Destroy Destruction

We hold in us the seeds of our own destruction. Our body constantly dies, losing millions of cells, but it also has the seeds of Life, and so continues. Our attitudes to this may be shown in dreams where we see destruction.

Example: Dreamt I was alone in a house and asleep in bed. Something materialised or landed on the foot of the bed. It woke me a little and I felt afraid. I had the feeling it was some sort of entity materialising and coming for me in some way. It moved up the bed a little. I felt paralysed, partly by fear but also as if the ‘thing’ was influencing me. This made me more afraid of it. Then it moved up higher, not on my body but on the bed. I was very afraid and struggling against the paralysing influence. I managed to shout at it – I will destroy you. I will destroy you. As I shouted I pushed at it with my hand. This felt to me as if I were going to will its destruction and use my hand to smash it. I still felt a little uncertain of the outcome but I was very determined to fight it. At this point I woke up or was awakened by Hyone. She asked me what I had been dreaming. Apparently I had been pushing her and shouting that I would destroy her.

Here the dreamer explains what he felt on exploring the dream: “Gradually I began to feel tense throughout my body, with difficulty in breathing. The ‘thing’ seemed at first to be woman’s vagina. There was a little feeling in this but not much. Then it slowly grew in intensity and I realised the ‘thing’ was death. Recently it is obvious from the mirror that my body is going through another period of rapid ageing. The dream was a dramatic representation of my feelings about this. Death was gradually creeping up on me, gradually overwhelming me and I was fighting it. As the session deepened I saw that in my feelings I felt that death had put its finger on me. The touch of death was like a disease though. Once touched the disease was incurable and gradually took over ones body. I could hardly breathe as I experienced this, and I understood the sort of emotions that might lie beneath asthma attacks. This struggle with death went on for some time. It was not terrible but was felt strongly.

I began to wonder what to do about the situation, the feeling was that death was claiming me. So I wanted to face the truth about death, whatever it was. I wanted to walk right up to it and look it in the face and know whether death meant a final end. If it did I would rather know. As I approached death it – my feelings – went through an amazing transformation. All the tension left me. I felt good, positive and with a sense of hope about life and death. This was so surprising and sudden I wondered what had produced it. I needed to be aware of how this change had occurred. So I retraced my steps to look at death and try to understand why it had lost its power of fear.  But in looking it in the face I saw another view of it. I saw the dead body, the corpse, the skeleton, as a form left behind by the process of life. It is like the shells on the beach here, wonderful forms life crates as it moves on. When I looked at myself to see what ‘Tony’ is – I cannot separate myself from the process of life. That process leaves behind shells, bodies, tree trunks, but it goes on creating other forms. I am Life!!

Quite a number of dreams are about the threat of destruction by the end of the world, an atomic bomb of war, by a wild animal or even a great flood or tsunami. Of course you are in the dream world that is a wonderful and real virtual reality in which not harm can actually come to you. But of course you can feel a lot of fear – which is unnecessary. The dream process is in no way trying to hurt or destroy you. Such dreams are about massive changes taking place in your life. (See Tsunami.) They are destructive only to the rigid viewpoints, opinions and beliefs we hold onto, often with awful fears. It is helpful to learn relaxation and use it often to move beyond your fears see Relaxation and Learning to Allow Yourself

Sometimes our dreams create things that dramatise our fear or terror of out own life process, that feel is intent of destroying us. If we fail to understand that the dream action can produce spontaneous movement which does not arise from our conscious will we will totally miss understanding some dreams. We will be terrified something, an alien force or another being has taken control of us.

In life and sleep we have two powerful actions working in us. The first is our waking experience based on having a body, its limitations, vulnerabilities and a particular gender. Our second is the power that gave us life and continues to express as dreams.

While we sleep our conscious self is largely or totally unconscious, and while we sleep our voluntary muscles are paralysed – therefore another will or motivating force moves our body. So we have a Conscious Will, and what I will call a Life Will. The first one we have experience of as we can move our arm or speak in everyday activities; but the second will takes over when we sleep. See Sleep Paralysis

This Life will can move us to speak, to move our body, and in fact do things that we cannot do with our Conscious Will. As Freud pointed out this inner will has full access to our memories. It can do so many other things that are described else where – See Life’s Little Secrets.

So if you can find courage to believe Life/God is not trying to crush you but trying to heal you of the terrors you carry around in you, then you will take steps toward being healed.

The destroyed house is another sign that our attitudes and beliefs are out of harmony with out life purpose. The house is a symbol of oneself and ones way oflife and sometimes has to be destroyed to make way for a more harmonious life.

Example: On touching the woman with a sword I hold a feeling sense comes over me that now I have to fight. I hear a voice from a hatch saying, “Your sword is ready”. But I do not want to fight anyone. It is ready he says and I glimpse it but then I look up and hurtling towards me at great immense speed through the air is a huge sword, heavy, and just before it hits me I see the blade is a spiral. I am blasted apart and have a major bodily judder and wake up having been destroyed by the flying sword. Even if I had taken the sword it would have been of no use against this major force.

An interpretation of the dream: I wonder if the sword is an expression of your anger that is showing but you are not acknowledging. But a sword can also be a sign of will power or discrimination; strength to defend oneself and ones rights. It depends how one uses it.

But what it does is to reveal a hidden beauty in a part of you that is sleeping – the woman who exists under water. It is important because you do it again as an unconscious action. It is surely trying to wake you to two things – your unconscious state, and the revealing of hidden feminine beauty.

Touching with your sword is evident, and can mean that without realising it you are touching part of you and other people with your recognition and strength. For a sword can mean strength and ability to defend others and oneslf. You do not wish to fight anyone, but you can protect and rule. Then the mighty sword that blasts you apart is something wonderful, a full realisation of your power. Of course you haven’t been destroyed, just blasted apart. In other words you are realising the emergence of a wonderful power you have, and the realisation totally knocks apart the image you have of yourself.

Useful Questions and Hints:

What have felt you might be destroyed by?

How have you dealt with feelings of fear?

Do you realise the dream images cannot hurt or kill you?

See Facing Fear – Dreams are Like a Computer Game – Techniques for Exploring your Dreams