Dreams

Something about my experience that I love is dreaming. Since beginning this process I’ve paid attention to my dreams, because of how interesting they seemed to me, how they’ve shifted and changed over time, and what I could possibly learn from them. At the beginning, my dreams didn’t make much sense like for most people. I’d look up interpretations, but that didn’t necessarily satisfy me. Where I’m at now, I can easily say that they were indeed there to help me process things. One in particular was the stress of being on time, remembering my equipment, and having the right uniform.

Now, this list may make some of you believe it had to do with my military experience, except it wasn’t! Instead, what this primarily stemmed from, and was created around, was my deep passion for softball. I played collegiately and in high pressure situations. There were hit times, a revolving set of uniforms to keep track of, and equipment that was not cheap. These dreams were constantly centered around not being in the right uniform, forgetting my glove, or running late. Because I loved softball so much, my focus was snagged on getting myself situated so that I could still play in the game.

After some time and learning through discernment, I realized that I was training myself how to handle letting go of control. I would surrender the pressure and stress I was placing on myself to fix the situation, and I would just sit back and let the dream unfold. I forgot my glove? I can either find a replacement, or I’ll have to sit this one out. As soon as I’d accept the fact that I was in a situation and couldn’t change it, then I’d relax and the dream would either shift to something else or I’d start paying attention to some other aspect of the game.

What this means is that we do experience dreams to help us understand things about ourselves. My spiritual journey has opened up dreams greatly for me. As I’ve learned to process in my waking life, I’ve been able to connect the dots in my dreams to understand that I’m trying to learn something about myself. And the coolest part is that I’m experiencing it in my dreamscape, which is much more safe than my waking life. The thing about dreams that I’ve discovered is that when you have a thought, there’s a great potential of experiencing that thought almost immediately.

This is much how we experience the other side, at least that’s what I’ve heard from people that have experienced NDE’s (near death experiences). As soon as you think of a place, you’re there. You think of a loved one, you’re in their living room. So, what I’ve come to find so interesting about dreams is that when you have a thought of fear, that’s when the dream characters pick up on your fear and enact it out for you. I’ve had a few where I was walking alone at night and someone would pass by me. I’d have the fearful thought that they might hurt me, and almost as soon as I’d have it, the person registers and notices me. Then, they approach if not full on chase me.

These dreams are interesting, but I believe the important thing to note from them is to use them as a tool to recognize our thoughts. I don’t necessarily mean all thoughts, but what was the thought that lead to the fear? Sometimes these dreams can be the safest place to experience these fears to alchemize and transmute them. We wake up in tears, because the dream caused us to “live out” a fearful event, but why are we afraid in the first place? Sometimes this may seem so obvious that we dismiss it as something we could work through.

For instance, you say you had a dream that you were being chased by someone that wanted to harm you. It may seem obvious, like pure survival. You were just afraid and running for your safety. But what else could you garner from this? What was it that actually triggered the fear? Can you recognize a pattern? Have you had this dream before? How did you know they wanted to harm you? Maybe what triggered the fear is the person’s clothes they had on. Were they male? What belief do you carry that perpetuates this fear?

Sometimes we go through life afraid of people that we don’t even know because of stereotypes and generalizations. Maybe you’re trying to work through some of these. Our fears can tell us a lot about our beliefs. We often talk about how the darkness shows us the light. That concept is pure alchemy. Taking something in one form, or energy, and changing it to something higher. This does not mean avoiding a fear, like I’ve mentioned before, avoidance is just a coping mechanism and doesn’t help resolve the fear; therefore, it still exists, and you’re still creating from it. By facing our fears and confronting the beliefs behind them, we stand a chance at creating from new beliefs to form a more peaceful reality.

I had one dream in particular that was strange. The room was darkened like it was evening time. I was surrounded by a few loved ones. It almost seemed like we were on vacation at a new place. Now, I’ve felt presences and energies in my dreams before and sometimes it feels like I’m being primed by the energy that something “bad” or scary is going to happen. In this dream I began to feel that same energy. Then, suddenly a statue starts moving towards me. It wasn’t very large, but the fact that an inanimate object came to life and began to stalk towards me startled me. Except, something shifted and my thought around it changed. I saw it as fun! I sat on a mattress that was on the ground behind me and essentially opened my arms and legs to embrace the little guy into a hug. It shifted right in front of my eyes from a stone statue into a stuffed elephant, and it brought me so much joy that my entire body was enlivened by white energy. I closed my eyes as I hugged the elephant with childlike glee and could see the light beyond my dream-eyelids and felt the energy surround my entire body. It was truly transformative.

We can experience energies and presences in more ways, too. One of my favorite aspects of dreams is connecting to loved ones. They may have crossed over or you may connect to someone else that’s still living. I’ve learned a lot from the dreams that included my counterpart. She only pops in for the briefest of moments, because the energy from our connection is very activating. But regardless of the time spent, I often learn some of the most profound things about myself. Additionally, we don’t always need to learn from our loved ones that have passed, but they can be helpers that wish to show us things.

One dream that I had in particular was truly life altering. I’d been working on my alchemical journey and had come into a challenging time with my circumstances. It felt like I was in the deepest of emotional and energetic drainage. I was running on empty, and was finding it challenging to find joy or love. I had a dream one night where I was not myself. I had shifted to a being on another plane of existence, perhaps an extraterrestrial. My body was slender and small. I knew I was working on an important mission and was visiting some family very briefly. There was an older woman there that had seemed out of it, like a grandmother. Suddenly, she came to life, and she recognized something within me; and I experienced the moment she knew. It was like her knowing opened a small hole in the veil of foggy dream consciousness and pulled my awareness into the situation. Then, she pulled me in for one of the best hugs I’ve ever had in my entire life. It was as though our hearts connected and all of my tension began to slip. She could see me, not the dream version, but me. I told her it felt like I weighed 500 lbs - which is in reference to being on Earth. She held me so closely and even lifted me off the ground like I’d weighed nothing. She didn’t say a word, she just held me and for a brief moment I felt a higher form of love and connection that renewed my heart. I awoke in tears knowing that I’d experienced something truly special. I’ve held onto that moment ever since and look back on it when I feel low.

Shamans and other spiritual people have explored the magic behind our dreamscape, and you too can learn to explore the magic within. This isn’t something only some people can do, but everyone can! I implore you to look at your dreams as a tool, but, of course, have fun, too. And just know that your higher-self and spirit are always there to help create alongside you. They will guide your dreams to help you on your journey, and soon enough you’ll be able to do much more than you ever could’ve imagined! Set intentions and dream a dream that cultivates your passion and represents the truest you.