Lose Your Head; Let Instincts Guide You
Dear Nancy: I am just out of a relationship that lasted several years and I’m very happy about that. I’m wondering about my next step and what I want to do now that I’m free. I’ve had this dream several times and I figure it’s trying to tell me something, but for the life of me, I don’t know what it is! - Beth
“I am a spectator at a gathering. I know that we are there to witness a beheading. The executioners have a modern guillotine which is supposed to be more humane than the old style. There is a chamber of thick liquid that a person is put into which causes the blade to travel more slowly, thus being more humane. They put the man into the guillotine, then have a conference to decide whether he will be executed this way. They decide to go ahead and do it. The blade falls and his head is off. I look over the chamber and see his breath bubbles traveling up through the liquid.”
Dear Beth: The guillotine was widely used during the French Revolution to execute people who were believed to be against the rapidly changing political and social structures. Did you feel socially pressured to stay in the relationship? Did you feel you had to fight for your freedom? You’ve recently come out of a long term relationship, and maybe reliving, in your dreams, the death of that alliance.
Generally, it’s a good practice to view the dream as if every part of it is an aspect of yourself. Using this approach, you are the executioner and the executed. Unconsciously, we often punish ourselves for the choices we make in life. I wonder if deep inside you feel guilty about hurting your friend and feel the need to “pay” for the breakup. This dream really emphasizes the need to be humane. If the judgment and decision is the break-up of the relationship, the “execution” of it can be kind and compassionate. Are you being merciful and kindhearted with your ex and yourself?
When we explored this dream on the phone you mentioned that you are having a hard time deciding what to do now that you have your freedom. You consider yourself a very rational and analytical person and you tend to intellectualize everything. With this in mind, the dream suggests that it may be time to “lose your head,” stop rationalizing and allow intuition and instinct to come in and guide you. Remember that dreams often use very graphic scenes so that we’ll get the message. We don’t always have to know exactly where we’re going in life.The destination’s greatest gifts are often found during the journey there. Good luck, Beth.
Dream tips
It’s common to be victims, murderers or witnesses of death in our dreams when we’re making inner changes. We are often so attached to our old ways that it can feel like dying to give them up. On the other hand, sometimes we get so sick of ourselves we are “dying” (or can’t wait) to give them up.
We don’t want to change! We are fearful of it and want to hang on to the old ways of being and doing, whether they are healthy or not. But being a part of the human race is being a part of evolution - the evolution of the human spirit. Letting go, allowing the “heads to roll” when they must, can be a sign of growth.