[Marianne]

Hi Shaahayda and James and Stephen,

I like everything everyone here has said about this dream of Joe Campbell. I like how a dream does not have to have any one meaning (nor subscribe to any one dream theory) and how all the dream characters can intermingle–Jung did say that all the dream characters can be representational interchangeably with the dreamer. So if you are also Campbell in the dream, perhaps you are annoyed at yourself (see paragraph below) about something you feel is antithetical to Joe. It is interesting to me that here you have distinguished your voice from Joe’s voice but that being adjacent they are parallel and you perhaps on your path walk parallel to Joe–because I know you, I am aware of how vital his works and teachings are to you and how you really do live by and with them. And what is in the present is also always unfolding, so in a sense the present is already what is present in the future, in its unfoldment.

Also, I like what you say at the end of your response to James, Shaahayda, which is, “but it does play into why Joe would not be happy with my present thinking” [emboldened mine], which does remind us that perhaps it is not dreaming of something in the future but something in the now–of course, the now always leads to the future, so perhaps a sign of changing sails to hopefully shifting winds of whatever it is that you are not happy with in the present time.

I also agree that a dream analyst can help guide a dreamer into the meaning of their dreams, but it is the dreamer who uses the analysis or dream analyst as a tool. Just as Stephen and James have said, since I am not you I cannot tell you exactly what you should think about your dream or reveal to you any one actual meaning, but any of us can only help guide or steer the dreamer to possibilities to sifting and winnowing grains of truth. You will probably feel what is real after examining all these possibilities. A note in general to anyone who has not tried analyzing their dreams: once a dream is examined, it is easier to understand and come to meaning(s), but when it is not examined, it often stays mysteriously puzzling to the dreamer. I think that is why I have always had a strong desire to write down and examine my dreams–for my need to understand their puzzling mysteries. It is fun, like putting a puzzle together–but more fun sometimes when you can get many picture images out of the pieces!

Fascinating dream!

Best,

Marianne