My main hard drive failed about three weeks ago. This necessitated some down time as I waited for a new drive, and then some time spent reinstalling my software. After that, I saw that my remaining drives needed to be organized. They were a mess. Since then, my time has been spent doing that. In the process, I accidentally deleted the most recent version of my dream journal.
The most recent backup was dated May 10, 2024. To restore the missing data, I had to go into my email to find the dream entries I email to myself every day, and then copy them into the backup. During this process, I rediscovered a dream from June 3, 2024 that I hadn’t thought about since posting it here about two weeks later. Suddenly, it seemed very interesting.
I was so enthusiastic that I immediately dashed off a quick post with a link to it so readers could see for themselves what I saw. This morning, it occurred to me that some readers might not see what I saw, or would view it differently. For that reason, I will elaborate here, because I think this may be quite interesting. Interesting because I think there is a plausible case to be made that the dream presaged the recent attempt on President Trump’s life.
The dates are important:
June 3, 2024: the morning of the dream, and the date stamp on the email I sent myself that morning.
June 15, 2024: the date I posted the dream, and an accompanying illustration, on this site. Here is a link to that post.
July 13, 2024: a 20 year old shooter attempts to assassinate President Trump in Pennsylvania.
I have over 13,600 dreams in my dream journal as of today. I have been studying them since 1989. In that time, hundreds emerged as “veridical”, meaning, it was possible to convincingly link those dreams to either future or distant events that I had no normal knowledge of.
Sometimes the connection between dream and event is clear because they are identical. Sometimes it is less clear because they are symbolic. The symbolic dreams tend to be more powerful and interesting, but they are also much less common. I prefer the symbolic dreams in most cases, because they say more with less, even if they require a little more effort to grasp sometimes.
This dream is symbolic. Keep in mind that I don’t use the word “symbol” or “symbolic” the way they are most often used in dream research. In my experience, symbolic dreams are so rare that my default position is that no element of any dream is symbolic unless it is obvious and serves some sort of purpose that is accomplished better with a symbol than a literal representation. In my cluster of 9/11 dreams from 1989/1990, two were symbolic, the rest were literal.
Often in this type of dream, there is a focusing effect. That is, there is a sequence of imagery that initially appears unrelated, but is later revealed to be progressively more focused versions of the same message.
For instance, on July 4, 1990, I had a dream that started with me being driven around a neighborhood where almost every building seemed to be a different department store. Then the car stopped and I paid attention to the passenger in the front seat, who I realized I would meet later in the day.
I asked her name. She said her first name had a spelling that was similar to but different from “Marcia.” She then said her first name was also similar to but different from the name of a department store. Her last name, she said, was exactly the same as a department store. Later that day, in a crowd of thousands at Central Park, I met a young woman named Macie Sears. So, the department store reference made sense, and shows what I mean by “focusing.” It got me thinking of department stores, thus making it easier to remember the clues to her name.
The dream of Trump doesn’t start with Trump. Instead, he only appears in the last scene. However, there is plenty of focusing going on before that, not all of which I understand.
There are five to six levels of focusing, depending how the sections are broken up. They are:
Playing a difficult computer game
A puzzle involving Scrooge McDuck and a deadly trap
A museum
Florida, and dangerous snakes
Trump on a golf course
To understand the focusing, we have to use the last level as the one that establishes context: the dream is about Trump.
Level 1: the game
This is how I wrote this in the journal:
“I am playing a Disney branded game featuring Uncle Scrooge, the world’s richest duck. This game has acquired a notorious reputation because, early in the game, there is a puzzle so difficult that almost all players give up without going any further.”
Uncle Scrooge is an obvious stand-in for President Trump, as I wrote in the original post. Games are a frequently used metaphor for real world situations. I used to work as a game developer, have worked with designers on many games, and taught students how to design games for 12 years.
The puzzle described here, “so difficult that almost all players give up” is a fatal design flaw. This is a big no-no that any game designer would tell you has to be fixed. In the dream, I thought that all players had given up at this point, but hedged by saying “almost all” because I wasn’t sure if there was some exception I wasn’t aware of.
In the context of Donald Trump, this part of the dream gets me (and you) to think about impossibly difficult puzzles. The reference to Disney might be erroneous, due to the representation of Trump as Scrooge McDuck. The fact that Scrooge’s nephew is named Donald makes this an apt representation and improves the memorability of it.
Level 2: The death trap
This is what I wrote in my journal:
“I find my way to the puzzle. It is a steep and slick ramp that leads to a cavern full of molten lava. Hidden in the lava is a tiny spot that is safe to jump on, but it is completely impossible to see from the ramp. To solve the puzzle, one has to do a couple of things. The first is to slide down the ramp, and then jump towards the bottom with exactly the right speed and trajectory to land on the tiny safe spot in the lava.
The safe spot happens to be a springboard that tosses the player up in the air. If the player isn’t careful, he’ll drop into the lava, not back on the springboard. Here, the player has to control his fall to land directly on the springboard, increasing his momentum with each bounce. This has to be done at least three times, but may have been more. After finally landing with the right amount of force, the springboard flips open like a trap door, and the player falls through to safety.”
