The Black Blob
By David Sunfellow
July 21, 2014
To set the stage, for the past few days I have been dealing with some interpersonal issues that have been emotionally upsetting. Because dealing with emotionally charged interpersonal issues is a universal theme for all of us, I thought some of you might find this dream as interesting — and entertaining — as I did…
The Black Blob
In my dream, I am living in a house that is attacked by a tenacious black blob monster. This is the second time it has attacked. It is small, perhaps a foot and a half in length. It is very dark — like a black hole — and has the consistency of tar. It is not sticky, but is very dense. And quick. It is highly mobile, agitated, and able to change shapes very quickly. When I first see it, I notice that it has bitten our family cat and ripped a chunk of flesh off her face, near her mouth. This really upsets me and I quickly grab the blob. I am not afraid of it, and do not feel personally threatened by it. While I am stronger, faster, and smarter, the blob is very fast and very sneaky. I want to stop it, once and for all, from harming anyone or anything, and prevent it from returning. So I grab it and begin ripping, pulling and stretching it. I’m thinking I will be able to kill it if I can pull enough of it a part so that it looses its integrity. But the darn thing pulls itself back together as fast as I pull it a part — and finally manages to slip away. So I turn my attention to figuring out how to stop it from returning.
As I walk through my house, I notice that there are a couple votive candles burning with prayer beads nearby. I’m not sure who placed them there, but I know they have been put there to help ward off the blob. “Hum,” I think to myself, “maybe prayer will do the trick”. Then another idea pops in my mind which seems like it might work even better: garlic! “Yes,” I think to myself, “all monsters hate garlic!” So I decide to make a big batch of garlic juice, put it in a quart-sized jar, and the next time the blob shows up, I will cover it with garlic juice.
That’s when I begin to awaken. But as I wake up, I catch myself: “Wait a minute, why am I fighting this little monster? Before fighting it, why don’t I try to find out what it is, why it came, and why this is happening?”
(Yes, even after four decades of knowing that it is important to befriend monsters, my first knee-jerk response is still to fight them.)
Anyway, after I remember what needs to be done, I imagine the black blob and begin talking with it. I ask it who it is and why it is causing so much trouble. Immediately, I receive the answer that the black blob is a personification of my anger, upset feelings, and frustration. And then a familiar story — the story of two wolves — pops in my brain:
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Two Wolves
By Vickie Smith
There was grandfather, his little grandson often came in the evenings to sit at his knee and ask the many questions that children ask.
One day the grandson came to his grandfather with a look of anger on his face.
Grandfather said, “Come, sit, tell me what has happened today.”
The child sat and leaned his chin on his Grandfather’s knee. Looking up into the wrinkled, nut brown face and the kind dark eyes; the child’s anger turned to quiet tears.
The boy said, “I went to the town today with my father, to trade the furs he has collected over the past several months. I was happy to go, because father said that since I had helped him with the trapping, I could get something for me. Something that I wanted. I was so excited to be in the trading post, I have not been there before. I looked at many things and finally found a metal knife! It was small, but good size for me, so father got it for me.”
Here the boy laid his head against his grandfather’s knee and became silent. The Grandfather, softly placed his hand on the boys raven hair and said, “and then what happened?”.
Without lifting his head, the boy said, “I went outside to wait for father, and to admire my new knife in the sunlight. Some town boys came by and saw me, they got all around me and starting saying bad things. They called me dirty and stupid and said that I should not have such a fine knife. The largest of these boys, pushed me back and I fell over one of the other boys. I dropped my knife and one of them snatched it up and they all ran away, laughing.”
Here the boy’s anger returned, “I hate them, I hate them all!”
The Grandfather, with eyes that have seen too much, lifted his grandson’s face so his eyes looked into the boy’s. Grandfather said, “Let me tell you a story. I too, at times, have felt a great hate for those that have taken so much, with no sorrow for what they do.
“But hate wears you down, and does not hurt your enemy. It is like taking poison and wishing your enemy would die. I have struggled with these feelings many times.
“It is as if there are two wolves inside me, one is white and one is black. The White Wolf is good and does no harm. He lives in harmony with all around him and does not take offense when no offense was intended. But will only fight when it is right to do so, and in the right way.
“But, the Black Wolf, is full of anger. The littlest thing will set him into a fit of temper. He fights everyone, all the time, for no reason. He cannot think because his anger and hate are so great. It is helpless anger, for his anger will change nothing.
“Sometimes it is hard to live with these two wolves inside me, for both of them try to dominate my spirit.”
The boy, looked intently into his Grandfather’s eyes, and asked, “Which one wins Grandfather?”
The Grandfather, smiled and said, “The one I feed.”
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Clearly, this dream was encouraging me to use my thoughts and emotional energy more positively. What message (or messages) does it have for you?
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For some insightful comments from Integral Deep Listening creator, Joseph Dillard, about this dream (and related issues), click here.
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To learn more about dreams and how to use them to transform your life, go here.
