Monday Madness [Dream Time]

Hola mi Gente,

Man, interviewing for work is challenging. I tend to think that perhaps interviews are at least as challenging for the interviewer as they are for the interviewee… I just did a telephone conference and I have a few interviews set up this week. Send me love, mi gente! LOL

* * *

Remembering and Interpreting Dreams

For my part I know nothing with any certainty, but the sight of the stars makes me dream.

-- Vincent van Gogh

Okay, so picture the following. It’s a late weekend night and I’m giving my then ex a synopsis for a book I have in mind. I’m giving it all: the idea, the characters, everything, and it is totally blowing her away. 

According to her, I go back to sleep and the next day, the ole ex asks me when I’m going to write that book I was talking about the night before. I don’t remember a thing. All I remember are pieces of a dream about an idea for a book (it was a suspense/ horror novel with a clever hook) but I don’t remember talking about it to my ex or any other details about the book. She says it’s impossible. I was lucid and spoke to her for more than an hour in a clear manner about all aspects of the book. 

I asked her if she took notes… and now you know why she’s an “ex.” Kidding aside, that book is lost somewhere deep in the demented psyche of yours truly.

At the time, I was still in my undergrad studies (applied psych) looking to attend Columbia for grad studies the following semester. All during my university days, I experimented with my dreams. In fact, I used to study in my dreams. Some of you may laugh but this is true, I’m not kidding. I was so immersed in my studies, that they inhabited my dreams. 

I hardly ever remember my dreams, but I’ve had life-changing dreams. I wrote about one such dream (click here). For me, dreaming is a direct line to where the impossible happens and nothing is without meaning. It’s a clear state of awareness (or can be). It’s been my experience that one can find direct guidance for healing in our dreams, the natural habitat of our intuition. Here time and space as we conceptualize it ceases to exist and anything is possible. Our dream world is the canvass upon which our intuition can freely express itself. The only requirement is that we listen.

You are a partner to your dreams. Try to begin an ongoing conversation with them. Look at it as you would consulting a wise doctor or friend who knows you intimately. You can ask your dreams anything. No question is too trivial if it holds meaning for you. Also, expect answers. Some will be direct, others will require interpretation.

Your dreams can reveal many truths about your life as well as provide extraordinary insights, and give you information that will help your health, love life, and career. You’d be surprised either at the straightforward advice your dreams will yield, spontaneously, or upon request. 

Dreams provide answers, but first you must be able to accept them. People always ask me to interpret dreams for them because I guess that’s what many people think of when they think of clinical practice. I don’t do dreams. Dreams are too personal, too full of private and idiosyncratic symbolism for someone to interpret them for you. Besides, one’s theoretical orientation will decide what’s noticed and what’s ignored. A Freudian will see phallic symbols and a Jungian will see archetypes. I’m not discounting psychological theory, merely stating the obvious that no one can interpret your dreams for you, only you can.

I ran into the following suggestions the other day while reading an article. I think it has some good suggestions:

• Keep a journal and pen near your bed.
• Write a question on a piece of paper before you go to sleep. Make your request (if you have one) formal. Place it on a bedside table or under your pillow.
• In the morning try not to wake up too fast. Stay under the covers for a few minutes, at least, making an effort to remember your dream time. Try to get comfortable in that peaceful feeling between sleep and waking, what scientists call the hypnagogic state. Those initial moments act as a gate.
•  Upon opening your eyes, write down your dreams immediately. Otherwise they will evaporate, believe me. Try to recall a face, an object, color, or scene, feel an emotion. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make perfect sense. Try to record everything you remember. Try to refocus on the question you asked the previous night when you’re finished

In addition to remembering your dreams, there’s a level of understanding dreams. Intuitive but reliable information stands out in very specific ways. Watch for the following clues:

• Statements that simply convey information
•  Neutral parts of your dreams that evoke no emotion
• A detached feeling, as if you were a witness watching a scene
• A voice or person counseling you, as if you’re taking dictation from an outside source
• Conversations from people you’ve never met before

The most valuable intuitions appear as compassionate or have no emotion at all. Try to develop an ability to separate the content of your dreams from your reactions to it. This will help you separate the chafe from the wheat. Finally, be mindful that your dreams go by different rules than your waking life. Prepare yourself for a mind shift. Not even physical laws apply. Shoot, in your dreams you can even fly.

My name is Eddie and I’m in recovery from civilization…