I love remembering my dreams. There may be weeks when I don’t recall a single dream and then one surfaces that’s better than the best sci-fi movie.
The other night I had a dream about my mind as a screen saver. The picture had changed from a natural landscape with grass and wildflowers to a simple gray backdrop with a vortex spiraling from top to bottom. The image flashed by just as I woke up. My first thought was, “I’m going deeper.” My second thought was, “Why is it gray?” I don’t like gray, and a vortex seems so out of character to me. But that’s the gift of dreams; they invite you to go deeper into unexplored nooks and crannies of your soul.
In my twenties, I trained to become a Transactional Analysis therapist. Other opportunities intervened and I never followed through, but I learned to interpret dreams by telling them to myself in the first person. I will show you now, by using this dream as an example:
I’m the vortex, spiraling down into Eileen. I’m wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. I am three-dimensional against a gray backdrop. While the color feels two-dimensional, my shape is full of energy and focus. In fact, color would be distracting. I am set on getting my book out into the world, to share my stories with others in ways that make it safe for them to look inside themselves, and know they are not alone. My shape (as a vortex) is rather like a drill bit. What am I drilling? I don’t know until I move deeper in. I see myself going through layers upon layers of feelings. Defensiveness, doubt, fear, anger, sadness, hope, joy, and finally, peace.
My waking mind sees this as a natural progression to the essence of self. If we allow our dreams to lead us, or let a quiet mind show the way, essence is waiting for us, like a seed in the ground.
What have you been dreaming? What are you seeking? I look forward to hearing from you.