Common Symbols for Kundalini in Dreams: Fire and Flame

Posted on January 20, 2018 by frankramer

Fire: A Symbol of Light and Purification

In a series of blogs on kundalini energy as it appears in dreams, I have written about snakes and volcanoes as being important symbols. Fire and flames are also dramatic and powerful symbols for kundalini energy, and when they occur in dreams, it is hard to forget. The dream is very wise to choose this symbol to convey the workings of kundalini energy because fire is similar to kundalini in that it burns away all that is harmful or not necessary and brings light to guide those touched by its energy.

Working with a Fire Dream

Dreams about things burning can have many meanings on the physical and spiritual level, but first and foremost one should look for a spiritual meaning because all dreams have a spiritual message at some level, and fire dreams are particularly connected to the work of the spirit. The imagery of something burning calls to mind the biblical story of Moses and the Burning Bush (Exodus 3:1-17). A burning object always attracts our attention and focuses our mind on a dramatic transformation that is taking place before us: the transmutation of something physical into something else such as gas and ash, or in the case of the Burning Bush, the presence of a divine being because the expected transmutation wasn’t taking place. Spirituality is about transformation and being in the presence of the divine.

As in dreams about snakes and volcanoes, one has to ask what is going one in one’s life so that fire and flame appear. A fire dream may be merely an expression of one’s fears about a house catching fire because of fire hazards in the house. However, if one is experiencing strong kundalini energy in one’s body, it may be giving the dreamer a chance to observe what this energy is doing and how it can be managed.

Dream: My Car is on Fire

I am with a friend and some other people. They have just come out of a store. I invite them into my car since I can seat 6 people. When I start the car, a little alert icon on the dashboard goes on and I yell for everyone to get out. The car is on fire! Everyone jumps out and is OK. I want to use my cellphone to call 911 but my friend says not to.

This dream came about a year and a half before I experienced the onset of kundalini energy in my body. A car can be a symbol for the body or for how we get around in life. In any case, it was alerting me to the possibility that my life would be affected by a strong energy like fire. It would cause me fear and concern but the dream is also telling me that I (and the many parts of myself represented by the others) would be OK. My friend (who is a wise and knowledgeable person in waking life) tells me it is not important to call 911. This is odd so it makes me think this dream is not predicting something physical but maybe a spiritual process that is meant to happen. The burning car is a symbol of a transformative process that is OK.

Methods for Getting Unstuck

Posted on January 9, 2016 by frankramer

Getting unstuck can be a challenge met by dreams and meditation.

Image via Pinterest

For anyone trying to move along in a creative project such as writing a book, getting in shape or developing one’s spiritual life, there are times when we get stuck and it seems like we are going nowhere. Beyond just stepping back from the situation for a moment (and sometimes that is all it takes,) we encounter times when the obstacles and inertia seem to take over, and one feels like a boat drifting nowhere in the middle of the ocean. At this point, dreams and meditation help a great deal.

Using Meditation to Get Unstuck

There are various types of meditation which can release a sense of feeling stuck. One is the Inspired Heart Meditation developed by Henry Reed, Ph.D. based on many years of research. Like many meditations, one is calmed and more detached in a process of observing the breath. In this meditation, however, the person is asked to experience gratitude for the breath coming like a gift. Gratitude, like hope, has a tendency to raise the person above the concerns being experienced and opens one to what is new and to come. This gratitude not only opens the heart to receive positive energy, it also opens one to receive intuitive insight, especially if one has asked or prayed for it just prior to starting the meditation. One emerges not only rested and re-energized but also inspired, helping one to get unstuck because getting unstuck often means getting new insights on which way to go, resolving a problem and being rejuvenated!

Using Dreams to Get Unstuck

Asking or praying for a dream to help get unstuck is another approach which can often bring profound insights on many levels, as dreams often do. While the answer may come in seemingly unrelated symbols, events and people, this oddness might be a way of just getting us out of a box and see the world in a different way! Working with the dream in a manner that sees every object in the dream as symbolizing some energy within myself helps unravel the oddness and often brings home amazing results. For example, with the holidays over, I am going back to work and wanted a dream to inspire and motivate me because I have been feeling lethargic from all the down time and good food.

