Marion was sitting in her wheelchair when I arrived . I pulled up a chair beside her , I explained how hypnosis works , prepared her for trance and began . Under hypnosis she described a woman who represented Death . She came down from the sky and looked like an angel in a dark robe . Recalling the figure , Marion became sad and teary eyed . " I ' m not ready to die ," she said in a faint voice . " Good ," I responded . " Imagine , now , that you tell her that ." Resistance surfaced . " But I grew up believing that when Death comes to tell me it ' s time , I must go ."
" If you still have something you want to do here on earth , I wonder if you can ask for more time . If you think that ' s possible , please nod your head ." She nodded . Mistaken literalism is the biggest dream interpretation error , says Jeremy Taylor , author of Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill and The Living Labyrinth . Marion ' s strict religious upbringing led her to believe the dream figure announced her impending death . She took it literally , as most people would have done . But dream experts tell us that death symbols may indicate our readiness for a transformation - a letting go of an aspect of our personality that no longer serves us .
Marion and I prepared for a visualisation in which she would meet the woman in the dark robe and ask for more time . She would explain why she wanted to continue living . I asked Marion to verbalise her reasons . We converted her initial plea of " I ' m not ready to die " into statements beginning " I want to live because ..." When she was ready , I took her deeper into trance and we began the visualisation . Marion was motivated and cooperative . The figure from her dreams agreed to her request . We expressed appreciation for the agreement , I deepened the relaxation again and gave her the posthypnotic suggestion that before our next session she would have a pleasant dream and she would remember it so she could share it with me .
That was all it took . The nightmares stopped . When I went to see Marion two weeks later , she looked cheerful . " The angel in the dark robe has not come back - and I had a good dream ." I ' m going to share it with you here because it shows the power of the mind to make a course correction . I think important dreams deserve to have titles , so I asked her to title it . " The River ," she said . In her dream , Marion can walk . At four in the morning she opens the door and walks to a river . " I knew which path would take me there ." While walking on the path , she feels she is going to accomplish something and that it will be enjoyable . Though she lives in Seattle , the river is in Eastern Washington . She knows this because of the vast , open landscape and the rock formations . She ' s wrapped in a blanket of many colours that reminds her of Joseph ' s coat and Indian blankets .
She reaches the edge of a cliff and gazes at the river below , transfixed by its movement , " It ' s not rushing , just flowing ." Across the river wild flowers and