Last Friday I got to go to an awesome thing with a bunch of awesome people.
And as is usual with my kind of people, there was lots of depth and wackiness.
At the beginning of the day, we introduced ourselves by describing what we do for a living. The only requirement was that it had to be a complete lie.
A lie, otherwise known as making shit up. Otherwise known as free association.
Instantly this image came into my head: I’m underwater in a pool, looking up at the high-dive, coaching someone on their dive technique.
My made-up occupation: “I’m an underwater diving-instructor” (Not to be confused with an underwater-diving instructor!)
People who know me well instantly made the connection to my obsession with dreams and the unconscious. With the dream investigation offering I’m working on. (I mean, hello? Guiding people into the depths? Way to be obvious, psyche.)
The next question was, what do you love about what you do?
And while I was still laughing at the brilliance and creativity of the person who went right before me, my thinky-brain was otherwise occupied…
So I answered, “I don’t like it very much, I’m actually trying to get out of it.”
Whoa. Where did that come from? I’m unsatisfied with my career even when wildly lying?
More free association…
Why did I say I didn’t like it?
I think because the image was incomplete.
I don’t want to be in a pool, confined by concrete walls.
I think the unconscious is way bigger than that. It feels limitless. It’s more like the ocean.
And diving? Yikes. That sounds so violent.
How about swimming in together? In that way I used to when I was a kid, gliding underwater but coming up to the surface whenever I needed air.
A gentle tension between the surface and the murky depths.
Yes, I think that could be the truest lie for me.
Related posts:
Giant Decade Chicken
The Gumshoe’s Guide to Getting Off the Couch, Part 4: Dreams
"Suggestion" #3: Shiva Nata
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
So interesting what that thinky-brain gets up to. Have I mentioned that “sneaking past the thinky-brain” is the world’s best tagline??
And I think (whoa, there’s that word again) that you really hit on something when you talked about the incompleteness of the image. That happens a lot, with feelings and intuitions and thoughts. We get something, a hit, a hunch, sometimes even a big blast of clarity, and we think That’s The Whole Thing. And we believe that we have to deal with The Whole Thing as a complete package (which might include getting freaked out by it or making a Big Decision or otherwise taking action), instead of maybe asking “what else do I see here? What else might I want to notice?”
So I loved that you explored the metaphor and noticed the concrete walls, and the violence of diving, neither of which had surfaced (HA!) in the original discussion.
And from one fake diver to another (my fake occupation was a scuba salvage diver — surely there’s a blog post in there somewhere), it was awesome swimming with you!
Wendy Cholbi´s last blog ..Insight: Using the cruise control button that was right in front of me
Twitter: evalazza
December 8, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Thanks Wendy! Loved swimming with you too my dear!
Twitter: gloreebe88
December 8, 2009 at 5:08 pm
What a fabulous exercise for any occasion! I think I must try this and see floats to the surface… ha. ha.
Gina´s last blog ..One Foot Out the Door, A Case Study
Twitter: evalazza
December 8, 2009 at 5:54 pm
Oh! I adore that the post is inspiring so many puns *squeee* Y’all are awesome
Twitter: copylicious
December 9, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Wow, see, I had imagined you in the ocean, and didn’t know you’d been thinking of a swimming pool! I can see how that would feel limiting.
I’d like to cast another vote for “sneaking past the think-y brain.” Swimming IS quiet and sneaky. And you can bring your dog sometimes. As a career coach for dogs, I approve of this line of imaginary work.