Wednesday 31 May 2023

Dream recall:

I found myself overseeing (or in some position of authority over) a railway or rail-transit system. The entire system needed repair or restoration, as it was dirty, run-down, poorly running and people didn’t like to use it. Worse, no one trusted the system; it was obvious to me in the dream that neither the people working with all the trains, nor the riding public trusted those who had been ‘in charge’ of it for so long.

As I stepped forward, the “management” (that is, the existing un-trustworthy ones) were on my left and behind me, over my left shoulder. They were saying to me “we don’t want any major changes, you understand, we just want you to make all the workers work harder and be more efficient.”

But as I walked away from them and into the train stations and train yards, I spent all my time talking with everyone who worked with the trains, everyone who cleaned, fixed and maintained all the equipment and stations. When they knew there was someone listening carefully, from the heart, passengers began to come forward as well, and collectively, they knew exactly what to do.

I could no longer even hear or see the original managers – they had simply faded into the background. Now there was a wonderful sense of purpose and direction as the individual trains and stations began to be clean and safe and smoothly running. The whole system took on a happy atmosphere, with greetings and ‘hellos’ ringing out across the platforms, the conductors recognizing regular riders, and helping those who needed assistance.

Suddenly, though, when the trains began to run freely again, some dark forces again began to insert themselves. I was taken from an outdoor station to one of the major hubs, and there, cameras had been installed on every lamppost, on every overhead support. I was taken into a dark, enclosed ‘control room’ so they could show me how each individual person on any of the train platforms would be identified. There were large monitors showing people being surveilled, with green boxes around each one, and smaller green text appearing with individual identification.

I heard myself saying calmly: “Stop this right now. Take all those cameras down and stop doing this.” There were dim voices protesting in the background, but one by one the little green boxes began to vanish, and the monitors began to switch off. I could again hear the calling out of the train conductors announcing their leaving or arriving and hear a happy bustle of activity.

There was more work to be done, and I was moved again to a more remote area, where some of the station buildings had been so neglected that walls of the stations had fallen down. Shoulder to shoulder with other people, we raised entire walls up and began to set the stations right again. As the walls were raised, there was cleaning out of weeds and animals that had been living under them. As I began to wake, I could see new construction, and completely new structures being raised again. There was a wonderful sense of ownership and independence.