Working With Dream Themes: Repetitive Dreams

Dreams Can Reflect the Soul’s Purpose

Perhaps the most frequent question I get asked is, “Why do I have the same dream over and over?”  This is so is probably because everyone at some time or other has had a recurring dream.  A recurring dream presents itself over and over, sometimes as often as nightly but more often, at odd times over a period of months or years.   The dreamer usually feels that if the dream is repeating itself, it must be important and therefore wants to ask about it.  And the dreamer is right!  Repetitive dreams are important and should be taken seriously.

Repetitive Dreams: Like a Visitor Knocking on the Door

A repetitive dream is like a persistent visitor knocking on the door and will come back if no one answers the door.  The visitor has something important to say and wants to say it, and won’t give up so easily.  Therefore, the best way to deal with a repetitive dream is to open the door and listen; that is, pay attention to the dream, ask questions of the dream, and see what it is trying to say.

Possible Types of Repetitive Dreams

• Warning dreams.  These dreams act as alerts on how the dreamer is not living his or her life appropriately.  For example, if a person is not exercising enough over a long period of time, the dreamer may get a recurring dream about an athlete or a doctor coming into the room.
• Prophetic dreams. Prophetic dreams provide a glimpse into possible future directions.  Repeated dreams about a person filling a role not currently held may be the call to a new vocation or job that would enhance the quality of the dreamer’s life.  The dream is trying to encourage the dreamer to take steps towards getting into the new work.
• Commentary dreams. Actions or symbols occurring in a repetitive dream might be trying to make a values statement to the dreamer on how the dreamer is handling an issue in life.  Is the dreamer living according to his or her true inner standards, as opposed to someone else’s standards?  For example, a repetitive dream of losing one’s wallet may indicate that the dreamer is susceptible to losing his or her identity or sense of worth, and should trust more in life and the process that is going on in life.

Ending a Recurring Dream

Whatever your repetitive dream is, take it seriously by reflecting on what it means and by asking what association it might have with something important in your waking life at the moment.  If you get an “Aha” response, act on it.  Chances are if you have heard and acted on the recurring dream, it will stop coming because it has served its purpose.

Do Dreams Deal with the Past, Present and Future?

From many years of working with dreams, I find that most of them deal with current issues, a few deal with past issues and some deal with issues of the distant future. For other people it may be different, but this is the conclusion I get when I experience them, write them down and reflect on them. Perhaps it is just me in that I feel I have few issues from the past that need resolving. I certainly have some in the future that I prepare for, or are trying to work out with resolution now. However, as with a lot of people, my so-called “burning issues” are the ones that I am dealing with today and the day after.

Usually, I have found, a dream is about either the past, present or future, but not all three at once–unless it is a dream that is covering a great deal of one’s life and is highlighting a major theme in one’s life. These are often the Great Dreams which give insight on one’s life purpose in light of the greater picture.

Working With Dream Themes: Riding Trains and Planes

A Dream Scene: Hopes Rising or a New Life Phase Taking Off?

Riding in or observing trains and planes are common dream themes which suggest something about the direction our lives our heading.   In times of transition, it is common to dream of planes landing, taking off, or crashing. Being at a train station, changing trains or boarding a train are also common scenarios in dreams. Questions to ask around these dreams might be:

• Who is riding the train or plane? If it is me, how is the train or plane an analogy for my life journey at the moment? If the person is someone else, does the train or plane may represent my hopes or expectations for that person?
• What is happening to the train or plane? Is it analogous to something that is happening in my life at the moment? For example, a plane lifting off suggests the start of a new project. A plane crashing suggests the crashing of hopes about an endeavor.
• If I am changing or getting off a plane or train, what are the circumstances in the dream and how do they relate to things happening in my life now? Am I changing a career or have I come to the end of a project?
• Is there a conductor, policeman or pilot acting as a helper in my dream to help get where I am going? This person may be spiritual guide or may represent an actual person who is trying to help me get where I need to go. What does he or she do to help me?
• Does this dream refer to an actual trip? If I travel a lot, the dream may be trying to give me specific information about a particular trip. For example, missing a plane may be a warning to tell me to double check the departure time for the flight or it may suggest that the trip will not be worthwhile because I will miss the opportunity the trip affords.

In any case, further reflection and questioning about the dream can bring about added insights for your life transitions. Let the dream speak to you and you will go far!

