Has anyone ever had the dream where they come across a person of the same sex maybe a complete stranger or someone familiar, and in the dream they usually are a murderer, prostitute, thief, drug addict, rapist, tramp, alchoholic, foreigner, or burglar. Negative aspects that your conscience represses, it sometimes can be an enemy within a dream usually becoming hostile when misunderstood or ignored. It represents the “dark side” of our ego it is amoral. It is called The Shadow, most often in the dream it guards a pool, cave, etc witch represents our collective unconscious, deep down in our mind. The Shadow is there to help us accept our shadow, our hidden and supressed aspects.
I had this dream that I was in a large empty city, buildings towering over, reaching to a darkened gray black sky. I walked along a street noticing a man at the end. He was dressed nicely. I came closer, he spoke to me in english but the dream told me he was german, he had buzzed dark hair, and glasses, prominent cheekbones aged likely in his young 30’s. I was very close, the dream told me he was a murderer and that he was going to kill me. The man told me to run. I did. I ran dont into a basement. I found myself supported upon wooden rafters and beams, there was no floor just botomless darkness. I climbed along the beams as you would on top of monkey bars. It was dark and dusty. I saw dead people amongst the rafters as I went, I stopped when the dream told me I was at the 14th basment. The dream faded.
I don’t mean to infer anything at all, I just think it’s kinda funny that you put foreigner in that list. Anyway, I didn’t know about the shadow’s guarding anything. I thought it was just some sort of dark, shady and menacing figure, that would likely be out to get you. Like the boogyman. Like Sylar. It would certainly be interesting to venture into that cave, or pool. Like the the underworld of the Incas or Mayans, don’t remember which I’m thinking of.
I don’t know what to make of your dream, seems like a bad place you went to.
I don’t have any character that represents all my dark side. My DCs are an aspect of me, they are born from my subconscious so they must be, but I have no single character that is the amalgamation of all the dark in me.
In many of my NDs were there is violence, murder and occasionally even rape; I am the one dishing it all out. That said, I am comfortable with all aspects of myself, even the “dark side” as you put it. While I might suppress it in daily life, I am comfortable with it, I know it is there and I know what it is capable of and I accept that as part of who I am.
Some people may consider that part of them self foreign to who they are, so for it to show as a foreigner is not that abnormal if you think about it.
I can’t say that I have encountered a DC that I could definitively label as my Shadow. If there’s any kind of stealing going on it’s always me and a friend (or friends) in the role of the thieves, hehehe.
The only recurring DC’s I can think of that may fit the Shadow label would be “demons”. Not the cliche pitchfork and red horns kind of idea. Close to how Constantine portrayed them, except far less mummified, and with large eyes that shine (not glow) in the dark. First time they appeared in my dreams was back in early 2001. I saw them climbing all over the exterior of my house, trying to get in at me.
Every so often they’ll pop back into a dream, climbing a wall, eyes visible looking at me from a dark area, etc. They’ve never talked english but they have shrieked a lot, and once one of them spoke a gibberish language into my ear, but I couldn’t understand it. Mostly they haven’t interacted with me other than watching/chasing or hunting/attacking, so I don’t think it would fit as the Shadow.
Troober yes that could definately be the Shadow. The Shadow might come at us like that when it wants us to accept hidden or darker aspects of ourselves.
Thanks for clarifying the Foreigner thing nicely Mohegan yes, maybe you have accepted the shadow and achieved balance, they say it unlocks alot of creativity and personel power or maybe you dont need the shadow.
To state, I have nothing agaisnt foreigners, that does sound really bad there amongst murderer, rapist and such. I was told that the shadow had many forms, that included with many many more, it’s different to everyone. Sorry if I offended anyone with that said.
Krakatoa, you are right, it is often that menacing character out to get you.
i haven’t ever encountered my shadow, but after reading this i’m actually -wanting- to find my shadow. i think meeting my shadow and overcoming him or whatever and then getting to what he’s guarding could have some serious intellectual/spiritual/creative power to it. sounds cool.
In my normal dream and the lucid ones I usually run into people I know and care about rather than murders (my nightmares consist of people I know trying to kill me… ). In my dreams I usually do stuff I wouldn’t do in real life (kill people, start riots etc…).
I guess that I don’t have a dark figure as a dream character (or myself). And if I ever have had a dark side clone I don’t remember it…
The Luciddator
Yes, good replies. I heared first about the Shadow from a psychologist, who told me what it was, and why its there. I then did some research on it. The Shadow isn’t a thing needing to be overthrown or destroyed but simply accepted. Its is the beholder of our darker aspects, hence gaurding it because its dangerous. I think that way it has control over those aspects for us so we dont lose control to them.
Yes, The Shadow to me is not evil though just dark. It is the repressed aspects of ourselves that do not fit our ego ideal, things we despise and fear.
yes, maybe you have accepted the shadow and achieved balance, they say it unlocks alot of creativity and personel power or maybe you dont need the shadow.
). In my dreams I usually do stuff I wouldn’t do in real life (kill people, start riots etc…).