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| "Mugu Rock" formed when a cut through the ocean side mountain for the Pacific Coast Highway at Point Mugu, California (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
An array of dream characters fill our dreams like actors in a weekly television show. There are regulars who can appear in nearly every dream episode or at least with great frequency. Then there are those special guests who appear with enough frequency that we are not surprised when they show up in our dreams. Also there is that myriad of extras--dream actors who are like the everyday unknown people that we pass in the stores and on the streets. Some of these may seem familiar, some are strangers, while others might be people we recognize but don't actually know in waking life.
The real surprise comes when a totally unexpected dream visitor appears on the scene. This might be a person from our past, someone who is no longer living, or someone whom we encounter on a regular basis but wouldn't expect to see in our dreams. These are the cameo dream roles, the walk-on performances, or simply unexpected dream visitors.
In a recent dream I had such a dream encounter...
The dream memory begins with a work-life scenario from my past as I am on my way with my touring show company to a venue where we are scheduled to work. We are apparently looking for a high school, but we are out in a barren hilly area that is very muddy and bleak. From the appearance of the landscape there may have been recent storms. In the distance I see a complex of large buildings that I know to be the place of our destination, but there seems to be no way to get near to it with our truck. I am concerned as to how we will get our equipment into the facility with such a far distance to carry it. I walk to the school to check things out.
Once I am inside the school I am no longer with my show crew, but on my own looking for someone. In retrospect I don't remember who that someone is. The setting seems to be different now. There is something like a convention going on or actually more like some sort of church conference. Since many young people are present I understand this to be a Christian youth conference.
Being older than everyone present at this event I feel uncomfortable and out of place. I happen to see a younger man whom I recognize as someone I used to know from our church but who left years ago under some unpleasant circumstances. He turns away as though pretending he doesn't recognize me. I wander around the building observing all of the activity going on. At one point I come to a cafeteria where food is being served. The food does not look very appetizing, but still I somewhat want some of it. However my greatest desire is to leave this place and go back home.
Leaving the building I want to go home but I have no transportation. I began walking on the road through the vast barren muddy landscape. Ahead I see a familiar person. It is Bill, a man that I know from a study group that I attend during the week. He is waiting at the bottom of the hill that I am walking down at a place where the road intersects with a larger road. He seems happy to see me and is apparently aware that I am in need of a ride. As I approach him a large older car, something like a 90's model Cadillac or Lincoln, pulls up and I realize that Bill has been waiting on a ride. Bill invites me to get in the car so they can take me home.
I climb into the front seat and Bill gets in the back. A man about our age whom I don't know is driving. He is friendly and says he will be glad to take me home. We enter a larger highway that reminds me of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Bill hands me some booklets and I peruse them as we drive. I feel very relieved that I have a ride home...
When I awaken I feel happy about having seen this man in my dream. His presence gives me a sense of comfort probably because of the circumstance surrounding his appearance in my dream. As a side note I should mention that this man is someone whom I see on a weekly basis at a Bible study. He does not have a car and lives far from the church where we meet so that someone needs to take him home after the study or he must take a bus ride involving several transfers which means it would take him a long time to get home. Usually there is another man at the study who drives in Bill's direction so he is able to take Bill home.
On a few occasions that other man was not at the study and I volunteered to take Bill home even though it is considerably out of my way meaning that it takes an extra 45 minutes for me to do this. After I related my dream to my wife she suggested that maybe my dream is telling me that I should continue to take Bill home when the other ride is not available because one day I might need to count on Bill to help me in some way.
What do you think of my wife's interpretation? Are there people for whom you have done favors who appear in your dreams to help you? Do you sometimes have unexpected dream visitors?
