Antique Warehouse Visit

Dreams Unfolding

I’m at a very sunny plaza, and listening to a discussion about it’s developer, a talented and energetic man now dead, who steered each project toward its desired ends.

Then in a warehouse on a side street, with an old antique’s dealer.  He is showing me through his vast collection of stuff and complaining that it’s been a while since he’s had a real find.  I remind him of using the “back channels” and he looks at me quizzically.  Then I continue, “you know, voice your desire into the back channels.”  This seems to jog his memory, and he immediately says “well looky here.”  An old trombone case lies on the floor.  He starts reminiscing about his youth, but then turns sour because this case isn’t exactly the one he had, which had a small pocket to store things in. He tosses the case aside and I begin to see that the entire place is filled with like things that he has strewn about. He begins to brag about a chair with broken legs and the stuffing falling out being worth $75, at which point I excuse myself.

Outside, I see a guy I played ball with growing and ask if he’s seen a brother and sister from our home town lately.  I then invite him to join me in making a batch of charcoal.

Amplification:

The previous developer, now dead, is an image of the efficacy I’m seeking. The old man, stuck as he is in the warehouse (an interesting image of the collective unconscious) with all his stuff seems like the old ineffective King whose time has come.  When I remind him of his power, he sends his wish and its as though the power beyond the room delivers it.  His disappointment reveals a lack of self awareness that he failed in his articulation of his wish.  the dismal state of his situation comes clear when he tries to make his point with the broken down chair.

Heading back out into the light, I’m met by a former athletic adversary of sorts, one whose team I often played on, but competed for similar positions.  His mannerism lack sensitivity and we often took opposite sides of an argument.  Inviting him to make charcoal, an activity that I’ve taught myself, shows the way to integrate that aspect of the shadow.

Interestingly, read yesterday the idea of Jung’s that what we fail to deal with in the inner challenge comes to meet us in the outer world as fate.  Then today, two distinct and random encounters had this flavor…so to work cutting the inner wood!  The blackness of the charcoal always clearly resembles the alchemical nigredo to me.

(Image cc via Wikipedia)