Transforming a Nightmare

I was awakened recently from a nightmare where I was married to Donald Trump. We were staying in a hotel where I escaped into another hotel room due to his abuse. I locked the door and called security for help, as I was afraid Trump would tear down the place. I evidently cried out, when my real husband, Alex, awakened me.

I wonder if this is a personal dream or a collective one. I feel it is more the latter, as many of us may feel deeply affected by this dark archetype that has arisen from the depths of a culture that has been unable to acknowledge and own its abuses and grief. Blood sport—in reality TV, talk radio and AR47s— is alive and well in the mythos of the crumbling “American Dream”. Now we get to witness the new American nightmare, that has been long in coming.

This uncomfortable dream, where I was essentially helpless to a menacing force, was followed by a second dream. I was in a theatre where I became aware of the seas rising outside. Although this dream also symbolized helplessness due to a force of nature, I felt in control. I raced backstage and upstairs to a room where I found a broken window to the outside. I was able to crack the window open that would allow others to escape the inevitable flooding.

The difference between the two dreams is that the first dream I was trying to lock a negative force out and felt I couldn’t escape. In the second, there was an opportunity and possibility of escape.

The world is changing, due to climate extremes, economic contraction, technology, wars and the destabilization of nations. Trump and the GOP represent to me the naked Emperor in his futile and foolish attempts to hold back the rising tides and inevitable transformation. I believe that the majority of people are waking up and are aware, despite those who would prefer not to see. We are all essentially standing naked before the fates. We can either choose fear and continue to blame the “other” or choose love and acceptance. It can be painful to accept that little is how it used to be, that we cannot recapture some mythological ideology. What if we could grieve the losses and open our arms, our hearts and our imagination to whatever or whoever is revealed to us? What if the awakening is about growing up and growing into our fully actualized selves where we finally get that we are all connected to everything else?