Speaking of dreams, as Jeanne does in her message today, I had a second dream encounter with C. G. Jung. Once again we were sitting opposite each other with the enormous gray boulder hovering between us, about five feet tall and oval in shape, that I wrote about in my blog the other day. I have been puzzling over the meaning of the boulder, in waking and dreaming life, since I first dreamed about it and I have a pretty good idea of what it might mean.
In this second dream, I am asking Jung if I got it right: “Have I figured out the meaning of the boulder?” He suggests that, yes, it might mean that, or it might mean something else, it could mean many things. He repeats what he said in the first dream: “It may not be what it appears to be!” He does not give me a straight answer and I am slightly frustrated, but curious at the same time.
“Look again,” he suggests, and as I peer closely at the boulder it turns into a gray balloon, equally as huge and imposing as the boulder. I instinctively know that it is filled with liquid emotion. “I get it!” I say, but then the balloon turns into a gigantic papier-mache pinata and I instinctively know that it is filled with trinkets of meaning, symbolizing many things in my life, past, present, and future.
“You see,” Jung says, “it can be anything that you need. Each day it may be something different, depending on what you need.” And again he suggests: “Look closely. What is it?”
At this point I wake up and I understand that the boulder is indeed no different than the mirrors, reflecting exactly what I need, and that, yes, as Jeanne suggests in today’s message, patience is a most necessary component of inner work, taking each dream, each day, as it comes, with whatever it offers.
Have a great weekend! Look for Chuck’s blog tomorrow. I am sure he will offer something interesting to add to our dreams.
Jan
For whatever reason, I felt compelled to write the following, perhaps more for my own reflection than for anyone else’s, which in reading Jan’s blog message again, seems to be just another perspective arriving at the same or a similar conclusion:
Two simple meanings of the boulder, perhaps ones that seem so obvious as to not need to be mentioned, would be on the one hand, a cornerstone to be built upon, a safe and secure anchoring or shelter, and, on the other, an obstacle, an obstruction, a weighty matter to be overcome, etc. Like light and dark, yin and yang, these contrasting qualities are equally valuable, inseparable from one another and essential for a boulder to be a boulder. The boulder can play the role of either of these contrasting extremes as well as an infinite number of other possiblities. The boulder is another mirror of the unique character and personality of each of us and of every element in creation; all equal in our/their infinite range of value and beauty, each an essential part of the whole. Appreciating this can effect a liberation from judgments of good or bad, help or hindrance, aid or obstacle, and result in a sense of both detachment and unity. This interpretation will be very meaningful to some and meaningless to others, again with an infinite range of other possibilities in between, making it both/neither right or wrong, better or worse than any other. This is the mystery, that in the symbol each element of creation presents, all truth is contained therein; uniquely revealing to us only that which we’ve positioned ourselves to receive and paving the way for the next step we take.