A User Manual on Intentional Dreaming for Healing and Spiritual Growth

Intentional Dreaming for Healing and Spiritual Growth

Now Available! Harvesting the Healing Dream Garden: A User Manual on Intentional Dreaming for Healing and Spiritual Growth.

This practical booklet in PDF format includes:

• How my dream journey began with me being in a hijacked plane
• Reasons why dreams are important to healing and spiritual growth
• Why dreams are all about the dreamer and why this works for you the dreamer
• The health benefits of working with dreams to heal
• A tried and true basic method of intentional dreaming
• Working with symbols, themes and processes in dreams, especially as they relate to health and spiritual growth
• The how’s and why’s of keeping a dream journal
• Good dreamwork practices
• Many examples of working with dream themes such as the appearance in dreams of dream lovers, snakes, huge waves, etc.  Examples can be found in this blog but in the booklet, they are all in one place and easy to find!

Great for people who are good at teaching themselves, Harvesting the Healing Dream Garden provides the basics on what you need to know about intentional dreaming. Currently in PDF formatting, the manual is usually emailed to the shopper within 2 business days of purchase. The PDF formatted copy is free if the Dreamwork Fundamentals (DF) Consulting Session Package is purchased. Then, the book is a good accompaniment to the coaching session. Price: $19.99, now on special store-opening sale of $9.99! Offer good until May 11, 2015.

Order yours now at my website: http://www.healingdreamgarden.net/user-manuals.html

Class: Working with Dreams and Intuitive Meditation in the Tradition of Edgar Cayce

Edgar Cayce circa 1910

Edgar Cayce is considered by many to be the father of holistic medicine. This course will explore how Edgar Cayce intuitively diagnosed and healed, viewed dreams and intuition and show how his tradition continues today in the methods developed by the Edgar Cayce Institute for Intuitive Studies.

Sponsored by the Osher Life Lifelong Learning Institute, Univ. of Hawaii
Instructor: Fran Kramer, Intuitive Heart™ Trainer, certified by the Edgar Cayce Institute for Intuitive Studies. (2011)

Dates: July 3, 17 and 31, 2015
Time: 10:30 AM to Noon
Place: Honolulu, Hawaii. For specifics, inquire on registration.

To register call:

Rebecca Goodman, Director
Phone: (808) 956-8224
Email: rgoodman@Hawaii.edu

To learn more about dreams, visit my website at http://www.healingdreamgarden.com.

Working With Dream Themes: Dreams Heralding Amazing and Fortuitous Events

The Burden of Great Dreams: Image via Pinterest

Every now and then, often when things are moving along in steady state, we might have a dream that shows something incredibly and wonderful happening such as coming into a great deal of money or reaching a phenomenal level of career success. The natural inclination of most people I know who’ve had a dream like this is to tell everyone about it because it is such a joyful dream. However, I would caution anyone who has such a dream to not share it with many people, if at all. Write it down and treasure it in your heart. Remember it and be faithful to it, especially if times get hard before the dream is manifest in waking life.

The dream has been given to you for a reason. It most likely is a vision that is preparing you for an amazing journey to the end foretold in the dream. However, that road may include many hazards and potholes—such as extremely challenging obstacles and setbacks—so much so that you may lose hope and forget you had the dream at all. The dream is an inspiring vision meant to keep you moving.

The Story of Joseph and His Brothers

The Bible is full of stories of people being led, warned and inspired by dreams. The story of Joseph (Genesis 37: 5-11) is one such story where Joseph has a dream that indicates his older brothers, who are envious of their favored younger brother, will one day bow down to him. Joseph blithely and naively tells his brothers about the dream, antagonizing them all the more. They eventually sell him into slavery and say in Genesis 37: 20, “…We shall see what will become of his dreams.” Joseph has to undergo many ordeals as a slave in Egypt before he rises to the great heights foretold in his dreams. In the end, it happens but at what a price!

Wondrous dreams, based on my own experience, seem to happen to me as they did to Joseph. It’s only after years of struggle and faith in their vision, and often the experiencing the ridicule of the many that are envious or disbelieving, that the dreams manifest in waking life. So now when I have such a dream, I tell very few people, and know I am carrying a precious but heavy load.

Resisting the Urge to Interpret Someone’s Dream

Understanding Dreams Image via Pinterest

When we hear someone, especially someone we know well, describe a dream they’ve had, it’s tempting to think we might know what the dream means. We may get a strong urge to interpret it for them. This is particularly true for me since people know I work with dreams and therefore assume I interpret them. Often, I even get asked to interpret their dreams!

