Dreaming to Survive
Dreamed 2001/8/13 & 2003/9/2 by Christoph Gassmann
In late summer 2001 my wife drew my attention to a little irregularly shaped spot on the back of my left elbow. Thoughtfully I examined it in the mirror. It was clear to me that it could be serious, but it was so small that I decided to wait and observe to see if it would grow or move in shape or color. I was alerted but not alarmed and forgot it during the day. The following night I had this dream: 8.13.2001My position in bed was the same as in the dream, waiting for my death. While starting my netbook to note my dream, the tense silence broke--tears rolled down my cheeks and blurred my view of the screen. Interesting in this dream is that the left elbow was taken as a theme although the bandage was placed on the opposite side of the dark spot in question. Also the theme of waiting was put on the inner stage. But at that time I did not really understand the dream because I was somewhat proud about my courage. After the dark spot was discovered I looked at it from time to time over a period of two years. Then again, in late summer, I had the impression that it had moved somewhat and changed its shape. Now I was a bit more worried but did not decide anything. The following night I had this dream: |
9.2.2003As I woke, I understood the dream immediately. The transformation of the human form into light was a death symbol. In the same morning, still shocked and motivated, I dropped everything and went to the dermatological clinic. There a melanoma was diagnosed and carefully extracted. It turned out that it was still limited to the spot and had not spread to any vessel to create a metastasis in the body. For me these dreams were a very impressive teaching about how dreams can convey very clearly the situation, apart from all mental rationalizations and personal blindness, and how they can indicate the state of the body and the possible fatal consequences. The second dream was very much a kick in my butt. I wonder how widespread such dreams are in serious situations and how forcefully one has to ignore them by considering them mere fantasies created accidentally by a reduced functioning brain. When will representatives of science and a wider public wake up to the reality of dreams? |
Christoph Gassmann is a psychologist and dream worker in Switzerland. He keeps a long-term dream journal with over 4000 dreams and is the author of the book Träume erinnern und deuten [Remembering and Interpreting Dreams] and of many articles about dreams in German.
SOURCE: Dream Time, a publication of the Association for the Study of Dreams, winter 2012, pp 14-15
World Dream Bank homepage - Art gallery - New stuff - Introductory sampler, best dreams, best art - On dreamwork - Books
Indexes: Subject - Author - Date - Names - Places - Art media/styles
Titles: A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - IJ - KL - M - NO - PQ - R - Sa-Sh - Si-Sz - T - UV - WXYZ
Email: wdreamb@yahoo.com - Catalog of art, books, CDs - Behind the Curtain: FAQs, bio, site map - Kindred sites