Dreamscape...

When I was in Greece, my friend Nat and I spent some time talking about dreams. She's part of a group of women who meet regularly to talk through the dreams that they're having. They share possibilities and ask questions... I didn't get to attend a meeting, but it sounded interesting.

I've always had incredibly vivid dreams. I dream in color almost always and have, at points, been able to manipulate what's happening in the dream. I'll relax when I realize I've been underwater too long because I know it's a dream. I can sometimes wake up mid-dream and then put myself back into it to let it finish... My relationship with my dreams is very strong...even when I don't know exactly what they might mean.

This morning's dream was particularly detailed and vivid...and as I was sharing it with Korben, it occurred to me that it felt like it was incredibly symbolic. This was the way I recounted it:

I was walking through a park, or possibly a zoo, and it was getting to be late at night. I found myself in a lions denand the lion was huge. Larger than life. And he was tethered in his cave by a big, long rope with frayed ends. For some reason, it became apparent to me that he was going to get outand he started to leave. The rope was undone (no longer tied), but was wrapping itself around whatever it had been tied to. He was going to feel the tension of it soon, so I for whatever reason unwound the rope so he could walk away. I felt guilty about this because Id just turned a giant lion loose, but it felt like some kind of self-preservation movelike if I let the lion go, it wouldnt turn on me. Later, I was walking through the park as it was getting increasingly darker. I needed to go to the bathroom. Just before I went into the restroom building, I passed a man on the sidewalk who warned me that it wasnt safe to be out there after dark. It was a bad neighborhood and he was worried for me. I tried to ask him directions for how to get out of the bad part He told me some streets and pointed out that the street lights were all out and I should hurry before it got all the way dark. I promised I would, but I had to go to the bathroom, so I stopped in there first. There were other women in the restroomand it was very, very dark. I was trying to find a stall to use The first one was darkbut I could make out that the toilet was a mess I finally noticed a light on over the last one (by the window), so I went in there. It was the handicapped stall and bigger than the rest, well-lit, and clean.

...after that, I woke up (and, oddly, really had to pee)

...any of you armchair analysts want to take a crack at it? I can probably attach meaning to it, but that meaning would be heavily filtered by the events of my life lately...which may obscure some of the larger implications the dream might have.

I'd welcome thoughts...