theme with parental figures. They're assigned a simple task of protection but they won't conduct themselves properly. That's the first thing I thought of when I saw the part about your father.
Austin