I’m traveling in the entourage of a well-known and charismatic philosopher. We’re in a large, outdoor area, participating in a public conference attended by many. It’s a momentous occasion and there is a feeling of sprawling openness and extension.

The philosopher is a powerful and transformative figure and I am his peer. The closer I get to him, the more powerful I feel. I take it upon myself to sit very close to where he is holding forth. But there’s a moment’s hesitation: am I really entitled to do this, or am I in fact an imposter not deserving of a place in the inner circle? My answer is that I am entitled.

At some point in the dream, the philosopher seems to be quite sick and people are attending to him. In fact he is dying and this is indicated by a huge, egg-shaped mass protruding from his abdomen.

The massive ovoid distension is pointing downward toward the earth and has the color of a cabbage. There are strands of purple predominating but other colors as well, some white, and a bit of green. And the protrusion seems “pregnant,” about to burst open.

I want to help him and feel I can. I ask him if he’s ever had this experience before and he smiles and says he has. So the philosopher is in trouble and he appears to be dying, but there’s a smile on his face. It has happened to him before and his smile tells me that all is well.

[Note: The drawing of the ailing philosopher was made while recording the dream.]