From: brownt@seq.uncwil.edu (brown todd francis)
Subject: Re: eel eating leg dream
Organization: Univ. of North Carolina @ Wilmington
Date: Thu, 21 Jan 1993 21:17:01 GMT

pelletier@binah.cc.brandeis.edu writes:

>	This is in reply to brownt who kindly replied to a recent post of mine
>pelletier - eel eating leg dream.  Before commenting I must apologize on two
>fronts (1) the program I am currently using doesn't allow me to quote from
>either of the two postings - sorry :(  (2)  I have not put in a signature or
>a name which would indicate my gender.

>Brown in reply to my discription of an eel on my leg with its head pointed
>away felt that the scenario for a man might be symbolic of a penis.  The fact
>is I am female and although there is precedence for penis envy in Freudian
>interpretation of dreams I am not certain this is the case here!!  I must say
>I took no offense to the interpretation and the humor brown found in it was
>doubled at least when I read this possible interpretation! :)  It did sound
>like a likely interpretation under different circumstances perhaps!

>	In thinking about the dream since posting I am interpreting it as a
>need to get rid of something that I have become attached to or that has 
>become attached to me (or a part of me/my life).  This may fit in well with
>some aspects of my life at the moment.  

>	Thanks for the post, I found it also very entertaining!

>						Sandra :)								


Hello Sandra,

Hmm..  This is very interesting.  You were most emphatic in stating
that you did not have penis envy.  I find this strange.  I thought..
never mind.  Forget Freud.

I am glad you found my reply entertaining.  I have to admit that I
found your dream very funny (at least from a male perspective).  I
do think that your interpretation is right on the mark.  Perhaps
something you have become attached to is "eating at you".  It is
most interesting that the eel is pointing away from you.  This
would seem to indicate the source of discomfort comes FROM you as
well.  Maybe this is to evident.

The eel symbol is very interesting.  Something I always try is to
have the dreamer describe to me what the symbol is in terms that
a child or a visitor from Mars could understand.

What is an eel?  After listing all of the physical and emotional
connotations of an "eel", you must ask yourself what in your likfe
is LIKE these aspects.  There is always something more you can
get from a dream symbol.

The next best thing is to do a DREAM INCUBATION on the symbol.

Before going to bed, sit with your journal (you ARE keeping a 
dream journal I trust?) and write down everything you know about
an eel.  Write down what you THINK it could mean.  Now, form an
INCUBATION PHRASE that is very short and to the point, like
"What in my life is like an eel?"

After you have done this, lie down and relax into sleep.  Repeat
your INCUBATION PHRASE over and over and over again as you drift
off to sleep.  Remember to write down ALL of your dreams of the 
night.  Do not interpret - just record.  AFter you have done this
give each dream a TITLE, a DATE (time also is good), an Affect
(how it felt), and Question (What in my life is like this dream?)

This is the TTAQ method and I find it works well.  Use it in
conjunction with DREAM INCUBATION to pre-plan what you will dream
about this night.

For a very good resource on this process, see Gayle Delaney's
book, _Living YOur Dreams_.

Sweet dreams, Sandra.  I enjoyed our exchange very much.


Michael (brownt@seq.uncwil.edu)


BTW:  As always, standard disclaimers apply.  NO ONE can interpret
your dream but you.  Keep what feels good, discard the rest!