At the end of an intense session with a beautiful couple in distress

I suddenly and unexpectedly was overcome with a burst of emotion and was unable to continue speaking until I could stop and collect myself again.

Symbolism of the dream

Like all human experience, dreams are fleeting. To make them last longer, we write down what we remember, filtering the memories through the cognitive grid of consciousness. Then we may reflect on them and look for what meaning they may hold.

I believe Jung was correct in viewing the images of dreams as manifestations of personal and universal symbols. Lauren to me represents the priceless core of personal creative spirit I carry in my being, as we all do. Jenny, driving the car, is my rational intellect, trying to get me from one mundane place to the next. I am a passenger, going along with the flow, observing my life without directing it. In my hurry to keep moving, I focus on the unimportant luxury of sitting in the front seat and recklessly allow the part of me that gives my life passion and color to be flung to the side of the road like so much litter. Only then do I realize what's important and am I activated to do everything I can to keep the spirit alive.

I remember the image of Lauren at the bottom of the pond had a serene, diaphonous appearance, as if she were sprawled out across a comfortable mattress sleeping peacefully. She was simply dormant, waiting for me to remember her and bring her back to the life on the surface.

Dream about Lauren in danger

I awoke from a dream at 4AM. Two of my daughters, Jenny and Lauren, and I were in Athens. It seemed to be in the evening. We planned to drive a car  from my parents' house to a restaurant or bar in another town. Someone in a second car, perhaps it was my deceased sister, Anne, was going to drive along with us to the same place. We were going to drive together, perhaps we were going to follow Anne. However, she drove away precipitously and we were unable to follow. We ended up at another place. I mentioned we should call Anne to tell her we weren't coming. We decided to leave and we went back to our car, an old 2-door Oldsmobile Cutlass. Jenny was driving. Instead of being evening it was now in the afternoon. Jenny and I reached our car ahead of Lauren and I was somewhat smugly thinking I had the front passenger seat and she would have to get in the back. The passenger door was open and I tried to release the back seat to allow Lauren room to get in. Before she could, Jenny started driving away leaving Lauren hanging onto the door. "Lauren, you're going to fall out," I called to her but moments later as Jenny was going through a curve Lauren indeed was flung from the car. It seemed she landed in a field of rough bushes and I was afraid she would be severely injured or killed. I yelled at Jenny to go back and help Lauren. Jenny turned the car around and headed back to where Lauren had been flung away but Jenny didn't seem to appreciate the possible injury to Lauren. I asked Jenny to be quiet so I could say a prayer. We got back quickly and I saw that instead of an overgrown field, the roadside dropped off to a shallow lake or pond. Families with children were in and around the water. Then I saw Lauren lying on the bottom of the pond face down and not moving. The people in the water seemed not to know she was there. I called out, "My daughter is under the water!" I thought to dive down but wasn't sure how to hold my breath. Then I just took a breath, dived in, picked Lauren up and brought her to the surface. I thought I would perform CPR. I skipped clearing her airway and tried sucking the water backwards out of her lungs. This worked and to my great relief she started breathing and appeared to be OK.