*****
I was on a train with R.T. I was trying to explain to him some political concept that he was having a difficult time either understanding or accepting. As we were talking, Vladimir Putin arrived and sat down in a seat on the train near ours. (I was facing R.T., and Putin sat next to him, to his right.) Putin said that it was a law of politics that politicians do only that which is convenient, never that which is necessary, which is why they only make the right choice after it is too late. They wait until events have overwhelmed them and the nation is facing disaster, and the right choice is the only convenient one. Putin cited one historical example after another to support his argument, and I was getting very excited, because the data he provided made this case ineluctable.
Göran and I were staying in an apartment. It was a very simple apartment, and small, and reminded me of the kinds of apartments you find in Europe or here in South America. A messenger came for us. She was very young-looking and was dressed all in white, very simple clothing, no make-up, short hair cut. She told us simply that she had something important for us to do and we should accompany her immediately, without taking anything with us (as everything we needed would be provided), which we did.
We were spirited away to some conveyance, I believe a plane, where there were a number of other individuals who had been gathered in a similar manner. All we were told is that we had an important mission to accomplish and everything would be explained to us at the appropriate time. Finally we arrived at our destination. It was somewhere in Europe (I think), at some major metropolitan library. We were led to one of the upper floors of the library, through a maze of stacks, and brought to some kind of secret room at the heart of the library. The walls were all white. Everything was comfortable but very simply furnished.
A group of us (including Göran) were there (perhaps 12?). We were told that we would receive special training, and that we would eventually be sent back into the general population to be the eyes and ears of some revolutionary movement that was coming soon, that would overthrow all the governments of the earth. Here we would learn the basic rules and principles that would be associated with our roles.
It occurred to me that we must be very trusted, because any one of us could expose the movement. I wondered how we had been chosen. I assumed that perhaps members of the movement had been observing us for some time, and had decided – based on what they had observed of us – that we were true believers and could be trusted. (I wondered if my conversation with R.T. and Putin had been a deciding factor in my case.) Still, it seemed risky to me, because I thought any one of us could change his or her mind later on.
There was an African American gentleman (very tall and muscular looking, quiet and unassuming). He was some kind of teacher or trainer, apparently also charged with taking care of our dietary and other needs. He told me that I was in charge of gathering the food choices of the individuals in my training group. He gave me a stack of white envelopes, each of which had a different colored dot on it. There were some punched notches on the envelope with the chads still in the notches, that people could push out in order to make their meal selections. He showed me how it worked, by helping me make my meal selection on an envelope with a tan dot. The teacher/trainer took me to where there was a kind of natural wood molding on the wall in a long white corridor in the library proper, just outside the door where we were meeting, on which I should stack the envelopes in a row, whence they would be picked up and our meal choices processed.
I misunderstood what he had told me and placed all the envelopes there immediately, without allowing individuals to make their selections. I followed the teacher/trainer back in and started socializing with the others.
Through an open door, I saw another group similar to ours that was being trained.
It occurred to me that I had put the envelopes out too soon, as no one had registered their choices. I realized that lacking any choices, people would receive the default menu, but I ought to let them choose nonetheless. So I went back out into the hall, gathered all the envelopes, and had each member of the group make their choices.
When I took the envelopes back, I found that the molding where I was supposed to stack them was too high. I could only reach it by performing some acrobatic climbing feat. Then I realized, there were two doorways and two hallways, on the North, the other on the South, and I had mistaken one for the other. I was going to take the envelopes through the opposite door when I was intercepted by the teacher/trainer and he told me to simply give the envelopes to him and he would take care of the order.
I went exploring outside and eventually wandered down outside of the library into the city. Göran had accompanied me. There was some kind of gathering in front of the library – some sort of demonstration. The library was constructed from white marble and glass. A large group of people dressed in ordinary street clothes with many different colors were there. They seemed angry and even violent. I decided it was best to get back into the library as soon as I could. Göran and I had wandered past the mob and we needed to make our way through them to get back in. There was some kind of security checkpoint with a scanner or metal detector well outside the library that you had to pass through in order to get in. Göran and I were making our way toward it, when a couple of ruffians stopped us. They seemed to have recognized that there was something special about us that they didn't like. A couple of them pushed me, and looked like they were about to beat me up. Göran ran up ahead of me and made it through security. I broke free of my assailants and followed. I was running up the steps of the library, and realized I was naked. My assailants shouted and were making fun of me because I was naked, and they were calling attention to me and telling others to stop me. Other people in the crowd were laughing at me because I was naked. Others were starting to rush me, and I thought I would never make it, but it was then the teacher/trainer showed up, and somehow mysteriously whisked me back into the secret room at the heart of the library where I was safe again. I felt very embarrassed about having let myself get caught in that manner.
In the secret room, I sat down at a long table with other members of my group, ready to eat our meal. I noticed that there was someone sitting at the table who was my double, who looked exactly like me and seemed to be me, and I saw that every other member of the group also had a double there.
After waking up, I wondered if the political theme in this dream was influenced by my attendance at the Evita Museum, visiting the tomb of Eva Peron, etc., and some discussions I had and readings I did late in the day about Argentinian politics. At any rate, Putin's comment seems a fairly accurate statement about the psychology of collectivities, and why civilization can only last for so long before it collapses under the weight of too many bad decisions, global warming being the preeminent case in point.
A lot of my dreams have this theme of a coming new order that will overwhelm/overthrow the existing world order. Europe in my dreams is almost always symbolic of worldly power and dominion. Putin is perhaps the perfect representative of bankrupt, worldly empires whose days are numbered; though in this dream he displays a startling capacity for self-deprecating wisdom. I think this is the first time Putin has appeared in a dream of mine.
The part involving envelope/menus, choices, and a premature order is all about choices and mistakes; part of the learning process; part of why I am in training under a patient, strong, wise, and punctual teacher/trainer.
The overwhelming feeling during the mob scene was guilt. I felt I had done something terribly wrong to end up in that situation. But subsequent reflection on that part of the dream has led me to conclude that that scene is more about vulnerability than guilt. I was rescued by the teacher/trainer charged with my care, without being scolded or shamed for ending up in such a situation.
The end of the dream where we all discover our doubles/mirror images is the most intriguing, puzzling aspect of the dream. Is it about discovering a new self (after sharing a communal meal? a symbol of sacrament?)? About spirit and body? About present and future selves?
