The young woman was running a marathon and came around a corner where I was directing runners over a rocky path. She slipped and fell, tumbling over the edge of the steep cliff, clinging briefly to a sapling tree before free falling 1000 feet to her certain death.
And then I woke up. Frightened, confused, relieved, concerned. Ah, the dreams that come with a new venture. Things are shifting and it’s not all calm and easy. But then why should it be? I’ve been through surrender before and I know that it comes with a very rich dreamtrack.
I love using dreams in work with clients. Dreams are potent carriers of messages that can buoy the process of transformation. In my own analysis of the falling runner dream, I found a few interesting bits of information.
Why would someone design a marathon over a rocky path? It doesn’t make sense in my linear, “Just do it,” Western mind. But to my dreaming mind, it’s perfect. Rocks are often symbols of power. Of course the path is rocky – most of us have experienced that in the path of real life. Seeing those rocks as pieces of my power can change my journey from one of annoyed caution to determined exploration.
A free fall is what happens when there are no forces but gravity. You might think that would be terrifying but people feel weightless in a free fall. We think of gravity as making us feel heavy but the opposing forces are what actually create the sensation. By not resisting I can experience an unfamiliar sense of freedom.
Ah, but what about the certain death? I didn’t see the runner die in the dream. Maybe she didn’t. And if she did die, it often represents a rebirth (thanks to Dana Frost for helping me remember that!). Rebirth feels like the most natural next step for me right now and something I hope to make quite a focus of my work in the future.
Calm free falling and navigating with power. I choose the dream over the nightmare.
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