I was then overcome by a vivid and more intense vision. As I looked toward the ocean, all of the buildings between where I stood and the horizon sank into the Earth and at the same time vaporized into smoke. Where the buildings had been now stood an expansive oak forest, sweeping across the landscape as far as I could see. I was awed by a calm sacredness. In the next instant the black, limping dog moved his weight from against my legs.
Some psychologists believe that visions are born out of an abaissement du niveau mental.
The dream-like state I was in during my walkabout apparently reflected just such a level of psychic relaxation. In turn, that psychic relaxation both permitted the eruption of unconscious contents into my consciousness and faciliated my vision. Jung believed that a vision is a symbol consisting not only of archetypal forms of thought but of instinctual elements as well, so that it can justly lay claim to being a reality. It is not only historical, but topical and dynamic. According to William Anderson, author of The Green Man, when an affection for a particular plant or tree is aroused in us we are linked through an emotional bond, more subtle and immediate than the effect of scent, to the greater world of vegetation of which the plant or tree is a part.