“The puzzle” is the impossibly difficult puzzle mentioned in Level 1, the one that made players give up early without finishing the game. Compare the danger, the size of the safety zone, and the physical motions involved here to the bullet used in the July assassination attempt on Trump. In this puzzle, Scrooge/Donald is moving at high speed at an angle (the ramp) just like a bullet. Everything in front of him is deadly. There is no visible safety zone, much as would be the case for any bullet fired into a crowd. For Scrooge/Trump, however, there is a tiny safety zone, invisible from his point of view. Nevertheless, if he blindly positions himself to land in this special spot, and penetrates it (just as the bullet penetrated his ear), he will be safe.
In the assassination attempt on Trump, the bullet appears to have been aimed perfectly, and yet it missed. Based on forensic reconstructions, this is almost certainly not due to an error in the shooter’s aim, but a motion made by Trump after the bullet was fired. The forensic analyses I’ve seen (here’s one) convincingly show that the least injury Trump could have gotten away with was a hole in his ear, and every other head position would have almost certainly been either fatal or serious and life-changing.
This is analogous to the precise timing and repositioning of Scrooge’s body needed to save himself from the seemingly endless sea of lava he was hurtling towards. He couldn’t stop himself, but he could move out of the way, as Trump did.
Scrooge/Trump solved the puzzle by finding the invisible sweet spot that allowed him to survive.
Level 3: The museum
Here is what I wrote in my journal:
“Now I am in an underground warren of rooms. At this point, it no longer feels like a game, but an interactive museum exhibit. The weird thing is that no one else is here, but there are a lot of valuable things lying around.
I don’t mean obviously valuable like gems, gold, or cash. But more like microscopes, new clothes, drawing supplies, etc. the kind of the things people go to stores to buy. Consumer goods.
There seem to be an endless number of rooms down here. They are a puzzle of some kind, and the things in each room are part of that puzzle. I remember the clothes, a wall full of stationery, a room full of audio recording and editing equipment (like a TV studio), another like a bar, with dart boards but no alcohol. There were more, but these are the ones that come to mind.”
This level, I don’t understand. However, the idea of “valuable items” makes sense in the context of Scrooge/Trump, though less so as consumer goods rather than representations of money. The two parts that stand out are the mention of a TV studio because press was present at the Trump rally in Pennsylvania where the assassination attempt occurred, and the dartboard is reminiscent of the flight of a bullet toward a target.
Although not mentioned, the consumer goods were branded merchandise. I kept thinking of Disney but they weren’t Disney-branded. That dissonanvce bothered me, which led me to leave out this detail. I’m adding it now because I just realized that Trump rallies are loaded with MAGA-branded merchandise.
It is notable that I point out a bar “with no alcohol”. This is typical of dreams where I see something (a dartboard) that reminds me of something else (a bar), but I’m not seeing the something else (the bar) only the dartboard. A secondary observation (there is no alcohol) tells me that the “bar” reference is erroneous, but the dartboard is correct.
This level is telling us there is a media presence and that the idea of a dartboard, more focusing, is related. Keep in mind Joe Biden’s statement about a week earlier, “It’s time to put Trump in a Bulls-eye”.
Level 4: Florida
Here is what I wrote in my journal:
“Eventually, I walk out an door onto an open plaza in Florida. I have the idea it is still a Disney-themed place, but it isn’t Disneyworld. I am still in the puzzle.
There are very nice apartments here, occupied by normal people, but maintained by others in costumes designed to make them look like Native Americans.
I walk further, and find a plaza covered with thousands of writhing snakes. None seem to mind my presence, so I walk through them. I don’t mention them to my wife, who is now present, fearing her reaction. Behind me, I hear her say, “what are those?”
I believe the Disney references are like the bar in Level 3. The bar wasn’t there, but the dartboard made me think of one. In this case, Scrooge McDuck makes me think of Disney, hence the references to Disney. However, I am in Florida, the state Trump lives in. I take care to point out I am not at Disneyworld. This is a secondary observation that tells me the Disney reference is erroneous, but the Florida reference is correct.
I’m not sure I understand the “Native American” reference, except that it makes me think of Revolutionary War-era colonial America, and the connections between that time period and current political troubles in the US.
I didn’t write it down, but the snakes were venomous and deadly. Crossing this plaza also involved leaving Florida, Trump’s state of residence, to go to the next level where we finally meet Trump. My impression of this is that Trump is safe from many deadly dangers he has had to wade through to get to the final part of the puzzle, to be encountered on the other side of these snakes.
Level 5: “The Shot”
Here is what I wrote in the journal:
“Next, I realize I am on a golf course, and it is part of the puzzle also. In fact, I realize I have been on a golf course the whole time, where the goal of each puzzle is how to move on to the next “hole” or puzzle. Now, the puzzle is literally a hole on a golf course.
I see President Trump ahead of me, playing with some other famous people. Some are prominent religious figures, others are media, but none that I can see are politicians. I think Elon Musk and Steve Bannon are in his party.
