When Is A Dream Not A Dream? Post #3

image courtsey of healing.about.com

I am examining the experience of a woman who, as a teenager, was depressed and asked inwardly to die. She had a dream that had all the qualities of an angelic, out-of-body event. She was told to go back to her life; there was more she had to accomplish.

Although this experience stands on its own, the dreamer agreed to try an interpretation anyway to see if there was more to be learned. On Wednesday, she and I looked at each of her dream symbols, and she did her best to comment on each one, making a metaphoric association.

Today, I have helped her reconstruct her dream replacing her symbols with her associations. I have tried to stick as closely as possible to her actual words, only adding phrases like “within myself” to remind her that all symbols in a dream are facets of the dreamer.

Reconstructed dream

I am in a connecting pathway within myself. It’s in the part of me that is where I learn at about the mid-level. I am heading for the place where I can either ascend to a higher level or return to a lower level. In my case, I was about to go down to the base level. Where I am within myself is usually busy, but now I am by myself. Suddenly, I see within me something that is otherworldly. The power is so far beyond me, it is beyond awesome. There is nothing to do by surrender. It is so intense it is almost intolerably. I am momentarily paralyzed in my surprise and awe. It aligns with my understanding of God which, at this time, is male. So it’s not surprising that God—or His representative—comes to me in male form. This is definitely the godlike part of me. It is asking me to enter into its space. It communicates with me to snap me out of my momentary paralysis. I kind of become one with it—not in the sense of being as great as it is, but in the sense of immersing myself in its energy and power. I have been wanting to quit, but this part of me tells me that I have more to do. My suffering isn’t useless. There will be benefits that I will be able to pass along. I get the message that I am part of a much larger picture, one that I probably don’t understand. It is reassuring. Suddenly, I awaken in an unusual sleep posture for me. I know that the weight of what I have to do is back on my shoulders. I had felt so light and free. I know that there is a price to pay, and I am not happy about it.

Observations

Was this interpretation process useful? Certainly, there are more details, and in those details aspects of her experience are emphasized. For example, she was using the stairs to “go down to the base level.” Tomorrow we’ll ask her if the interpretation was helpful.

ANNOUNCEMENT
On March 11 & 12 I will be participating in the "Body Mind Spirit Expo" in Hillsboro Oregon, just west of Portland. I will be lecturing and facilitating dream interpretations. Click on the "Events" page for details.