Images Revealing Of Inner Bravery
Dear Nancy: I grew up in Niagara Falls, N.Y., and oftentimes my parents would take our family to view the falls. As a youngster, I was terrified at the power and force of the water and could imagine that if I suddenly fell over the retaining wall I would certainly die.
In this dream I am no longer a child, but a grown woman. - Margaret I climb down a rocky ledge to the edge of the Niagara River. I decide to cross the river even though the huge waterfall is only about 50 feet downstream and the river is swollen and angry.
From my rock perch, I jump to a slippery rock. I’m fearful, so I stay there awhile to regain my composure. It’s important to me to continue this river crossing. I see a dead man floating by, face down, in the water. He has a bright orange life vest on and is being swept to the brink of the falls. I feel sad for him.
I resume jumping from rock to rock, knowing that if I fall into the river I will certainly die. Eventually, I make it to the other side.
I feel extremely happy and proud of myself.
Dear Margaret: The setting of this dream is a location from your childhood, which suggests that the dream is addressing childhood issues and patterns you may still be working on.
Moving water, particularly rivers and streams, represent the flow of emotions and the feeling life of the dreamer.
Your river is immense and swift, with an “angry current” that is dangerous. As a child, were you afraid of expressing your anger? Is this a pattern in your life now? Crossing a river or other body of water in a dream illustrates that the dreamer is in the process of making a change. This can be a change of attitude, behavior, vocation or lifestyle. In your dream, this crossing takes incredible courage and perseverance. You don’t allow yourself to get swept away in the angry current. You use your skill and instinctive balance to keep yourself above the emotional flow.
The dead man may represent a part of yourself from the past that tried to stay above the angry current, but ultimately drowned in it. Has there been a time in your life when you felt you were drowning emotionally? Is there an area of your life where you feel overpowered and defeated?
Quite possibly the drowned man could merely be a warning signal from your psyche not to be overconfident, and to take care even when you are feeling courageous and strong.
This dream stands as testament to your bravery and determination to persevere and triumph over any difficulty or obstruction on your pathway. To progress in life from fear to courage is a blossoming and coming of age of the self.
Congratulations, Margaret.
This column is intended as entertainment. But psychologists who work with clients’ dreams say that dreams can hold a tremendous amount of significance; a particularly disturbing or repetitive dream may indicate the need to see a therapist.
xxxx Due to the volume of mail, Nancy is not able to use every dream. If your dream is not chosen for this column, you can have a personal phone consultation for $30 per dream. Dream work for use in this column is free.