So I told my therapist about the dream that I had. You know, the one where this homeless woman keeps breaking into my house to live in my pantry. I also mentioned to her that, after taking some time to process the dream, I thought the dream was about self-acceptance.
She neither agreed nor disagreed.
What she did do was ask a question: "What does this woman need?"
I stared at her blankly.
She went on to explain that obviously this woman, who is a representation of myself (that much my therapist seemed to acknowledge), needs something which is why she keeps coming back. It would behoove me, my therapist said, to find out what that something is.
To aid in this process, she suggested I engage in a practice created by Carl Jung called active imagination where I enter into a conversation with the homeless woman to find out what it is she's looking for and why she thinks she'll find it in my pantry.
I pondered the good doctor's question as I lay in bed one morning when it was too early to get up but too late to go back to sleep. What could this woman possibly want or need? And why is she looking for it in my pantry? Then I remembered a scene from my dream where, on one of the many occasions where she'd found her way back into my house after being kicked out, the homeless woman hugged me. At first I thought that spoke to her mental instability (seeking hugs from perfect strangers) but now I began to wonder if it meant something more. Could it be that the old lady is looking for love? And if so, from whom? From me?
Because I haven't had a chance to sit down and properly engage in active imagination, I'm not marrying myself to any conclusions just yet, but it's definitely something to think about. I'll be sure to let you in on any tidbits of self-discovery.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
10 comments:
I think she is hugging you because you didn't blow her ass away with a 12 gauge shotgun. Don't send her my way.
shes hugging you to let you know that she loves you the way you are.
and yeah, dont send her coffeypot's way...
that would be a whole new other dream analysis.
I feel stupid for making a suggestion, because I don't know anything about anything here...but as an outsider reading the story I think she wants love from you and wonders what food has that she doesn't. She thinks she'll find the answer by hanging out in your pantry.
Taking notes on "active imagination"...
"To end self-rejection, you have to learn to love in another what you hate in yourself."
Harville hendrix
From KFC's Facebook page
I think it's so cool you are talking to a Jungian.
If food is physical nourishment, then love is spiritual nourishment. I don't think it's any different from self-acceptance.
If Billy Shakes is correct, that music is the food of love, then maybe she wants to hear some old school jams.
The fact she is homeless could easily mean she is a rejected, non-integrated part of yourself (acceptance). She's an orphan of your psyche, I reckon. Steve's hijacking from my page is apt. DON'T LISTEN to Coffeypot. Hahaha. You kill her off and you've missed a great opportunity.
Is it easier to do the active imagination stuff (I have difficulty with it, quite honestly), if you write it?
But you won't. Keep being gentle with yourself.
I just read the first dream (commented there also). Wanna know what struck me funny about the white homeless woman? I realized that although they must exist, I can't recall a time when I've ever seen a homeless black woman. They are almost always white, of both genders. I see black homeless men fairly regularly, but never women. I wonder what that means sociologically. For that matter, I cannot think of any homeless Latino persons, in this great city of Los Angeles.
I'll grant you that this city is fairly segregated, and perhaps in South Central there are homeless black women, but as much as you regularly (though not predominately) see black people in Hollywood (the Hollywood Blvd strip is walkable from my home in 20 minutes, and a 3 minute drive), and ample homeless generally, no, no black homeless women.
And given the predominance of mental illness amongst homeless people, maybe it all means that Whitey's just crazier.
Oh sh!t, bulletholes. You just told ME something I neeeded to hear. In a major major way. Major. I mean MAJOR.
Wow, thank you for that quote.
Kissyface, come to NYC honey. No shortage of black female homeless people, trust. A few live at my train station.
Great dream analysis by the way, Kissyface. I loved that.
Post a Comment