Monday, July 28, 2014

DREAMING YOUR LIFE

Everybody dreams, but how do you figure out what they're about? And not everyone has a dream therapist--including me. I'm just an average person who dreams. Simple curiosity compelled me to put some thought into dreams to try and figure out the meaning. I just knew dreams had a purpose. With one-third of our lives spent in sleep, just  think of all the dream time that encompasses. These nightly displays have to have a purpose. But what is that purpose? Exploring, I started with books that featured universal themes and symbols. These books, while interesting, did little to satisfy my curiosity or to convince me that themes were the same for all of us. What about cultural differences? I knew there had to be more to explore.

In Breakthrough Dreaming, Gayle Delaney explained that dreams, speaking in metaphor, reveal their messages. And rather than rushing to a dictionary of generic symbols, we must capture the essence of what dreams are communicating to us. Now this made made more sense--exploring dreams from our own frame-of-reference.

Sometimes, on waking, did you ever have a gut feeling about the meaning of your dream? I did, too, so I continued to explore. Then, operating solely from my own frame-of-reference, I started logging dreams, spending lots of time reading and rereading them until some recognition stood out. Sometimes there was recognition. Sometimes there wasn't. Then patterns developed, matching what was going on in my waking life. This helped me recognize what was challenging me and what I needed to understand so I could accommodate these challenges. Sometimes solutions presented themselves, all in metaphorical code language. With each new insight, my interest gained in intensity and dreams began to evolve. When logging a new series of dreams, I noted they all seemed connected somehow. Nearly one year later, one of the series turned out to be pre-cognitive dreams of prophesy.

Rather than dealing with world events, my dreams dealt with life, death, work, and healing--all personal. If I, an average dreamer, could enhance my experience by paying attention, couldn't most dreamers tap in to the positive purpose of dreams? But how?

I started by reading Gayle Delaney's books. Then I discovered DreamSchool.org, a global entity devoted to the study of dreams, whether you are serious or just curious.

If you're just beginning to be curious about your own dreams, my books engage the reader through candid anecdotal stories, showing by example how one average dreamer's life became enriched by paying attention to dreams. The books detail insights and healing (both emotional and physical) I received from dreams. Whether you're just curious or are serious about tapping in to this powerful nighttime helper, your life will become enhanced by exploring the gift we all have, yet often ignore.

TheMoonflowerVine.com

Allposters: Woman Sleeping Below Large Window - Art Print

Sunday, July 13, 2014

FINDING MARLON BRANDO IN MY BED

Have dreams--the good ones--set you off on the right path in the morning? Me, too. And this is just one of the dreams that helped in not giving up on my storytelling dream project. Even during those periods when I worked diligently on my stories, every now and then I needed a boost. I needed a dream that offered encouragement to keep going. This is a dream that really inspired me:



I am working at a new place and am somewhat confounded about the nature of my work. The job is to write little snippets of information on pieces of paper. Then, I'm supposed to put these pieces of information in a designated place, so that people can come by and read them.

Marlon Brando is here. We both work at the same job. Going about doing my job, I seek to get some attention from him, so I wonder, harkening back to feminine wiles, does he notice my legs? The short skirt and high heels I wear show off my legs. And, surprisingly, I look thin, shapely, and my hair looks nice, and it isn't gray! But, alas, Marlon keeps his nose to the grindstone, though I know he's favorably aware of me. But it is clear from his actions that it is only in a work capacity.

I know I'm doing well at this job, even though I don't quite understand everything that I'm doing.

OK, let's look at the features: This wasn't a frivolous, glitzy movie star dream. Notice Marlon kept his nose to the grindstone and not only worked, but only observed my work ability. It's all about work. Marlon Brando, a famously huge talent, with an abundance of tangible evidence of success--and he's working with me? I got a lot of good vibes from this dream.

My take on all this? It represented a potent reminder to keep my nose to the grindstone and maybe, just maybe, I could derive something tangible from it. 

As an interesting aside: Upon waking, the song that kept repeating in my head was: Beyond the Blue Horizon (waits a beautiful day, goodbye to things that bore me, joy is waiting for me, etc.)*

To me, this was a welcome sign. Couldn't be better. Always pay attention to songs that are already stuck in your head upon waking. They are often harbingers that support your dream content.




*Beyond the Blue Horizon By Franke Harling, Richard A. Whiting. Lyrics by Leo Rubin, 1938.
Allposters: Marlon Brando poster.



Monday, July 7, 2014

MY SHIP COMES IN--WITH TELLY SAVALAS

Out on the lake, I steer a small boat toward the breakwall. The wall is higher than I imagined. The water, usually clean this far out--about a mile and a half from shore--appears particularly dirty with lots of foam surrounding the sturdy outboard.

Then I am on a rickety bridge where a man tears down the broken, rotted railings and fence and hauls it away. Fish, rising to the surface, are pale, weak and sickly.

A short distance away, a large yacht glides steadily toward us. People on shore  anxiously await the arrival of actor, Telly Savalas. Standing at the bow, on deck, he looks toward the throng.



Puzzled by the images in this dream, I tried to find some connection to real life. This is what stood out: In a sturdy little boat, I headed toward the breakwall that was higher than expected. I felt it referred to my fervent desire to "break" a cycle that impacted the family. The worries, like the wall, were much larger than I could handle alone. Anticipation was high for the arrival of Telly Savalas, and corresponded to hope in resolving our problems.  Having often felt surrounded by dirt from the source of our worries, we (the fish) became pale, weak, and even sickly. In the hopes of having better times, I welcomed the arrival of someone who could make things better--the man tearing down rotted boards and Telly Savalas, the hero of the retro TV drama, Kojac. Telly's image brought forth the ever-present sucker. Sucker, in this context, could have referred to those easily duped. In over our depth and needing help, Telly's arrival on the deck of a large, nifty ship was just what we needed. Ahoy, Telly.

Saturday, July 5, 2014

DREAMS--OUR BUILT-IN HELPERS

During a long period, when my father's health was in decline, there were good days and bad days. Switching back and forth presented few problems. On good days, I got a little breather and that made bad days more manageable. But sometimes crisis followed crisis with stress levels high. Unable to focus on few things other than the immediate needs, I often failed to consciously recognize the necessity for a break from the daily tasks. So when I ignored my needs for too long, they were often handled in dreams--our built-in helpers.

Of all the nighttime help I received during that time, this one best illustrated the need to get some relief from the weight of daily duties.

We are in the family room: Dad, my sister and I. We are all relaxing--looking kind of inert. I am sitting in the recliner. On TV, we watch a show that features plenty of drama. As we watch, I casually pick up the remote and switch to cartoons. Speaking in a calm, low-key manner, I say, "I'll only watch this for a little while, then I'll put the real show back on."

The dream, in very simple terms, provided clear, recognizable metaphors and was easy to understand. The built-in helper even relieved the dreamer of having to decipher a complex illustration! Could this have been more succinct?

When I awoke, I didn't even have to write it down. The images, not easily forgotten, stuck with me and in small ways, I figured out what I needed to do for myself. While we may not always be able to figure out what to do, our dreams will show the direction. If one dream doesn't work, another one will soon take its place until we pay attention and find a solution.


Allposters: Donald and Daisy Dancing, Walt Disney