Incarcerated for My Crimes
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I am talking to Jess about voluntarily going to jail for some crime I have committed. He thinks it is appropriate, saying that did have a pathological problem about stealing things. (I still have $100.00 to repay him, $50.00 to pay Dina, and my Ph.D. tuition to pay off.)
Associations
Worry about debts.
Preference Predictions
Most Accepting Character: Jess
Least Accepting Character: Dream Self
Most Preferred Character: Dream Self
Most Rejected Character: None
Most Preferred Action: going to jail
Most Rejected Action: crime
Most Preferred Feeling: involuntarily
Most Rejected Feeling: guilt
Sociomatrix Commentary
DreamSelf: I guess I agree with Jess, but I wish it weren’t so. I guess I am a bit disappointed that he would agree that I deserve such severe punishment.
Jess: Dream Self should go to jail, from a purely objective point of view. His profile is one of a pathological thief.
Jail: I don’t think he needs to be in me. Sending him is a lousy idea. He pays a few bills late every now and then – that’s all. He certainly isn’t a criminal.. Jess doesn’t have any heart. How can he say that incarceration is appropriate? Dream Self is just being too hard on himself.
Comment: I don’t like myself in this dream. (neutral) It’s the Jess part of me that is unforgiving and reinforces my guilt. What is that part? The responsible professional.
Dream Commentary
If you could change this dream in any way that you wanted, as long as it respected the rights of all fellow dream group members, how would you change it?
Jess: I’ve got a lot more bills due than you do. It’s no big deal, really. I was just talking from a diagnostic point of view.
Jail: What you need is support, not more criticism. As you feel better about yourself, you’ll make better decisions about making money and paying debts.
Dream Self: OK
Dreamage
I am talking to Jess about voluntarily going to jail for some crime I have committed. Jess looks at me with amazement and starts laughing hysterically. He shows me all his overdrawn credit cards and tells me that I’m worrying too much.
Actual Preferences
Most Accepting Character: None
Least Accepting Character: Jail
Most Preferred Character: Jail
Most Rejected Character: Jess
Most Preferred Action: None
Most Rejected Action: pathological stealing, going to jail, crime
Most Preferred Feeling: None
Most Rejected Feeling: guilt
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Sociogram Commentary
A very unusual sociogram, in that it is so consistently negative. The normal internal sources of support that contradict waking self-doubt and criticism are absent, turning the sociogram (and the issue) into a black hole. Clearly, the basic problem is lack of self-acceptance. As a consequence, attitudes toward the issue stink. Amazingly, the most constructive attitude is held by what would normally be the most punitive character (Jail). This sort of volunteerism is not highly regarded by the group. Apparently the depth of the misconception is great enough to block out any clarifying input from other aspects of self.
This is an excellent example of how very destructive patterns of thought, feeling, and action are reinforced within self.