Exhibit Eleven: Acquired by the Dream Gallery 29
March 1999
'Flying Man'
~ by Mark Penberthy ~ from "The Lucid Dreamer", by Malcolm Godwin, pub
Jacaranda Wiley, 1995
Feeling
The Picture
Your feeling reactions to a dream are keys to its interpretation. These are my feelings. If this were a scene in your dream or life, how would you feel about being there?
I am sitting in a tree
watching the man who is flying. Perhaps this is because I'm a woman, so I don't easily
relate to BEING the man in the picture, though I know what it is like to fly in dreams and
I love the light, buzzy, slightly electric feeling it always gives. It's a feeling of
total empowerment, mastery and wonder.
Yet, in this dream picture I have the feeling
that I am the onlooker. At first I glance only for a moment at the men walking on the
ground as my initial interest is in the freedom and mastery of the man who has escaped the
restrictions of his jacket to float ecstatically into the air. Yet at this stage the
picture gives me an unfinished feeling: unfinished because the man is still wearing his
tie and business shoes. Has he any idea how much more comfortable dream-flying is without
shoes and ties? Suddenly I feel sorry for him because he is not a woman, not wearing
looser, more flowing attire. Then again, I admire him for flying DESPITE his restrictive
clothing.
Then my feelings are drawn towards the ground
again, but not to the plodding, uniformed men. My feelings are drawn towards the golden
earth. I suddenly realise they are walking on a sea of gold and I wonder: are they aware
of this or has their habitual plodding distracted their gaze? Suddenly I feel a sense of
balance as the golden sea-earth links with the gold of the flying man's shirt and I,
watching in my tree, feel the steady balance of 'as above, so below'. Perhaps only the
flying man and I know this, each having the advantage of height to look down and see the
bigger picture.
The Symbols
Symbols in your dreams often relate to your personal memories and associations, so always consider those first. Then let your mind play with other, more general possibilities. They will not all apply! Just open your mind and notice where the symbol seems to fit and make sense of the rest of your dream.
Flying in a dream can symbolise many things,
depending on the storyline of the dream and the dreamer's feelings. When we fly above our
friends or colleagues who stay on the ground (as in this picture), flying may symbolise
reaching a 'higher potential' or 'rising above' a situation. Frequently such a dream
involves the dreamer encouraging the others to fly. This kind of dream can come at a time
when the dreamer is on the verge of mastering a new skill or needs to be reminded that he
or she CAN do whatever he or she is holding back from in waking life. In this case the
grounded friends and colleagues often symbolise aspects of the dreamer which are reticent,
needing motivation or lacking faith or self-belief.
However a dreamer may also fly in dreams to
escape something or someone: symbolising a tendency to go into 'escape mode' rather than
face what needs to be faced. Dream flying may sometimes symbolise losing a sense of
groundedness.
The men on the ground and the flyer are all
heading in the same direction so there is no dream message here about 'going against the
flow' - just about getting there faster, easier or on a higher level perhaps! Look for
this kind of symbolism in dreams: direction and going with or against the flow.
Clothes in dreams symbolise how we see ourselves,
how we present ourselves to the world in the situation depicted by the dream, or give us
clues as to which area of our life the dream is commenting on. I dream about leotards or
gym wear when I am 'working out' something, for example - a beautiful dream pun ( a
'workout')! Look for dream puns: ties my symbolise restrictions or other ties or binds, as
well as simply representing work or business presentation.
Clouds in a dream can symbolise clouded thinking
or a clouded view or perception. Colours may have personal associations for each dreamer.
Perhaps the golden yellow in this picture symbolises harvest (golden wheat?), autumn or
heavenly light. The final interpretation, as always, is with whatever seems goosebumpingly
right to the dreamer.
The Questions
Here are some questions the dreamer of such a dream picture might ask to work towards a complete understanding of the dream.
Try these yourself: just give your 'gut reaction' answers to the questions - your answers will surprise you in the insights they deliver. The key thing to remember is, "Don't THINK about your answers - give quick gut reaction replies". Your unconscious will deliver.
If this process can work powerfully for this image, consider how infinitely more powerful the insights are when the image comes from one of your own dreams - direct from your unconscious!
* Which person in this picture do I relate to most strongly?
* How do I feel about wearing the clothes in this dream picture?
* What feeling do the people on the ground give me?
* What feeling does the flying man give me?
* What are the good points about staying on the ground with the others in this picture?
* What are the good points about flying in this picture?
* Is there a difference of opinion or a difference in approach or thinking between the
people on the ground and the flying man?
* Is this same difference or dilemma an issue for me in my waking life at the moment?
* What is clouding this waking situation?
* Why is the sky in the picture darker above the clouds?
* Does this darker golden sky remind me of anything in my waking life situation?
* What could I achieve by getting closer to this 'darker golden' in my waking life?
* If I could fly like this man, what, in my life, would I be leaving behind on the ground?
* If I stay with the crowd on the ground, what, in my life, would I be missing out on?
* Where is the best place to be, both in this dream picture and in my waking life
situation?
'Flying Man' by Mark Penberthy ~ from "The Lucid Dreamer", by Malcolm Godwin, pub
Jacaranda Wiley, 1995
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