The Bird and the Cat-- A Dream

I dreamt I was living in my childhood home. I went into the basement to get something-- I don't know what-- and was startled to find a large bird cage holding my Blue and Gold macaw. (In reality, I had owned the macaw twenty years ago but sold her when I left the country to accept a job in the Middle East.)

The bird was still alive, after all these years! Furthermore, she looked none the worse for wear, albeit slightly thin and dull of feather, but perfectly alive. Amazed, I talked to her, saying, "You poor dear, have I neglected you all these years? I am sorry! I will bring you upstairs into the light. I'll feed you, give you water, stroke your feathers, and make your life healthy and pleasant again, like it was when we were together twenty years ago."

I dragged the cage upstairs, put water into a small bowl and inserted it into the cage. The bird drank it with a croak of thanks. Then, I found some bird food and put it into another small bowl. As soon as I opened the cage door, she approached the food and started eating. I knew she'd recover. I was so happy!

The sun was shining, and the bird sat in the sunny part of the cage, rocking from foot to foot, just as she used to do when she felt energetic.

Just then, a big orange cat entered the front door, which had been left open. Immediately, I saw trouble. The cat would notice the bird and try to jump in the cage to kill her, so I distracted the cat, herding it back in the direction of the door. The cat did see the bird, and the bird saw the cat, but the bird was captive in the cage and couldn't fly away. The cat tried to approach the bird, but I scooped it up and carried it to the still open front door. I started to throw the cat out the door, but it turned on me, extended its claws, hissed, slapped me and grabbed me just as I slammed the door. It still clung to me, and the door was shut half on its body.

The cat was half in and half out of the house, with the door (and my body) holding it in place. All I could think about was protecting my bird, but how would I continue? The cat was strong and determined to get back into the house. I was strong and determined to finish ejecting him. We were matched, and the dream ended here, with me in turmoil, not knowing how to resolve the conflict, how to protect my bird.

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This is an example of how we record dreams in Progoff's Intensive Journal. We write the dream, or fragment thereof, as we remember it, without embellishment or explanation. We record the facts as well as the feelings of the dream in the Dream Log section. We date it, and leave it.

Later, we work with it in another part of the Journal.