So we continue with Jung’s journey after his meeting with Philemon and learning of Magic. Again, one of the ways to encounter Magic is to pay attention to the forces we do not understand, forces that we may be dis-identified with.  Other.  Dream images, especially distonic ones.

And then “I”  (Jung or habitual consciousness) meets the serpent/his soul/the connection with the depths-the origins.

And here we find that I uses Magic, the enchanting flute, the flattery of “ my sister, my soul ...” as he speaks to the serpent.  This is the way to get closer to Soul, but to beware of becoming familiar because that can lead to the urge to control the connection to the depths, which is really trying to control the connection to the great mystery / the unknown.

This connects me to a dream I had a month ago.  I was in a river with a friend and after swimming with and then against the gentle current my friend left to go to the bathroom and I felt a hand grab me from under the water ...  I was in terror.  I could hardly scream, I was frozen, alone and terrified and woke myself up trying to call for help.

One of my colleagues worked the dream with me brilliantly.  First I anchored the feeling of swimming up current in my kicking legs and my chest as I swam upstream, then the terror and frozen inability to scream about being alone with the terrifying unknown in my belly.  Them with the fine art work of my dream worker Roger, I was able to through the hands on my arms allow the presence of the female thin fingered hands as they held me reveal itself.  It knew me somehow, in it’s holding me it wanted to hold me still even though  was terrified.  That was all of it’s intention I could get.  

It reminds me of I and the serpent/soul.  I realized the art of allowing the transit in a dream to occur is in a way, enchanting or flattering the image of Other.  Keeping the distonic reaction of me the I separate and anchored in me as I try to simply notice and “pay attention to the force I do not understand ...”  And to always “beware” of interpreting, understanding the image / Other.  Beware of becoming “familiar” with the Other, thinking I know what it wants.  

In noticing it’s wanting to hold me I wanted to think that it had good intentions, maybe she is my soul wanting to help me, to connect me with the Depths, take me to the great mystery.  But I had to resist that and simply allow the holding and that somehow it knew me, that was all I allowed myself “to know”.

And in hold the three anchors of the dream I tried to maintain a connection to the terror (the most difficult to re-experience) even as I held my movement in the current and the hands holding me.  The holding also made me think of what Robbie sometimes says that as a dream worker we need to be willing to hold the dreamer in very painful states by encouraging them to “stay with the feeling”.  “She” of the deep river was doing that!!

In listening to this lecture I want to enchant or flatter Her more to allow more connection and remember to maintain my bewaredness.

Whatever it is, I feel very blessed to have been given it.

Chris