What MallWorld Shows Us
I used to be a materialist. Then I began studying different spiritual traditions, eventually deciding to follow Christ, and my spiritual vision opened up. I would have the mall dreams again and again. Usually, I was trapped in the movie theater part of the mall, going down dark hallways and looking for the way out. Once, instead of a mall, I was in an insane asylum, visiting. It is the insane asylum dream that gave me the answer to the mall dreams.
When I entered the insane asylum, I had to give the person at the front desk my driver's license and social security card. (My identity.) Upon leaving, I decided to leave the driver's license and social security card with the front desk, and simply walked out the front door. Outside of the insane asylum was total freedom and beauty. It was at that point that I realized that I had to give up my identification with this world to have true freedom.
Mallworld shows us the state of our soul. Are we wondering in darkness, lost in materialism? Some of us look for the way out, and some find it. The goal is to find true reality, the divine reality, and live in that instead. This is what the scriptures mean when they advise "forsaking the world".
When you think about the state of our existance -- working insane hours to pay bills, eat, have shelter, etc, rinse/repeat -- it does appear that we are trapped in mallworld even in our waking hours. We can find spiritual freedom even while existing in this realm, however. We need to ask to be shown the way out, and be willing to follow truth once shown. It's really hard to do when everyone else seems to be happy living in waking life mallworld, but it is possible.
Be blessed on your journey.