John: Now, my inner take on the same theme as your dream presents the details of how something gets set in its nature. In your dream, you had a more overall sense, which is the feminine viewpoint (see Night of the Living Dead). Getting into the details is a masculine viewpoint dealing with the same territory.
In this dream I seem to be part of a system in which the status quo is maintained as the general way of living, the way that’s been accepted by the collective.
In other words, the status quo is seen by everyone to be the natural way of things – that’s the way life is. The collective flow is considered to be, and is recognized as, the path of least resistance. Everyone accepts this pattern and understands what is required of them.
The result is a world in which entrenched mannerisms predominate. To deviate from these social mores is seen as abnormal. I, however, see a different path because for me, the status quo, although casual and easygoing as a mannerism, is missing out on an important catalytic element in life. This is what I come to see as meaningful: some catalytic aspect of the natural flow that ushers in change.
The more general way of being has become, for me, an unconscious state that denies the need for change. I notice that my perspective has been blocked as an option by the collective opinion about how to live and to be.
To begin with, I see myself changing relative to the usual mannerisms, and I embrace this process. Over time this begins to dominate my perspective more and more. This is a state of being that’s developing a higher level of consciousness from everyone else, because everywhere I look people hold onto the established social order.
But I’m excited by the changes, which are making my life more dynamic. The pattern by the collective has caused life to drift so far away from this natural dynamic of change that even the idea that change is a natural part of life is now deemed to be unacceptable.
Because I know the importance of this inner flow and constant change, my perspective is becoming more and more out of place. I’m getting excited about the unknowable possibilities. In other words, because one is identifying it within and going with it, it’s unknowable in terms of the outer.
I see the status quo in my dream as being a mannerism that’s being sustained by blind repetition. I see this pattern supported by the masses who visit the casinos in Vegas – it’s the backbone of their way of life.
Suddenly a shift occurs where I begin seeing the flow from a different perspective, and everything around me seems to lose its meaning. Yet within this pattern, I see an inner aliveness emerging. This aliveness is not apparent to the collective flow in the casino. You might say that what I’m seeing has a slow transformational effect, but it’s slowed in part because it receives no support from the outer world.
To the degree that this aliveness might be even slightly noticed by anyone, it’s seen as a discombobulating energetic. For me, I know this to be a shift that’s making its way into life, from the inner into the outer, and it’s largely invisible to the outer consciousness.
I can stare at it and be excited and surprised. The collective hasn’t a clue, although I believe this to be something the collective would like if they could accept and support it.
In the end, the basic nature of the collective prevails in the dream, and the status quo is upheld. The world around me has chosen the path of least resistance.
