Dreams Help Heal Grief

One of the many healing functions of dreams is to reconcile or heal the profound pain of the loss of a loved one. The grieving process is helped along by insights that come with dreams as well as the actual visit of a loved in a dream that quite often conveys a message of comfort or helpful information.

For example, the night that my mother died, I dreamed that she came to me and said she now understood me in a way she hadn’t before, and she could see how special I was. This was a comforting surprise to me because while I understood that she loved me and accepted me; I always had the nagging feeling she didn’t really know where I was coming from. While we spent a lot of time together and got along peaceably together, she was not a talker and I usually didn’t bring up subjects that would make her even more reticent.

It is true that we were very different personalities. She was German-American haus-frau who was devoted to family, giving up her nursing career after she married. She expressed her love in what she did for us. I, on the other hand, was a career woman all of my life expressing my love in creative work such as writing and teaching. She often wondered why I never got married–even when I told her I stayed single because I had taken her advice of not settling for anything less than the best! The best just never came my way.

Having this dream made me feel that my relationship with her was now complete. There were no more loose strings or vague musings about what might have been. What dreams helped you resolve any issues with a person who has passed?

High Blood Pressure: Getting a Second Opinion from Dreams

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On occasion, you and your doctor will be faced with a medical issue which won’t have a clear-cut answer. It is in times like these that getting a second opinion from dreams can be very helpful. By having or asking for a dream that can bring more awareness to the issue you might be gifted with a dream that provides a clear diagnosis, a remedy for the presenting issue or more information on the issue. This happened to me recently.

My overall health situation is very much influenced by the fact that I had a kundalini event about nine years ago. As a result, the heightened energy in my body not only brings me great healing energy and very good health; it also causes my heart to beat more rapidly and my blood pressure to rise when an energy surge is taking place. Because western medicine can’t do much to treat a rapid heartbeat, doctors tend to ignore it once the heart and vascular system are determined to be healthy. High blood pressure is another matter. They want to treat it because they have an arsenal of drugs that will do the job. However, the big question is, if you don’t have the usual medical problems that cause high blood pressure, will drug treatment of high blood pressure be the best way to go—especially when the pressure can return to normal very suddenly?

Kundalini and Blood Pressure

Along with many kundalini experts, I believe that the kundalini energy does influence blood pressure. I would think that just the force of the energy alone going through the body must have an effect on blood pressure. On top of that, any negative energies that get released through the kundalini surge such as anxiety, anger and fear, will also cause blood pressure to rise when the person experiences them in the release. If the person also has “white coat syndrome,” a fear of going to the doctor, there can then be a third factor simultaneously causing the blood pressure to rise—all of which have nothing to do with the actual physical health of the body.  Then there could be added stress factors like having a bad day or dismal week.

Such was my own situation recently. My blood pressures were reading a little on the high side when I visited my doctor. Along with my doctor, we agreed that I would test my blood pressure at home and observe when I felt little if no kundalini and when generally feeling rested and peaceful. Because even taking a home blood pressure makes me nervous, I felt it would great to get some advice from dreams. It turned out that I did receive a most wonderful dream!

Dream: Two male physicians dressed in white coats come up to me. I ask them if they want to take my blood pressure. They tell me they are not worried about my blood pressure.

This dream told me not to worry about my blood pressure. If they aren’t worried, why should I be? The presence of two doctors in the dream told me I was getting not only one opinion but two from the dream! Knowing that, I feel I can relax more so that I can give a more true reading of blood pressure in a relaxed state. To be on the safe side side I followed the advice given at biologyofkundalini.com website to drink plenty of water and eat three to four stalks of celery a day. Celery, it seems, is a food that can help lower blood pressure naturally. With meditation, I am learning to relax even more when faced with a situation that is scary to me personally. Perhaps the kundalini will release me from “white coat syndrome” but one thing for sure I know is that one day I will give healthy blood pressure readings through this process of working with dreams. Why? Because I not only dreamed that I have good blood pressure but have dreamed of giving resting results! Recently, I had another dream where my doctor was examining me and she said jubilantly, “We did it!” Well, the thing “we” have been working on is getting the blood pressure down to normal while showing relaxed readings through natural means! This is good news. I don’t want to go through the rest of my life being in a panic when I see the doctor or have a blood pressure done. Now I see through dreams that it can be done.

