Hello.  I was recently (for fun) asked a series of questions by
someone I met whilst out with friends.  He asked me to imagine I was
in a woods.  He asked me to describe the woods and if there was a
pathway.  I then was to describe an object I came across, then a key I
found on the path, then a door, then some water then a wall etc etc
etc (you get the idea).  The theory behind the questions was that each
of the objects/structures represented a different part of my
personality and how I imagine these objects/structures offers an
insight into my psyche; for example - water represented sexuality, the
key represented ambition (my key was huge - about 12 inches long and
made of brass therefore apparently I am incredibly ambitious etc etc),
how I described the wall was indicative of my attitude to death etc
etc etc - you get the idea.  I think we have all had things like this
done on us from time to time but I have never had this specific one
done before and it was quite good fun.  I would like a site with this
specific amateur psychiatry "pub game" on it.  It should specifically
mention a wall, a door, a key and a water feature of some sort (plus
any others) with indications of what individuals' answers represent. 
Any help, gratefully received.

Many thanks

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Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 18 Apr 2005 10:29 PDT

If this is the correct visualization, I can tell you how to interpret it:

"You are walking through a meadow toward a forest on the other side.
The sky is clear, and it's a perfect day. You are neither too cold nor
too hot, and the meadow is quiet except for the sounds of birds and
insects. A tiny breeze stirs the grass as you walk.

You come to the edge of the forest and you notice a path leading
inside. You step on to the path and start into the forest. Describe
the path, and how you feel. How are you travelling the path?

You are now deep inside the forest. Smell the air, feel the
temperature of the woods on your skin. Describe the forest. Are there
many trees or a few? How tall are they? How far apart are they?

As you are walking in the forest, you see a small object on the ground
up ahead. Walk to it, pick it up. It is a key. Describe the key. Is it
new? Old? Heavy or light? What do you do with the key?

Continuing through the forest, you see a tiny sparkle of water through
the trees. You follow it to discover a pond. Describe the pond. Large
or small? How deep is the pond? Is it murky or clear? What do you do
at the pond?

You leave the pond and continue on the path through the woods. The
path leads you out of the woods and into another meadow on the other
side. There is a small hill. Up at the top of the hill, there is a
house. Walk up to the house. Describe the house. Are there lots of
windows? Can you see inside? Does it look sturdy? New or old? What
color is it? What do you do at the house?

You leave the house and continue on the path, which leads to the
bottom of the hill and goes on for some time. At last, you come to a
wall crossing the path. You cannot get around it. Describe the wall.
What do you do at the wall?"

---

Request for Question Clarification by pinkfreud-ga on 19 Apr 2005 12:59 PDT

If the visualization posted above is not the one you seek, it would be
very helpful if you could provide a few more details. If you can
remember specific phrases, that might help us to find what you're
looking for.

---

Clarification of Question by kooth-ga on 24 Apr 2005 10:56 PDT

Hello PinkFrued

My apologies for not responding sooner - events have conspired against
me recently and I have not had a chance to get back to you.  Though
this is not the exact scenario as relayed to me this one looks more
complete and therefore better.  I would be very happy to consider the
"meanings" of the responses to these questions as the answer

I hope this clarifies the question

Thank you for your patience

Kind regards

Kooth

I'm glad to have been able to help you find an interpretation of a
visualization similar to the one you heard. This kind of thing is more
of an art than a science, and there are literally thousands of
variations on the "walking through a forest" theme. I visited dozens
of websites in my quest. This is the visualization that seems to come
closest to your description: it contains elements such as woods, a
path, a wall, a key, and a water-filled pond.

"You are walking through a meadow toward a forest on the other side.
The sky is clear, and it's a perfect day. You are neither too cold nor
too hot, and the meadow is quiet except for the sounds of birds and
insects. A tiny breeze stirs the grass as you walk.

You come to the edge of the forest and you notice a path leading
inside. You step on to the path and start into the forest. Describe
the path, and how you feel. How are you travelling the path?

You are now deep inside the forest. Smell the air, feel the
temperature of the woods on your skin. Describe the forest. Are there
many trees or a few? How tall are they? How far apart are they?

As you are walking in the forest, you see a small object on the ground
up ahead. Walk to it, pick it up. It is a key. Describe the key. Is it
new? Old? Heavy or light? What do you do with the key?

Continuing through the forest, you see a tiny sparkle of water through
the trees. You follow it to discover a pond. Describe the pond. Large
or small? How deep is the pond? Is it murky or clear? What do you do
at the pond?

You leave the pond and continue on the path through the woods. The
path leads you out of the woods and into another meadow on the other
side. There is a small hill. Up at the top of the hill, there is a
house. Walk up to the house. Describe the house. Are there lots of
windows? Can you see inside? Does it look sturdy? New or old? What
color is it? What do you do at the house?

You leave the house and continue on the path, which leads to the
bottom of the hill and goes on for some time. At last, you come to a
wall crossing the path. You cannot get around it. Describe the wall.
What do you do at the wall?

==========

The meadow is just to get you relaxed. On to the forest path...

THE PATH is the course of your life. Is it winding or straight? The
less it winds, the further ahead you feel you can see. Is it paved?
Rocky? How hard is your life right now? Mine is paved, and curves
gently. Yeah, I have it e-z.

THE FOREST represents your friends. Are there a lot of them, packed
tightly? Is the forest deep and mysterious, or light and airy? How
sturdy are the trees--in other words--how much can/do you depend upon
your friends? My forest is shaded but not dark. The trees are tall,
and widely spaced.

THE KEY is your father. What you do with it is your relationship. My
key is old and rusted, but I put it in my pocket in case it's good for
something someday.

THE POND is your mother. Again, what you do with the pond is your
relationship. My pond is a little cool, but inviting. I swim a little
before continuing.

THE HOUSE is yourself. The amount of interior you can see is how open
you are with others. Its sturdiness is a measure of security. A house
is also a common dream symbol for the self, and I have watched my
house change tremendously over the years. When I first did this
meditation, I had a little brick house with tiny windows. I'll talk
more about the house thing tomorrow.

THE WALL is death. How the wall looks and what you do at it describes
your attitude about death. Mine is a bit tall, and made of painted
white stone. I'm still convinced I can climb over."

FryKitty: Symbols: The Interpretation
http://www.frykitty.com/mtarchives/2002_06.php

Here are some other visualization exercises and games that you may
find interesting:

Motivation Research, Personality, And Projective Tests
http://www.swlearning.com/marketing/gitm/gitm30-4.html

Psychedelic Journey
http://www.isellpot.ws/journey.htm

The Bear Test
http://www.the-wabe.com/beartest

The Path in the Woods
http://www.angelfire.com/mt/whbricker/Path1.html

This was the Google search string that gave me the best results:

Google Web Search: "you are walking" woods OR forest wall key
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22you+are+walking%22+woods+OR+forest+wall+key

I hope this is helpful! If anything is unclear or incomplete, please
request clarification; I'll be glad to offer further assistance before
you rate my answer.

Best regards,
pinkfreud

Fantastic.  Thank you

Thank you very much for the five stars and the generous tip!

~pinkfreud