The truth is no one can interpret another person’s dream – no matter how tempting or certain we may be about that dream. I readily tell people I don’t interpret dreams. Instead, I give people the tools to interpret their own dreams and tools to listen to dreams in a truly helpful and supportive manner that doesn’t interpret dreams for someone else. The following is an example of a dream and tips of how to listen to it, minus interpretation.

Dream Being Described:
I leave my house and walk into a strange building next door. I walk in to see many people standing in the dark. Some people seem to be stuck where they are standing.

How to Listen to a Dream

1. When someone else is describing their dream it is important to hear everything being said. Let them finish without interrupting unless there is a need to clarify something. In this case, the listener might ask if “my house” refers to a real house the dreamer has lived in or is living in, or is it a house in dreamtime?
2. At the end of the dream narration, the listener may ask the dreamer to describe in more detail anything that needs fleshing out. For example, the “strange building” is a symbol loaded with potential feeling. The listener could ask what feelings are associated with the dream and/or the building: fear, fascination, repulsion, etc., and then ask the dreamer to describe the feelings and why the dreamer might have those feelings. Another listener may ask what the “stuck people” might mean to the dreamer. These kinds of helpful questions will get the dreamer closer to the dream so that deep insight might arise. In no case should the listener say something like, “The stuck people stand for people in your life who are going nowhere and are holding you back.” This makes a huge assumption about the dreamer which may be wrong. The listener may indeed be projecting a problem of his or her own onto the dreamer.
3. However, the listener may say, “If it were my dream, the stuck people make me think of how my relationships often feel stuck, not going anywhere,” or “The stuck people make me realize I have many parts of myself that feel stuck, not going anywhere.” Giving a statement like this allows the dreamer to digest the listener’s point of view without feeling threatened or judged. The statement may indeed be true for the dreamer, and if it is, may be insightful to the dreamer in a non-threatening manner. For one thing, the honesty of the listener may free up the dreamer to be honest about a meaning if it is hard to take— should it be the true meaning for the dreamer. If the dream has another meaning for the dreamer, the comment may hold true for other persons listening to the dream, and give them added insight into themselves.

To learn more about dreams, visit my website: http://www.healingdreamgarden.com.

Working With Dream Themes: Holiday Symbolism

Christmas Tree
Pin by Sheree Graves

With the holidays soon upon us, and a recent dream I had of a Christmas tree, I was reminded that dream symbols reflecting Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Christmas and the New Year often commonly appear this time of year. No doubt the dreams containing these holiday symbols are drawing off the powerful energy and high intensity of feelings, remembrances of past holidays and gatherings with old friends and family that the holidays bring. So during this holiday season, pay attention to your holiday symbols and ask what they mean for you. Because these symbols are so powerful and are so connected with important times and passages in our lives, they have much to offer in new insight.

Dream: Christmas Tree of Transformation

Many years ago, visionary dreams were fashioning the course for the remaining half of my life but I did not understand those dreams then. They were so surrealistic and majestic that I only knew they didn’t pertain to my humdrum life at the time. One such dream was a Christmas tree dream in which I dreamed that I was standing in front of a very tall and beautiful Christmas tree. Taking up my full field of vision, it was lavishly decorated with brilliant lights and tiny magical ornaments in the shapes of different women. The tree was so stunning it took my breath away. A voice came in the dream and said, “This tree is your life. All those beautiful ornaments and lights on the tree are the various heartaches, difficulties and challenges you will face in your life. Eventually, they will turn from something repugnant into something of beauty, light and wonder—like these ornaments. This tree is part of an agreement you made before you born.”

In terms of symbolism, it was clear that the magnificent tree represented the Tree of Life, my life. The shining lights indicated the celebratory end of a healing process. The tiny figures of various kinds of women certainly represented me in all my aspects—and at the same time could possibly represent all the people I was meant to help, since most of these have been women. (Dreams often uncannily have simultaneously an inner and outer meaning.)

In mentioning the contract I already made, the voice in the dream seemed to imply that it was my job to help make sure the negative aspects of my life turned into positive and literally glowing results. I was already starting to accumulate my share of negative experiences so I knew the dream was pointing out something important! I also thought it very intriguing that the voice said this was something I agreed to before I was born—an interesting concept which I later learned Plato had written about as well as other metaphysical thinkers such as Edgar Cayce and some of the New Age writers.

