How to Slay the Dragon

The following was inspired by a discussion I enjoyed with my Raintree Roommate, Chris Hightower, at his mom's house for Thanksgiving dinner.



MY THOUGHT:

In dreams, dragons can represent the unconscious. Most people think they need to SLAY their dragon in order to dominate their subconscious mind. What most people don't know is that success can also come from taking consistent steps further and further away from the danger or threat until the it is merely a distant memory.

The Secret, as they say, is to throw out your desires to the universe & hopefully watch as results come back to you. (This sounds a lot like the power of prayer to me.)

ANALYSIS:

I should not be as content with my life as I seem to be. There is nothing to justify my numbing complacency, because of which I feel blissfully paralyzed. It is true that am not engaged in any righteous work to satisfy my expenditure of time. The only explanation I have to rationalized this is that the Adversary has carefully convinced me that my thoughts, words, and deeds are "good enough". The fallacy with that notion is that it is never compared with anything; "good enough" for what?

MORAL:

Live each day in pursuit of eternal perfection. With that ultimate guide directing one's daily decisions, the Adversary has to tempt, tease, and claw in order to drag you down. (If one is not experiencing these trials on a daily basis, it may be wise to examine the need for humble course-correction.)

*If you have ever dreamed of dragons, here are a few possible meanings behind it:


(1) Dreaming of a dragon depends greatly on the individual’s attitude towards such creatures. In British mythology, dragons were viewed as fearsome and dangerous beasts, while in Chinese tradition dragons were considered harbingers of good luck. Therefore, it is important that the dreamer recall the circumstances of the dream. If the dream was dark and ominous, the dragon probably symbolizes the “beast in you,” which could mean that your own weaknesses could well get the best of you. But if the dream was happy and optimistic, something wonderful is going to happen.

(2) For Jung, the first stage of the individuation process is the conscious ego's heroic struggle to lift itself out of the original all-encompassing unconsciousness and to establish control of unconscious forces. This finds symbolic representation in the legendary dragon-slayer, St George (St George = the ego; the dragon = the unconscious).

(3) May be a representation of the unconscious when it is guarding treasure or a cave containing treasure. The treasure is your true self. The dragon-slayer is a representation of Jung's first stage of the individuation process where the ego's heroic struggle lifts itself out of the unconscious to establish its control of the unconscious forces. The dragon may represent the "devouring aspect" of your mother. Slaying the dragon would therefore mean putting an end to such motherly attachment. It may represent the generative power of (Mother) Nature. A winged dragon may symbolize transcendence, a passing from a "lower" to a "higher" level of personal maturity.

(4) To dream of a dragon, denotes that you allow yourself to be governed by your passions, and that you are likely to place yourself in the power of your enemies through those outbursts of sardonic tendencies. You should be warned by this dream to cultivate self-control.

(5) The dragon represents a person with ruthless attitude who will do anything to succeed. if you are killing a dragon, it means that you let go of this heartless and shrewd attitude. Winning a fight with a dragon means that you will master the powers of unconscious. Being injured during the fight means that you will be hurt by a powerful enemy. In men's dreams a dragon very often represents a domineering woman suppressing emotionally and spiritually. Defeating a dragon means that a man wants to dominate a woman.

(6) A dragon may be a symbol for your sexuality, particularly if it your sexuality - frightens you. Is your fear irrational; or does sexuality threaten to rule your life? In either case, don't kill the "dragon"; if necessary tame it. (In China, "chi" is good, life-giving energy and the channels it runs along are called "dragon-lines", which are said to follow underground water and underground magnetic fields).