Posted by Tamar on June 18, 2005, at 12:07:45
In reply to Old dream, new ending (trigger warning), posted by daisym on June 17, 2005, at 13:36:47
> I feel asleep on the couch for a few hours last night and I dreamed that I drove to the bridge and jumped off. I drove there purposefully and I was very scared but very determined. I didn't scream when I jumped, I just sort of gasped. But instead of falling, I grew wings and flew upwards. I remember being worried that my wings would get wet and not work if I went into a cloud or fog bank. There was a sense of freedom and peace in flying around, like I was leaving everything behind me.
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> I told my therapist about the dream. He asked me what I thought it meant. I said that I thought it meant that there was a release in death, a new start. He said he felt it was more positive than that because I didn't die. I never hit, I grew new wings and flew (a new skill) and gained a sense of freedom from that. He wondered if through all the pain something new was going to emerge and my unconscious was trying to show me that. He said it sounded like the beginnings of hope.
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> I wonder what you guys think? And don't worry if you agree with me, I'm not going to take that as evidence that you can find peace through death.If this is a dream you’ve had before but with a new ending, then I think it’s a very positive sign. I’ve read that changing the ending of a recurring dream is an indication that you have found the resources to tackle things that are worrying you.
My interpretation of your dream would accord with your therapist’s. In your dream you were determined to jump off the bridge in order to die, and yet at the last minute you found a way of not dying. Growing wings released you from the inevitability of suicide. You were worried about how you would cope with this new way of being: you were worried that your wings were fragile or easily damaged by the clouds. Perhaps the threat of the wetness in the clouds echoes the water in the river into which you intended to jump (if the bridge was over a river). If so, the fear of suicide is not entirely driven away by the wings. The clouds and fog also might represent a difficulty in seeing clearly, but not an insurmountable problem because you were able to keep flying. Your wings weren’t damaged and you found a sense of freedom. Perhaps you are beginning to find ways to transcend the pain, and although there are still threats and fears you have the resources to cope with them.
poster:Tamar
thread:514349
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/psycho/20050615/msgs/514953.html