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

Common Symbols for Kundalini in Dreams: Snakes

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.

Class on Edgar Cayce Filled! Contact me for one-on-one classes.

Recently on this blogroll I advertized a class I will be teaching this summer at the University of Hawaii Osher Lifelong Learning Center on Working with Dreams and Intuition in the Tradition of Edgar Cayce.  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.  In this workshop, students will explore how Cayce intuitively diagnosed and healed, and learn how his approaches are used today.  Participants should be willing to do suggested dreamwork methods and intuitive methods.

This popular class quickly filled up and is now closed.  However, if you would like to have a one-on-one class of two 50 minute phone or Skype™ meetings to cover this material, please contact me (Fran Kramer) at info@healingdreamgarden.net.  Fee is $60.00 and can be paid by credit card at my website at http://www.healingdreamgarden.net. Handouts will be emailed to enrolled students before the first class session.

With aloha,

Fran Kramer, Intuitive Heart™ trainer certified by the Edgar Cayce Institute for Intuitive Studies

Working with Dream Themes: Health Information in Dreams

Caduceus

One of the important functions of dreams is to inform us about our state of well-being, and this includes information about our physical health in additional to emotional or spiritual health. It is not surprising then that when we start to remember and record our dreams we will begin to see references to health and health issues, literally or symbolically in our dreams. Two such health related dreams are those 1) warning us of a health issues or 2) telling us when things are fine. Here are two examples from my own life:

Dream Example: Blood in My Stool

An authoritative voice tells me that I have blood in my stool.

On hearing this voice, I immediately woke up. Naturally, this aural dream which presented only as a voice saying these words frightened me. I was due for my annual physical exam in a few days so I made it a point to tell my doctor about the dream. My doctor took the dream very seriously and gave me a stool sample card which I took home and over the next several days I collected stool samples. When the results of the tests came back, sure enough, it was found that I had blood my stool. I was immediately scheduled for a colonoscopy. I apprehensively waited for the day of this dreaded test but before the test was blessed with another dream:

Dream Example: Getting a Good Result on a Colonoscopy

I am in a medical setting and a doctor is giving me a colonoscopy. I can see the progress of the camera in my colon on the monitor. He says everything is OK!

This dream brightened my spirits. A little while later, I had the colonoscopy and was awake enough during the procedure to see the monitor, reminding me of the dream and test result. At that point, I was quite sure I would get a good result. And sure enough, I did!

I found it interesting that my dreams coincided with both test results, even though they showed different outcomes.

For more information, visit my website: http://www.healingdreamgarden.com.

Nightmares: Everybody’s Nocturnal Dragon

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You are not alone if you have or have had nightmares. Everyone has them from time to time, and many people are literally jolted awake by their power and intensity. Quite often, nightmares are the vehicles that bring people into dreamwork, and that is a good thing. Working with nightmares is the best way to mine the gifts hidden within them. Ignoring nightmares often makes them worse, especially if they turn into unwelcome repetitive visitors.

