Purportedly, we dream several times a night, every night. Like many, I rarely recall dreaming, and if I do, the details are sketchy and incoherent at best. Usually dreams are nonsensical and defy rational interpretation, on rare occasion they are subsconcious attempts to make sense of our waking hours.
However, there is one dream fragment from the early 1980s, when I was a college student, that I recall with remarkable clarity even to this day. At the time, I was enrolled in one of Professor Stohl’s religious studies courses. If I recollect correctly, the course was a special offering addressing the interplay between Jungian concepts and religion. Thus, perhaps, I was particularly attuned to the symbolism in any dreams I might have had at the time, whether nonsensical or otherwise.
In any event, the dream fragment I remember is notable for allowing me to use the expression, on very rare occasions, “Roll the armadillo!” when circumstances warrant.
The dream, or rather, nightmare, was as follows: I was standing alone when, suddenly, I was confronted by a fearsome, loathsome creature or monster. Instinctively and without hesitation, I thrust my right hand deep into my right pant pocket and pulled out a live armadillo, which I deftly rolled on the ground (enabled by the armadillo obligingly curling itself up defensively) towards the menacing creature. The armadillo, apparently a protective talisman, appeased or thwarted the threat presented by the monster. The danger dissipated, and the nightmare ended. If only we could, societally, roll the armadillo today.
The genesis of the dream is well-known to me and is irrelevant to this post, but the imagery is vivid and has embedded itself within my mind so thoroughly that decades later, I still smile thinking of it. Fairly certain I had never seen an armadillo in person at that point in my life, I am struck that I turned to it for protection (a role it assumes in many cultures, naturally, given its shell and behaviors). Equally striking is the ease with which I was able to pull an armadillo so conveniently from my trouser pocket. Dreams do allow for such conveniences!
Think, dear reader, what one dream do you most vividly remember from all the years you have lived, and why is it so striking? Mine is striking for a creature named by the Spanish as the “little armored ones,” one of whom served as my protector in a nightmare decades ago.
Also, on a lark, I created a “Talisman (Armadillo) Violin Concerto in D Minor” based on the above memory writing lyrics based on the above thoughts and using Udio.com to create music. The resulting concerto can be heard in the YouTube video above.
Talisman Violin Concerto in D Minor Lyrics
Purportedly, we dream each night,
Visions dance in the pale moonlight.
Memories fade, but one remains,
A nightmare where fear constrains.
Confronted by a beast so dire,
A creature of my deepest mire.
In terror's grasp, my hand did find,
An armadillo, defense designed.
Roll the armadillo, brave and small,
Facing darkness, defying all.
A symbol of strength, a talisman true,
In dreams, it protects, guiding me through.
In the professor's hallowed class,
Jungian thoughts and symbols pass.
Seeking meaning in realms unseen,
In dreams, we find where we've been.
Deep within my pocket's fold,
A tale of courage, quietly told.
An armadillo, small and strong,
Defies the monster, rights the wrong.
Roll the armadillo, brave and small,
Facing darkness, defying all.
A symbol of strength, a talisman true,
In dreams, it protects, guiding me through.
Decades passed, the memory stays,
Solace forms in countless ways.
Little armored one, protector bold,
A dream's embrace, a story told.
In life's vast dreamscape, find your shield,
In symbols, truths are oft revealed.
Think, dear reader, what dream you keep,
In your heart's vault, buried deep.
Roll the armadillo, brave and small,
Facing darkness, defying all.
A symbol of strength, a talisman true,
In dreams, it protects, guiding me through.
Dreams allow for such convening,
In their realm, find deeper meaning.
Roll the armadillo, brave and wise,
In dreams, our fears we can disguise.
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