snakes in the plains: a midwestern kundalini dream

But first a little backstory. I hadn't been sleeping soundly, and it was one of those nights. First the dog was whimpering. Then my legs were aching. My own fault for eating a late supper and neglecting the usual physical practices that I depend upon to work out the kinks. And who knows what other issues found an outlet in dreamspace.

I'm in a camp or small rural settlement with a row of small buildings. I need to find my backpack and bring it with me. I seem to be going somewhere to teach or attend a class, and there is something I need in the pack. Flat, expansive landscape, semi-arid with only a few small trees.

When I reach the last cabin and find my backpack, there is a small snake lying still beside it on the floor. When I reach to pick up my pack, the snake wakes up and gets aggressive, raising its head off the floor the way you see in pictures of cobras. But instead of striking, it just got in the way, and when I tried to push it to the side, it resisted with surprising strength. The little sleeping snake grew into a long, thick, tough animal, even though its actions were benign, not a threat, just a nuisance.

With the snake out of the way, I took my pack out the door and down a long incline, then remembered that there was something else I needed for my class. Walk back past the cabins to a big square frame house. Go upstairs in the house to an empty room. Find the missing item. Into the house comes my old friend S.H. with his usual sly half-smile. He asks me something about the house; I reply something like yeah, pretty nice house.