What to do if you have a nightmare:

• Remember that nightmares are most often blessings in disguise. They are trying to tell you something that is very important to you. Often, the content of nightmares represents emerging consciousness of something or someone we didn’t know about before. This presentation of new information is in itself an indication for the possibility of growth or even transformation. The fact that the dream is a nightmare may mean you are just having a hard time accepting this new awareness.
  Dream Example:
  I am in a house that has caught fire. Flames are shooting up behind and alongside me, but to the front of me I see an open door leading to escape.
• Before you begin to think that you will actually be caught in a burning house, look at all the symbols, the theme and process of the nightmare. Often nightmares contain clues which will provide insight that will help support our acceptance of, or even ease, the new awareness.
• Make associations with the energy in the dream. What in your waking life is full of fire, or burning you? Could there be an untenable work situation that makes you “burn” to the point it is hurting you? In relation to that, can you see an exit to get you out of that harmful or uncomfortable situation? If it is work, look around. There may be an avenue of escape such as a new opportunity. In that case, in waking life open your eyes to look for the exit.
• Reflect on the meanings in light of the associated context in your waking life. Ask what insight you dream is trying to give you. In this case the dream is trying to tell you how to resolve this “burning issue” in waking life: you can escape, and get out.

In my experience with dreams, I have found that it is the nightmares that provide the greatest opportunities for healing, blessing and resolution of major issues in life. They are the dragons that contain the hidden treasure. And it is your job as the warrior dreamer to tackle the dragon!

Working With Dream Themes: Snakes in Dreams

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The commonest dream symbol of transcendence is the snake. — Carl Jung

Much has been written about snakes in dreams because their appearance is very common. The snake can have many meanings, and the dreamer needs to sift through the various possibilities. From a health perspective, the snake is often portrayed in mythology as a healing animal perhaps because a snake’s venom could be an antidote for certain ailments or the bite of a snake. Snakes were kept as sacred symbols in the aesclepian temples of ancient Greece for of their reputed healing powers. They were considered a symbol for the Greek god of healing, Aesclepius. The long association of snakes with healing can be seen today in the caduceus, a common symbol for the medical profession, which is made up of two snakes wrapped around a pole.

So let your snake dreams grab your attention, just as finding a snake in front of you would, especially if you dream of snakes coming to you or you are being bitten by a snake. The bite and release of venom can represent a transfer of healing power. If you have a dream of this sort, or dream of being bitten by any animal such as a spider, dog or bear, you should pay attention. It may be a symbol of this animal’s unique healing power or wisdom coming to you if it doesn’t have any association with a bite you may have received in waking life.

The snake is also a common symbol for kundalini, the powerful healing energy latent in everyone’s body at all times which, according to Hindu legend, releases its power in small amounts to keep us all healthy. It can be activated in larger amounts to bring significant healing and transformation at all levels of the mind, body and spirit. The symbol of a yellow or golden snake coming to or wrapping itself around the dreamer is common in dreams for persons experiencing kundalini releases. The following is a powerful and hard-to-forget dream I had in 2003 which presaged my own kundalini event in 2007.

DREAM EXAMPLE:
Two huge golden snakes are entwined about my waist and abdomen.

Even though this dream was full of numinous energy and the snakes literally glowed, at the time I had no idea what this dream meant. I only knew it was so important it shocked me awake. These snakes were as big as pythons. I wrote the dream down. Only after my kundalini release in 2007 did this dream make sense. That’s when I received much healing in the second and third chakras which are located in the areas that the snakes coiled. My dreams seemed to be telling me that I had literally become the caduceus! My body was the pole and two snakes were wrapped around me. I don’t think it was an accident that the gift to work with energy healing came along with this kundalini experience.

Other symbols that portray healing kundalini energy are lightning bolts, volcanic eruptions and the number 66. As mentioned before, it helps to have a good dream dictionary which gives many possible meanings for a symbol rather than a cut-and-dry single definition. Get to know your snakes. It may save your life!

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

Why are Dreams Important to Health and Spiritual Growth?

Go Within for Answers

According to research on dreams, dreams are what help us make sense of the world around us. In dreamtime we are already problem-solving and dealing with current and future issues, no matter if we remember the dreams and issues or not.

Intentional dreaming is about pro-actively tapping into this amazing ability we all have—but most of us just let run on auto-pilot. What is even more amazing is that we can intentionally tap into, work with and be inspired by the dreams for specific reasons—and our dreams seem to want us to do this. They respond to our questions and concerns and keep knocking at our door with repetitive dreams when we don’t want to respond.

