Empowerment through Dreams

Dreams can be better than movies and more real than virtual reality. They can be more frightening than a Stephen King movie; more fanciful than a Walt Disney one and yes, even sexier than an X-rated video.

What are dreams? Why do we dream? What do these strange nocturnal images mean? Why should we care, anyway?

Many people ignore their dreams, dismissing them as meaningless fantasy. Because dreams do not follow the "rules" of our physical reality, the rules of time and space, they often are seen as nighttime meanderings of the mind; nothing really to get very excited about. However, for others, particularly those interested in personal growth and transformational experiences, dreams are considered to be valuable and powerful tools.

For those of us who listen to our dreams, and who actively participate in trying to decode and understand the messages they bring, dreams can be a magical and even mystical experience.

Dreams are messages from the soul. Our innermost being communicates with us through the symbols and metaphor of the dreamworld. Dreams can give us new insights into our basic identity, values and personal needs. They can help us better understand ourselves and provide road maps to take us in new directions. Dreams can also clarify our relationship issues, our professional conflicts and guide us to transpersonal and spiritual insights.

Dreams can really empower us. This empowerment comes from within because the greatest power we have is the realization of the full potential of life within us, the fulfillment of our own destiny.

Dreams always come in the service of health and wholeness and rarely to tell us what we already know. The wonderful thing about dreams is that they are like a best friend who will always tell us the truth, someone who is always there for us and who has only our best interests at heart.

Carl Jung once remarked: "Dreams don't lie, they don't cheat, they tell us things just as they are, whether we like it or not". In other words, dreams tell us the truth and what greater power is there than that?

How can we use dreams to communicate with our visionary mind? A couple of personal experiences may help illustrate.

Some years ago I was considering professional involvement in a large publishing project. I had met with the president of the company and his marketing staff. We had a preliminary budget and I had done some presentations to potential consumers. However, something didn't "feel right". I wasn't sure that this was the right direction for me and I just couldn't decide what to do. So one night I asked the Dreamaker (my Higher Self) for help and guidance. This is the dream I received:

I see a room that is almost bare. It has just a file cabinet in it, a computer and a beautiful rug on the floor. There are patches of weeds growing up through the rug. There is no electric outlet in which to plug in the computer.

I worked with my associations to the symbols and did some journal writing. I soon realized the dream was showing me the project had no energy source (the lack of electric outlet). It wasn’t really where my heart was. Rather, it reflected what I had been “programmed” to do by my family and culture (the computer). Although I had a lot of information (the file cabinet), the foundation (rug) was full of weeds and wild growth and not a solid basis for furnishing the rest of the room. On the strength of this dream I abandoned the project and have never regretted the decision.

Another time, I was involved with a much younger man who was from a very different culture and background. Near the beginning of the relationship I had the following dream.

David and I have had a baby. But David isn't sure if he wants to "father" it. (There's no question he's the father but he's not sure how involved he wants to be.) I'm holding the baby and David shows me a closet - all tidy with compartments, filled with his things, not just clothes, but all his "stuff". David says: "I keep tidying up my closet and you keep messing it up."

The dream told me that our new relationship had lots of potential for growth (the baby) but he was not sure of how committed he was. Our relationship was upsetting his inner world, the way in which he had figured and sorted things out, and he wasn't sure if he liked it. The dream really told me that the relationship would be more difficult for David than it was for me (I was holding the baby) as it would reveal and upset his innermost notions and ideas. In fact, we didn’t stay together all that long.

The most important step you can take to begin to communicate with your own visionary mind is to write down your dreams every night. If you have many dreams, write the one that seems to be most vivid or important. On nights when you don't remember a whole dream, write down any fragments or images you can hold on to. Somehow, just by paying attention to our dreams, the energy moves in the direction we need, even if we don't understand the symbols at a cognitive level.

I don't always have time to write my dreams so I keep a small tape recorder by my bed and record the dream as it comes. Often, in the morning I will have a dream recorded that I don't even remember having! Later, when I have time during the day, or even another day, I transcribe the dream into my journal.

If you want to request specific information from the Dreamaker, guidance on your journey, help with a decision, etc. follow a few simple steps:

• First, formulate your question or the issue you would like to explore and throughout the day, several times, have the thought that tonight you would like a dream about this question.

• Second, before you go to bed, close your eyes and go inward. Take a few deep breaths and respectfully ask the Dreamaker for information or guidance about your issue. Write your question down. Make it as concise and specific as possible. Avoid yes or no questions. The Dreamaker has a very large perspective and is interested in the evolution of your soul. So ask questions that pertain to your personal growth and development and avoid questions that emphasize personal wants and desires. Asking questions of the Dreamaker is like asking questions in school. The child asks the question and the teacher responds to the question asked. So try to seek the highest. Make the most of your questions and find the answers that lead to the greatest goals.

• Third, write down whatever dream comes in response to your question. Even if the dream seems silly and totally unrelated to your question, know that it is not.

• Fourth, throughout your day, contemplate the major symbols that have come forward in your dream. Write your associations to the symbols …what they mean to you. Then try to find some way to honor or pay attention to the symbols. For example, if you dream of a daisy, go and pick some daisies, or draw them. If you dream of your Aunt Mabel, write down your feelings about her and what you think she is like. It can be about the “Aunt Mabel” in you!

The symbol is the energy that has the power to transform. Dreams can be literal gold mines of information.

The late Marie-Louise Von Franz, a student of Jung put it well: “Dreams show us how to find a meaning in our lives, how to fulfill our own destiny, how to realize the greater potential of life within us.”

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