Susan: My dreams also tend to be quite gruesome.
Conrad: Oh, really?
Susan: Yeah, I often have some pretty intensely gory dreams, probably every 2 months or so.
Conrad: That's good.
Susan: Yeah, it's not every night or anything.
Conrad: No, that would be better. Conflict in dreams is a sign of self-communication.
Conrad: Want to tell me one or two?
Susan: Sure, if you're interested.
Conrad: I'm interested.
Susan: Here's a pretty gross one:
Susan: I had a canker sore, I cut it out of my mouth with scissors, realized I had an unsightly hole in my mouth, and stapled the skin back together.
Conrad: Wow! What happened then?
Susan: I think I went around, and people noticed, and I calmly explained what happened.
Conrad: and?
Susan: Everyone was fairly nonchalant.
Susan: I think that's about it.
Conrad: ok. Want to tell me another one?
Susan: Sure. I went to Stop and Shop with my boyfriend, and there was a woman atop a trash can shooting at people with an automatic rifle of some kind.
Susan: I knew, though I'm not sure how, that she was only firing at men, so I stood in front of my boyfriend to protect him.
Susan: And all the other men were running like rodents in front of traffic- they couldn't decide where to run.
Susan: So I tried to save them by standing in front of them, but I wasn't able to save them, though I think my boyfriend was okay.
Susan: And that was that.
Conrad: Wow.
Conrad: Can you tell me a third?
Susan: Hmm, no others readily come to mind. If I think of one in the next few minutes I'll tell you.
Conrad: ok.
Susan: Any thoughts?
Conrad: Yeah, one or two.
Susan: will they assault my defense mechanisms?
Conrad: do you want them to assault your defense mechanisms?
Susan: I'm not really sure.
Susan: I mean, I don't like to delude myself, but I don't like emotional turmoil either.
Conrad: Yeah, that's a connundrum.
Conrad: Hey, what do you think of stories -- movies, and so on -- about revolutions?
Susan: political revolutions?
Conrad: Yeah, or distopias, etc.
Susan: Depends on the movie or story, but I suppose I like them.
Susan: In general.
Susan: Why?
Conrad: Just curious. btw -- if I can go off on a tangent here -- I'm watching this old b&w movie where the strangest thing just happened.
Susan: What happened?
Conrad: Our (anti-) hero goes to a drive-in for a beer.
Conrad: He sits in his car drinking it. I wonder when they stopped serving it that way?
Susan: Hahaha, times have certainly changed.
Conrad: Sure have. They also wore their slacks with the belt buckle hitched up to cover their navels.
Susan: Hahaha. And everyone smoked anywhere they damn well wanted to.
Conrad: Mm. These were fine for the 50's.
Conrad: What does the mouth represent?
Susan: Speech, and taking things in and expelling things.
Susan: Well, regurgitating things.
Conrad: Ok.
Conrad: And taste.
Susan: That too.
Conrad: Working through it systematically, suppose the mouth here represents speech: what would a canker sore represent?
Susan: A hindrance of my speech?
Conrad: no..
Susan: A blemish on my speech or expression? In other words, a flaw?
Conrad: maybe. But often dreams -- especially violent or gorey dreams -- are about messages we want to deny.
Conrad: so couldn't a canker sore in one's mouth represent an ugly horrible thing we were trying (not) to say?
Susan: Well, that's sort of what I meant with the blemish.
Conrad: ok.
Susan: But yes, repression of something I don't want to say?
Conrad: sure.
Susan: Or shouldn't.
Conrad: or want to at some level, but shouldn't.
Susan: Makes sense.
Conrad: Now this is a good news/bad news situation.
Susan: How so?
Conrad: Well, you have a choice.