Dream: Many New Workers

I am in an Information Technology office with a couple of co-workers. I look up and am amazed by the number of young men lined up, coming through the office door to work in my workplace! One of the workers already in the office looks and me and gives me a reassuring smile.

When I awoke, I was at first thrown off in dismay that the workplace was an Information Technology office like one I used to work at many years ago. Like many people who try to interpret dreams, I took the dream literally and dreaded that it might mean I would be working in that kind of job again with its fast past and high stress–great for those times but not for now. The symbolism seemed at odds to what I expected. Then I reflected on what it is I wanted from the dream, and that was information if I would be up to working–not where I would be working! I realized the dream was really telling me this: the “Information Technology” office was the dream space where I was doing the dreamwork to get information! It could also be the mental space where I would be doing my work. The fact that I had plenty of workers to do the work filled me with amazement and happiness. They symbolized a lot of work energy available to me, letting me know I would be ready and “able bodied” when it came time to start work. I knew the vacation mode mindset would be fading soon.

Common Symbols for Kundalini in Dreams: Snakes

Posted on August 23, 2015 by frankramer

The Snake: A Symbol for Kundalini Rising

Caduceus

As the first of a blog series on common symbols for kundalini that occur in dreams I will begin with the snake. Perhaps it is one of the most popular symbols for kundalini because the Hindus have often portrayed the energy as a snake that uncoils and rises up. The snake’s movement symbolizes kundalini energy as it uncoils and rises up the spine to do its work in the body. When I had my blissful kundalini awakening in June of 2009, (not to be confused the powerful kundalini energy release I underwent in 2007), I experienced this uncanny sensation. I felt a building energy at the base of my spine and then a unique uncoiling sensation that was followed by a burst of energy igniting my first, second and third chakras. It seemed that every cell from my knees to upper abdomen was radiating pure ecstatic joy. With my mind’s eye, I saw glorious tones of red, orange and yellow extend several feet from out of my body. For a long while after, I reveled in a profound blissful state.

Perhaps because the snake has been so long associated with kundalini and its healing properties, and because the snake’s venom can heal certain conditions, the snake has long been a symbol for healing. Everyone is familiar with the ancient symbol for the medical profession, the caduceus, a rod with a snake or two wrapped around it.

A Human Caduceus

Since having experienced kundalini I now see myself as the rod surrounded by two healing snakes. This is no accident. In February 2003, I had an emotionally powerful dream of two giant golden snakes wrapped about my middle. Since then, I have come to understand that these two snakes were and are healing the 2^nd and 3^rd chakras, areas where I have needed healing. I also don’t think it is an accident that I have been gifted with the art of healing others as I have been healed. The caduceus is a symbol for any human who has been enfolded by the healing energy of kundalini and thus can heal others.

Look for Your Snake’s Color and Their Reappearance in Your Dreams

In your dreams, be particularly aware if snakes seek you out and wrap themselves around you. It may mean kundalini has chosen you. It is important to understand snakes can have many other meanings in dreams so noting the color of the snakes will be an important clue as to whether these snakes might be harbingers of kundalini energy. If the colors are brilliant, glowing and beautiful or are white, a symbol for spirituality, there is a good chance they may represent kundalini energy. For example in 2005 I had a dream of two snakes, a green snakes were approaching me. A month later, I dreamed of two white snakes going to the left and right in front of me. This repetition of dreams featuring a unique symbol such as a snake bears taking notice. It is another sign that something significant is happening. These dreams are telling me to take notice that whatever the snake symbolizes is coming my way.

Dead Men Do Tell Tales: An intuitive teen dream detective mystery novel using dreamwork methods to solve a case. See http://tinyurl.com/MyBook4U

The Traveling Sketchbook: An American Kid Discovers Japan, a coming of age story set in Japan. See http://tinyurl.com/readJapan

For more information on dreams as they related to healing, please visit my website at http://www.healingdreamgarden.com.

Into the Dark Night: When There Seems No Response to Prayer and Intention

Posted on April 20, 2015 by frankramer

Image via Pinterest

Much has been said on this website, in my classes and in other places how it is possible to intend or ask for a dream or specific piece of intuitive information to help heal or resolve an issue. All that is possible but I would be very remiss if I did not say that there are times or a long period of time when all the praying or intending seems to produce no immediate or apparent result, no matter how often one prays and intends. This can be a very difficult experience if one has become accustomed to receiving answers in dreams or meditation. Often, it is enough to make one lose heart and give up on the practice.

