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EXPLORING A
SUBTERRANEAN CAVE
A companion and you are exploring a
subterranean cave. At rst, it seems like an
interesting adventure, and you are both
enjoying the eerie sensation of being in
this underground passage—it’s another
world. But you become increasingly uneasy
despite the sense of adventure. It’s a familiar
feeling, and you begin to wish you hadn’t
started this journey. Yet there’s a certainty,
too, that there’s no going back.
Action Identify that part of you currently
feeling ambivalent about your situation.
Dark underground places symbolize the
world of the unconscious: have you
stumbled into exploring your own inner
world and feel uneasy about what you may
nd? Continue your exploration—whether in
therapy or with other work—and you will
come to grips with that fear.
ESCAPING THROUGH A DARK
UNDERGROUND PASSAGE
You are hurrying down an escape tunnel that is
dark and damp. Desperate to get out of this
constricting place, you’ve become increasingly
claustrophobic. But you dread being discovered
and taken back to wherever it was you escaped
from, knowing how punishing that return will
inevitably be for you.
Action Is this dream describing how you feel
about escaping from a combative situation or
partner? Plan your escape and take into account
that, though possibly dangerous, there will be
the proverbial light at the end of that tunnel
once you are sure it is right to try to get away.
DARK
UNDERGROUND
PLACES
Dark underground places are metaphors
for the unconscious mind. They are the
areas most of us least want to explore:
fearsome for their unknown terrain, far
from the comforting light of day. However,
only by exploring those hidden areas—by
delving into the unconscious world—can
we reach that vital goal of understanding.
PLACES
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123
YOU’RE IN AN
UNDERGROUND MINE
You nd yourself in an old underground
passage of a mine. Wandering through its
labyrinth of tunnels, you begin to worry about
the pollution down there and what danger to
others’ breathing all this dust and stagnant air
must cause. You hurry to get out.
Action Does stagnant air have signicance,
such as literally representing your working
conditions, or perhaps something more
subtle back at home? People’s repressed
emotions can produce the equivalent of
stale, almost toxic, air. If this applies to your
domestic life, consider measures to
emotionally freshen up your environment.
CASE STUDY: JACK
Jack dreamed he was wading in sewer water
along with other people in an underground
passage. They reached a halfway point where
the sewer water stopped and they could rest.
He saw lockers on a wall and knew he must
leave his keys, wallet, and phone there. As he
opened a rusty old locker, he noticed others
had left their possessions, too. Was this a rite
of passage for travelers? He saw a decaying
pile of belongings; their owners clearly hadn’t
returned to reclaim them. Undaunted by the
sinister implication, Jack knew he must carry
on with his journey. He walked down the
steep passage ahead, deeper and
increasingly darker. He knew with absolute
certainty now that this passage would
eventually turn upward and he’d get out
into a happier life.
Later, he understood the dream’s message.
Jack had long struggled with his relationships,
so he went into therapy for help. His dream
oered him the condence to look
courageously into his unconscious—
underground—world and correctly forecast
the outcome.
Dark Underground Places
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HENRY D. THOREAU
A WEEK ON THE CONCORD AND MERRIMACK RIVERS
DREAMS ARE
THE TOUCHSTONE OF
OUR CHARACTERS.
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