Change your mind

In psychoanalytical circles there is a well-known story about a man who is haunted by a recurrent dream. He is trapped inside a room, unable to open the door and escape. He searches the room for the key but can never find it. He tries with all his might to push open the door, but it does not budge an inch. There is no way out of the room except through the door which he cannot open. He is trapped and scared. In a session with his analyst, he recounts this dream, which has been plaguing his sleep for years. The analyst listens carefully to the dream, paying attention to the details. He suggests that the door might open in the opposite direction. The next time the man has the dream he remembers this st.stion, and finds that the door swings inwards without resistance.

Many people today feel this sense of being trapped, locked inside a life that no longer seems to satisfy them. There is a feeling of quiet despair kept at bay by constant activity or new wonder drugs. Who among us has not at some time felt the need to break out to a new life? Fantasizing about being set free by a beautiful new lover, maybe, or winning the national lottery. Some of us spend our lives waiting; waiting for something to happen that will change our lives.