Dreams are sources of pure intuition. While daydreaming, prayer and meditation can give us intuitive insights, dreams are probably the surest and the best way to access intuition in its richest form. The famous neurologist and founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, called dreams “the royal road to the Unconscious.” He was not the first to make a similar claim. Ancient cultures viewed dreams as a way that the gods spoke to humans. We only have to think of Joseph’s prophetic dreams and Jacob’s ladder dream to recall that the Bible is full of stories of holy and dynamic people being led by God through their dreams. Edgar Cayce, one of the world’s greatest intuitive minds, said that dreams were “today’s answers to tomorrow’s questions,” and that working with dreams was important for spiritual growth. To not do so would be “highly negligent.” Edgar Cayce thought that the purpose of dreams was to align the dreamer with the soul’s purpose—something that is often quite different from Ego’s purposes which tend to be focused on things like making money or gaining status in the community. (Reading 2265) Dreams then are one of the best ways for connecting with the true nature of one’s Self for the purposes of healing and direction.

From my experience, I have found dreams provide clues that are symbols for energy in the body, mind and soul. Dream elements such as images, themes and processes are the language tools used to communicate the health status of body, mind or soul. Learning to recognize the symbols for disease, health and well-being can, therefore, greatly aid us in learning at the energy level what the body, mind or soul wants and needs to be healthy—often long before something registers as a recognizable or testable medical or psychological ailment and before the time when something becomes a challenge to treat.

Engage your dreams and let them inform you about how to better improve your health and well-being!

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

Working With Dream Themes: Wounded Animals

Reminder to Protect Animals
Image via Petfinder

Dreams of wounded animals are often hard to bear, and perhaps this is good because these kinds of dreams should capture our attention and elicit a response – just as when we see a wounded animal in the street or in the woods. Like all dreams, wounded animal dreams can have different levels of meaning and should be handled accordingly. Here are some suggested questions to ask, if you such a dream.

1. Is it my animal that I am dreaming about? If the wounded animal is one I own or am responsible for in waking life, I need to ask what am I doing that may cause this animal to be wounded as in the dream. For example, if I dream my dog is lying by the road with a broken leg, I need to ask if I am giving it too much freedom to roam freely on the streets or be endangered by on-coming vehicles. Such a dream may be a warning me that this could happen to my dog if I don’t take better care of it.
2. If the animal is not one for which I am responsible for in waking life, I need to ask what part of me does this animal represent—going on the dreamwork premise that everything in a dream represents part of me. If it is a bird, I would ask what part of me is like a bird. Let’s say the bird represents my sense of freedom because when I see birds I think of having freedom to fly and soar.
   Then I then need to look at the injury itself and ask how I am or could be wounded like this animal. Am I doing anything that could contribute to such an injury now or in the future? For example, let’s say I dreamed that a bird has a broken wing and is lying on the ground. It has flown into a glass door. I could associate this injury with my sense of freedom being wounded when my progress in a creative endeavor was stopped by some kind of obstacle I couldn’t see. Perhaps this dream is telling me to go slowly, be more cautious or is warning me I could hit an obstacle. It may be referring to this as already happening and is asking me to take care of the wounded part of myself.
3. Lastly, the dream could be referring to both an animal I own and a part of me. This happened to me when I dreamed of my cat lying on the ground with a leg injury. Sure enough, not too long after having this dream, my cat suffered a leg injury which required surgery. In my own life, soon after the dream, I experienced several setbacks related to trusting my own natural cat-like instincts which greatly impacted my sense of being able to “get around” with my usual ease and grace, forcing me to seek help from others and do more meditation to get back on track. Therefore, the suggestions I give here are based on hindsight wisdom I wish I had practiced better when I had the dream of my injured cat. My dream was clearly warning and trying to help me.

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

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.