Dreams
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Dreams are a natural part of being human.
The section of the bookstore I happened across was labeled New Age/Occult, which felt really wrong and off-putting to me. That nighttime dreams might be considered "supernatural or magic, beyond the range of ordinary knowledge or understanding”, well, this just wasn't my experience. Dreams can be so straightforward when we take the time to look at them and bypass our or other people's judgements about them. I also felt the term 'occult" carried with it some image of dark corners, drug-induced stupors and such. Dreams were a vivid part of my sleep-life and I often remembered them. I wanted to understand more about them and their function. Dreams are a natural part of being human. Heck, most of us have witnessed our dog and cat companions dreaming! The act of dreaming is something we seem to share with our mammalian companions.
I've always been thankful that I stumbled on Gayle's book and not some form of a dream dictionary. She brought my dreams out of these dark corners and instilled in me that our dreams are for us, they are personal. Our dream-maker is going to use images, symbols, actions, players and settings that have meaning to us. We don't need to go outside of ourselves to figure out the nature of a dream, what it's trying to tell us. Although it can be helpful to externalize our thoughts with a good friend, confidant or partner to allow us to reflect on what we know, think or feel about the dream elements. Still, the source of the meaning of dreams comes from what's already within us. Whether we know it or not, we each have our own vocabulary and our own meaning-making capacity.
I've been studying my dreams regularly since those early days, over 30 years! What this practice provides me with are insights as where my psyche wants to grow next; the dream’s messages reinforce and remind me that I'm on my right path and provide me with this rich tapestry of ideas, images and movements that are often helpful for me in my day-to-day living. My dreams are also just a lot of fun! Mind you they aren't always this way - I have found that if we ignore our dreams - similar to ignoring our emotions - that they will tend to get louder, and sometimes darker in order to get our attention. When we have a regular practice of making note of the dreams we recall upon waking, and then try for even 5-10 minutes to decipher their meanings, they will reward us with insights, humor and intrigue. Dream study has definitely been worth my efforts.
I've always been thankful that I stumbled on Gayle's book and not some form of a dream dictionary. She brought my dreams out of these dark corners and instilled in me that our dreams are for us, they are personal. Our dream-maker is going to use images, symbols, actions, players and settings that have meaning to us. We don't need to go outside of ourselves to figure out the nature of a dream, what it's trying to tell us. Although it can be helpful to externalize our thoughts with a good friend, confidant or partner to allow us to reflect on what we know, think or feel about the dream elements. Still, the source of the meaning of dreams comes from what's already within us. Whether we know it or not, we each have our own vocabulary and our own meaning-making capacity.
I've been studying my dreams regularly since those early days, over 30 years! What this practice provides me with are insights as where my psyche wants to grow next; the dream’s messages reinforce and remind me that I'm on my right path and provide me with this rich tapestry of ideas, images and movements that are often helpful for me in my day-to-day living. My dreams are also just a lot of fun! Mind you they aren't always this way - I have found that if we ignore our dreams - similar to ignoring our emotions - that they will tend to get louder, and sometimes darker in order to get our attention. When we have a regular practice of making note of the dreams we recall upon waking, and then try for even 5-10 minutes to decipher their meanings, they will reward us with insights, humor and intrigue. Dream study has definitely been worth my efforts.