Trump’s hole is a par ten. For some reason, only Trump has to do this shot. He doesn’t get a hole in one, but he shoots either par or slightly under par. Either way, a very respectable result*. When I get to the hole, I realize that part of the problem with the hole is that the hole is hidden. I call out after Trump to ask, “hey, where is the hole?” But they are too far away and don’t answer.
Numerous barnyard animals, like pigs and turkeys, are near the hole. One big turkey walks right up the back of my leg, onto my head, and jumps off on the other side as I look for the hole. “How on earth did Trump find it?” I wonder as I search for the hole. Even after finding it, I see so many opportunities to deflect the ball’s direction, that I don’t see how someone could get this shot in even ten strokes.”
The bolded text is me being overly cautious in the way I wrote this, but we’ll get to that in a moment. First, let’s pay attenton to what I see versus what I wrote. These things aren’t always the same because sometimes I interpret without intending to as I write. In this case, I see a sign that reads “PAR 10”. This makes me think of golf.
I then become aware I am on a golf course and have been for the entire dream. This is the last hole on a complex, dangerous, and difficult course. This is the most difficult hole, hence the Par 10 sign. For people who don’t play golf, the most difficult hole you are likely to ever encounter is par 5. There are a couple of extremely rare 1,000 yard Par 7 holes, but none higher. A Par 10 is essentially an impossible shot.
So far, so good. The challenges seen so far are now understood as related to each other and the main puzzle, which is supposedly impossible. These are represented with the metaphor of a golf course, which is one game comprised of multiple challenges. This makes sense for Trump and the many challenges he’s faced in his 2024 campaign for president. However, this puzzle is indicating deadly, not just difficult, challenges.
Getting back to the golf metaphor, it is apt for the concept of challenges, but apart from the sign, I don’t see anything that looks right for a golf course.
For instance, I don’t see golf clubs or golf balls. And yet, Trump has to “take the shot.” In the context of a Par 10 sign, “taking a shot” means to swing a club to strike a golf ball. Combine this with Trump’s penchant for golf, and I am thinking he’s playing golf. I even included a golf club and ball in my illustration for the dream because it makes sense he would have those if he was playing golf.
Weirdly, Trump is the only person in the group I see, assumed to be his party, that has to take a shot. Is there a form of golf that somehow allows only one player to play a hole? I don’t think so. Then we look at the surroundings. They don’t look like a golf course at all, but a farm. There are literally farm animals walking around. I didn’t write that they looked like prize animals, the type shown at county fairs, but that was my impression in the dream. It seemed irrelevant because animals are animals, but now I don’t think so. The reason is that Trump was shot at the rally, which took place at The Butler Farm Showgrounds. This is the site of something very similar to a county fair, where prize livestock are shown.
Another problem with this location as a golf course is that I don’t see a hole anywhere, nor a flag to mark one. Not only that, but there are so many obstacles everywhere that I don’t see how anyone could a) find the hole, and b) hit a ball into the hole if its location was known. When I try to find the hole, a turkey jumps onto my head, and then off on the other side, kind of like the bullet that went in and out of Trump’s ear ( a stretch, but I’m trying to point out everything here.)
And yet, Trump takes his shot and is somehow successful. I don’t remember seeing him take a swing but I know he is successful because the people around him congratulate him and they walk off together. They are all wearing MAGA hats, the kind found at rallies. The way I wrote this part is an oversimplification/interpretation, because I didn’t feel like writing all the caveats, “I knew he was successful because…but didn’t see him swing.”
A note on the people around him. I write that media figures are here, but the people with Trump aren’t politicians. One is a religious figure, like a priest. This is about right for the rally, though there may have been a couple of friendly politicians around.
So, what is going on here? Trump, and only Trump, has to “take the shot”. I thought this meant Trump wad to swing his club at a ball to “make a shot”, but it could also mean he has to be shot (“take” the shot). The Par 10 sign tells us it is an impossible, or nearly impossible shot to take. This is certainly true of the shot that hit his ear. It was well-aimed and likely would have injured Trump seriously or killed him if he hadn’t moved exactly when he did to the exact position he moved his head to.
The farm is what convinced me this dream related to the shooting. It is so incongruous to a golf course and so appropriate for the Butler Farm Show, that in combination with all the hazards, the dartboard, the shot, the “impossible” nature of the shot, the hidden aspect of the dangers, and Trump himself appearing, are too many related items for me to dismiss these connections.
The utility of presenting this as a symbolic dream instead of a literal view of the assassination is that it makes me more likely to report it before it happens. If I had a dream that I knew was about an attempted assassination of Trump or anyone else, I would have hesitated to post it. This is because I wouldn’t want anyone to think my dream or the post had a causative role if the assassination attempt were actually made.
Fascinating, and such detail. My dreams are mostly stressful work situations from years ago or college situations while working 48 hours per week. I don't record, but do tell my wife.
Amazing dream. Your interpretations sound right. Wow!
I keep a dream journal too and over the years many have come to pass.
I read that Maimonides said, “Dreams are 1/60th of a prophecy and when you put them together they form a picture.”