At the time, the Christmas tree dream seemed to make no sense from a practical standpoint other than give me a lot pleasure remembering the beauty of it. It actually added a burden by implying I had a mission to do, as if I could turn lemons into lemonade! I could easily count the hurts to tally up the lemons but my dream gave me no clue about the pesky details: how, when, why and who would be involved in turning the lemons to lemonade. And besides, what did this have to do with immediate and practical problems of paying the rent, accumulating a 401K, or earning vacation time? However, the dream had a much deeper meaning, pointing to a far reaching and fundamental purpose of my life.

Indications of Growth and Progress in Dreamwork

Quotes on Dreams from Pinterest

When my students do dreamwork (the recording and working with dreams to learn something from the dreams) on a regular basis, what I sometimes get asked is this: How do I know I am making progress in working with dreams?

This is a good question, because unless I am working with someone who knows a lot about dreamwork such as a dream mentor, the answers may not be all that apparent, especially in the beginning. However, in the long run, progress will definitely become more obvious because of the positive changes the dreamer will see in his or life.

Indicators of progress in dreamwork can be seen in the following:

• Dreams become more vivid and easier to remember. A beginner usually has difficulty remembering dreams. Just having the intention to remember dreams will often prompt the dreamer to remember his or her dreams. Need help in remembering dreams? See Tried and True Tips to Better Remember Your Dreams at http://wp.me/p45aiq-5B
• Dreams seem to “come” when one needs or wants them. Just making the intention to do regular dreamwork or participate in a dream class will often encourage the psyche to offer the dreamer a sudden outpouring of dreams.
• Discovering that dreams do respond to requests for information and wisdom with appropriate insights. Asking for a particular dream (Dream Incubation) and getting a helpful answer is truly empowering for the neophyte starting the study of dreams. It’s like meeting a powerful helper for the first time. This experience gives the dreamer confidence to ask for more help from dreams. For information on incubating a dream see Ask and You Shall Receive: Incubating a #Dream at http://wp.me/p45aiq-71
• Experiencing a lucid dream. A lucid dream is one in which the dreamer feels like he or she is awake and aware in the dream, all the while knowing it is a dream. Conscious choices can be made within the dream.  One feels one can create the dream.  Like dream incubation, this is an empowering to the dreamer.  Lucid dreams can be also be requested for or intended in order to heal, problem solve or gain information.
• Experiencing healing, a solution or guidance in a dream or through information received in a dream.
• Discovering and evaluating what contributions dreams have made. After recording dreams for a significant period of time, one can go back and review dreams to find how they related to events and experiences in waking life during that time. This can be an eye-opening experience of discovery when one sees that many dreams do come true, show the processes and transformations one is going through in life, and support and nurture the dreamer from a deeper source.

The Importance of Dreams for Recovery of Soul Loss

Dreams: A Pathway to the Soul Image via Pertash Koul

Do you feel out of touch with yourself? Do you feel that your culture is shallow and vapid? You are not alone. In 20 Diagnostic Signs That You’re Suffering From “Soul Loss,” Lissa Rankin, M.D., states that this is a very common malady in today’s world. She says not only individuals suffer from this but so do cultures. In my opinion, religions, and in particular, churches can also suffer from it. Whenever we, whether individually or collectively, have lost sight of what animates us, what makes us come alive or what drives us, we suffer from a form of soul loss.

Dreams and holding on to a dream are some keys to recover the soul’s enlivening power in our waking life. Dreams come from the soul itself and speak for the soul and its needs. It is no wonder that so many individuals suffer soul loss when they don’t value their dreams and don’t make an effort to remember them or work with them. Institutions lose soul when they lose sight of the founder’s vision or dream for that organization. This is particularly true of religions and churches which become social clubs or babysitting stations for kids when the ties to a deep spiritual connection have been broken or not promoted among the followers.

Therefore, a remedy for recovering from soul loss is studying about dreams, learning both how to work with them and learning from them:

Individually, this means keeping a dream journal and doing dreamwork on an on-going and consistent basis.

Collectively, this means studying and learning from the dreams and visions of the founders. Institutions can recapture their original dynamism by going back to the basics, to be once again inspired by the founders, learning what defined the organization and why it was started in the first place.

Dreams and visions are all about purposes of soul and how soul presents itself in the world. What is your true dream? In that you will find your true inspiration.