I am on my way to a marketing/networking event, navigating
busy streets. I’m riding a bike. A couple women from chorale are on the side of
the road heading in the same general direction. I realize too late that I’ve
forgotten my brochures and cards, but decide to continue and do without them.
When I get there, it’s nearly empty. Booths and tables are set up in a
labyrinth of rooms and hallways. I especially notice herbal supplements and
skin care companies. I strike up a conversation with a woman who talks to me
about investing, specifically with progressive social activism companies and
causes. She advises picking 5-10 to divide my money between. I wake up with my
mind buzzing and the song “Tongue Tied” stuck firmly in my head (“Take me to
your best friend’s house. I loved you then I love you now.”)
I couldn’t begin to go back to sleep until I got up and
jotted down the bullet points that made up this dream. Then this morning, I am
spending some time revisiting the setting of it, bringing the feelings of the
dream back to me…anxiety, overwhelm, curiosity, fascination, some confusion.
I like to start dreamwork with the part of the dream that
holds the most emotional charge. In this dream, there’s not a whole lot of
intensity, but the feeling of wandering mostly alone through a maze of booths
and tables comes closest. So I’ll dig in there and see what comes out.
Some associations: kiosks in the mall, presentations,
pedestals, displays, selling, being put on the spot, pressure to say yes, not
taking ‘no’ for an answer.
Wow. This tells me I have some serious work to do. My mind
has been working on issues of consent and consent violations off and on for a
while now, and the connection becomes clear when I let my thoughts flow
unimpeded. Some part of me equates marketing myself professionally with
pressuring people to give what they wouldn’t freely give otherwise. I can’t
with a clear conscious participate in that. So, I default to being as known
publically as I am comfortable with, and trusting that those who are meant to
come work with me will find me. Now, is that effective? I don’t know yet. But I
am determined to do this in a way that does not violate my principles.
Stretching myself is one thing, going completely outside things I hold dearly
is another entirely.
There are other tidbits this dream has for me, but I think I’ve
hit upon the biggest one here. It’s a nice idea many times to do something in
the waking world to anchor the insights of characters from a dream into your consciousness.
This can be through creating something artistic, doing some kind of ritual to
honor it, or whatever else resonates with you. In this case, I think I’m going
to let the fuel from this dream help get me in contact with other non-competitive-minded
professionals and see what resources are out there.
