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October, 2016
30A woman friend of mine (who reminds me of Patty), living alone in a rural area, nonetheless has many friends and relatives also living not too distant from her, out in the boonies where there are lots of evergreen trees and little else, just a fairly flat area, many small houses out in the country, approachable by little dirt roads. A lone gunman, well armed, goes into this area and for several hours systematically shoots and kills all her friends and relatives, even their pets, murdering men, women, children, dogs, etc. Once becoming aware of what is going on, she tries to call for help in stopping the killer, but nobody goes to the rescue, at least not in time. To the last person and pet, all are killed but her. For some reason he lets her live, and then the unknown killer leaves, getting away. Over the next few days, people (including me) are trying to investigate and also to comfort Patty. I feel ashamed that I did not know and that nobody had gone to the rescue. I am not sure, even if I had known, that I could have stopped the killing. I might simply have been killed too.
Days later, a few animals, deer, lone dogs, and a pet cat, are coming back into the area, a sign of renewal perhaps, but Patty is little comforted.
[Of Patty, I'd say she is courageous, smart, and very friendly, but also plagued by a lot of self-doubt, tendencies toward telling others what to do, and worrying more about them and their feelings than healthily looking after her own emotions and needs. She is, however, getting better through the Alanon program. She and I enjoy periodically going together to see plays.
Clearly the dream's shadow character, the killer, shows there are a lot of (at best) suppressed or repressed anger issues. The dream is reminiscent of, but naturally on a much smaller scale than, my "World War III" drug trip back in the 1960s, under the influence of inhaled carbon dioxide mixed with oxygen.
Perhaps the most positive things about this dream are the evergreens, suggesting health, life, and nurturance that persists (despite the extreme, if temporary, inclinations toward violence), and the return of deer, dogs, and a cat toward the end of the dream, indicating a level of healing that is going on.
The anima, Patty, there to show right feeling by example and counter-example, seems more a beneficial than a destructive factor. That she is getting better indicates that I too am improving through involvement in an Alanon program.]