What to Keep in Mind

This period of darkness has had many names in spiritual practice. A common one that has held over the centuries is The Dark Night of Soul. It has also been described as a dry period when there is no productivity or creativity. A sense of being lost and or a profound feeling of emptiness are yet other descriptive characteristics. Here are some pointers to keep in mind if you are experiencing this phenomenon:

It often comes after one has achieved a certain degree of maturity or achievement in one’s spiritual practice, and it often itself is an indicator of progress made—which is something to keep in mind and consider as a source of encouragement to keep going.
It may last for a while but usually it is temporary. One can go through many “dark nights” or a very long one in one’s life.
It is a very important part of the spiritual growth process because it is like a test, challenging your resolve, patience and capacity to seek more insight in difficult situations.
It makes one realize that getting what one wants through positive thinking and intentionality isn’t as easy as some of the New Age proponents would like you to believe. It’s not all a rose garden.
If undergone with fortitude, faith and patience, just as day follows the night, it often heralds a new beginning, a breakthrough or a transformation—making all the confusion, frustration and isolation and lostness all worthwhile!

I have found these dark times to be reflected in dreams with images of the full moon in a dark sky, of being lost in a foreign city, or the lack of dreams and insight altogether—even when I pray or intend them. For me these kinds of dreams or lack of dreams are clues telling I am going through a Dark Night period. It happens to all of us on the spiritual journey. But remember, answers come when they are meant to come, and when we truly need them. So keep intending and praying for the dreams and inspiration you need. Guidance will come!

Working with Dream Themes: The Loss of Identity

Posted on August 6, 2014 by frankramer

Passing Through a Tight Place

One of the messages that Edgar Cayce had to say about dreams is that they point out the difference between how my higher self sees me and how my ego self sees me. Dreams are always trying to get us to let go of ego and grow into our higher selves. Nightmares are often caused by this clash between these two parts in each of us. The ego just doesn’t want to let go to that higher self and the results show in fear, anger or depression! Loss of identity dreams especially seem to be related to this issue of ego letting go. When we worry too much about things like money, status, job opportunities and people loving us, “loss of identity” dreams often kick in, reminding us that there is more to us than our ego identity.

How we think of ourselves is something that seems to be very important in dreamtime. I say this because so many of my dreams and those of my friends, students and colleagues who have shared their dreams with me note the theme of personal identity, or the loss of it, showing up in dreams—especially when we come to recognize our unique symbols or the commonly occurring symbols for this event.

I have to admit it was a long time before I recognized the symbol for what it meant in my dreams, even though I had the dream repeatedly over many years. In the dream I would lose my purse or have it stolen, usually by a bunch of bratty kids. I was aware enough to realize these nightmares usually occurred when I was worried about finances so I just assumed that’s all there was to it. Having the dream repeat over a period of time should have clued me in that I didn’t fully understand or appreciate the dream. Here is a typical dream:

Dream:
I go through a tight place but make it through. I realize I don’t have my purse. I go back to the tight place and see a lot of women have left their purses here going through this tight place.

Reflection:
Going through a tight place evokes the feeling of going through the birth canal, the transition to a new level of being or awareness. At the time of this dream I was just about to undergo a major spiritual event, a kundalini awakening. After doing this, I would realize I don’t have my purse. At the time, I had just come into an inheritance so money wasn’t an issue. So what did the purse mean? Sandra A. Thomson in Cloud Nine: A Dreamer’s Dictionary notes that it is related to identity. The purse holds one’s identity in the form of ID cards such as a driver’s license or passport. Going through such a major transition would cause me to lose the way I look at myself, my identity—which indeed happened to an enormous degree. The kundalini awakening had me undergo such physical, emotional and spiritual changes that I no longer recognized my “old self” on any of these dimensions. However, eventually I was led to experience the fact that at the core I am a being of energy and light, able to receive and transmit healing energy. I was being transformed. What a new spiritual identity! The dream was telling me that it wasn’t just me but there are many other women who experience this loss of identity when undergoing major transitions. The many women could be other women or other parts of myself. As it turned out, I ended up making many changes which totally changed my waking life identity as well. I left my career in IT consulting, moved to Hawaii, and became a writer, educator and life coach.