1. Two night’s ago, I died in a dream while on a retreat. It is somewhat gruesome but the dream is suggestive on a number of levels , so I have decided to recount it. The methodology was suggested by the way that I had witnessed the killing of chickens for a dinner when I was young. For some reason I had recalled this scene with some deep sadness and empathy a few nights earlier. Two chickens were killed and I was present to pluck the feathers afterward. The chickens were dipped in warm water while alive so that it could be plucked easier. Then they were hung by their feet and with a pen knife was thrust up into their throat and twisted. The blood then drained into a pan below. recalling this scene, I thought of the terror and pain the chicken must have felt.
In my dream I was in the old south and young slave boys were being arbitrarily killed this way. I was appalled by the practice but felt powerless to stop it. I was dressed in a very light colored suit and hat which contrasted to the bloody scene. At some point there was a parade and the killings were taking place on a float. Boy after boy was having his throat cut in this fashion. All of the sudden, I was a young slave on the float with my hands and feet tightly bound and the knife was thrust into my throat. I felt a sharp pain and could feel the warm blood gushing out of my mouth and then things went black. I thought “I am dead”. Without someone to dream, it ended.
