Dream #12: "Expedition"

Classification: Type II
Age: Twenty-five years old.

I am with a group of three close friends, all four of us doctors or scientists. We are planning to embark upon an expedition. My character is male, as are two of the others, and one is female. Our destination is a remote island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. We secure a small twin engine turboprop aircraft and begin the journey. We are planning to study some unspecified mysterious phenomenon upon the island once we get there.

During the flight I begin to demonstrate to the others the nature of our survival gear. For whatever reason, the kits consist primarily of two white cloth bags, each about the size of a bowling ball, one containing flour and the other gunpowder, which are tied to one's person with bright yellow cords.

Suddenly, in the midst of this demonstration, our plane's proximity alarm sounds and we see that we are flying into a mountain in the middle of the ocean. We swerve aside, but something goes wrong with one of the engines, and we are forced to land on one of a small cluster of islands surrounding the mountain. We are yet far from our intended destination.

We land in a field full of cars, and see Russian soldiers marching toward the crash site. We realize that this is a secret Russian military installation and that they are trafficking illegal vehicles into the U.S. We crawl away under the cars to escape the Russians, and one of the group assures the rest of us that we will be able to escape, for he speaks Russian. The other two, who are a sort of couple, although not in a romantic manner, believe his claim, but I, who alone was able to escape the wrecked plane with a survival kit, know that I shall be the one to assure the survival of the group.

Interpretation

A few things about this dream must be mentioned before I proceed to interpret it. Upon waking from this dream, I realized with stark clarity that I had dreamed it before, in precisely the same detail and content, but had apparently forgotten it. I have no idea when this occurred, but my first impression was that it may have been over a year ago. This is, of itself, quite startling to me as it constitutes evidence that I am capable of forgetting a dream, the first such that I have ever encountered. Upon waking from this dream, I was also struck with the distinct impression that the "will" of my unconscious, if there can be said to be such a thing, was intent upon reminding me of this dream, realizing that I had previously failed to comprehend or assimilate it.

Concerning the interpretation of the dream proper, it is quite evident that the syntax of a Jungian interpretation applies, particularly the self represented as a portion of a group of four, one female character, the Anima, being present within this quaternity. The interesting thing about the dream, however, is not the presence of these four, for this is a foregone conclusion already established within the dream (it seemed natural within the dream). The interesting thing about the dream is the dependence of the "couple," probably the Anima and Savage, upon the other two, probably the Pragmatic and Theoretical psyches. The Pragmatic psyche claims to be able to resolve the dire situation because of a fluency in Russian, and the other two believe him; but the Theoretical psyche silently ridicules this ridiculous proposition, knowing that the fate of the group lies with him as he alone is in possession of the artifact or saving device.

Thus, the analysis of this device is of primary interest to me. First, it seems to represent a dichotomy between life and death, as one portion, the flour, is a giver of life, and the other, the gunpowder, a bringer of death. The idea that this device shall serve to protect oneself and others is intriguing. There also seemed, even within the dream, to be a particular symbolism to the golden cord by which it was fastened to the person. I cannot say with very much certainty, but there seemed, upon waking, to be a similarity between the golden cord and the concepts of truth and destiny. Mostly, however, the golden cord seemed to symbolize rightful possession of the device in question, or rather, whatever its inherent symbolism, this was the clear result of that symbolism in context.